952 | Terrible Gifts Lead Us to Our Purpose with Tom LeNoble

In this episode, Marsha speaks with Tom LeNoble, who has led in boardrooms and fought for his life in hospital rooms, surviving two life-threatening illnesses. From shaping growth at Facebook (META), Walmart.com, Palm (HP), and MCI (Verizon) to guiding startups, he’s mastered thriving through change. He is the founder of the Tom LeNoble brand and the Opening Pathways podcast. Today, he is CEO of the Academy for Coaching Excellence and a leadership coach with the Miller Center for Global Impact at Santa Clara University. An in-demand speaker, personal coach, and workshop leader, Tom uses his experience and insights to serve others. A committed philanthropist, he champions youth, women, education, and underserved communities and serves on numerous nonprofit boards.

In his new book, My Life in Business Suits, Hospital Gowns, and High Heels, releasing in November 2025, Tom shares unflinching lessons on risk, resilience, and reinvention. With candour and wit, he guides others to lead boldly, live fully, and love fiercely – a reminder that, no matter the storms you face, resilience is possible—and reinvention is always within reach.

Highlights:

[02:55] Tom reveals he’s lived with metastatic cancer for 13 years and is still here.

[05:05] On resilience: “I’ve had so much radiation I glow in the dark… it’s challenged me to take risks and have resilience, which I define as not just getting back up, but how do we grow from what’s happened to us?”

[07:50] Tom’s mindset for adversity: “Stomp your feet, cry, yell… but the only thing that can happen now is to move forward. This is my reality.”

[09:14] The concept of “terrible gifts”: “If you allow it to happen, a gift will come from it. Something will change in your life.”

[10:32] On evidence of survival: “We all have this evidence of what we’ve survived and accomplished… we forget what we’ve been through and don’t bring that evidence with us to the present.”

[13:52] Vulnerability in the corporate world: “It’s time for us to shift that whole idea that we don’t do that in the corporate world… we need to acknowledge that we have real lives.”

[20:46] Tom’s gratitude practice: “One of the first things I do is express gratitude that I woke up, because I woke up today. Some people didn’t.”

[22:40] On belief and survival: “At the end of the day, I know something that’s true. I believed I could.”

[26:04] What matters most: “It doesn’t matter what happened to you, it matters what you choose to do with what happened.”

[42:41] Tom’s favorite Maya Angelou quote: “Every storm runs out of rain. What it creates, that rain, is fertile ground. My question for you: what are you going to plant?”

Connect with Tom

To sign up for an exclusive sneak peek of his forthcoming book, visit https://www.tomlenoble.com/sneakpeek.

To learn more, visit www.tomlenoble.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lenoble.tom

Website: https://www.tomlenoble.com/

Heart Wired CEO Mastermind 2026: https://meghan-weir.thrivecart.com/hwceomastermind/

Marsha Vanwynsberghe — NLP Storytelling Trainer, OUTSPOKEN NLP Coaching Certification, Author, Speaker, and Podcaster

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