A New Heart. A Life Still Unfolding. | Bob Goodman on Resilience, Purpose & Possibility
What happens when a healthcare leader who helped build transplant programs becomes the person who needs a transplant?
This week on the Today is the Day Changemakers Podcast, host Jodi Hope Grinwald welcomes Robert “Bob” Goodman, a former hospital CEO, healthcare consultant, heart transplant recipient, and patient advocate whose story brings new meaning to moving forward.
A high school guidance counselor once told Bob he should not apply to college. He went on to earn an MBA and become a hospital CEO at just 35. Years later, a diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis would lead him through heart failure, repeated hospitalizations, and ultimately a heart transplant.
Bob shares the moment he learned a donor heart had been found—and the unexpected moment months later when the full weight of what he had survived finally hit him.
With humor, honesty, and gratitude, he opens up about rebuilding his strength, learning to walk again, and eventually completing three half marathons and seven 10-mile races after his transplant. He also shares how his wife, Patty, their daughter, friends, and medical team helped carry him through.
In this conversation, we explore:
• Why being yourself can change your career and your connections.
• How discipline, patience, and support helped Bob through uncertainty and recovery.
• The role of humor and family during frightening moments.
• Why he writes to his donor’s family every year.
• How his experience inspired advocacy through the American Heart Association, transplant organizations, and patient advisory work.
• What it means to have more life to live—and people you want to be here for.
Bob’s story invites us to consider our own possibilities, the people who help us keep going, and the steps we can take today.
Connect with Your Host & Work with Jodi
Jodi Hope Grinwald is a Leadership, Growth & Connection Strategist, Corporate Trainer, Speaker, Certified Professional Coach, and Workforce Development Instructor. Through Today is the Day LLC, she works with individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to strengthen leadership, improve communication, navigate change, and build meaningful connections.
Bring Jodi to your organization for corporate training, interactive workshops, speaking engagements, leadership and team development, or board retreats. Individual coaching and strategy sessions support personal growth, career transitions, and moving goals into action.
Topics include emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, time management and priorities, communication, team building, and her signature work, Connection Is the Work™.
Explore working with Jodi, inquire about speaking or training, and discover more episodes: jodi@todayisthedayliveit.com.
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Jodi and 30 other contributing authors share personal stories about the decisions and moments that moved them beyond their comfort zones and toward meaningful impact. Discover the book through Jodi’s website—and consider what your own next step could be.
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