Who is Kathy O'Brien?

For most of my life, I haven’t been a television celebrity. Thanks to my success on Survivor Marquesas, however, I have been able to use the powerful medium of television to help launch The Real Foundation. Let me share with you how I got here.

It begins with Vermont, my home for more than twenty years. A few years after attending the Rhode Island School of Design, I opened a unique paper, gifts, and art products store in Burlington. I felt like I was selling happiness. Four stores and ten years later, I sold the business and went into real estate. This provided a more secure lifestyle for my son Patrick while he was growing up.

While on the outside my life appeared to be going very well, on the inside I felt alone. I isolated myself, went into overdrive, and put up a tough exterior to get by. Selling real estate was a solution for a financial need, not a soul pursuit. At 47, I wasn’t following my heart or my dreams. I needed more.

Auditioning for and appearing on Survivor pulled me out of a rut. It took me 4,000 miles away from my home, and ultimately changed the course of my life.

Why did it take such a huge television production to bring out a deeper truth? I’m not sure. Maybe it was fate, maybe serendipity. Either way, it enabled me to break through to my best self — the truly empowered Kathy O’Brien.

The goal of The Real Foundation is to empower other women to feel similarly. It takes courage, strength, perseverance, insight, and support to get there. In the end, it requires bringing all of yourself to your life — not being on a television show.

That’s my story. I tell it because I am passionate about sharing my experience of growth with other women.

Now, it’s your turn.