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.
Lanorah Bass
My journey to resilience is an inspiring tale of faith and determination. From the earliest days of my career, I faced challenges head-on, guided by my unwavering trust in God. As I navigated the complexities of life,I found strength in my belief that every obstacle was an opportunity for growth and every setback a chance to deepen my faith. Read more>>
Alex Johnson
I get my resilience from overcoming my fear of my shortcomings and my chronic illness. These things have pushed me to work harder and to keep going, overcoming the fear of failure and not being good enough. Read more>>
Bobbi Muzic
My resilience came from raising my daughter without her dad. Single motherhood is the hardest job, but I also didn’t have any family where she was raised and her father lived out of the country. At one point, we had no car, so I would have to use Lyft and Uber to get her to the babysitter before my shift and some days I wouldn’t see her until the middle of the night when I would carry her into the Uber and carry her into bed. Read more>>
Astra Kidani
I learned resilience from my parents. They’ve always shown me the light through difficult times and to always see and be positive. They’ve taught me that there’s so many things in life that’s out of your control and to focus on things that you can control, so I try to live by that. Read more>>
Latasha Mercer
I get my resilience from being a latchkey kid and big sister. Since childhood, I had to take care of myself and a younger sibling, and had a boat load of responsibility on my shoulders. I’ve always been a curious and courageous leader who loved to play and explore. Read more>>
Justin Grome
Being an independent person you realize that you are bound to fail or do things the wrong way on your own. I taught myself skills and tried to perfect as many as I could. Before I had a team behind me, I wanted to be knowledgeable about graphic design, web design, analytics, and other areas. Read more>>
Julio Silva
It’s rooted in the journey I embarked on when I moved to the U.S from Venezuela eight years ago. Despite the initial struggles of adjusting to a new environment, I refused to give up. The encouragement from loved ones and the desire to succeed in my career as a designer kept me going. Read more>>
Jeff Moreau
Hands down, it’s from my dad. He lived his life in the face of adversity seemingly at every turn. He emigrated to the U.S. from Canada as one of 10 kids, grew up in a tough household, was forced to quit high school, lost his construction business, then battled cancer for two-plus decades, yet never once backed down. Read more>>
Jojo Tesini
In my view, resilience gradually develops over time. Mine began forming at an early stage due to being adopted. Consequently, my approach has always centered on not allowing situations or circumstances to overpower me. Each individual contends with varying challenges at various levels. Read more>>
Maggie DeCan
My mother died when I was 10 months old and my dad remarried when I was 3. Nobody spoke much about my “real” mom and it was a taboo topic in our house to even bring her name up. However, when I was 13 and looking for a book to read, I came across my mother’s funeral book hidden deep in a bookcase in the basement. Read more>>
Indira D’Cano
I know that resilience is one of my primary skills and qualities, but it was not always that way. I had to learn that. And it’s not fair to say my resilience comes from one aspect but a collection of life experiences. To develop this skill, I first needed to find answers to whys, hows, and whats about different situations in my personal and professional life. Read more>>
Dakota Grant
Growing up Native in America. No but seriously I grew up on the winnebago reservation for my earlier years and then moved to central MN. My family was like watching a series of what not to do’s. Watching them struggle with addiction & alcoholism showed me the hardships that that causes on not only themselves but their families. Read more>>
Skyler Reed
Throughout my life and career, I have been faced with sudden change. From losing my mom when I was a child, to navigating the music scene in Los Angeles in my early twenties, I had to learn to adapt quickly. A lot of the time, it is pivoting to better fit the circumstances. I grew up watching my mother work hard as a single mom. Read more>>
Lex Moore
Resilience has always been a word of significance for me. Growing up in an extremely dysfunctional household plagued by addiction and mental illness, it wasn’t until I actually learned the meaning of resilience—exemplified by Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” poem, that stuck. Read more>>
Jonny Lurie
I think most of the time it is just the ability to keep going. When you know you can quit and life may be easier in many ways if you did, it can be hard to keep going at times. The ability to see growth in yourself over time can also really help you be resilient. Read more>>
Gokce Gizer-Clover
I grew up in Adana, Turkey, in a big, entrepreneurial family. I was deeply inspired by my father and grandfather, who built a retail business, initially selling fabric by cycling to the next town and eventually expanding to over 20 department stores across Turkey since 1976. Read more>>
Randy Corinthian
Resilience can come from various sources, and inspiration from their surroundings can be a significant factor for many. Throughout my life, I have found inspiration within my environment. Observing family, friends, and others throughout the world community endure hardship has taught me the meaning of perseverance, especially when faced with adversity. Read more>>
Charlie Hoffman
Any and all aspects of resilience and strength in my life are found in Jesus. I go to him in prayer all throughout the day no matter what I’m facing whether it be auditions, live performances, a day on set, or even just day to day life between jobs. Read more>>
Rachel Klein
In my life there has been a lot of polarity, big moments of grief and big moments of joy. At the peak of the pandemic, in 2020, I packed up my car and set off alone on the unknown road to move my life from Oregon to Minnesota. Read more>>
Tory Di Pietro
I come from a background of a lot of hardship and struggle. So for me I believe my resilience comes from knowing where I will end up if I do not push myself through all of the challenges and roadblocks presented to me. When you already know what hard, lack, settling or failure feels and looks like, I think you really have no choice but to dig deep down and keep swimming no matter how intense the storms. Read more>>
Elliott Marchent
I think every day is a time to be grateful to be here, and as a musician I am extremely lucky to be able to do what I love as my job. Having said that being a self employed producer in Los Angeles is extremely challenging and it can be tough to keep your head above the water at times, but I’ve gone through ups and downs and I’m still here. Read more>>
Renee Reid
My resilience is rooted in my experience as a 1.5-generation immigrant. While this term might not be as widely recognized as first or second-generation, it defines individuals who arrived in the US as children. I was born in Jamaica but grew up in South Florida. Read more>>
Marcy Langlois
Born with a cleft lip and palate, Marcy’s childhood was marked by an excruciating series of surgical procedures—23 in all before the age of 18. Because she looked and talked different than other kids, she was relentlessly teased and bullied. Read more>>
Gabrielle Napper
My faith in Jesus! This is the source of my resilience because it fixes my gaze on the truth, helps me avoid being too short-sighted, and consistently provides a fresh wind to propel me forward. I can adjust, endure, and overcome because the Lord is with me. I know that He cares and that His plans are perfect. Read more>>
Caroline Liu
The understanding that we’re all in long-term relationships with grief. The human experience is to hold love and grief and joy and hardship side by side. Knowing this, it makes resiliency feel less like a badge of adversity and more like a practice of self care. Read more>>
Parker Daley Garcia
My resilience comes from New York City. I know that’s somewhat uninteresting but the more I live—and live out loud, the more resilience I am able to be. And I sort of feel like I can only do that in New York City. I can take a hit, I can bounce back, and I can withstand difficulties because I’ve learned to have perspective. Read more>>
Arnesjah Miller
As a creative entrepreneur, resilience is a trait that I feel I was born with. It is a skill that I feel the need to exercise every day to live the life of my dreams. From as far as I can remember, I’ve experienced losses that challenged me to bounce back. As a young girl, I watched my mother battle with breast cancer. Read more>>
Darian Harris
I have had to fight thru a good amount of adversity. I’ve lost a lot of things from housing to almost losing my mother. These last 5 years have been a major period of learning lessons. Now that I am on the back end of everything and recovering I appreciate life a lot more and that fire burns in me. Read more>>
Anne Hamilton
When I developed advanced-stage breast cancer in my early thirties, it came as a huge shock because there was no history of cancer in my family, I felt healthy at the time, and things were finally going well with my career. Read more>>
RIGO LEON HERRERA
“My resilience comes from a deep connection to my Cuban heritage and the rich cultural traditions that have shaped me. Growing up in Cuba, I witnessed the strength and resilience of my people in the face of adversity. Despite the challenges we faced, our spirit remained unbroken, and our creativity flourished. Read more>>
Jatorre
poverty. I don’t have a choice but to wake up and try. That’s all I seen my whole life is people trying their best. It’s human nature. The No’s are apart of it. Read more>>
Cena Martin
My resilience comes from my life experiences. I experienced many challenges as a young girl, including teen parenthood, which taught me at an early age that I’d have to master overcoming challenges to reach my goals. Now I advocate for those same young girls who don’t have a voice or afraid to speak up by sharing my story of resilience. Read more>>
Axel Gonzalez
Every problem or dilemma we face has been faced by countless others in the past and so we wanted to create a place to have conversations around those challenges – be it finding a way to thrive after divorce, bouncing back after a layoff, overcoming imposter syndrome or developing the ability to ignore haters. Read more>>
Eric Renard
Creating art for gallery exhibition is a challenging and rewarding experience requiring an incredible amount of resilience. For me, resilience comes from appreciating the joys of being creative, taking pride in individual accomplishments and not dwelling on the rejections. Read more>>
Donna Lewis
When I told my son about my cancer diagnosis, I tried to be strong but I was very emotional and he said to me, “You’re going to be ok, Mum, because you are your Mother’s daughter.” That’s where I get my resilience from. Read more>>
YahZarah Oduro
I come from a family lineage of strength on both sides My father was an activist and politician who helped found the first democratic party in Ghana and is a decedent of the first royal family to migrate to Ghana and found the Akan tribe. Read more>>
Tyler Bryant
My resilience flows from a combination of faith, family, and the indomitable spirits of the women who came before me. As a Black woman navigating the twists and turns of life, resilience is almost expected of us. Read more>>
Khaliah Guinn
My resilience as a business owner started when I opened my very first business six years ago and through a lot of learning , trial and error I learned that starting from the bottom there’s only one way and that’s UP! To never be afraid to restart your foundation even if it takes a few times untill you get it right. Read more>>
Messiah Adonis
My resilience comes from being homeless for 3 years due to not feeling comfortable where I was staying at because of my sexuality. I was sleeping in a tent, storage unit, and just the streets for a while trying to get my life together and be happy at the same time. Read more>>
Christina Faith
My journey has been a colorful mix of joy and hardship. My mother, an unwavering example of resilience, endured profound challenges yet always found the strength to carry on. She taught me the power of resilience and perseverance, to never abandon my beliefs, and the limitless possibilities available through faith in Christ. Read more>>
Jodi Endicott
As I see it, art and resiliency follow the same process. Both get better with experience. You just have to start. Find whatever works and focus on that. Put aside the rest. Stay honest and accept the pain to let go of what once was good idea. There will be angst. It will soften past lessons become accepted as newfound wisdom. Read more>>
