Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of most of the wildly successful folks in our community have exhibit an extreme degree of resilience and we’ve come to believe that if our goal is to help our community achieve great outcomes we have to help build resources and knowledge around how one can become more resilient.

Dareum Bell

Growing up in Chicago the toughness and resiliency is somewhat inherited in a way. It’s something that’s instilled in you early on in life. Combing that with me being raised by a single mother who was prior service and seeing how she handled the challenges life out in front of her, my resiliency is something that I pride myself on. Read More>>

Leslie Tankersley Arboleda

Resilience, for me, wasn’t a choice—it was a necessity. I was initiated into it early. My parents divorced when I was two, and my father’s addiction and eventual death when I was 21 created a kind of emotional earthquake that split my world wide open. I was left to navigate life’s biggest questions—Who am I? Am I lovable? Will I ever feel safe?—without a clear map. For years, I searched for safety in people, places, and achievements. But nothing outside me could quiet the storm within. Read More>>

Danielle Chiprut

My resilience comes from personal loss and the deep desire to create something lasting out of that grief. Losing both of my parents within two years of each other shook everything I thought I knew about life. But it also gave me incredible clarity. My father was an entrepreneur and my mother, though not formally trained, was always designing and curating our home with love. After they passed, I poured myself into restoring our 1930s Tudor. Read More>>

Alyssa Lisle

After over a decade in high-level kitchens—including the fiery gauntlet of classic French training—I’ve built a resilience that’s as much about grace under pressure as it is about pure survival. Living that intensity as a woman of color meant learning to turn critique into craft and chaos into clarity. Those kitchens carved me, but they also made me unshakable. Read More>>

Nekia Washington

My resilience came from my mother. Young when she had me at 17 born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland she did the best she could with what she had and taught me to do the same. My father was in my life and I had a Step-Father that was a great influence on my life as well. Young women don’t always see their mom for the superheroes that they are until becoming an adult and in some instances a mom themselves, but I saw it in my mom early and watched how she was able to make a way when there seemed like there was no way but somehow she figured it out everything in life that should have knocked her down gave her purpose and as I grew I realized how much she had influenced my life and the decisions that I made as an adult. Read More>>

Izayah Christopher

This is an interesting question. I believe that any valuable trait is forged through experience, and throughout my upbringing, I encountered many situations that demanded resilience. I’m the youngest of three, with the sibling closest in age being ten years older than me. By the time I entered my teenage years, my siblings were young adults, and their lives often overshadowed mine. For good reason, of course—teenage angst doesn’t compare to raising children. On top of that, my mother struggled with mental health issues, so my family’s attention was understandably consumed elsewhere. Read More>>

Mariana Ceraphin

As a young girl growing up I another country, I’ve always admired my mother for her resilience and how she handle hardship . She instilled in me a perseverance that came with hard work and dedication. At the age of nine I came to the states to leave with my father , he was such a hard worker and very determined and I always admired his resilience in managing his own business. That truely inspired me in my life to always go harder in everything that I did in life . Read More>>

William Macaulay

Like a perfect three act structure, I wish I had a particular moment or turning point to punctuate my transformation from susceptible amateur with a camera to grizzled film director, but I’m not sure that kind of metamorphosis ever truly occurs for any one person. It comes through persistent knocks to the gut, and when it starts to hurt less we start to identify that in ourselves as “resilience.” Read More>>

Elaine Messi

I have had a life long journey of sadness, pain, disappointments and being let down by the very people that were suppose to love and nourish me. Whether it was my parents abandoning me at 9 months old, being beaten bloody and ending up in a foster home as a teenager or being touched improperly by men as a child or my divorces, I have learned to be strong and resilient. Resilience is what keeps me going. Read More>>

Lexi Karuzis

Perspective has been my greatest source of resilience. Each challenge has become part of my foundation, not a reason to crumble. Being mindful of how quickly life moves keeps me grounded and fuels my passion to live with purpose. Read More>>

Chanel Abreu

I draw my resilience from the support of those who believe in me and my work. My children especially observe everything I do, and making them proud is my greatest motivation. Read More>>

Ashleigh Bello

That’s a good question. It might be one of the most important questions an author can ask themselves after writing ‘The End’ to their story, then having the guts to share it with strangers to read and interpret for themselves (terrifying!).

I think of the first moments when the thought of a character and fantasy world shaped in my head—the innocent idea that I might one day form those thoughts into a book is how my resilience was born. Read More>>

Charity Bowers

When I think of resilience, I think of my son. Adam, my firstborn, suffered a traumatic brain injury at six months old. It left him with full-body cerebral palsy, frequent daily seizures, and severe vision loss. In spite of everything, that kid always had a smile on his face! He had a contagious joy for life and a deep love of people and music. Read More>>

Jada Raines

I get my resilience from struggle—real, raw, unfiltered struggle. I didn’t just wake up one day knowing how to bounce back. Life threw me curveballs, and I had to learn how to catch them with bruised hands. Growing up in Detroit, I witnessed pain, loss, and instability too early. But instead of letting it define me, I let it shape me. Read More>>

Katie Joy Duke

My resilience comes from a mix of lived experiences, spiritual practices, and a deep commitment to loving myself and healing. It’s not just something I was born with, but something I’ve nurtured and continue to build every day.

As a storyteller, I’ve learned to turn my experiences into sources of strength. I share my journey—especially the parts of surviving breast cancer and navigating grief after my daughter died—because those stories hold the lessons I want others to learn from. For me, resilience isn’t just about surviving; it’s about showing others how to rise after hard times. Through my storytelling, I can inspire and offer hope, because I know that if I can do it, so can others. Read More>>

Antonia Nicole Sawyer

I come from a long line of hustlers and pioneers. My parents were brilliant and talented, but it was the 80s, so they were also deep into drugs. They both came from wealth, so I grew up surrounded by privilege my siblings and I weren’t allowed to touch. I’m talking limos and tour buses in the backyard, expensive gifts, but never for us. Me and my siblings were the outsiders in our own family: unwanted, mistreated, overlooked. But definitely the smartest and most talented. Read More>>

Paige Waymer

I have a lot of siblings and it’s always been a goal for each one of us to keep pushing and get out of city we were in because we knew there were bigger and better opportunities other places it was just the getting out part that was going to be the obstacle. Read More>>

Derrick Green

I didn’t have a choice in the sink or swim, dog eat dog world of Fort Pierce Florida in the 80’s. I grew up in a ghetto and, as such, had to learn to fend for myself at times, fight hard at others, and develop an “oh well, life happens” mentality. That mentality allows people to bounce back when life kicks them in the teeth. See so many people sitting the life’s dentist chair as a child, I acceptedy teeth would be kicked in but I somehow always knew the key to depression is how long I allowed myself to wallow. I developed a habit of allowing myself to throw a pity party but don’t celebrate too long. Read More>>

LaShonda Cameron

Resilience is a cornerstone of my journey with LC Precision Notary. It stems from a combination of personal experiences and professional dedication. Growing up, I witnessed the power of perseverance through my family’s unwavering commitment to overcoming challenges. This instilled in me a deep-seated belief that resilience is not just about bouncing back, but about continuously moving forward with purpose. Read More>>

Jennifer STRONG

I conqure the world with my creative spirit. It’s what keeps me going. Without it, there is no balance, no freedom. At the end of the day, I can’t wait to do something creative the next day. Read More>>

 Jessie Lopez

From my parents. Growing up watching my parents work so hard every day to provide a better life for me then they had. Seeing them overcome so many obstacles and never giving up always moving forward showed me that no matter what happens we stay positive, and we always move forward. Read More>>

Sun Shiine

I have to say I get my resilience from my mother since a young girl. I remember her showing us the main example. I’ve never stopped never settle always look and want for more out of ourselves. Read More>>

Brittnie Johnson

My Resilience comes from beating the odds and overcoming every obstacle that has been thrown at me, which was set to in a sense end anything that God has had for me. I have experienced multiple challenges in my life, especially in my most recent years after having my son in March of 2018. I spent more than half of my pregnancy in the ICU as my son was considered an IUD Baby, (a child housed in the womb with an IUD). After he was born, I was one of the very many unfortunate mothers diagnosed with a very severe case of postpartum depression and after becoming a single mother on his very first birthday, I shortly after, about a year later was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. Read More>>

Miranda Barrington

I come from a line of strong women. My mother single-handedly raised my sister and I, all the while she went through a difficult divorce, and taught me a lot about sacrifice and hard work in the process. And my mother learned it all from her mother, my grandmother, who paved the way for the rest of us. I grew up seeing first hand that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to if I could tough it out and work hard. Read More>>

Claire Woller

For me, starting a business at 14 has not been easy. On top of all my extra curriculars and high school activities, finding the time to pursue my passions has been very difficult. While surrounded by people who love and support me very much, it can still be difficult to feel like owning a successful bakery is possible for me. A lot of my failures and mistakes have been an incredible learning opportunity for me, but that does not negate the hit these failures can take to my confidence and hours of sleep. I love doing what I do. Read More>>

Maya Purcell

Learning to play the violin—and sticking with it—laid the foundation for building my resilience in life.

Without the advantage of private instructors to guide me, picking up the violin was no easy task. But I made a commitment to myself: I practiced consistently after school, challenging myself to learn new songs, one note at a time.

The beginning was rough. My progress was slow, and at times, frustrating. But I stayed focused on my goal—to one day perform the songs I loved in front of my family. That vision kept me going. Read More>>

SHEROY BALSARA

I’m a huge fan of Formula One, and what really draws me to the sport is the mindset it demands the relentless drive to keep pushing. Even when you’re at the top of your game, there’s always this sense that it’s not perfect, that there’s still more to be done. That attitude resonates deeply with me, and I try to apply it in my own life.

Whenever I finish a piece of work, I’m rarely ever satisfied. I immediately start thinking about what I could’ve done better. And once I get a clear picture of that of what the next level could look like it becomes a powerful motivator. I want to get there. I want to bring that vision to life, share it, get feedback, and keep improving. Read More>>