“My mission is to help people move through fear and build real resilience.”
- Mary Joan Cunningham
Mary Joan Cunningham
teaches The Fear Breakthrough,
a 3-step method for moving from stuck to unstoppable.
I created this framework in 2013 out of necessity.
Running a company in New York, I was drowning in crippling anxiety and self-doubt; the kind that makes you question every email, every decision, every move.
So I built a practice to survive it: a simple process using three questions that helped me move through fear instead of being frozen by it.
Fear → Truth → Action.
It worked.
Other entrepreneurs at my co-working space noticed the shift and wanted to learn. What started as a personal survival tool became Shredding Fear meditations (now called The Fear Breakthrough), and soon I was leading weekly sessions at the US Wix headquarters, with appearances at WeWork and Martha Stewart Omnimedia corporate offices.
My meditation on SoundCloud was played nearly 4,000 times.
This easy process inspired a chapter in The Credit Cleanup Book.
Then, six months later, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The framework I'd built to battle entrepreneurial anxiety became the tool that got me through the hardest test of my life, and everything that followed: MS. Miscarriages. A midlife layoff. And more.
When people learn The Fear Breakthrough, something shifts.
They stop seeing problems as dead ends and start seeing solutions everywhere: in their work, their relationships, their everyday lives.
My approach combines brain science, real-world pressure-testing, and plain-spoken warmth that makes complex topics feel accessible with repeatable tools that people actually use.
The Belief Behind the Work
You're stronger than you think you are. And science proves it.
Our brains are wired to adapt under pressure. Your nervous system can be regulated in moments. And the clarity you need to move forward? It's already inside you.
The Fear Breakthrough is how you access it.
My mission is to help people find the strength within.
I want to see a world where fewer people suffer from debilitating anxiety, where fewer people feel isolated and without a way forward.
I believe anyone can dismantle fear—they just need the right tools.
And when you learn to move through fear instead of being stopped by it, everything changes: you think more clearly, you trust yourself more, and you see possibilities you couldn't see before.
From there the benefits compound: vulnerability becomes more accessible and natural, relationships deepen, challenges shrink.
And more.
More About Mary
Mary has spoken at corporations, universities, veteran groups, health and wellness summits nationwide, and to thousands of people navigating life's hardest moments.
Her work has been featured in:
Health Monitor magazine cover story, MS edition
Speaker at Prevention magazine's Health & Wellness Summit
Profiled in Mogul, a community for bridging the leadership gender gap
Recognized as an Austin 40 Under 40 Finalist
Her essays have appeared in The New York Daily News, Huffington Post, The Mighty, and Livestrong
With additional features on Glamour, The Wendy Williams Show, and Time Out New York
When she's not speaking or facilitating workshops, Mary writes Fierce Resilience, a Substack about navigating life's hardest moments. Called “candid, fierce storytelling about finding your strength.”
She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, toddler, and two Pomeranians.
As Seen In: Health Monitor Magazine • Prevention's Health & Wellness Summit • The Wendy Williams Show • Time Out New York • Mogul • The New York Daily News • Huffington Post • Livestrong • Austin 40 Under 40 Finalist • Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Headquarters
Before you go
You’re here because you know there is value in breaking through fear. On the other side is resilience, joy, and the strength you didn’t know you have.
I posted this on YouTube as I recovered from my MS diagnosis because I wanted to show that joy can transform our lives, but we don’t get there until we face our fears.
…Little did I know that it would catch the attention of Health Monitor magazine for their MS cover story. An example of how breaking through our fears can take us to beautiful opportunities we may never have anticipated.