In our building blocks of success series, we tackle the various foundational blocks we believe are essential for success. Resilience is near the top of the list, because pursuing greatness almost always means you will face losses, mistakes and tough times along your journey. The ability to bounce back is so critical and we hope the stories below will inspire you to dig deep and discover more of your own resiliency.
Jomil Luna
I get my resilience from my mo the er and grandmother the two strong and beautiful women that raised me. I have also felt an innate feeling and drive to keep going. Read more>>
Zoe Rogers
I started comedy after becoming a mom. It felt like I was setting an example of not giving up. You have it in your mind that your kids are seeing your example. You don’t want them to give up when things get hard or people are difficult. I grew up in New York City, so I didn’t learn to drive till after I moved to Los Angeles and by then I had two kids. Read more>>
Jerry Carnell Jr.
I fully attribute my resilience to the 8 years that I served in the Army. During that time I had the opportunity to assess and be selected for Special Operations. This meant I had to endure some of the toughest military schools that the Army had to offer, I had to deploy to hostile environments, and still learn to maintain life at home. Read more>>
Kenny Pahina
Resiliency, for me, it’s like catching that bolt of lightning when everyone else sees only the storm. It’s about transforming the energy from my lowest points into something powerful, something unstoppable. The idea is, even when the world thinks you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s always a way to rise up, stronger and louder than before. Read more>>
Adrian Howell
I think resilience, much like other characteristics like courage or perseverance, is something that is cultivated and developed rather than something that people are innately born with. My understanding is that Western society lacks the essential “coming of age” ritual and transition into adulthood that is seen in indigenous and ancient cultures, which I believe creates generations of adults who do not know who they truly are, they do not know what they want to offer the world, and they lack the resilience and sense of courage to be able to become truly self-actualised. Read more>>
Hanna Jaeun
I picture a Roly-Poly toy when I think of resilience. Life often seems to put us through the wringer at the most inconvenient moments. There have been occasions when surrendering felt like the easiest option, but with no other alternative, bouncing back became the only way to move forward. My mom used to say that such challenges make life more interesting. I get my resilience from life’s trials and tribulations. Read more>>
Edmund Masi
My parents were a beautiful example growing up. They were authentic and just brilliant. So, I believe the resilience I possessed up until adulthood was the result of observing my parents and five siblings. Read more>>
Pablo Bogdan
During my childhood, at the tender age of three, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Back then, treatment protocols were scarce, and many attempts to heal me were experimental in nature. It was a challenging journey that spanned five long years, fraught with moments where the future seemed uncertain, and I often found myself doubting if I would see the light of the next day. Read more>>
LaTosha McCauley
Mainly, my children. I want them to know that no matter how many obstacles are stacked against you in life, you can still reach a level of success if you remain consistent. Read more>>
Rachel Bellotti
On the back of my right forearm, from elbow to wrist, my first tattoo that I ever got says, “RESILIENCE” in morse code. That’s the first time I connected with the word. Prior to that I didn’t want to claim anything that had to do with my past. But then my younger brother asked me if I’d get a tattoo so that he could. Read more>>
Allan Ting
My resilience came out of necessity because my dad lost all of our savings from a bad real estate investment when I was a sophomore in high school. We had to go live in an In-Law unit in San Francisco where the landlord converted the garage into a very tight living space. Read more>>
Natalia Salivia
I believe my resilience comes from my experiences in track and field during high school. Despite facing frequent injuries, I never allowed setbacks to deter my determination to improve. My ultimate goal was to compete at the collegiate level, but the journey was filled with challenges due to my injuries. Read more>>
Julian Ramirez
My resilience stems primarily from a pivotal moment in my life when I experienced the loss of my mother at the age of 10. Losing someone that meant so much to me taught me a fundamental lesson: that life can present unexpected challenges, and it’s crucial to adapt and persevere in the face of adversity. Read more>>
Elena Sophia Kozak
My resilience comes from my mom, Elena, and the lineage of strong women who preceded me. Five generations of first born Cuban women in my family are named Elena, myself included. This name has been passed down to each new generation and reminds me of my resilience to overcome any obstacle. It holds the energy of the long line of mujeres (women) who came before me and made it possible for me to be here. Read more>>
Stephanie Hennessy
I’ve been told I carry a great deal of “grit” with me, most evident in my work ethic and outlook on opportunity. I’ll be honest in that this stems a great deal from my childhood. I was raised in a single-family household, after a separation from and then later death of one of my parents. Read more>>
Marcie Smolin
You have two choices in life…you can let the rough times defeat you or you can fight back. I think my first lessons in resilience came from my amazing mother. She faced a lot of adversity but kept moving forward. She instilled the same in myself and my siblings. She would never let me misss school (unless of course I truly was sick). Read more>>
Ernest Moss
“Resiliency defines me.” Growing up, I was never provided an advantage in anything that I did or didn’t do. I wasn’t overly athletic or scholarly or charismatic. I didn’t feel that I had any great talents but I knew that I was no slouch. ‘Jack of all trades master of none.’ With this gnosis, I pushed myself to be able to be in the rooms with the great ones, with the talented ones, with the blessed ones. Read more>>
Joyce Vacca
Resilience is built over time… It’s something that has been a big theme for me in my creative journey. Naturally I am quite a sensitive person but I faced a lot of challenges personally and professionally straight out of university. I moved countries for my first job – which fell through before I even got started which took me on the unexpected journey of becoming a freelancer (long story). Read more>>
Malory Wride
I come from two long lines of artists. Each of their own craft, but artists none the less. If I had to credit me resilience to once source, I would say it’s from my ancestors. When I feel uninspired or unimportant, I’ll talk to them and ask them for the motivation to do something. Whether it’s showing up for an art piece, or sweeping my house. Read more>>
Neva Rogers
Honestly, my resilience comes directly from my family of origin. Both my parents were products of the Great depression. Therefore, it’s part of my DNA to be resilient, self-reliant with a superpower ability to compartmentalize. Part of these traits have a double edged sword. Too much self-reliance led to isolation with no sense of community. Read more>>
Sue Ann Pham
It’s simple-I just had no choice-There is no where to go but forward. Read more>>
Mann-Wen Lo
I grew up in Taiwan until age 14. Some of my earliest experiences about resilience came from observing my family. My mother has a tiny figure with a big personality. When she was a teenager, my grandfather who was previously a successful fisherman almost lost all of his many fishing ships at Australian customs. Read more>>
Michelle Lorenzo
I believe my resilience comes from a combination of factors. Firstly, I have always been a self-motivated individual, constantly pushing myself to overcome challenges and set new goals. This inner drive to succeed has helped me bounce back from setbacks and navigate through difficult times. Read more>>
Graeme Campbell
My resilience almost certainly comes from my mother’s side. She had grown up in a family where her own mother was suffering with severe mental health issues in a time (1950s) when there was little or no support. Her mother left the family when my mum was 17 and disappeared for years. On my mums wedding day, she discovered that the man she thought was her Dad, wasn’t. Read more>>
Laura Gethers
Resilience is in my blood. I am a descendant of enslaved people. Quitting has never been presented as an option for me. Listening to stories about my ancestors and the things they had to overcome instilled an “I can do hard things” mindset. I memorized Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” at an early age, and it has been a scripture that encourages me to keep going when things get tough. Read more>>
Stacie Shifflett
Jasmine Swimmer
I remember growing up the word resilient was always attributed to single mothers specifically black women, who had to endure so much adversity to raise children on their own, have a career and keep it all together. I hated the word, I didn’t want to be strong all the time, I wanted and needed help. As much as life dealt me a pretty difficult hand, I had no choice but to embrace resiliency. Read more>>
Lisa Crichlow Helly
My Christian faith is the source of my resilience. If it was not for God, I know for a fact I would not be here. There have been many challenges along the way, from multiple obstacles in my health to homelessness to overcoming personal traumas. Read more>>
Jonathan Sassen
I have had this since being a child it has come from my mother and “family always being told no I cannot have it I’m not allowed it I have to wait. From this, I always became inventive creative and super resilient. The word no to me is like magic. Read more>>
Dr. Shirley McClerklin-Motley
My resilience is gotten from my parents and the adverse effects in my childhood. Read more>>
Torry Maxwell
I could truly speak on so many of the topics presented, however this is the one I was lead too. My resilience comes from God, my great-grandfather, and my commitment to journaling for continued self-awareness and reflection. When you know and understand where you come from, you can have a clear picture of where you want to go. My great-grandfather was an amazing soul that had me to study and apply biblical principles. Read more>>
Vanessa Blair
I believe it started as a young child. My parents always encouraged and motivated me to follow anything I set my mind to. Sometimes I had bizarre ideas, but they loved and cheered me on with most all of my dreams. Even if and when I failed I learned and grew stronger from it. I now have a son and my resilience is a new kind of strong. Read more>>
Simone Cook
Simply put, I grew up poor. Like single mom having to occasionally scrape around in the car cup holders for change to pay for our dinner poor. I had a loving family who was rich in spirit, but a lot of material possessions were to an extent null. I knew everyone had a lot more than I, but having a positive perspective can really imprint on the mind. Read more>>
Shehzad Batliwala
Resilience, for me, comes from the crucible of early life challenges. At a young age, I faced the kind of pressures that could either break you or forge you into something stronger. It was a situation where failure simply wasn’t on the table — survival was the only option. Read more>>
Samantha Harte
I want to say I was born with it, and to some extent that’s true. But after it got covered up by trauma and addiction, I had to rediscover it again through a serious and ongoing process of honest self-examination, compassion, and accountability. Once I reconnected with my intuition, I learned how to love myself again, even through my great mistakes. That makes for some serious resilience. Read more>>
Vivian Olodun
I’m the daughter of immigrants. My mother from Panama and my father from Nigeria taught me to keep showing up. Everything I am is because of my family. Read more>>
Deborah Schaefer
Finally free to share my story my life, my shattered dreams. The legacy of my dear mother, her story, my story boldly told without fear, one generation to the next.I fled. She did not. She stayed, and I learned that silence is a voice never heard yet repeated over and over . Yes, ladies, I ran from the life I once knew to discover my freedom. Read more>>
Sheldon Shaw
I get my resilience from my mentors that have provided me with great business advice throughout the years, Also from researching and studying successful people’s peaks and valleys. Read more>>
Shanan Campanaro
I think resilience is the most important quality to have when running a business because everything does not always go well. To be resilient you can not have to much ego wrapped up in what you do, especially if you are a creative – a crushed ego is not resilient. Read more>>
Naysha Clark
In the journey of life, resilience often stems from the trials we endure and the faith that sustains us through these trials. For me, completing high school three years early at the age of 16, while embracing the role of a teenage mother to my first son and then 2 more sons by the age of 20, set the stage for a life defined by overcoming odds. Read more>>
Nicolas Bates
I get my resilience from hardships endured as a young adult. There wasn’t a safety net or potential to fall back and regroup; it was always about problem solving and forward momentum. Read more>>
Lisa Crites
I believe resilience is a learned behavior. It comes with time, and lots of failures. I’m 56 now, so I’ve had many setbacks, both personally, and professionally, so resilience is something you need to quickly learn, or you will fall behind from the initial goal and mission. To me, giving up is easy, continuing forward is often quite difficult and where resilience is required. Read more>>
Theo Boyd
I like to say that I got my resilience from some “F” words – Faith, Family, Friends, and Foundation. (More “F” Words, Chapter 11, My Grief is Not Like Yours) As I began my grief journey, I found out very quickly that without the “F” words – it’s very difficult to move forward. My faith kept me strong, although I did lost that for some time – it just never lost me. My friends were there for me to lean on. Read more>>
Brittainy Lynn
I would say I get my resiliency from my mom. She endured a lot growing up but she always had a positive outlook on life and was a very genuine and caring person. She never let any of her hardships in life keep her from living it to the fullest. Read more>>
Haozhe Li
My resilience primarily stems from a sense of personal fulfillment. Each time I create a piece that resonates with me, it feels like a culmination of my past experiences and efforts, effectively communicating my perspectives and interpretations of the world. This internal satisfaction fuels my perseverance, as it affirms the value of my work and my unique artistic vision. Read more>>
