![](\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/pwvn1266DVA\/maxresdefault.jpg\")
<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nUp until that time, Carlin had been on a fast and upward trajectory, a burgeoning businessperson, a trait she seemed to inherit from her dad, who was also an entrepreneur, specializing in sporting goods equipment. She says she always had this internal drive, which led her to being the first Student Body President elected as a junior (holding the position for two consecutive years), even though she was the shy new girl who had moved to a new town in middle school. Toward the end of her high school years, she founded her first business at the age of 17, designing and selling jewelry, donating a percentage of the proceeds to help build schools in Africa.<\/p>\n
After selling out her first run of bracelets, she kept that business going while she was in college, but it didn\u2019t last past then. She admits that a lack of confidence held her back, as she wasn\u2019t widely sharing what she was doing beyond word of mouth. She wanted to fit in, make new friends and so she never really spoke about her passion. She did the sales venture on the side and only her roommates knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d ride my bike to the post office after class and just kind of did what I had to do to make it happen,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Carlin was determined to learn from that experience to step out of her comfort zone, and started a blog called Hello Perfect \u2013 aimed at helping young women gain confidence in themselves.<\/p>\n She was about to celebrate with friends and family after gaining 1,000 likes for the blog on Facebook. But Carlin recalls not feeling good the week leading up to the event, until her mother insisted she go to an emergency room, where she was diagnosed with septic shock due to bacteria that had entered her blood stream. Doctors told her mother her daughter might not live 24 hours.<\/p>\n Carlin stayed in a coma for six days, waking up not being able to move or speak on her own. To focus on something other than the pain as she recovered, she redirected her thoughts as a way to heal. She pictured running on a high school track toward family and friends at a finish line.<\/p>\n \u201cIt taught me one of the most powerful lessons in business and in life, and that is to focus on the things that you do have control over,\u201d says Carlin, who was able to graduate with her class in May of that year. But then another setback occurred, this time while she was in New York City starting her dream job at a magazine. She was sick again. And it was constant. After a year there, she found out it was an auto-immune disease \u2013 ulcerative colitis \u2013 and moved back home to heal with the help of her family.<\/p>\n For eight months she stayed mostly isolated inside their house, where she ended up writing a cookbook as she converted to gluten-free and vegan eating. But it was a frustrating time in her life.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember just feeling so fed up because all I was doing was waiting, waiting for me to get my life back, waiting for me to be healthy, waiting for a doctor to give me something that would actually work, waiting for just anything to change, because every morning I woke up so sick,\u201d says Carlin, who tried to find solace and answers from motivational speakers. But they didn\u2019t help. \u201cWho wants to spend their entire life waiting to overcome all these challenges and obstacles that come our way, versus making the best of it and turning those obstacles into opportunities? That\u2019s what really inspired me to start sharing my story, vulnerably and authentically.\u201d<\/p>\n Carlin used the now-discontinued Periscope app to film a daily show called \u201cMorning Motivation with Alexa\u201d \u2013 short videos meant to inspire her audience, which was slowly but steadily growing. She was still too sick to do in-person presentations, so she turned to social media to share her experiences. Technology had never been more important to her than when she was livestreaming from her bed.<\/p>\n \u201cTechnology has been game changer for me because I am able to get my message to the masses even when I\u2019m not well enough to travel or to meet people and network in person,\u201d says Carlin, who uses a Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360<\/a> to run her business from anywhere. Samsung is among the many companies she works with and has provided her with a new Windows 11 laptop as one of its brand ambassadors. \u201cIt changed my life because I didn\u2019t feel as alone.\u201d<\/p>\n By 2016, she had focused her work on telling her story and inspiring others, starting a company called Women Empower X<\/a>, \u201cwith the mission to help more women pursue their passions and get to the next level in their career and life.\u201d She\u2019s built up an all-virtual team, who help with creating and editing content and planning speaking engagements.<\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/alexa-carlin-takes-on-her-health-challenges-turning-obstacles-into-opportunities.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/alexa-carlin-takes-on-her-health-challenges-turning-obstacles-into-opportunities-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
![\"Alexa](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/alexa-carlin-takes-on-her-health-challenges-turning-obstacles-into-opportunities-2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/alexa-carlin-takes-on-her-health-challenges-turning-obstacles-into-opportunities-3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n