Michael Lee Stallard, CEO of E Pluribus Partners and primary author of the book Fired Up or Burned Out, experienced the first panic attack of his life upon hearing that his wife had been diagnosed with cancer.

"I was in this waiting room in the hospital with my two young daughters," he recalled. "And eventually the doctor said that my wife Katy had ovarian cancer and that it had spread."

But instead of allowing the fear and anxiety to take over, Michael and his family reached out to their community for support--and it made all the difference.

"I set a lot of my business and work aside during that season because I knew we had to focus on Katy," he told me. "We received this outpouring of affection. Those connections and relationships really helped us get through that very difficult time and we actually surprisingly experienced a lot of joy during a period that could be filled with a lot of anxiety."

In assembling a medical team to help heal Katy, Michael and his family surrounded themselves with the same type of people: those that cared deeply.

"I did a lot of research and found one of the best teams in the world for ovarian cancer. I chose them first for a very rational reason: they were extremely competent," Michael explained. "But the second part of my choice was in knowing they cared. I could feel it and that made all the difference. At the end of the day, I was so much more optimistic knowing that we had a team behind us that cared for Katy and our family. It really made me feel we could get through it."

Today, Michael and his family are happy to say that Katy is cancer free and doing great. His story is a wonderful reminder that leadership is about caring and connection.

Watch Michael tell his story below: