She Survived the Unthinkable: Guarding Your Thoughts in a Distracted World
Welcome back to the Anchoring Hope Podcast, hosted by David Mansilla—a high-tech entrepreneur, author, and believer who uses his platform to inspire everyday Christians to live out the Gospel in the real world. On Anchoring Hope, David sits down with leaders, innovators, and everyday heroes to explore what it really looks like to follow Jesus Christ while running a business, navigating a career, or serving a community.
In this episode, David hosts a deeply moving conversation with tech leader and AI visionary Susan Sly.
Susan Sly is an award-winning AI entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and one of the Top 7 Female AI Thought Leaders Globally. Known for making complex technology practical, human, and immediately actionable, Susan speaks to executive, enterprise, and association audiences on artificial intelligence, AI ethics, leadership, innovation, and the future of work.
A two-time AI startup founder, Susan is the Founder and CEO of The Pause Technologies, an AI-enabled women’s health platform using precision recommendations, gamification, and intelligent support to help women navigate midlife. Prior to founding The Pause, Susan co-founded and served as Co-CEO of a leading computer vision company, where her team executed one of the largest computer vision AI deployments at scale in U.S. retail history.
Susan brings rare credibility to the stage because she has built, deployed, sold, and led AI in the real world. She has spoken for and worked with audiences connected to organizations including MIT, NVIDIA, Intel, Lenovo, Comcast, KPMG, the National Restaurant Association, CoreNet Global, Forbes Roundtable, Executives Next Practices Institute, PMI, and the Edge AI Summit. Her media appearances include CNN, CNBC, Fox, and other major outlets.
A graduate of MIT Sloan and MIT Executive Education in the School of Engineering, Susan has built sales teams that have generated more than $2 billion in revenue, with her largest deal valued at $60 million. She is also the host of Raw and Real Entrepreneurship, a mother of four, and resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Hitting Rock Bottom and the Power of Total Surrender
Have you ever felt like your world was completely falling apart, all at once?
In the year 2000, Susan Sly was 27 years old, living in Toronto, and by all outward appearances, highly successful. She was on television five days a week, featured on national radio, and running a thriving business. But within a single 16-week window, everything crumbled. Her marriage fell apart, she lost her business to tax lockouts, and she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)—a severe health blow where doctors told her she’d be in a wheelchair within ten years and dead in twenty.
She found herself broke, in physical pain, slurring her speech, and sleeping on her brother-in-law's sofa as a single mom.
It was right there—at absolute rock bottom—that Susan got down on her knees and prayed a raw, honest prayer: "God, I'm broken. I'm sick. Show me the way. I'll do the work."
When we hit total rock bottom, our human strength runs out. But that path of hardship and loss is often where total personal surrender begins, opening the door for real spiritual growth. Through quiet listening and unconditional trust, God brings supernatural restoration and hope. In that quiet room, God didn't give Susan a step-by-step 10-year business plan; He gave her an image in her mind of her wearing a white suit, standing in front of 20,000 people, sharing a message of hope.
To get through your hardest trials, practical christianity means stepping into the quiet, putting down the distractions, and letting God speak to your soul.
Practical Christianity and Walking by Faith (Not Sight)
It's one thing to hear God's voice or receive a vision; it's another thing entirely to obey it when your bank account says zero.
When a friend named Ken knocked on Susan's door holding ice cream and encouraged her to move to Toronto to restart her life, she took a massive leap of faith. She had no money for rent or deposit, but as soon as she said "yes" to stepping forward, God began opening doors that mathematically made no sense.
First, an acquaintance offered her a fully furnished apartment right next to her new workplace for two pay cycles—located in the exact same building as her family support system. Second, while living in Midtown Toronto, Susan prayed specifically for a faithful, healthy partner. The very next day, at 5:00 AM in a city of millions, she bumped into her high school acquaintance, Chris, at a gym. Today, they have been together for 26 years, serving God together and raising four kids.
"Faith without works is dead. You can pray for a door to open, but you still have to put on your shoes and walk through it."
Living out christian living day-to-day isn't passive. It’s about active obedience. When you take one step in faith toward what God has asked you to do, He meets you with the strength, resources, and people you need.
Leading on the Mountain of Technology
For many believers, artificial intelligence and modern high-tech feel intimidating or even scary. But Susan Sly views technology through a completely different lens: as a tool and a mission field.
In 2016, after surviving a life-threatening illness contracted during a mission trip, two separate pastors spoke the exact same prophecy over Susan on the same day: "The Lord is going to have you battle on the mountain of technology."
At the time, Susan hadn't written a single line of software code since 1992. Yet, she answered the call. She went back to school at MIT Sloan and MIT Engineering, trained herself in AI, and stepped boldly into tech spaces where few people talk openly about faith.
As christian entrepreneurs, we aren't called to run away from modern culture or hide inside church walls. We are called to step right into the center of innovation as a light in the field, bringing Christian ethics and hope to global tech spaces. Whether she is speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos or building practical AI tools in an AI healthcare company for women, Susan shows up as an unapologetic follower of Christ.
Susan even incorporates her faith directly into her daily AI workflow. Through custom instructions, she programs her personal AI chief-of-staff agents to know her faith and wrap up every research session or task with a relevant Bible verse. Through intelligent compassion, she uses technology to solve real-world problems in women’s midlife health, combining precision science with genuine empathy.
Heart Healing, Forgiveness, and Breaking Generational Curses
You cannot build a strong future if your heart is chained to past bitterness. One of the most emotional moments in Susan's story is her journey toward radical forgiveness.
Growing up, Susan experienced severe childhood trauma, neglect, and abuse. Yet, instead of carrying hatred toward her mother, Susan chose to see her through the eyes of Jesus—as a deeply hurting, broken person who needed grace. When we hold onto unforgiveness, it stores bitterness in our bodies and blocks our spiritual growth and joy. But choosing forgiveness releases the debt and breaks generational curses.
"Forgiveness isn't a feeling; it's a decision. It doesn't mean you stay in an unsafe or toxic relationship, but it means you release the debt so your own heart can heal."
Here are three practical steps to truly forgive:
Identify the Person: Write down the names of people who hurt you—especially those you don't want to forgive.
Release the Pain Physically & Spiritually: Pray honestly, voice your pain to God, and scream or cry if you need to, releasing the emotional tension stored inside your body.
Speak Blessing Over Them: Say, "I forgive you, I love you, and I bless you." Ask God to circumcise your heart and replace bitterness with love.
Unforgiveness stops spiritual growth in its tracks. When you forgive, you break generational curses of trauma, addiction, and emotional pain for your children and grandchildren.
Servant Leadership and Living as a Light in the World
What does true leadership look like for christian entrepreneurs and leaders today? Susan Sly's story reminds us that Christian leadership isn't about status, fame, or money—it's about servant leadership, resilience, and dedicated community service.
When you lead with a servant's heart, your business or career becomes your ministry. Here is how we can put these lessons into practice every day:
Mind & Social Media: Clean up your digital environment. Unfollow negative accounts and fill your feeds with inspiring content, worship, and Scripture.
Daily Routine: Start and end your day with God. Open your Bible before you look at text messages or social notifications.
Inner Circle: Surround yourself with prayer warriors—people who pray over you, keep you accountable, and push you closer to Jesus.
Workplace Impact: Stand tall in your faith. Wear your values, speak truth in love, and use your professional skills to uplift others.
No matter what battle, trial, or pressure cooker you are sitting in right now, remember that diamonds are created under immense pressure. God hasn't forgotten you. Surrender your burdens, forgive those who have hurt you, step out in practical faith, and let your light shine brightly wherever God has placed you.
Author: Jovilyn Abella
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“Forgiveness isn’t a feeling; it’s a decision. It doesn’t mean you stay in an unsafe or toxic relationship, but it means you release the debt so your own heart can heal.”
