In this profoundly moving and life-affirming conversation, Laura sits down with Ruud Hopstaken, former healthcare executive, cancer survivor, and now coach, to explore what it truly means to wake up to life.

Ruud shares his extraordinary story: from a high-powered career as vice chair of a major Dutch medical university, to a sudden cancer diagnosis that brought everything to a halt. What followed was not just a physical healing journey, but a spiritual awakening invited him to redefine success, surrender control, and listen deeply to his body and soul.

Together, Laura and Ruud unpack themes of identity, loss, courage, and freedom. This episode is a powerful testament to how even the darkest moments can hold sacred invitations and how surrender can lead to the most profound kind of healing.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The pivotal moment when Ruud’s life changed overnight
• How illness became a messenger and teacher, not an enemy
• The experience of losing his stomach and finding wholeness instead
• Why he cried tears of loss, not just joy, after being declared cancer-free
• How the need for identity and achievement can keep us from truly feeling
• The long process of learning to listen to his body’s voice
• Stories of transformation: marathons, illness, healing, swimming with the dolphins,and walking with the Maasai
• Why he believes cancer was his greatest gift and how it led him to guide others

Bio

Ruud Hopstaken is a coach, mentor, and former senior healthcare executive based in the Netherlands. After decades of high-intensity work in leadership and academia, his life took an unexpected turn with a diagnosis of stomach cancer, a journey that transformed how he saw himself, his work, and the world.

Resources & Links

The Work by Byron Katie

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Teachings on somatic wisdom and Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Ruuds website https://www.ruudhopstaken.com/

Or follow his journey across Europe https://www.berlin-to-brussels.com/

Music Featured

The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.

List of Music

Saggie, Steven Beddall & Jenny Penkin - Easy to Love

Tamuz Dekel - Evanescent

Sig Howler - A Trip

Oliver Michael - Runaway

Kyle Preston - Cafe de Philosophie

Jozeque - Seal

Adi Goldstein - Ocean Voyage