Choosing To Be An Outlier

Erickson Board Member, Heidi Hamilton, on a life-changing diagnosis and the perspective that a solution-focused approach to life has given her

I have had the privilege of working with Erickson Board Member, Heidi Hamilton, for well over a year, and, until recently, I did not know anything about her life story and the amazingly inspirational work she is doing outside of ‘office hours’. 

I will forever be grateful for that email invitation that I received in June 2026 to attend a webinar of Heidi’s - subject line “An Instant Changed Everything” - because it opened up an incredibly important conversation, not only with Heidi, but with many of my friends and loved ones.

Let me go back to the beginning, which is the webinar in which Heidi shared that in February 2024, an unexpected visit to the ER revealed a brain tumour. The diagnosis indicated a Grade 4 Glioblastoma and a life expectancy prediction of 3 to 9 months.

Almost 2,5 years since that diagnosis, Heidi is living life to the full (even in the face of an uncertain future) and passionately sharing what she’s learned, what she wishes she had done sooner, and what all of us can do today to prepare for the future before the unexpected happens.

Facing surgery - and being wholly unprepared…

Despite considering herself highly organized, when Heidi’s ER doctor told her and her husband, Brett, that he wanted to operate on her urgently, they realized how unprepared they were for what would happen if her surgery went badly. Heidi’s passwords, bank accounts, subscriptions, financial information and practical instructions were not readily accessible, and that led Heidi to delay her extremely urgent surgery by 24 hours just to allow herself some time to put critical matters in order.

That experience, along with her diagnosis, changed her perspective.

Her first focus became: What can I put in place now so the people I love experience less unnecessary stress later?

Later, it led to difficult conversations about her wishes and end-of-life decisions, which ultimately inspired Heidi to develop a practical ‘end-of-life checklist’ for families to work through together and revisit regularly, before the need even arises.

This check-list (see the end of the article) is one that she shares widely, including with the attendees of the webinar I was attending (all the proceeds of which went to the Paul Sugar Palliative SupportFoundation). Beyond being an incredibly altruistic gift, it’s evidence of Heidi’s strongly solution-focused approach to life, even in the most difficult circumstances (a methodology that is central to all of Erickson Coaching International’s coach training curricula).

Heidi’s illness has changed what she can do physically and cognitively. Pre-diagnosis, she had built a large part of her identity around mountain biking, endurance races, achieving her MBA, and being a successful entrepreneur. But post-diagnosis, she suddenly had to confront the question of who she was when those things were no longer available in the same way.

A solution-focused approach does not require us to deny the problem in front of us. Nor does it promise control over circumstances that are outside our control. Instead, it invites us to explore what remains possible, what matters now, what resources are available, and what small or significant actions can move us toward the life we want to experience.

In Heidi’s case, she began reframing and asking herself: Given where I am now, what do I want to create from here? What’s the impact I’m making today? Is it positive? And can it help somebody move forward? What is the purpose behind it?

Living the Best Life Available Now

By directing attention toward possibility and purposeful action in the present, Heidi has become an inspirational speaker and champion of her “List of Considerations and Preparation for Life Events”.

As she explains, planning for death is a part of intentionally planning for life, which is why she encourages families to discuss what matters, address uncomfortable questions and remove avoidable burdens while there is still time to do so.

“Plan for both the living and the dying, together,” she says, with the hope that people’s wishes can eventually be realized “joyfully and with grace”.

“We cannot always choose what happens next. But even in circumstances where the future has been radically altered, we can ask what matters now. We can identify the resources around us. We can have the conversation we have been avoiding. We can choose the next meaningful step.”

The Greatest Gift

Heidi calls her diagnosis “the greatest gift” - not because she minimizes the illness or what it has taken from her, but rather because of what the diagnosis forced her to examine.

“It helped me re-engage with my family and the people that I love,” she says. “It helped me stop, look at my life and ask what was genuinely important. I said to myself, ‘Screw the prognosis’. I’m going to be the outlier, and I’m going to live my life well.”

On due diligence and living your life well

There’s a vital part of Heidi’s story that she tackled in the webinar, and that was how grateful she was to have had the necessary medical cover and critical illness insurance in place to provide for a situation that she never dreamed would materialize.

Because she has good medical cover and savings in place, when Heidi received a lump-sum payout following her diagnosis, she and Brett made a deliberate decision about what that money would be for: living.

They began working through her travel bucket list, and have since been to the Galápagos and the Amazon, completed a bike-and-barge trip through the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, and cruised through the Mediterranean.

For Heidi, this whole experience has reinforced the value of being practically prepared for the unexpected, and the importance of acting on the things that matter while we can. The situation itself may not be within our control, but our response to it can still contain intention, agency and choice.

Her diagnosis remains real, ever looming, but her approach to the future is powerful and full of possibility: Identify the dream, make a plan, and, if it is possible, do it.

To download the "List of Considerations and Preparation for Life Events" by Heidi Hamilton, (Priority Solutions © 2026), click here .

Heidi's Erickson Story

Heidi Hamilton first stepped into Erickson Coaching International in 2011. She made an impact from day one and has remained a trusted and well-loved part of the community and leadership, supporting founders, Marilyn Atkinson and Lawrence McGinnis, with the running of the global company and strategic vision.

Beyond her business expertise, Heidi is known as someone whose door is always open to support others, as the person unafraid to say what others in the room are likely thinking, and as someone who you can count on to ensure things move forward.

She currently serves on the Erickson Coaching International Board and continues to inspire the organization and hold it to its vision daily.