Can Your Disability Become Your Superpower?

How I Ally

With guest Steven Lowell on How I Ally with Lucinda Koza

What happens when you stop hiding the hardest part of yourself—and start leading with it instead?

In this deeply human, candid conversation, Lucinda Koza sits down with career coach and reverse recruiter Steven Lowell, who shares how a late diagnosis of epilepsy reshaped his life. From collapsing on the job in Times Square to navigating the shame and silence that often surrounds invisible disabilities, Steven doesn’t just open up—he reframes the narrative.

This episode explores how living with epilepsy taught him to speak up, accept help, and ultimately turn what once felt like a weakness into his greatest strength.

💡 In this episode:

• Why invisible disabilities often go unspoken—even in families

• How stress can impact neurological health in profound ways

• What it’s like to have a seizure in public (and be misjudged for it)

• The vital role of Steven’s wife in his journey to diagnosis and stability

• How naming the hard thing can bring connection, not rejection

• The power of blunt honesty in healing shame

🧠 Notable quotes:

“If you wait 25 years to solve a problem, you spend 25 years miserable. But the day after you solve it? You’re free.” “Shame is the most insidious thing. It makes you choose isolation. Speaking is the only way through.”

🙋‍♂️ About Steven Lowell:

Steven is a New York City–based reverse recruiter and career coach who’s worked across six industries and four countries. His coaching style is no-nonsense, deeply empathic, and grounded in lived experience—especially when it comes to helping others navigate their own nontraditional paths.

📌 Resources & Mentions:

• Learn more about Steven’s reverse recruiting work

• Epilepsy Foundation: epilepsy.com

👉 Subscribe to How I Ally for honest, hopeful conversations about disability, identity, and resilience.

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