Melanie Palmer was always finding ways to be unique. At 12 years old she spent the summer building outhouses and remodeling a building for a future library and community center in Appalachia. As an adult she wrote and published a curriculum for developmentally delayed children at Illinois State University's Metcalf Laboratory School in her early career as a model special education teacher.
Once she moved to Arizona and taught orthopedically impaired and medically fragile children, she wanted science to be a part of the curriculum. With another teacher she built a Space Lab from grants for Mesa Public Schools which was used for many years.
After 25 years of teaching, her life took a terrible turn leaving her with a loss of memory, inability to complete daily living skills and being totally dependent for many years. While being limited to her home she began writing how to focus and perceive your uncontrollable circumstances into a wonderful life of living your dream. From that experience she has been presenting motivational speeches to women's clubs, meetups, hometown reunions, breakout groups at the 22q Family Foundation Retreat at Carefree, corporate and non profit organizations. She teaches the concept of changing focus and perception to live your dreams at Rio Salado College RISE program.
She's self published books to inspire chronically ill people and to motivate caretakers to balance their lives and live their dreams. Her newest book, “Illuminating Your Own Life” gives all audiences an opportunity to change their focus and perception to create and fulfill their dreams. Some readers have given Melanie the credit for changing their lives, but she knows they did it because they found a way. She invites you to be taken on a journey from complete devastation and loss to meeting her dreams through her incredible storytelling.
2 topics · no fee, no honorarium, no mileage
Review available topics below. Use the “Request This Free Speech” button and fill out the contact form. Melanie contacts you to discuss the details of the request.
Ready to transform your aspirations into reality? In this interactive workshop, participants will engage in dynamic group discussions and actively design a personal graphic that serves as a powerful visual representation of your goals. By learning to shift your perspective and focus on what is entirely within your control, you will discover practical ways to navigate life's challenges, embrace new adventures, and build a clear roadmap to living your best life.
Melanie whisks the audience through years of challenges of unbelievable losses through storytelling in an effort to inspire others to be motivated to live their dreams. Through her unimaginable creativity she changes focus and perception which gives her purpose that instills change. Her hope is by telling her stories it will help others to become their best selves to fulfill aspirations and live their best lives. Some believe her stories pole vaults them from just existing in life to truly living their dreams.
Giving oneself and their lives to care for others, shouldn't be a life sentence of endless challenges and pure existence. Melanie having been a caretaker in her career, her own personal life and through her purpose engineered a way to provide caretaking while continuing to live her own adventures and dreams. She provides a step by step process for caretakers whether by profession or in their own personal lives or both a way to balance their lives and fulfill their own personal wants and needs. Her success finding a way to balance life and provide self care is exemplary but her ability to teach this process offers life changing options one baby step at a time.
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