Mastering the Mind: Dr. Christine Silverstein on Peak Performance and Mental Resilience

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Brick by brick, we build the mindset before we build the life. And today's guest has spent decades proving that the mind is the most powerful tool we have.

Dr. Christine Silverstein is a peak performance coach, an RN, a clinical hypnosis expert, and the award-winning author of Wrestling Through Adversity. She's helped young people dominate in sports, recover from injury, excel in school, and rise out of trauma all by mastering the subconscious blueprint. Christine, welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show. Hey, welcome to the show, Christine. How you doing today?

I am doing well, thank you, and I'm looking forward to having our discussion.

All right, so Christine, As we entitle in this today, the underdogs, we rooting for the underdogs. Hey, so the origin of the mindset toughness, what moment in your own life made you say, I need to understand the mind at a deeper level?

Well, it was actually when I was pretty much newly married and I wanted to have a family and I had so many challenges starting off. I had miscarriages one after another, and it got to a point where I didn't know what to do. I thought I was doing everything right. At that time, I was in a job in the South Bronx. I worked for the Visiting Nurse Service. It was very strenuous walking up and down stairs. I worked actually right near the Yankee Stadium, and I had a lot of walk-ups to visit people. And carrying a heavy bag on my shoulder. And in that job, I had actually 2 miscarriages. And then I went on to have a 3rd one. And by the 3rd one, I was really destroyed. One of them actually occurred in an assisted living facility when I was at work and occurred in the lobby bathroom. But I went on to visit my patients that day anyway. And so I had these miscarriages and after the third one, I was very discouraged. So my mom had a neighbor. She said, well, her son is a gynecologist and you should really visit him. You know, he was out on Long Island, which is about 2 hours away. But I got in my car and I drove there and he examined me and he's telling me, you need to have this test and that test. And I'm thinking, I don't think I need those tests because I wasn't having challenges getting pregnant. I was having challenges keeping the baby, you know, and not miscarry. So at any rate, at the end of this visit, it was really shocking to me because he told me that I needed to take a drug so that I wouldn't have more miscarriages. And I knew as a registered nurse that the data was coming back saying that Oh, this drug, even though it was used for many years, it caused cancer in the offspring and cancer in, in the mother. And so I was shocked that he said I, I should take this drug. It was called DES, diethylstilbestrol. So I came home from that. I remember driving all the way home on the highway and crying and thinking, well, what will I do? But I never got the prescription filled because when I got home, I realized that I have to do this for myself. There's nothing that anybody can give to me that will really allow me to have the baby because the doctor told me literally, well, you'll never have a baby in your arms if you don't take this drug, right? So I had to go against the conventional response of taking the drug. So at any rate, I became pregnant again and I was so petrified that I would have a miscarriage in the bed or that I would lose the baby. And I was aware that there was a big bloodstain underneath the plastic cover on the mattress from previous miscarriages. So I'd wake up and I wouldn't be able to sleep. And I decided to help myself. I learned Transcendental Meditation, which I practiced every day. And then I added self-hypnosis. I picked up the Yellow Pages in the phone book and I drove myself. I don't even know how I got there. And I studied self-hypnosis with a psychology student. And I used that every night to help me. And I got through that pregnancy and I had my first baby. My son was born and I was so elated. So I need to access the power of my mind. And what I did then was I had this expected mind. That's what I called it. And I'm thinking, well, if other people can have these babies, I can do it too. And then I allowed myself to imagine I was holding my baby and taking care of my baby, which before I was afraid to do that because what if I would lose the baby? So at any rate, I got through the pregnancy and eventually had 4 children. So it wasn't that I needed to take that drug. And years later, I met a woman whose mother did follow the doctor's direction. And she was called now, this woman, a DES baby, meaning that she had cancer of the cervix when she was in her 20s and cancer of the intestines when she was in her 30s from what her mother had taken. So I was so blessed that I used the power of my mind, connected with it, and spiritually, and just used that to move forward in my life. And so since then, I've really followed those principles even in my work for the last 29 years, um, to help my children to grow, um, to help themselves when they were teenagers and having challenges. Like you were talking about your son being 15. And the self-esteem issues and school and social issues. And you want to follow your friends. It's not always the best thing to do when you're under peer pressure. And so I decided when they were going through that process that I would help them, learn what to do to help them. And it really culminated in this one time when I was at the state championship and my son, was expected to win, you know, in his weight class. And the coaches said he'll win. But he had this asthma attack when he was in the practice room the week before. He had eaten a salad to make weight for the competition. And the salad had poppy seeds in the salad dressing. And he's allergic to them. And so he was on this inhaler and he's on this machine, you know, to help him to breathe. And he brings this to the state championship at Atlantic City. And I'm watching him and he's struggling. You know, I could see he was struggling to breathe. And so he didn't do his best. He didn't win. And everybody was disappointed. And people literally, they put money on him, you know, to win. So, so with that, I said, that's it. You know, I'm going to learn what to do. And I started to study hypnotism to see how I could help my children. To help themselves, because that's what self-hypnosis is, is a very natural process. So to encourage that, how to talk to yourself, how do you imagine yourself like I did with the expectant baby and to see yourself as the winner before you even walk onto the wrestling mat. And because you're totally prepared with the preparation, your plans of action, etc. So I developed my programs based on that and they relate to all sports, but also health issues as I mentioned, I'm a registered nurse helping people get through surgeries, through chemotherapy and things like that. And my program called Operation Heal, which I really developed over the course of many years, because when I had those 4 babies, I had cesarean sections and the anesthesia didn't work. So I had to help myself get through those and then develop a program where I could help others to get through surgeries and heal rapidly without addictive drugs.

Man, Doc, I tell you, that was a lot of trauma, a lot of, you know, saying stuff on your mind, and just to endure and persevere through all of that, I commend you. And I tell you one thing, Dr. Kristin, you must really love your husband to keep on going and trying time and time again, time and time again. Because I know it had to weigh on your brain, weigh on your mind and everything. 4 miscarriages, then 4 babies. But that's a lot of trying right there, Doc.

That is. I agree. You know, and I look back and I say, where did I get the courage to do it? And so many questions, you know. So this one day I decided I'm going to start my business. I dropped my 3 daughters off at the gymnastics club where they practiced every day. And on the way home, I passed by this vacant gas station and it has a big, like an 18-wheeler furniture truck from North Carolina right there. And I saw they had these recliners out on the ground and I stopped off and I bought one and I said, I'm buying this for my new office. Right. So I put it in the back of my car and I brought it home and I brought it into the house and I set it up in, in the ground floor room, which was our family room. In the corner. And when my daughters came home, they said, Mom, what's this? And I said, well, this is my new office, my new business. I put my diplomas over it, right? I was ready. And so I worked from home for a while, but then I tried to get an office in my hometown. I lived in a small town in New Jersey. And when I went for the certificate of occupancy for a rental, I was told that what will you be doing? And I said, well, I'll be working, you know, as a peak performance coach with students. And I explained, I thought I explained myself really well, but this was in the boardroom in the small town. It was like a horseshoe, all men sitting there. And I was at the end. And so this one man who's on the board said to me, well, what are you going to do? Are you a tea leaf reader? I thought, where did he get this from? Like those psychics that come to town? Yeah. Threw one out, he said. Oh no, what will I do? I used my life insurance policy. I cashed it in for this down payment. So at any rate, thankfully there was an MD sitting there and he said, haven't you heard of peak performance coaches at the Olympics? So finally they let me occupy my office. I've already put down all my money on the down payment. So that's how it started off. A little precarious, but I was determined, you know, I knew I could be helpful, not just to my children, but to people, the underdogs, the kids who come to me and say, my teacher says I have ADHD and I'm stupid. And so what can I do? And, you know, the wrestlers who didn't reach the potential. And now everybody's saying, oh, you're really bad. And those are the underdogs for sure. And brought out the best of them, teaching them these techniques so they could be winners and state champions or, you know, go to the baseball game at the, you know, to hit home runs and get their gloves and their balls from, you know, the Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame, and feel proud when they thought they stunk at baseball. They come home with home runs and able to feel good about themselves. So you have to understand that children need to be taught. And we're the people who teach the adults coaches, teachers, parents. And if you're not doing that because you are held back by your own challenges when you were younger, you need to really look at your challenge, what the challenges were and work through them so that you can help your children to be resilient. And I think that should start very young, like when your child is born, start preparing them and not to wait until they're 16 and they're all burnt out because of all the competition competition and how everybody expects them to win, but then nobody taught them how to win.

I like that. Hey, I hope y'all listening to Dr. Christine, the underdog who started company and everything else brick by brick, just like the motto of this podcast. We love the underdog. Remember the cartoon back in the day, Dr. Christine, underdog? He used to always fight against all the big people and everything. That's why they call him the underdog. He go fight against the big people, whatever. And he always came out big.

That's right.

So let me ask you, Doc, as you were talking about your book earlier, "Wrestling Through Adversity," you wrote openly about your trauma and your healing. What was the hardest chapter to relive, and why did you include it?

Well, the hardest chapter was chapter 10, and it was about young adults. College athletes who have to set themselves up for life, you know, and believe in themselves. And yet in 2022, there were 5 suicides of athletes that was in the news. And that's when I started writing my book. Also, we were in COVID and I saw that teenagers were committing suicide and we had a lot of anxiety, depression, school issues. And I decided one day I'm writing this book because I know what to do to help teenagers. The fact that I included young adults, I was questioned about that by the publisher, by people who are helping me write my book. Even more recently on podcasts, some people, I think it was 3 podcast hosts, said, but why did you include along with teenagers and young adults. Well, young adults are having huge challenges, the Gen Zers. And I started my business in 1996. So that includes around the time the Gen Zers were born all the way up through to where they are now in their late 20s. And so I know that you can help these young people and you need to give them the tools. So when I saw that these athletes had committed suicide and they were really smart people and they were at the top of their game in college, um, you know, soccer, lacrosse, and different sports. I said, I have to write a book about this and include young adults. And so when I saw their pictures, I put their pictures from the newspaper and I put them here in my office when I was writing. And I wanted to know from them spiritually. So what should I know and what should I say? How can we prevent this in the future? And so I would wake up in the middle of the night and see their faces and say, well, give me some information about yourself. What can we do? And so that made it the hardest chapter because sometimes I'd wake up crying. And not know what to write. But I did figure it out, what to say and how to start that chapter off. But that was a big decision. Like, how do I start writing in this chapter about a group of people who people say, well, they're young adults, they should know what to do. And they don't because they weren't taught. And you have to consider when they were born. And I wrote a major article, a major piece in the CEO World magazine recently that was published about the challenges of Gen Zers and how they're having trouble getting jobs and keeping their jobs and how they have a different viewpoint because they were born right after 9/11 or right before or right after 9/11. And then we had the recession and then we have COVID and all these things. And, and we expect them to learn they weren't even in school or college or high school when we went through COVID for all those years, you know, so they didn't learn the social skills like they would have learned if they were in school. So there are all kinds of issues and we need to be open because they're going to be 30% of the workforce in just a few years from now. So we really need to, if we want to move forward. So that article was but directly towards the CEOs of the world. This is an international journal. But that chapter just made me feel just really upset because what are we doing? Why aren't we teaching children? If you're an athlete at that level, an elite athlete, why aren't you transferring those skills to life skills? You should know it. And that's true for the professionals. Which they should know better, that they had all this privilege and all this capability and that they learned how to focus to, you know, hit a home run or they've learned to be in a prominent place on a team. Well, those skill sets that they learned are transferable and from place to place. When I work with athletes like teenagers, they start to get on the honor roll for the first time. You know, they're so proud that they can focus and win no matter what. Because if you're in a sport, it's a timed event. You can't say, oh, can I have another hour to win this wrestling match? It's 7 minutes long. And so they're portable and you can use them even with the teenagers I've worked with them so they can get a date to prom. You know, hey, Doc, I want to go to prom, but I want to win the the wrestling match. What can I do? So I showed them what to do. We had to have a mental rehearsal, you know, to ask the girl to prom and then what to say once they get to prom. They don't know what to say once they have the date. So, so that's equal, you know, to a teenager who values, you know, the peer, the peer pressure and wants to look like and they know what they're doing and smart and be accepted. So all these things are possible. And actually, when you're a teenager and a young adult, that's the best time to learn these skills because of the development and the neuroscience of your brain, because you're developing many, many links from left to right and also to the different hemispheres. But it's one brain. It's not one brain, but it's also one mind. The subconscious mind and the conscious mind the way I work. And so you can literally access the subconscious mind and help these linkages grow and teach them through imagery, metaphors in the way I work, because their brains are developing into being able to do that. And peer pressure is very important. So you have to work with the amygdala on the right side of the brain and emotions and how to manage your emotions and have confidence in yourself to bounce back. So it's a perfect time. And I think that we just waste it in this country, the way we treat teenagers and even younger children, making them feel like they're not of value, that they don't know what they're doing. They're actually really smarter than adults when it comes to using imagery and the metaphors because they're more open and they say, hey, doc, why didn't anybody tell me about this before?

Yeah, I get it. And doc, just as you had the spiritual discernment where you bypassed the medicine earlier, you didn't take it and God still blessed you. And you just answered my next question that I was going to ask you. So I guess I'll go to the next one. But before I go there, remember the movie Hitch? With Will Smith, and I can't think of the other guy where he tried to train him on how to get a girlfriend or whatever, or date women. And you sound like Hitch. You say, yeah, we got to go through rehearsal, and this is how you ask the young lady out. This is the first thing I came through. Oh, Dr. Hitch over here. Boy, I gotta— hey, I am privileged and honored to have an international magazine writer talking to CEOs right here on my show, on the CJ Moneyway Show. Honored to have you, Doc. So let me ask you this. The tools from self-hypnosis to mental reversal, which tool delivered the fastest visible transformation?

Well, the way I see it is I work to access the subconscious mind, which is different than cognitive behavioral therapy that uses primarily the left side of the brain. I work with the right side of the brain and then combine them because you need your plans of action. You know, you're going out there on the wrestling mat, you need your plans of action. It's the left side of the brain, but you do that before you actually get into the wrestling match. So I would say the 5 ways to access the subconscious mind are through images or pictures, metaphors, sounds, stories, and symbols. And that's how any athlete that you know that you were talking about, the pros, they get in the zone that way. The first thing is you need to learn how to relax automatically so that you're prepared to really open up the, I call it the toolbox of the subconscious mind where all your skills are stored. Of course, when you get to the Olympics or you get on a professional team, you know what to do. You've played in many games. It's not as if you don't know how to get, you know, score on the free throw. Yeah. You've done it so many times, right? But so why don't you do it all the time? Why? Why is it questionable? You know, well, it depends on what you're thinking, what you're feeling. It also depends on what's going on in the game. Is it the last few seconds of the game? How important is it? So you have to be relaxed and at ease to get through that barrier. And it could come up all of a sudden. You think you're confident, but then something happens and then you lose your confidence. So you need to stay in the present moment, relax, and then you need to prepare ahead of time with a mental rehearsal, which is, okay, so I'm in this situation and I want to use this high crotch takedown. I have to be prepared with my takedown, know what to do. So you physically practice it, you mentally rehearse it, you put it on a feedback loop. This is way before the competition. To see how you can fine-tune it and to really feel confident. And once you do that, you use it in competition, and then you measure with this feedback loop that I developed. How did it work? Right? You go around, so what was the skill that I mentally rehearsed? How did I execute it? How did it work? It's a big part of the feedback loop. You want to look at, did this work? And if it didn't work, what can I do to improve? And if it did work, Well, then you want to use it again. You know, you want to have that in your toolbox. So it's a process where you actually step back, look at what skills do you want to use? What's your plan of action? Like with wrestlers, I have all 3 positions that you have a plan of action. So, and it's all, it's bottom, top, and neutral. And then you have plan A. So everybody has plan A. Like Serena Williams, she would have plan A. When she was playing tennis. Plan A, that's your preferred way of doing something. But in a sport with an opponent, you have to consider that your opponent wants to do the same thing. Right? If you're just on the balance beam, well, that's— you're just there by yourself. Nobody's going to knock you off the balance beam.

But you knock yourself off. Yeah.

You have to be aware to have Plan B. If Plan A isn't working, so what will you do? But you have it already practiced before the competition. Put on the feedback loop, ready to go. And then I have this one plan of action I call the element of surprise, where you do something that nobody thinks you would do, you know, and maybe you've never really used it before. But say in the case of wrestling, it would be something that wins the match for you automatically and really fast. You don't even know what happened to you because, you know, So that's Plan C, the elements of surprise. And if you have those things beforehand, you feel so much more confident in yourself knowing what to do. And then also, if you have a— if you're working with the team, like in basketball or baseball, of course, you have to work along with your team members. And that's very essential to know your role. What is your role in that game or in that match? And so practice that as well. You imagine yourself. Like in soccer, you know, receiving the ball and kicking the ball, whatever. And you know exactly what to do and feel confident as soon as you walk out onto the playing field. And that takes some preparation, but it's really so much easier because you're going to learn the skills anyway. So you might as well perfect them as you're going along. And it has nothing to do really with the coach in the sense that the coach will teach you the skills. The skill sets, and then you take them and you learn them. How can you adapt your skill to that activity and make it better? And also you're open to what the coach says. Of course, that's how you learn. But it can't be that it's just what the coach tells you to do. You have to have your own mindset to know, to be flexible, because many times people will follow.

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But the coach says, but they're not really aligned with the student athlete. I'm talking about, you know, younger people, but that's probably true. With professionals as well as we talked about before. And so you have to listen and you have to be aware, but you also have to have your own plans of action and your own mindset and then see yourself. You're already the winner before you even start a wrestling match because you've prepared yourself. Because when you think about it, there's only one winner, like in something like a wrestling match. In boxing, there's only one winner. So which one do you want to be? The winner or the loser, right? And so you have to do that. Otherwise, you're already seeing your opponent's hand raised. And that's not a good thing because you move in the direction of your dominant thoughts and pictures, whether they're winning or losing.

Check out the movement. Family real quick. Lean in. If you're listening to this right now, then you already know The Money Way ain't just a podcast, it's a movement. So make sure you tap into everything we building. Yeah, yeah, it's a Money Way movement. Music, new tracks dropping every week. It's a CJ Moneyway Show. Global ranked, purpose-driven voices. Moneyway mindset, daily inspiration, real talk, no fluff. You can find it all right now on Instagram, YouTube, and everywhere you stream. Just search @simoneyway. That's where purpose lives. That's where the next level starts. And that's what we leveling up together. Now let's get back to the show. All right, so Doc, this is what I want to say. Y'all better not take Dr. Underdog Christine lightly. Did y'all hear what she said earlier? She said the high attack takedown. So she know techniques, she know moves or whatever. So do not take her as if she won't put you on the mat for the count of 3. I'm not messing with you, Doc.

I believe you.

I believe you know how to do these And let me ask you, Doc, advice for parents and mentors as yourself. What are the biggest mistakes adults make when trying to motivate kids?

Well, I think the biggest mistake is that they don't put themselves in their children's places. You know, maybe as I said before, you had a negative experience as a child, as an athlete, Maybe you didn't make it as big as you wanted to, and you're still carrying that forward even though you're no longer a child, you're an adult. So you need to nurture your children. The main thing with sports is your child wants to have fun. That's why they play sports. They like to meet other people. They like to make new friends and learn about a sport and be a fan. But the whole purpose is to have fun. Fun. And then if they want to develop themselves into a professional eventually, that takes time. But it's the mindset. It's like you were talking about being born in the town where Michael Jackson lived and how much that influenced you in your mindset to know that somebody made it there in your town. Well, that's true for people who there's really no hope for them. I mean, sports is the best way to work through these ACEs, which are adverse childhood experiences. And some countries are actually leading the way, like Wales, where they have programs to help the underdog and the kids that have many challenges in life and help them overcome it so they can be adults who are productive. So It's really important to get in the shoes of your child and to understand they need to be nurtured and they need to be taught these skill sets and they're transferable. As I said, they'll improve their schoolwork. They can improve their communication with parents and feel good about themselves. That's the main thing. They feel good about themselves and so happy because nobody taught them. One wrestler I worked with recently, the parents brought me this young person and he was having all kinds of challenges. He just got his license for driving and he had an accident and he didn't know what to do. And the parents are saying, well, why didn't you win this wrestling match? You know, and why did you have the accident and all this? And here it's this 17-year-old sitting there in the body of a man because he was shaving and, you know, he looked like an adult. But he's only 17 and he's just looking down, you know, and felt terrible. But when I spoke to him privately, he said, oh, you know that match my parents were talking about? Everybody said, you know, I was going to lose and I wouldn't take him down. And then when I took him down, I was so surprised I didn't know what else to do. So then he ended up losing the match. But everybody said, you should have won. How come you didn't win? But the thing is, he saw the value and he said, well, the only thing I need to do is to prepare what to do when you take somebody down. I have to find out. And that's what happened. I helped him with the breathing easy. I helped him with the mental rehearsal. And he won matches after that. And also he won during the summer. He was undefeated. And just for those two sessions, he was able to turn it around and feel good about himself. And he even interned at a salesperson's job during the summer on top of that. So that released in him. But when he was performing and when he got taken down, he went into the fight or flight response that's automatic. And that happens in the brain, the hypothalamus. And the pituitary gland and the adrenals. And he went into fight or flight. His knees and his legs got so weak he couldn't stand up and he couldn't breathe. And so that was overwhelming. It never happened to him before. And so he overcame it by learning what to do and preventing that, being ready with your mental rehearsal and then knowing what takedown you'll do, knowing how you, what you'll do in the baddest box. It's so important to set yourself up psychologically, even if you've won matches many times or excelled in the past. You can get in this fight or flight, and if you don't know what to do, it's rapid and it's automatic. So you need to know what to do to avoid it. And in this case, it was avoided with two short sessions, although there's opportunity to learn more. Should he return.

Let me ask you, let me say this, let me ask you this, um, especially for me, because you know, you said that, oh, I was expecting you to win, and you know, we get on you, say little boy went out there, had an accident, and, and this and that, because you know, so much pressure, and, and we on them, we on them, we on them. And so one thing I would like to say too, something that you, that you were talking about, like your coach and everything can give you the skills or show you the skills and things of that nature, but it got to be to you to put in the work, you know what I'm saying? To feel confident enough that next time you get out there on that wrestling field, when you get into that boxing ring, on that basketball court, football field, that you have prepared yourself, you know what I'm saying, with the tools that you have, but you prepared yourself to be ready when, when action takes place. And so, but another thing that I was thinking about too when you were saying that, Doc, was especially for me, because, you know, as fathers and everything, watching our sons play football. We, we can be a little hard, uh, you know, oh, you should have did this, you should have did that, you know. Even after the game, they did a good game, we can critique like, look, man, you should have did this, you know what I'm saying, you could have did that, instead of just saying how good they did, you know, or the good things that they did, instead of critiquing it right away. Let them enjoy the good moments of it and just build them up and build their confidence up in that nature. So over the last 3 years or so of him playing sports, that's been, that's been me. I was talking to the coach Yesterday after the game, and I say, I'm in confidence mode right now. That's, that's, that's, that's all I'm trying to build is confidence. It ain't no, no yelling, no this and that. Just, I use the, I'ma go karate on you, doctor. Not wrestling, I'ma go karate. I've been using the Mr. Miyagi, uh, method. Wax on, wax off.

That's right.

Teaching them lessons, teaching them stuff without him really knowing. That you're really teaching them stuff, you know what I'm saying?

That's right. Exactly. And it's so simple. It's so simple. And it goes along with the development of our children, the brains, literally, of our teenagers. And we know so much more now in the 21st century than we did even in 1996, what was known back then when I first started. But I use these techniques because I understood them from my perspective of using them. So whatever was happening in my brain, I don't know, but I came out with 4, and by the way, very large babies. I had 4 cesarean sections too. So, but the fact is I look back and oh my gosh, I was just so elated that I accomplished that goal. And I know now that, and I've worked with a lot of women to help them do the same. I work with IVF and help them. People who are having challenges. But the thing is, when I first started, I didn't— I was confident, but I didn't know really how to start my business, what to do after I got that rental in town. And the funniest thing is I took— at one point, I got this really important job of working in a workshop for wrestling coaches. And soon after, about a year after I started, and I arrived at this setting and it was in a hotel, but they had their wrestling mat right on the floor, right next to the kitchen, the room next to the kitchen. And I walked in and there was Kurt Angle. He was, he had been the Olympic gold medalist the year before, you know. And I'm saying, oh my goodness, what will I say to these high school coaches? And they're looking at me. I'm the only female there. And they asked me, are you a psychologist? I said, no, I'm a nurse. And they said, well, we're not injured here. So that's how I started out, right? But I did my mental rehearsal that night, what I was saying to them. And it turned out that it was a great workshop, a very important one for me in the development of my work. But also, there was one point where the coaches said, oh, we don't like what you're saying. What about this self-hypnosis? So Kurt, and I have this in the recording, he said, you should listen to this lady because this is how he won the gold medal. And then they started to listen to me better.

Hmm. Took somebody else to vouch, huh?

That's right. And so that was very important. But Going back to this idea spiritually, I do feel that this is my life's work because I had this experience with an allergic reaction one day. I decided it was in the spring, about a year after I started my office, and I was tired, you know, in the spring with the 4 children. We had the piano recitals and the wrestling matches and the gymnastics and all this. And I also was taking tap dance because I could never take it when I was a child. My parents couldn't afford it with the 5 children. So I took tap dance classes. So at any rate, this one day I was exhausted and I had to pick up my 4 children one after the other. They all got out of school at the same time. So you had to rush around, even my little one in the nursery school. And so I took this ginseng tea that I had bought in the supermarket. It had had 3 different types from Russia and these different locations. And I thought, oh, this is really powerful stuff to give me energy, right? So I had this little cup of tea and right before I went to pick up my children, but I had an allergic reaction and I got this huge hive on my back immediately after I drank the tea. And so, uh-oh, you know, I'm having this reaction. And I picked my children up and it got worse and worse. And so my husband came home and he brought me to the clinic, you know, the storefront clinic. And they said, oh, this is an allergic reaction. He's a little Benadryl, he's a little epinephrine and whatever. I felt better. And then right across the street was this dance studio where I had to practice for my recital. So since I felt better, I said, I'm just going to go over there and sit down and, you know, watch the class dance. So what happened was I went into anaphylactic shock right there at the dance studio in the spotlight, and I collapsed on the floor. And fortunately, my dance teacher revived me. And I had this near-death experience of seeing myself in this white light in a room, and there were angels there. And they were telling me, why don't you go through the door over there? And oh, you could just relax. It was so easy. You don't have to do anything anymore. And I said, wait a minute here. I have my work and I have my children. I have to go back. And then I began to see the faces of my children one by one. And the last face I saw was my husband. He was saying, get back here. I need your help. And so that's when I opened my eyes and I looked up and I see the little ballerinas at the school looking down at me with the leotards on. And I knew I made the right decision.

Man, Doc, man, what a life. You know what I'm saying? What a life. What a testimony. You have, and I appreciate you coming on here today sharing that testimony. I really do. So I only have one more question for you, Doc, man. You gave us all that you had, you know, and I love the transparency, you know, just being that straight open and honest about everything that transpired in your life because it got you to where you are today. So let me ask you, Doc, legacy with your— well, I'm gonna say the 4 kids first and then the husband because you said that's how the rotation went. And kids Dinner. I'm coming back for them.

You?

Okay, here I come too, but they the focal point. So let me ask you, Legacy, what impact do you hope wrestling through adversity leaves on families and the next generation?

Well, I hope my book, and I think it's working because my book was published in 2023 on September 19th, that my book influences people like you learning, you know, you're a parent, you have a teenager and helps them to resolve issues in their lives as adults, helps them to help their children so that they can rebound, especially in these days of high anxiety, high depression rates, even suicide, as I talked about with the athletes, and that they can apply these skills in their own life and They don't need the government programs that they're saying they don't have money for. You can do it on your own. Help your children to help themselves and to help you as well. And so I reach out to people. I've been on many podcasts talking about my work. And also, I just recently— I'm publishing my book in Arabic, and I just got the copy in the mail yesterday with the Arabic. And it took me a year and a half to work on that because it was— faced many challenges. But that's in hope for Arab-speaking countries in Gaza and Lebanon and where there's war and turmoil. And so that we can all work together, whatever faith you have, hand in hand, wherever you come from, that you can help yourself and you can work in community and you can do it through sports. Or performing arts, or even through hobbies, you can gain success. You know, I work with this little boy who wanted to build robots. And the teacher said, there's something wrong with him. All he wants is to build robots. And I helped him actually to score a goal in soccer when nobody would pick him for the team. And he probably works now at NASA. You know, so yes. I, my legacy is to help people to help themselves. And through these simple techniques that I say, once learned, are as free as the air you breathe and not dependent on, you know, how many food stamps you're going to be, you know, delivered, you know, through your SNAP program, but that, you know, and you have faith, faith in God that you'll be helped and that we'll all work together in community. To be for humankind, for the health and wealth of humankind.

Hey Doc, let me say this real quick. I was talking to some people. I talked to two gentlemen yesterday that's right across the border from you. One of them from Albany, he's a Buffalo Bills fan. And then the other one from New York, around New York area, he used to be a big Jets fan and he said the Jets broke his heart. And I forget which one asked me, I forget if it was Mitchell or Russ, But they say they want to start a 5 million, you know, they want to bring together 5 million people that's just for one cause, you know what I'm saying? To help others and to serve others. And that's his goal to just, you know, just get that many people so that we can make an impact. And I told him to put me on that list, you know, whenever he starts to put me on that list. And I told him I was going to start my own list for people that I come across and people I've came across. So I want to say this to you, Dr. Christine. Can I put you on the list just in case anything happened? I say, hey, Dr. Christine, the true underdog, say that she would like to be a part of this journey. Can I put you down for that?

Yes, of course.

Of course.

I love your spirit. I love your spirit because I'm picking up you have a sense of pride that no matter where you come from, that you can make it. And I believe that. I believe that from my own experience. I was one of 5 children, the 4th daughter in my family. And I wasn't really allowed— my father was the director of the Police Athletic League in my hometown in Far Rockaway. And he told me there are no sports for girls simply because his teams were all males, baseball, football, like that. And so when I was 10 years old, I became the Queens roller skating champion all on my own, coaching myself, using the same things I use today. But I just didn't know it, right? So I look back and I say, how did I know that when I was 10 and nobody taught me? So that's the spirit of our young people if we just nurture it. I was mighty mess. I was mighty mess.

The hand of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has always been on your life. And like you say, a lot of times we don't know it at the time till we look back like, man, The things we overcame and the things that brought us through and then to have the fortitude, the humbleness, and the willingness to not only serve yourself or be able to agitate and be able to go out and serve others, man, I think that's incredible. I think that's great. Keep doing what you're doing, Dr. Christine. Hey, just a reminder that the Dr. Christine Silverstein.

Yes, Silverstein.

Silverstein, okay. 7th day, that's reminding us that the strongest muscle we have is the mind. And when we train it with intention, resilience becomes our default setting. Family, don't just listen, apply the tools. Breathe, rehearse, speak life, build your subconscious brick by brick. Christine, thank you. Dr. Christine, let me put some respect on your name. Dr. Christine, thank you for sharing your wisdom and your heart. And to everyone tuning in, keep growing, keep healing, and keep doing it the Moneyway. Hey, until next time, this your boy CJ Moneyway with Dr. Underdog Christine. We out of here. Peace. With this. Every story shared here, it's a reminder that your story matters too. Keep your faith sharp, keep your focus steady, keep your vision clear. And if this episode gave you wisdom, hope, or a push forward, share it with somebody you love. Tap in with me on all platforms @moneyway and stay locked into the movement because God's not done writing your chapter. This is the CJ Moneyway Show, brick by brick. And always— Moneyway. Hey, it's Howie Mandel, and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie Do It Gaming team take on Gilly Da King and Wallo267's Million Dollaz Gaming in an epic Global Gaming League video game showdown. 4 rounds, Multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi-platinum artist Travie McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against NEO right now at GlobalGamingLeague.com. That's GlobalGamingLeague.com. Everybody games. If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening.

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