What happens when life forces you into leadership during your darkest hour?

Sarah Dumont shares her powerful journey from corporate food service to reluctantly inheriting her mother's Fit Body Bootcamp locations after losing her to cancer. Through raw vulnerability, Sarah reveals how she transformed overwhelming grief and crippling anxiety into entrepreneurial strength, discovering her life's purpose in the process.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. How to navigate leading a business while grieving a profound loss

2. The power of "borrowed confidence" when you don't believe in yourself

3. Why staying present is crucial during overwhelming life transitions

4. How a supportive community can hold you through your darkest moments

5. The mindset shift from "keeping things afloat" to "making it your own"

Key Takeaways:

1. Feel the fear, do it anyway. Perfect conditions don't exist—action creates momentum even in uncertainty

2. Borrowed confidence works. Accept others' belief in you when you can't find your own

3. Presence over perfection. Focus on what you can accomplish today rather than everything at once

4. Community as Catalyst: Shared grief and support can become the foundation for transformation

5. Response Over Reaction: Your reality is shaped by how you choose to respond to circumstances

Timestamps:

00:00 - Sarah’s background: From event planning to corporate food service

02:11 - Sarah’s mom's cancer diagnosis and the pull to come home

04:08 - The difficult decision to leave Boston and support family

07:28 - Moving home during COVID and stepping into the business

09:10 - Her Mom’s passing on September 3rd, 2021

11:28 - The overwhelming reality of inheriting two businesses

13:47 - Selling one location and focusing on Westminster Fit Body Bootcamp

15:08 - How shared grief created community strength

18:39 - Learning the business while handling estate affairs

21:53 - The power of staying present during crisis

25:06 - Borrowed confidence and accepting help from others

27:20 - The World Conference moment: “Stop dabbling, go all in”

29:50 - The emotional commitment meeting with her team

32:21 - How to accept compliments and belief from others

34:08 - Advice for cultivating resilience during overwhelming challenges

37:27 - “Feel the fear and do it anyway” philosophy

40:26 - Choosing familiar discomfort over unfamiliar growth

41:56 - Finding strength through response vs. reaction

44:27 - How challenges become opportunities for growth

Connect with Sarah Dumont:

Website: https://fitbodybootcamp.com/locations/westminster-vt/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/srd671/

Instagram Business: https://www.instagram.com/westminsterfitbodybootcamp/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WestminsterVTFitBodyBootcamp

CONNECT WITH IAN BOWEN:

Website: https://thepositivepersistence.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianrbowen/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ianrbowen

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PositivePersistence-ch8fk