This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.

My guest this week is Livi Ron who is a meat scientist and registered dietician.  Livin is a senior meat scientist full time and she travels around the country to different meat processing plants to help them develop better products.  This is her full-time job and on the "side" Livi is a registered dietician coaching clients and she is also studying her Ph.D. in meat science.

Livi's story starts back when she was riding a friend's horse.  Something happened that spooked the horse and the horse took off back to the barn because it was scared.  Unfortunately, when the horse hit the pavement the horse fell over and landed on Livin and she ended up in a coma for 9 days.  Livi got to the point where doctors were asking her parents if they wanted to keep her alive.  The whole situation was very hard on her family but miraculously one day she woke up.  After waking up Livi had a long road to recovery because her brain did a complete reset on her.

When Livi returned to school people were very mean to her.  She was in a neck brace and couldn't be in the hall between classes with everyone else and so she began to stick out like a sore thumb.  Livin found at this point that the only people she fit in with were the people who were outcasts that did drugs.  Livi began using drugs to fit in with this new collection of friends and it quickly spiraled out of control to the point where she was selling her body just to get money to pay for her drugs.  One day after work her parents came to pick her up, which Livi thought was strange because she had her car there and could have driven home.  Her parents disguised it as a birthday surprise but in reality, they were taking her to a rehab center.

Once Livi turned 18 she had almost graduated the program but she left not on good terms.  Towards the end of the program, she had a job at a gas station and she met a boy and they got into trouble.  The program gave her an ultimatum to either start over or just leave and so she just left.  Livi was living in section 8 housing illegally watching someone's kids and went right back to selling drugs.  Livi figured out that she could use her body and good looks to manipulate some of the officers patrolling the area.  Somehow Livi got herself into community college and met another boy there.  This guy was different from any of the previous guys that she had interactions with.  This guy didn't drink, didn't do drugs and was completely sober.  Livi wanted to move in with him and start to get back on track but the only way she could do this was to become sober.  Simultaneously Livi had a check-up with her OB/GYN provider that was very alarming.  She found out that at a very young age that she had ovarian cancer and that was it, she knew she needed to get her life together.

Kyle played a very pivotal roll in helping Livi get back on her feet.  He created a great environment for Livi at the time, he motivated her and kept her on a straightened path.  Livi fed off of this environment and made the decision to go to veterinary school.  While she was going through her program she took a class that sparked the interest for meat science and so she completely changed her path but she definitely wouldn't have been able to do this without the help of Kyle. 

Livi became so passionate about this career because she wanted to help people see that what they think and sometimes what they are told about their food is not true.  This is also why Livi wanted to be a registered dietician because she really wants to help people understand that there is more than just the marketing on the packaging for the food that we see in stores.  Livi had a professor that answered all of her questions, showed her the data that backed it up and took her to food lots.  This just poured gas on Livi's fire and really built her passion.  

Livi has used this passion to completely rebuild the life of her dreams.  She is helping athletes and women understand food better, she lives in an amazing condo in downtown Chicago and drives a fancy car.  This is nothing that she could have seen back when she was living in section 8 housing, but she is completely confident that those things helped shape where she is today.  Moving forward Livi could see her nutrition company bigger and bigger but she loves her job so much that it would be hard to walk away from it.  

Livi's journey is just so amazing and inspiring and I am honored that she came on the podcast to share her story.  I love the way that Livi conveys her point and information on Instagram so please make sure to check it out.  

 

Livi's Instagram

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