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.
Janhavi Parekh
To me resilience is to keep going, even when you don’t know the answers, you take a deep breath, gather yourself, and keep going you will eventually figure it out. I don’t think I get resilience from just one place, it comes from the people around me, my friends, family, and mentors even things like books and music. I’m someone who overthinks a lot so when things don’t go according to plan, I just start imagining the worst possible scenarios and get super overwhelmed. My mom keeps telling me to look at the situation one at a time, and ask myself ‘Is there something I can do about this right now?’, that’s really effective for me. When I break down my problems into smaller pieces, I realise that maybe there’s only one thing I can control in the moment, even if it’s just showing up or making a plan to move forward. Read more>>
Jane Cho
I would say that my resilience stems from watching my parents go through the hardships of immigrating later in life while always prioritizing the happiness of our family. Growing up in that environment has made me naturally develop a strong sense of responsibility and resourcefulness. From a young age, I took on various roles and tried many different things to contribute to our family’s well-being. I think these experiences not only shaped my adaptability but also taught me the value of perseverance, which has been crucial in shaping who I am today. Read more>>
Tearea Turner
At my core, my resilience is fueled by a desire to create meaningful change. I view every setback as an opportunity to learn, grow, and come back stronger.
A friend once shared a quote with me: “Fear and doubt cannot share the same space as faith and abundance.” This mantra has become a guiding principle in my life, reminding me to trust in possibilities and lean into courage, even in uncertainty. The ebbs and flows of life shaped by faith and values, have instilled in me strength to stand firm, no matter the challenges.
Professionally, I’ve learned that resilience isn’t just about overcoming obstacles it’s about finding opportunities within them. Leading teams, navigating high-stakes projects, and working with marginalized communities have taught me to stay calm under pressure, pivot when necessary, and remain focused on long term goals. Read more>>
Rachel Fisher
Resilience, for me, has been forged through the transformative fire of midlife initiation. This is often a time where that can be characterized by a series of hardship. This time in a woman’s life is so much more than a mere transition; it’s a profound calling—an invitation to heal childhood wounds, confront physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges, and emerge stronger, wiser, and more whole. It is
For me, this initiation began with heartbreak, hardship, and loss. One of the most mystical and painful experiences I endured was being chosen by my best friend to walk her to the edge of life. She was dying of an aggressive and rare cancer, and she entrusted me to be by her side. To hold space for someone as they journey into the unknown is to glimpse the sacred. It strips away all pretense and leaves you raw and humbled. Read more>>
Carlington Bent
Resilience isn’t something I woke up with one day. It was born out of necessity, built from moments when I felt like life was pulling me under, and I had to fight to rise above.
I grew up watching my family face financial challenges — the kind that force hard choices and leave you wondering how to make ends meet. We didn’t have a financial safety net or wealth to fall back on, but what we did have was hope, determination, and an unwavering belief that things could get better if we worked hard enough. I saw my parents make sacrifices to give us better opportunities, and that planted a seed in me — a seed of persistence and grit. Read more>>
Banjo
When it comes to resilience, I tend to look for lessons from the streets of Los Angeles. I love a good walkabout. And my best thinking and most meaningful interactions come from hoofing through one-off neighborhoods and stumbled-upon alleys and speaking with those I might not normally interact with.
Danny James Moore has been homeless in Hollywood since 1986. Along the way, we would see each other in the oddest places and began to say hello. His lifestyle fascinated me from the start and our chit-chat expanded naturally into more of a rat-a-tat-tat. Read more>>
Dawn Bennett Hudson
From the time I was very young, I watched my parents struggle. It was one hard time after another. Yet, they never gave up on life or each other. I watched them get knocked down and kicked. They sucked in their breath, shook it off, and tried again. Over and over again, they struggled to find their place in life and acheive their dreams.
My turn came when I was 9 and was diagnosed with leukemia–on halloween no less. I would have died the night my parents took me into the hospital because I didn’t have enough blood in my body to keep my heart pumping. I was diagnosed at a time when there wasn’t a lot known about the disease and my chances were not great. After the doctor delivered the news, my father got in my face and said, “You will not die.” Read more>>
Garrett Molsbee
As I was working in the alcohol industry as a sales rep for a large distributing company, I felt as if I was a perfectionist. I wanted to be the very best at everything I did. I was essentially the most competitive person in the room ( thats how I felt about myself). and as my tenure grew with the distributing company, I felt that I was not growing. It seems it became more of a political game to grow with the company and less of a meritocracy. Couple that with the fact that I was getting paid pennies on the dollar for a job that essentially was the driving force for big suppliers and made them all of their coin, I felt as if I was doing all of the work for someone else’s dollar. I was also in a conversation with a few suppliers that cursed at me and demeaned me because I didn’t tell certain privileged information to them for competitive reasons. Given all that, I decided that I wouldn’t rely on others to determine what I was to become and how my future would shape out. I decided to go all in on myself and make my own brand of whiskey and prove everyone wrong that did me wrong. I set out to do it and do it the right way. Read more>>
Hari-prakash Boyd
Trauma. Autism and trauma. The combo is a super power really. I’d like to say it’s because of my outgoing personality, or because my father instilled a strong work ethic in me, but in reality it’s because I’ve had no choice but to keep going. There’s only one way out of this life, and it’s not my time yet. No one saves you but yourself and that is a beautiful lesson to learn, though it can also be a painful one. Read more>>
Leena Chitnis
Honestly, life hasn’t been that easy for me. I was blessed with a wonderful family and we never lacked anything, but being a minority several ways over (female, gay, religious minority, daughter of immigrants/2nd generation, etc.) made me “lean in” in every space before that even became a thing. I had to. When you’re coming from a place of being so different, people tend not to hear you. You have to work twice as hard to get half as much. A lifetime of this will hone you into a razor-sharp observer, resource finder, and business person. Read more>>
Bianca Salerno
My resilience comes from a burning desire not to let traumatic and challenging experiences define or diminish me. I have always been driven to succeed in the face of adversity, combining life’s toughest moments with a willingness to transform them through intentional practices and self-discipline.
I’ve faced profound challenges—growing up in an unhealthy environment, succeeding in a cutthroat industry, experiencing a health scare, and navigating personal rock bottoms. I am unafraid to rebuild from the ground up—over and over and over again. These moments taught me the power of self-reflection, discipline, and faith in my ability to create change. Read more>>
Shawn Dinneen
Resilience comes from within me. I’ve worked hard to become an active participant in my own healing and the journey of my life. I consistently challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone, knowing that a few moments of fear or discomfort can lead to growth, confidence, and a better version of myself.
It’s easy to fall into a victim mentality, feeling sad, frustrated, or defeated by the challenges life throws our way. But I’ve chosen to focus on building a life filled with as much happiness and joy as possible, despite the difficulties I’ve faced. I actively choose a positive mindset—even when I have to push myself to find it. Read more>>
Cindy Marabito
Pure hard luck. The more I get knocked back, for some reason, I come back even stronger. I believe in myself, and that is my greatest strength. I recently read a book, Mentor by Tom Grimes. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve come across on the craft of writing and how it fits into the bigger scheme of things. Life lessons learned the hard way. Plus, it’s so well written that I practically finished it in one sitting. I’m also encouraged by any stroke of luck or hardship as a potential story I can write about. I never thought I’d be digging through my past looking through events that were once incredibly painful to me and using them in my writing. Read more>>
Ashley Purdin
I am nothing if not resilient. I get knocked down a lot—whether that be personally, professionally, or by my mental illness. What is mental illness? According to the Cleveland Clinic: “Mental health disorders, such as depression or anxiety, affect the way we think, feel and behave. There are more than 200 types of mental illnesses. Symptoms of mental health disorders usually improve with treatment, which may include medication, psychotherapy, alternative therapies or brain stimulation therapy.” Mental illness can be something short-term someone experiences or for people like me – wellness can be a lifelong battle (also known as chronic). Read more>>
Christiana Twenboa
When it comes to resilience, I draw strength from my faith in God. As a believer in Christ, following Him and staying grounded in His word has given me the assurance that I can overcome any obstacle that comes my way. There are times when the weight feels heavy, and I’m tempted to give up, thinking that the battle is too much for me. But in those moments, I remember that God hasn’t given me anything I can’t handle. My faith reminds me that, no matter how tough things get, I can keep going because I trust that it will be well. And knowing that tomorrow is never guaranteed pushes me to keep fighting for the next day, no matter what. Read more>>
Anna Ohanjanyan
It comes from the commitment to helping people and making them feel confident and
beautiful. Finding ways of adapting and staying up-to-date with latest developments in the beauty industry. But most of all the positive feedback and transformations I see in my patients give me a sense of fulfillment and drive to push through any difficulties. Read more>>
Jr Garcia
I believe to be a great entrepreneur you must first be a great a sales man which means you must get acquainted with the term no. Thousands of doors have been shut in my face but what makes a successful businessmen is the ability to walk up to the next one and have a resilient. ind. I am lucky enough to have my resilience from my mother. As a hispanic women in business she had to earn the respect from her colleagues which wasn’t the easiest of task especially being that she worked in the construction industry which is predominately a male dominated field. Most would see that as a con of the job but not my mother. She faces adversity head on with reckless abandon. Through some miracle I got her intutuison and wit which has helped tremendously in my industry. Read more>>
Anna Madewell
For as long as I can remember, I have always been easily motivated by exciting creative pursuits or opportunities to challenge myself. From running endurance during cross country to disciplining myself in school for honorable mentions, I have always enjoyed stretching my limits as a little girl. Although one experience that really pushed my boundaries in college at UTSA was joining this internship called Southwestern Advantage. Read more>>
Denzel Kazeze
Well what I can say about my personal take on it is that my resilience stemmed from overcoming other obstacles within my own personal life at a young age.
I grew up with my mother mostly and I had a younger brother at the time who had cerebral palsy and also a tad bit of a touch of spastic seizure disorder as well.
He helped me overcome a lot within my own life because of how strong he was when he had to undergo surgeries. He has had over 5 surgeries within his lifetime. From having a g tube surgery, to having to also have rods placed in his back because of scoliosis as well. Read more>>
Sophia Holder
My resilience comes from a life that has been a tapestry of unforgettable highs and profound challenges. My journey has been a series of struggles and trials that tested my spirit and shaped the woman I am today. I’ve walked paths that many would consider impossible to endure. I’ve experienced homelessness, fought through unimaginable loss, and even battled cancer.
Each of these moments pushed me to my limits, but they also taught me the true depth of my strength. Resilience, for me, isn’t just about surviving—it’s about finding purpose and growth in the midst of adversity. It’s about learning to trust the process even when the outcome seems uncertain and believing that even the hardest seasons will pass. Read more>>
Sisc Johnson
Growing up in poverty and moving in and out of foster care has profoundly shaped my resilience. These experiences taught me how to adapt, endure, and persevere in the face of challenges that many might find overwhelming.
Leaving home and being on my own since the age of 15 pushed me to grow up quickly. It meant taking jobs that no one else wanted—work that was often tough, unglamorous, and undervalued. Yet, these experiences became a critical part of my journey. They taught me the value of hard work, humility, and persistence. They also gave me the opportunity to observe and learn from leadership, even in unexpected places. I paid close attention to the way managers handled problems, motivated their teams, and stayed composed under pressure. Read more>>
Claudia Da Silva
I believe my resilience is deeply rooted in my Portuguese heritage, culture, and upbringing. Growing up in a culture that values hard work, family, and determination shaped me into someone who never gives up, no matter the challenge.
My inner strength has been forged through years of facing adversity. Moving to new countries, integrating into new communities, and starting fresh countless times have taught me adaptability, perseverance, and the power of believing in myself. Every challenge I’ve faced has been a stepping stone, building my character and reinforcing my drive to succeed. Read more>>
James Muller
To what do I owe my resiliency? I have to create! It’s not even a rational decision – no more than breathing is. From my earliest memories, I created: drawing, building, writing – whatever it took to make my dreams come alive. Paint the picture you always wanted to see and write the novel you always wanted to read -but for me, it even went further: paint the world and write the novel you always wanted to live in. And therein lies the catch. You can’t, of course, unless you settle in a world that can never be. Read more>>
Amanda Nigg
Resilience, for me, is a muscle I’ve built through life’s unexpected challenges. Growing up in a small town in western Nebraska, I learned early on that when life throws you curveballs, you face them head-on. But it wasn’t until I married into a 5th-generation farm family in South Dakota that I truly understood the depth of resilience.
Farm life is unpredictable—one storm can undo months of work, and yet, every season, we start again. That mindset has bled into every aspect of my life. One of the biggest tests of my resilience came when we lost our home to a fire. In the ashes of that moment, I could’ve given in to despair. Instead, I chose to rebuild—not just a house but a stronger version of myself. Read more>>
Kira Jane Buxton
It took around twenty years of professional rejection, in first an acting career and then a writing career, before I became a published author. I’m an artist who believes in big dreams, and I was lucky to have had my artistic interests and tendencies nurtured as a child. I was read to when I was little–an experience so vital for a young person to expand their understanding of the world, inspire creativity and encourage empathy. I loved to imagine inhabiting the worlds inside the pages of the books I read. Both my parents fostered the idea that I could follow my interests and curiosity and create the life I wanted for myself, even if it didn’t conform to the expectations of others. They did warn me that a career in the arts wouldn’t be easy to ignite, and they were right. But the years of rejection were not wasted. On the contrary, those are the years I honed my writing skills, gained life experience that I could draw upon for my fiction, where I developed my funny bone, and where I learned how to pick myself up, dust myself off and learn something from any experience. Read more>>
Nagham Alsamari
Resilience has been a defining part of my life since I was 4 years old. My earliest memory is of fleeing my hometown of Basrah during the First Gulf War. After our house was bombed, my family and I had no home to return to. We packed into a car, driving toward Karbala with nothing but each other and the hope of finding safety. That experience taught me that resilience is about finding strength in togetherness, even when the world around you feels like it’s falling apart. Read more>>
Vicky Keisler
My resilience comes from the life lessons I’ve gathered through the ups and downs of my journey. Growing up in post-war Vietnam, I was raised by my grandmother after losing my parents at a young age. She taught me the value of kindness, patience, and hard work, and instilled in me a belief in Karma. Her wisdom shaped how I approach challenges, always reminding me to act with integrity and trust that good actions will bring good results. Read more>>
Sandra Gurvis
As with everyone, I started out as a child. 🙂 However, while it might have appeared that I had “everything” including a stable, upper-middle class family, intelligence, good health and relative attractiveness, I felt completely isolated and lonely. And it being the late ’50s/early ’60s, in an elementary school which to this day reminds me of a prison, whose enforced rigid, conformist values influenced both teachers and students, created a perfect cocktail of torment and despair for any child who looked or felt different. And being sensitive and obvious in my feelings I was the perfect target for ridicule and humiliation. I remember thinking about suicide at age 10; perhaps not shocking today but back then, no one talked of such things. My parents, both kind, well-intentioned people, were at a loss and took me to get counseling, which may have helped. I honestly remember very little about grades kindergarten through 5 in that hellhole, which I had to attend until high school. Read more>>
June Dare
I’ve been a professional actor for the past 16 years. Acting is an extremely competitive profession. In some cases, you’re going up against thousands of other actors who are equally as talented and driven as you, and in the end only one person gets the role. You have to be ok with knowing you may put your heart and soul into an audition, knock it out of the park, and still might not land the gig. Resilience is truly the name of the game. My resilience comes from my belief in myself and what I know I can do, but it also comes from knowing that acting isn’t everything I am. My faith is very important to me, and I deeply believe that God can use every bit of every one of us to contribute goodness into this world – in ways we could never imagine – even if it doesn’t perfectly align with our own plans or desires for our lives. So if all of this falls apart, if my acting dreams as I see them never come to fruition, I’ll still be ok. Read more>>
Lan Tran-Sellitti
My parents immigrated to the US from Vietnam during the fall of Saigon in 75. They endured much hardship to get to the states and they weren’t even aware that they were headed there. I have seen them overcome a lot of discrimination, poverty and hardship but they persevered. They were entrepreneurs who were not afraid to jump in even though it was an industry they had no previous knowledge in and I learned alot through their experiences. Read more>>
Hawnuh Lee
I’ve failed consistently. I’ve wanted to drop out of something at every stage in life but credit my stick-to-it-ness to my mom. Quitting was never an option. (In some cases to a detriment.) My sisters and I found consistency as a means to an end. If we weren’t allowed to disengage from an activity, a community, a situation, we learned to adapt, endure, and improve. Resiliency became second nature and a necessary tool for survival. It’s something I’ve carried into adulthood–an unconscious skill I find gratitude in, even as I unlearn some of these maladaptive tendencies. I am reminded in every transitional moment that I am capable of hard things. Read more>>
Laura Tahri
Resilience feels like one of my superpowers.</b> It’s hard to pinpoint how much of it comes from nature versus nurture, but I suspect my upbringing played a significant role in shaping it. Growing up as the only girl in a farming family with two older brothers, and later a younger half-brother, amidst the complexities of divorce and remarriage, certainly added layers to my story. Read more>>
Paul Buyer
I get my resilience from believing in myself and knowing I have successfully done hard things and overcome adversity many times before. One experience in particular stays with me to this day. After graduating high school, I felt I was a good percussionist. I was active in the band and had competed in solo and ensemble festivals each year, winning blue ribbons and medals symbolizing outstanding achievement. I was enthusiastic about music, playing the drums, and being part of something bigger than myself. Pursuing my passion in college and majoring in music was my goal. Read more>>
Florence Amerley Adu
When I was six years old, a first generation child of Ghanaian immigrants, I sat in a first grade classroom filled with a diversity of students from all sorts of national, ethnic and economic backgrounds. This was thanks to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the nature of a newly urbanizing city. I grew up in Denver, Colorado in a fairly naturally mixed-income community of people of color and working-class whites. Students from new communities of mostly middle and upper middle class white families were bused in. My two teachers were white women. I have distinct memories of both alternately overlooking my academic potential and reprimanding my way of enquiry and curiosity. I was a well-behaved child of over-achieving immigrants so I was definitely not a disciplinary problem; but, I knew I could be challenged and achieve more than they allowed. It didn’t change my effort and I hadn’t connected the dot that a dark-skinned African girl was not meant to excel in the company of rich blond white girls. Read more>>
Michael Hingson
It began with my parents. I was born two months premature in February of 1950. At about 4 months of age it was discovered that I was blind due to a condition associated with premature births and children being put into an incubator with a pure Oxygen environment. Contrary to popular belief even too much Oxygen can cause difficulties. My retenas did not develop properly and I became blind. Read more>>
Nancy Gale
Whether you grew up with a silver spoon or in poverty, resilience is your greatest asset. The beauty is that resilience is not something one is born with; it is a choice. Resilience is what will get you beyond the wall.
When I was a teenager, my mom became severely ill, spending the greater part of four years in the hospital, in and out of consciousness, fighting for her life. Four years and 13 surgeries later, the doctors credited her strong desire to live as the driving force behind her unexpected and inspiring recovery. There were so many times she could have given up, but she never did. She chose to live a life of perseverance and resilience. Read more>>
Debbie Weiss
I get my resilience from my father. My mother died when I was ten, so I was raised by my dad. He was a research scientist who changed his entire life to become a single parent at a time when men weren’t usually involved in child-rearing. He was remarkable, learning to cook and run a household, and even listening to hours of my teenage angst. Read more>>
Brandon Tate
In the Spring of 2022 I found myself in a conversation with the world renowned expert on childhood trauma, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, just a few weeks before she stepped down from her historic post as California’s first Surgeon General and Chair of First 5 California. We were meeting to discuss messaging strategies for the Stronger Starts campaign to help parents prevent the cycle of Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs) passing to their kids. As a parent of two kids under two at the time, I wanted to know from the leading expert on the topic, how my past ACEs still affected me when I was already successful and resilient? Read more>>
Krystalynn Penkal
I get my resilience from my belief in continuous growth and self-improvement. Even when things get tough, I know each experience is helping me evolve into a stronger person. My spiritual practice also plays a big role—it keeps me grounded and reminds me that challenges are part of my journey, each one offering a valuable lesson. Together, these beliefs give me the strength to push forward and trust in the process. Read more>>
Awele Emili
As a designer, artist, and animator, I get my resilience from the creative process itself. Each project teaches me something new, whether it’s about overcoming technical challenges or pushing through creative blocks. The desire to tell stories, evoke emotions, and bring ideas to life drives me forward. Every piece I create is a reflection of my growth, and even setbacks or failures help refine my vision. Read more>>
