Did you know the American Cancer Society estimates there will be over 1.6 million new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2014? How would you cope if you were one of those cases - or someone you loved was? Could you find opportunity in the diagnosis? Our guest for episode 85 did.

Allison Gryphon was born in New York but was raised primarily in the Bay area before going to college in Los Angeles. After graduating, she worked her way through the production ranks in the film industry. In fact, she recorded this show with me, while she was on a project at Skywalker Ranch.

From working on films like The Lone Ranger and Pirates of the Caribbean, Allison has devoted her life to making films. And from that devotion, she learned how not to take no for an answer and how to organize her way through any situation. And she believes all of that helped her not only cope with cancer, but to find the opportunity in it.

We talk about the opportunity she saw in her cancer diagnosis, as well as and her thoughts on other topics, such as:

* Seeing an opportunity and taking action on it

* How to just show up and offer support for a friend and loved one in any scenario

* The lesson in learning how to receive

* The personal journey that is everyone’s life: why you should choose the organization and coach that resonates with your journey

* The many faces of adversity as a solopreneur

There are so many lessons for any solopreneur to learn from Allison and her battle with cancer. She transparently shares that battle in this episode, and how it helped her create a foundation and a personal documentary.

Whether we’ve faced cancer directly or experienced it indirectly, Allison offers insights and hope in the struggle to defeat it.

Show her your support via social media on Facebook and Twitter.

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Resources from this episode:

The Why Foundation

Allison's documentary

Allison's IMDB page

Vinnie Tortorich

Natalie Sisson

Skywalker Ranch

Solopreneurhour.com/godaddy

Kevin Pearce, snowboarding accident documentary

Native Americans, hair length and their armed forces service