Tony Thayer
The Crucible Coach

I had a long, successful sales and leadership career, which was cut short 11 years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer, just after my wife left me.

I was diagnosed just after my wife of 35 years left me, so it was a tough and lonely period. My oncologist said I’d be lucky to live three or four years, but I didn’t know if I would live through the year.

However, I discovered that my cancer was a blessing.
It was my crucible.

Cancer had a way of stripping me down to my core, revealing strengths I never knew I possessed. The battle against this ruthless disease pushed me to the brink, testing my endurance and resilience in ways I never imagined. Through the pain and uncertainty, I developed a newfound appreciation for life's simplest joys and an unwavering determination to overcome any obstacle in my path. As I emerged on the other side, battered but undefeated, I carried with me a sense of gratitude and a steely resolve that has forever changed the way I navigate the world. Cancer may have tried to break me, but instead, it only succeeded in making me stronger.

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”

Bob Marley

I’ve Been There.
I Can Help.

I started coaching because I survived cancer. I was diagnosed just after my wife of 35 years left me, so it was a tough and lonely period; At first, I didn’t know if I would live through the year. Later, my oncologist said I’d be lucky to live three or four years.

I discovered that my cancer was a blessing; it was my crucible. Do you know about ancient alchemists? Cancer taught me to live more fully. He helped me see my greater potential; I learned to become more present, happier and more fulfilled. I wouldn’t want to go back to how I was before.

Cancer turned out to be my best coach, and I hope to help you find the kinds of inner wisdom and resources that cancer helped me find.

Before cancer, I never felt whole. I had this sense that something vital within me was disconnected. Cancer insisted that I figure out why. My oncologist told me that I’d be lucky to live another five years, and the demands felt immediate.

Now I’ve overcome my cancer, opened up, and I lead a richer, fuller life. That’s why I do this: I learned how to tune in to something that had always been outside of me, and I want to share the journey of coming alive with others, to help them discover their own deeper talents and purpose.

Now I guide others to see the possibilities in their setbacks. This is who I am. At first it was just scary and unnerving, but in the silence and loneliness, I began to see I had choices, and I developed an ethic of choosing well, to make the best of what I had ahead of me.

Ultimately, the pain cracked apart the defenses of my old life, and let more and more light come in. I soon realized I had far more gifts and possibilities than I had ever thought to look for. And by the time my oncologist shared with me that I had, to his surprise, overcome the cancer,

I realized how other highly talented people, like me, have habitually short-changed themselves, I decided I could make my best life by starting conversations with people like you – other survivors of loss and setback, who understand the crucible is a powerful call to our deeper potential, make something rich and meaningful from the rest of their life.