In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner introduces the show with sponsor messages for Anchor and Authors Unite before interviewing Zahrelle (Zuriel) Gibson, an advocate, lupus survivor, CEO, model coach, and motivational speaker. Gibson recounts her 1997 near‑death experience when undiagnosed lupus caused her body to shut down, highlighting her mother's insistence on testing that saved her life. She stresses the importance of sharing personal health journeys and doctor information to help others with autoimmune conditions. Gibson offers business advice to embrace restarting and purpose, emphasizes self‑love as the core of happiness, and shares lessons from the book The Seven Keys to Everything about getting out of one's own way. Her favorite quote is the biblical “I can do all things through Christ,” reflecting her faith‑based motivation. The episode concludes with her online presence details under the moniker “Loopy Chick on the Go” and her website and phone contact.
Chapters
Thank you for listening to the Business Blast podcast. So for all my listeners out there that have been wanting to do your own podcast, I'd like to introduce to you Anchor. Anchor is a one-stop shop for recording, hosting, distributing, and monetizing your podcast. So before I found Anchor, I had never actually done a podcast because all the research that I had gathered made it seem very complex. Then I found Anchor, and Anchor makes podcasting extremely simple. So if you want to do your own podcast, go to anchor.fm/start. I can't wait to hear your podcast. Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Zahrelle Gibson with us. She is an advocate, survivor, CEO, model coach, and motivational speaker. So welcome to the show.
Thank you. Hi, how are you?
I'm doing well. How are you doing?
Doing awesome.
Awesome. I'm pumped to have you on. I think we're in for a treat on this one. So we'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
The best story of my life that you can survive through anything. My life has truly been a roller coaster. I am in lupus survivor. I got that diagnosis after my body tried to shut down and I almost died in '97, 1997. So my story goes to, well, I was living in California right after I graduated high school with my father. I could hardly breathe. I called my mother who was here in Houston who told me to dial 911. So I hung up to dial 911 and I made sure that I was at the front door because my I was in and out of consciousness, and my body was continuously going down, and I had to make sure the ambulance could get to me. So I left the door open, they were able to get to me. By the time I came to, my mother was in California from Houston. So I was in and out of consciousness. They gave me IVs that didn't stay, so I had to— my IVs popped about every hour or so. I had plenty of them. My body was literally shutting down on me. And they were testing me for everything and nothing came back positive. They were help— trying to help me, but I was dying. So my mother made them test me for lupus, something they did not want to do because they was like, well, it doesn't look like it, it doesn't look like it. So thank God for the mother that I have because she was very adamant and she made them test me. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. So wow, they tested me, it came back positive, and that's when they gave me the correct medication and I started to come to. Now I was fresh out of high school, I really was in and out and I really wasn't concerned about anything but food at that point because they wouldn't feed me because of course they didn't know what was going on with me. But yes, that is my story.
Wow, well we're happy to have you here, that is wild. So the next one I have for you is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
The most valuable piece of information is sharing and caring, because a lot of people keep hush mouth about what's going on with them and how they've made it through to the point of near death to survival. And there's so many people that— new people that are getting diagnosed and people that are struggling after a diagnosis. And there's a lot of people out there that's gone through what they've gone through. Sharing is caring. Share your story, share your testimony, share your doctor's information. Lupus doctors are hard to find. Some autoimmune doctors are hard to find because they're still experimenting on you when they should be knowing something after 60+ years of lupus being here on this earth. So they should know something, and some doctors do, but a lot of people won't share that information just because they're trying to keep the doctors to themselves.
Ah, and what is your best piece of overall business advice?
Overall business advice? Do not be scared to restart. You are here for a reason and a purpose. And just because what you thought was your plan didn't work out doesn't mean that you have to sit back and think life is over. It just means that the world has changed a little bit and that your best you is about to come out of you. I love that.
If you can give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
My younger self? Um, I Honestly, my younger self, there's not a lot I would change about my younger self because my younger self got me to where I am, to learn the experiences. From the experiences that I went through that I'm able to talk to people about. Now, going through them, of course, I didn't understand, didn't like them, and wanted to chunk them out the window. But as today, as a woman, I am grateful for the experiences that I've had because it's allowed me to learn what I needed to learn to get where I am to even motivate others.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
The key to happiness? Self-love.
Self-love.
If you can love yourself, you can love anything and anybody. And not just say you love yourself, but actually love yourself. Date yourself. Say, tell yourself you're beautiful. Don't think, no matter how crazy it thinks or looks, love, self-love is the best.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
It's a book I'm reading now, actually right now, called The Seven Keys to Everything. The best advice I've had out of that book is learning how to get out of my own way because even as of today, you know, the older you get, the more lessons you learn, you never stop learning. And this book is teaching me how to open myself up in the state that I'm in. What I thought was I took care of, I didn't. It opened me up, opened my eyes up to new things.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
I can do all things through Christ. That's the best quote from the Bible. I can do all things because what I can't do in myself, I feel my strength from him and I'm able to make it over any hurdle.
Yes, I love it. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where is the best place for people to find you online?
You can look me up anywhere as the Loopy Chick on the Go. I am a motivational speaker. I do go out because I'm always on the go. That's how I got the name Loopy Chick on the Go. You can find me via website, lupus— I'm sorry, gibsonlupusrc.net, N-E-T, gibsonlupusrc.net. Or you can reach me at 832-856-0341.
Beautiful, thank you for sharing all that, and yeah, we will talk again soon. Thanks for hopping on.
