Episode 64

full
Published on:

24th Jul 2025

The Healing Power of Hope: How Mindset and Faith Help Us Through Life's Hardest Moments

The Healing Power of Hope: How Mindset and Faith Help Us Through Life’s Hardest Moments

📝 Episode Description:

Hope isn't just wishful thinking—it’s a mindset that shapes our outcomes. Discover how hope, mindset, and faith can guide you through divorce, illness, or any hardship.


In this powerful Saddle Up segment, Lesa Koski reflects on the healing power of hope—how it played a role in her breast cancer journey and how it’s backed by research from William Miller’s 8 Ways to Hope. Learn how mindset, belief, and the words we speak can shift the atmosphere around pain and fear into one of resilience, clarity, and gratitude.


Whether you're going through a divorce, facing a diagnosis, or walking through hardship with a loved one, this episode will equip you to hold onto hope and take your next step forward.


⏱️ Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction: Finding hope in hard times


(01:10) What the Bible and psychology say about hope


(02:28) Lesa’s cancer story and the power of her doctor’s words


(05:12) Why hope matters: mindset, healing, and resilience


(07:00) Hope vs. fear: how gratitude creates space for peace


(08:45) A quick plug for Tuesday’s episode on postnuptial agreements


(09:20) Final encouragement: pass hope on to someone today

✅ Key Takeaways:



  • Hope is a mindset that reduces anxiety, boosts resilience, and helps us problem-solve.



  • Words matter—positive, hope-filled language can change outcomes.



  • Surrounding yourself with positive people supports emotional healing.



  • Prayer, gratitude, and trusting others can deepen your sense of peace.



  • Hope is not naive—it’s a strategy for navigating uncertainty and adversity.


👤 Host Bio:

Lesa Koski is a divorce attorney turned mediator, coach, and podcast host of Doing Life Different. Her mission is to help women over 40 find faith, healing, and fresh starts—whether in divorce, marriage, or life transitions. Her Saddle Up segments offer bite-sized wisdom to help listeners do life better every week.


🔗 Resource Links:



  • 🎧 Tuesday’s Episode on Postnuptial Agreements → [Insert Link]



  • 📖 Book: 8 Ways to Hope by William Miller



  • 💻 Learn more at www.lesakoski.com


🔍 Tags/Keywords:

hope and healing, mindset in hard times, faith and breast cancer, power of words, resilience podcast, doing life different, women over 40, gratitude and hope, divorce support, Lesa Koski podcast, breast cancer encouragement, 8 ways to hope

Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome listeners.

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Lately I have been asking

myself a lot about hope.

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I see Bible verses, I'm seeing articles

about hope and you know, how do we

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keep our hope in heavy times when

things are hard in our world, when we

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go through difficulties, whether it's.

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A divorce, a diagnosis, um,

something going on with your kiddos.

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How does Hope play a role in that?

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And I am so excited.

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I just purchased a book.

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So I will do another quick

little segment when, um, I get

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have read through this book.

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But the book is called Eight Ways

to Hope, and it's by William Miller.

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I'm definitely going to read, read it,

because what I'm learning is that hope

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really isn't just wishful thinking.

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It's like it's complex and it's about

a resilient mindset, which you know

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how much I talk about your mindset

and getting your mindset right.

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It's very tied to hope.

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So I wanna, I just wanna share this with

you, and I probably have talked about

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it before, and I did, I had, you know,

they caught stage one breast cancer.

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I had a really hopeful story.

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Uh, my dad kinda had a similar

story with his prostate cancer.

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So that's very hopeful.

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But what I want you to know, and this

is on my mind because I have to go

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to the oncologist just for a checkup.

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You have to go for those

checkups every year, but.

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I wanna let her know this too.

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What made all the difference

was how much hope my doctor had.

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So those words that we give people

and those beliefs are powerful

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if they can share those with us.

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And in my case, she was so well, everyone

I talked to is, you're gonna be fine.

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98% positive outcome.

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Um, I had to do chemo because

of what was feeding my cancer.

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It was called her two.

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It wasn't a hormone type of cancer.

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So, and then they do chemo, which is great

because then you know, they can keep it

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away, but not so great when you're really

terrified of, of going through that.

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And there are different kinds of chemo.

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And this one was hard, but

it wasn't the toughest.

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Um, but she told me, she looked me in

the eyes and she said, I think you're

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gonna tolerate this really well.

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I don't think you're gonna lose your hair.

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You're not gonna go bald.

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Your hair isn't gonna look the same,

you're not gonna keep all your hair.

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She was so positive and I

globbed on and I believed her.

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And as I read through this

article about this book.

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It was interesting because there

was a, a piece in there that

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said sometimes it is just better.

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And for me it was, it was really

odd because I'm a digger and

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a learner for some reason.

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When this happened to me,

I stopped and I just went.

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I prayed, I surrendered to God, and

I trusted my doctor, and I did not go

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digging around and I did not look at

anything else, and I just listened to her.

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I think that is exactly

what I needed at that time.

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So hope can change things.

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Hope can change your mindset when you are

hopeful, when you are grateful, there's

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not as much room for fear and anxiety.

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So, um, this article talked about how.

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What hope, why hope matters.

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And it, it's, it makes us better

problem solvers because we can use our,

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our brain better when we have hope.

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When we're not torn up in fear, we

can be more resilient and creative.

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It's also contagious, like I just

said, when my doctor was hopeful

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and I am so, um, so hopeful.

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For anyone who gets a diagnosis or is

going through something hard because I

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know what matters and I do believe it.

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I believe in the hope, I believe

in, in God answering prayers

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and, um, passing that hope along

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is so.

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It's fulfilling.

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It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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You know how, when you have hope.

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You're drawn toward better things.

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You see things in a better light.

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It just seems to project you towards that.

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I don't really get it.

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I don't know exactly how it works, but

I am here to tell you, it helped me.

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It helped me through

something really hard, so.

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I want you, if you are going through

something really hard or just

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kind of hard, I want you to have

gratitude and I want you to have hope.

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I want you to pray, and I want you

to believe that that's possible, what

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you're praying for, even if it's a

kid, if it's a kid with depression or

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whatever it is, keep your hope, keep

praying and stay around positive people

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because our words are so powerful.

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So I just, I felt so moved to get in and

talk about this today, and I just have

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to add that, okay, I'm doing divorce.

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Different on Tuesday that episode

came out and that is about postnuptial

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agreements, which was kind of interesting.

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Um.

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Go back and listen to that episode.

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If you're, if you're going through

a divorce or if you're married and

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you're going through a life change,

you're buying a business, you're

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gonna be staying home with the kids.

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It's really great information from an

attorney that I love, so I just wanted

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to recommend that to y'all as well.

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Thank you so much for being here.

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I am grateful and I appreciate y'all.

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About the Podcast

Saddle Up Live Podcast
Welcome to Saddle Up Live, a transformative podcast tailored for women aged 40 and beyond, where courage, God’ s grace, and a touch of sass are the driving forces behind conquering life's challenges. Join me, Lesa Koski, as I take you on a captivating ride through the multifaceted aspects of womanhood in this vibrant stage of life, covering everything from my journey through breast cancer, the intricacies of marriage and the joys of motherhood to the exciting adventures of grandparenting.

In each episode, we saddle up for candid conversations about God, health, relationships, family dynamics, and the beautiful chaos that comes along the way. But here's the twist: Saddle Up Live goes beyond navigating the highs and lows of life; it's a platform dedicated to sharing what we have learned along the way. I want to help women thrive through it all. Together, we'll uncover actionable strategies for personal and professional development, providing you with the tools and inspiration needed to blaze new trails and seize every opportunity that comes your way.

Moreover, we're committed to helping you suffer less and live more fully. Through our discussions on God, health, wellness, and mindfulness, we'll explore practical techniques for managing stress, cultivating resilience, and embracing a holistic approach to self-care.

So, whether you're looking for practical advice, heartfelt stories, or simply a supportive community of like-minded women, saddle up and join us on this exhilarating ride. Because at Saddle Up Live, we believe that every woman deserves to thrive, flourish, and live her best life - no matter her age or stage.


Bio: I am a wife, a mama, a grandma and an animal lover. I am blessed to be serving people from my barn office. I am obsessed with learning and communication. I love sharing what I learn with all of you! There is nothing more gratifying than holding people's hands through difficulties and sharing all the joy around us!
I am a recovering attorney who was mostly a stay at home mom; who adopted one and birthed two, ridden the bumpy marriage ride for 32 years. Found my passion at 50, learned how to control my mindset and anxiety and have built an amazing business in the last 6 years. I have journeyed through motherhood, weddings, grandbabies, entrepreneurship and menopause with grace, tears and laughter. I now I will share my story through breast cancer with you. I want to help women suffer less, know God loves them and they are worthy!! I am here to help you and I know all about what you’re going through.

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