Building Blocks of Success: Resilience

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.

Audrey Martinez

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.” —Dr. Steve Maraboli When I started Audrey’s Chia Cookies, my vision was simple: to share the health benefits of chia seeds with as many people as possible through delicious cookies. As someone who has always been health-conscious, I believed this was one of the best ways I could make a positive impact. However, entering the food industry without prior experience was no easy feat. Read more>>

Carolyn Campbell

My parents. I was born with a curious nature as well as a tenacity! My parents were Depression Era people and persevered through many struggles growing up as well as through WW2. I believe their perseverance and ability to embrace life made a big impact on me. It wasn’t through words, but rather their actions and how they lived that I acquired this trait. Read more>>

Danny Augustine

From a very young age, I’ve always been intuitive, with a sense of purpose and understanding of the world around me. There was always a drive within myself to overcome whatever life had in store, and it is through these experiences that I’ve grown to be resilient to other people’s opinions and actions that don’t align with my self-worth and purpose.  Read more>>

Melika Biglarpour-watson

Resilience, for me, is like the thread that has woven through each chapter of my life, stitching together the pieces of my journey. I was born in Iran, surrounded by family—there was always someone to play with, a sense of belonging wrapped around me like a blanket. But at three years old, that blanket was lifted, and we moved to the breathtaking landscapes of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was a world of new sounds, a new language, and a culture so different from what I had known. I was a child then, curious and open, the comments about how I didn’t quite fit—whether it was being too different in Canada or not “Persian enough” back home—bounced off me. Or so I thought. Read more>>

Janaeah Holloway

God , I know I would not be here without him . And he is the one that gave me the vision of what I could be if I continue to evolve into the person I am meant to be . It’s a humbling journey that’s never ending , but I constantly look for the purpose and lessons in all things good or bad . Because I know that all our experiences are teaching us , and as I get closer to god these lessons get more tolerable to overcome . And I know I was put in this position to show others that it can be done . No matter how people interpret that , I just do my best to show up as my most authentic self , and I never give up . Read more>>

Jeannie Paparone

I got my resilience from my mother. She was a single mother, raised 3 kids, and worked 2 jobs to raise her children. Her work ethnic and determination and hustled with no complaints. That is where i get my resilience from. Read more>>

Rachael Bohlander

I was “lucky” in a way. I figure skated, from age 8 through seventeen. When I was 12, I had a hard deadline: I had to pass a particular figures test in order to complete in the regionals qualifying competition. If I didn’t, I would be deemed too old to compete at my current level and unable to compete. Read more>>

Franklin Edwards

I attribute my resilience to my mother. Observing her raise me on her own while managing internal struggles that she never let show has been a powerful source of inspiration. Her strength and determination motivate me to persevere through any challenges I encounter. Read more>>

Brooke Purdy

As a teen Gen X, “wild child”- my main stability and security was from books and writing. I felt safe there. In the stories both consumed and created. My heroes were my English and writing teachers who fostered this and it became my safe haven and greatest source of comfort and self-esteem. So, when I was young, just out of film school and filled with optimism and hubris I quickly learned that being an artist is a hard road. I was “crushed” many times. I was refused. I was told no, not good enough and “not for us” so many times.  Read more>>

Donna Budica

Developing resilience is undoubtedly foundational to my being a first-generation Iranian-Italian. The mindset and dedication to striving for improvement and forging a unique path tends to be ingrained and instilled in us since childhood and is often commonplace for immigrant kids. While a more traditional career was probably expected of me, my passion for the arts, business, and just a little bit of defiance, propelled me towards entrepreneurship. Despite my family’s concern about embarking into wildly unknown territory, their tacit but ubiquitous support in my abilities and capability to thrive was an early lesson in self-belief and the fundamental mandate to embrace failure as a learning, not a loss. Read more>>

Luke Strnad

My resilience comes from a mix of life experiences, family support, and my determination to reach my goals, no matter the setbacks. Growing up, I learned to value hard work and persistence, which has helped me in school, work, and even when I tried to build a social media presence as an influencer and content creator. Working different jobs and adapting to new environments across various countries also pushed me to face challenges and grow. Even in my efforts to gain traction as a content creator, I dealt with rejection, criticism, and setbacks. All of these experiences have made me stronger and taught me that resilience isn’t about avoiding failure but learning from it and moving forward. Read more>>

Lizzy Hudson

I have learned valuable lessons from every difficult experience I’ve faced. It began when I lost my mother at a young age. It didn’t make sense to me why she would be taken from us, but we were fortunate to be adopted by her best friend, who provided us with new opportunities. This early loss taught us about life’s challenges sooner than most. Read more>>

Johnny Burgos

I’m not exactly sure but I think I get my resilience from my upbringing. I was raised around a lot of adversity and began to face it myself early in life so I have never been a stranger to fighting for the things that I want in life. As a creative professional, it’s a fine line between pulling from my past because it often triggers a lot of scarcity mindset but I’ve done a lot of work around acceptance of who I needed to be to survive in certain circumstances and trying to repurpose and reapply the traits that created resilience then, in the present. I also think failure has helped me become resilient because the more I fail, the more I realize how little it needs to affect my confidence and how much I learn by continuing to move forward in the face of it. Allowing mistakes to be lessons has allowed me to stay in a growth mindset, which seems synonymous with resilience. Read more>>

Jenna Seng

Resilient is one of the first things I realized I was. I mean literally, in high school, as I was doing my very first learning about myself as a young adult, resilient was one of the first things I felt proud of myself for being. What first taught me resilience was my background as a gymnast. I spent hundreds of hours growing up facing my fears and mental blocks, falling down, getting back up, and trying again until I could stick it. I wasn’t the most talented gymnast, which means I was falling down an extra amount, but even at 8, I begged my parents for more hours in the gym because I just wanted to get better. I remember acknowledging that gymnastics had taught me so much resilience the first time I tried to snowboard. Read more>>

Michael Brofman

I found my purpose by loosing everything as a pianist when I injured my hand as a student. I was unable to play piano without pain and forced to stop doing what I love. By losing what I valued the most I had to ask myself the question: what do I have when I have nothing? My answer was that I have my integrity, my sense of self, and my love for music. Those have become my guiding principles ever since. Read more>>

Bianca Fairchild

Being that I am a transgender female, I feel as though I have no choice, but to be resilient. As one can only imagine, it is incredibly difficult at times and it takes an insurmountable amount of strength just to be me… just to be in my skin, in my body, and face the world as myself. That in and of itself, requires a great amout of vulnerability. I live in a world that doesn’t readily accept, understand, and even hates those like me, yet I’ve chosen not to hate the very same world in return. I think that is very telling and speaks volumes about my character and who I am as a person. There have been times when I’ve just wanted to give up and “throw in the towel”, but I know that I have so much life to live! Read more>>

Ashanti J. Jackson

As a founder of a nonprofit organization my resilience is founded on my passion for the cause and the lasting impact we will make in the lives of youth and families in our community. My deep commitment to the mission drives me everyday and develops a strong perseverance, even in challenging times. As a visionary, I have clear, achievable goals for the organization that keeps me focused and motivated, even when facing obstacles. There are many goals we have achieved, but there are some goals that have not been accomplished that have the potential to significantly change the lives of youth. This drives me everyday to reach those goals and see the vision come into reality. Read more>>

Ashley Blankenship

I had a bit of a difficult childhood. I was a recording artist at the age of 12. I left school, began working with a tutor, and started traveling the world recording and performing. Working 16-20 hour days at such a young age gave me a great work ethic, but not without a lot of trauma to go along with it. My mom was also a drug addict at the time. I got used to functioning in a deficit both emotionally and physically. While I don’t recommend a traumatic upbringing, it helped me realize how strong I am. How much I can endure is only limited by my choices. No one else has control over what I can do. I also learned the difference between need to and want to. Read more>>

Erica Parrótt

At a young age I was exposed to my share of “empower through” moments. Many handed to me courtesy of the woman who birthed me. I spent my early years being blamed for everything and my teen years were spent trying not to die or catch a charge. I lived in reaction mode for so many years thanks to my birth mother. It was my grandmother, Emma who provided me the space to understand how to survive or thrive. She never forced anything on me. She saw what was my “thing” and created the avenues for it to blossom. Having her in my life raising me from birth until I was 12…is why I survived my teen years through my 20s. Read more>>

Na’ziya Lewis

My resilience is something that has always been with me. Growing up as a kid from a city like mine, you have to learn how to be. That’s no option. Here, you’re not exposed to as many opportunities as you’d find in big places like, New York, or maybe Atlanta for instance. Living in a place like Flint, you get exposed to alot at an early age, and constantly feel you have to live in fight or flight mode. You have to know how to withstand the pressure, you HAVE to know how to keep going. I used to have people tell me what I “won’t” be able to do, just because everyone believed it wasn’t possible coming from a place like mine.  Read more>>

Pj Jenkins, Jr.

I get my resilience from the foundation my parents laid early in my life. I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age—selling vegetables I grew to neighbors when I was just five. My parents always pushed me not only to dream big but to wake up from those dreams and make them real. They taught me that imagining greatness isn’t enough—you have to show up and make it happen. Read more>>

Carmine Montalto

I love what I do and was fortunate to find that early in life! I’ve actually been a writer since I was a kid. I got my degree in English and became a copywriter soon after graduating. Then, I discovered a passion for skincare, of all things. In time, I was fortunate to be able to combine them and to wake up each day loving what I do, In skincare, you’re always learning. I thrive off of that! Read more>>

Catherine Angiel

I believe my resilience stems from my upbringing and the challenges I faced early on. Growing up in a low-income household as a young lesbian, musician, and artist, I often felt like the odds were stacked against me. By the time I was 16, I was working to support my passion for drumming, all while balancing school, art, and music. It wasn’t easy, but it instilled in me the importance of persistence and optimism. Read more>>

Lattaniah Horton

My resilience stems from the various seasons of transition, adversity and fear in which I was able to overcome I’ve realized that when I experienced those tough seasons I assumed that it would never end, However just like the seasons they eventually change, Winter turns to spring and summer proceeds fall. I have faced challenges that crippled me in fear and uncertainty such as Divorce, Starting my own coaching business, investing in my first property, relocating away from my family and friends to start a New chapter and many more, All of these experiences were transitional moments in my life that required faith and resilience in spite of what my emotions told me or what my eyes showed me, I had to lean forward into the “why not” instead of the “what if’s”. Resilience requires a heart posture that goes against the odds instead of soaking in the odds. Read more>>

Tamara Venher

Since childhood, I have been accustomed to relying on myself, and this quality helps me to this day, thanks to the fact that I know that I can do everything myself, I learned to think for myself and this helps me achieve various goals. Read more>>

Tryna Gower

Growing up in a multicultural home should have been a blessing, a tapestry of diverse experiences and perspectives. Instead, it became a labyrinth of confusion and pain. My narcissist mother, always the center of attention, wove a web of manipulation that ensnared everyone around her. My stepfather, a monster hiding behind a facade of normalcy, cast long shadows over my childhood.
In this tumultuous environment, I learned early on that the only person I could truly rely on was myself. My intuition became my lifeline, a quiet voice whispering guidance when the world around me made no sense. It was this inner compass that helped me navigate the treacherous waters of my youth. Read more>>

Tawny Palm

Growing up I lived a relatively normal childhood. When I was 19 my parents got divorced. This was the first time I was facing resilience in my life. It was quite tumultuous even though I was an adult. I became the rock of my family. I was forced to be the one everyone leaned on. I have two younger sisters who were affected by it more than I was. One was 7 years old and the other was 15 years old. I had to hold everyone above water even though I was sinking myself. But I made it through and healed through all that. The biggest test of my resilience came when I faced an 8 year battle of infertility. Read more>>

Gina Daley

I truly believe resilience is cultivated and not given. Just like our muscles have to physically BREAK DOWN in order to build back up stronger, resilience is the result of being pressed to breaking, over and over, and choosing to adapt and grow bandwidth.
My personal experience with this didn’t come until my late 20s. I had gotten pregnant with a man I just started dating, and we chose to keep her, hardly knowing each other. It turned out that he had unfortunately lived thru an incredibly abusive and dysfunctional childhood, which in turn gifted him with uncontrollable rage, violence, anger, impulse, and the need to create a chaotic life around him.
Being inside that kiln, 3 years of verbal, emotional and physical violence, was the first gift of opportunity I received to really CHOOSE resilience. I could either choose to continue to be stuck in victim energy, or I could CHOOSE to do something with my pain. Read more>>

Seán Arena

At a young age, I learned very quickly that I would get torn down by life if I didn’t roll with the punches and keep moving forward. Being in the middle of my parents separation and divorce, trying to find the right career path for myself in a town that was unsupportive of my aspirations, and being a teenager in the Post-9/11 era – it all meant being constantly bombarded by multiple forces. Some knocked me off course, some didn’t, but I learned to dust myself off and just keep going. Read more>>

Lee Gavin

Growing up, I feel it was always instilled in my siblings and I that as Native people we were born with a certain amount of resilience, getting older that resiliency was definitely tested. When I was 15 I had appendicitis and while get it removed they discovered cancerous tumors, I spent about 2 years give or take in and out of the hospital and coming out of that mentally was a challenge. Read more>>

Roman Gadzhylov

My resilience stems from my adventurous spirit since childhood when I ventured into the forest to gather berries and mushrooms. Such experiences likely helped me develop a strong sense of independence and bravery, which contributed significantly to my resilience. This foundation of courage and the ability to explore unfamiliar territories has probably played a crucial role in how I handle challenges and uncertainties throughout life. Read more>>

Emilio Justo, Md

My resilience was developed innately coming to the United States as a Cuban refugee from a very young age. There were various factors that played a role in developing this resilience, such as: 1. Developing and practicing self-discipline: In life, whether you are an immigrant or not, generally speaking, things are not just handed out to us. We must develop the practice of self-discipline and learn to manage our time and resources ourselves without someone always holding us by the hand. I learned this early in my youth as I was always disciplined in my studies without being pushed, yet still balancing my time so as to be able to participate in sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities. Read more>>