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.
Islam Mohamed
I get my resilience from my faith first and foremost, and from the challenges life put in front of me. I was working as a senior supervisor at one of the biggest global fast-fashion companies in America when I was terminated for refusing to compromise my beliefs. Read More>>
Obi Nwankwo
I draw my resilience from my story and the heritage that shaped me. Growing up, I learned early on that nothing great comes without struggle, and that discipline, faith, and consistency are what keep you moving forward when things get tough. Read More>>
Katja Koren
I draw my resilience from my parents and my ancestors—especially my mother. She was a graceful being who taught me unconditional love. Her strength always came from her intention to serve and help others. I think of it as a kind of graceful resilience. My own resilience carries within it hope, faith, trust, and a deep sense of purpose in serving others. Read More>>
Jaela Coleman
My resilience stems from continually overcoming challenges that I once thought were impossible. I believe my resiliency is rooted in wanting to better the livelihoods of myself, my family, friends, and others around me and all over the world. Read More>>
Mindy Kono
I get my work ethic from my grandparents—especially my grandmother, who raised me as her own child. Read More>>
Liv Mills
I stand on the shoulders of the greatest giants before me, and I’m proud and immensely grateful to have come from a long line of the most inspirational, resilient, loving human beings I have ever met—and I have met a lot of people. Read More>>
Marci Stewart
When researching and thinking about starting a travel focused account, I kept hearing about the importance of consistency. When global travel was largely put on a hold in 2020, I still wanted to share content but wasn’t able to hop on a plane. Read More>>
Krystina Sibley
My resilience comes from a deep internal well of determination and inspiration, as well as staying open to infinite possibilities. When life presents me with challenges and I have to pivot, I’ve learned that it is essential to make time for reflection and rest, and to tap into what my higher self and the next chapter of life hold. Read More>>
Edward Wiggins
Where do I get my resilience from? My faith in God. There have been so many situations that I’ve been placed in where there was simply no way I shouldn’t been able to come out on top, but when I stopped worrying about it the way forward would be revealed. Read More>>
Kelley McCullough
Honestly, it comes from survival. My parents divorced when I was 5, and I had to grow up quick. By 7 I was crossing busy streets to grab Little Caesars and doing the grocery shopping. At that age, survival was all I knew—and that survival turned into resilience. Read More>>
Moon
My past, truly. Rejection, fear, all of that. I’ve survived things I never thought I’d bounce back from. All the times I wanted to give up and take an easy route in life, something just wouldn’t let me. A lot of it is strength and the rest is from my spirit that learned to never take no for an answer. Read More>>
YoungMin You
For most of my life, I’ve felt like the underdog. Growing up in South Korea, my dad was a pastor of a small church, and for much of my life, we didn’t have much money or material possessions. Read More>>
Jenni Saengsri 
My resilience comes from being the eldest daughter of poor immigrant parents. For a long time, I carried the emotional and practical burden of pursuing my ambitions alone. It was difficult for me to share my goals and plans because they didn’t understand or have the resources; therefore, they couldn’t really support me in the ways I wished they could. Read More>>
Amoi Smith
Coming from a mother who raised five children alone, I knew that I would always have a strong character. Watching my mom do so much on her own, made me realize how important it was to push through life, even when the odds are against you. Read More>>
Anjali Shah
I get my resilience from my mom. She was the most resilient, determined person I knew and she led by example. She taught me to never give up, keep trying, believe in myself, and that there’s always a way to make something work or solve a problem – you just have to be a little creative sometimes.Read More>>
Demitrius Palmer
In 2014 I survived a brain aneurysm that left me in a coma for 4 days. After getting back on my feet, further testing determined that an AVM located directly on my spinal cord was a major contributing factor in this incident. I had another incident in the hospital and was rushed into a 16 hr. Read More>>
Julieta Ferrer
One of the moments that most forged my resilience was in 2020, during the pandemic. I was preparing my first solo exhibition, painting a mural for her, when my father contracted COVID-19. I couldn’t be with him due to distance and restrictions. We spoke daily via video call, and I shared details of the exhibition to distract him. Read More>>
Lasse Elkjaer
I believe my resilience comes from being one of those very curious kids wanting to ‘figure-it-out.’ – Even though my first fascination was music, I grew up with sports. During my competitive junior years, I achieved podium position at the Danish championship in gymnastics. Read More>>
Vikita Poindexter
My resilience comes from faith, experience, and responsibility. I’ve walked through challenges that could have derailed me — personally and professionally — but I learned to turn adversity into strategy. Read More>>
Bri Haswell
My resilience is rooted in my mother’s strength and my father’s love. As a family, we’ve endured many challenges, but what defines us is the way we’ve always faced them together, overcoming each obstacle as one. Read More>>
Kimberly Swaim
As a military child raised by an active duty Marine, resilience was spoken over me from the moment I was born. Military children are resilient. That’s who we are. We move, adapt, change environments and recreate ourselves in each situation to overcome the challenges of living the grief of loss on a consistent basis. Read More>>
CARLOS RISQUEZ
My resilience comes from growing up surrounded by Paralympic athletes, including my own mother, who taught me that true strength is not about avoiding challenges, but facing them with courage. Covering Paralympic Games for more than a decade has also shown me, time and again, that resilience is about mindset, purpose, and the will to keep moving forward. Read More>>
Jillian Rowe
At 27, I lost my first husband to an accidental overdose. Many people quietly blamed me, because a year earlier I had made the painful decision to separate from him. What they didn’t know was that addiction had been part of our entire relationship. For years, I tried to help him, but I was young and unequipped to carry that weight. Read More>>
Arianna David
My everyday life has been shaped by experiencing repeated losses and witnessing the regrets of my loved ones. Those experiences inspired me to make a promise—to create a better life for myself and for them, one that fulfills the dreams we once only imagined Read More>>
Mariel Lajterman
Resilience comes from never losing sight of the end goal, the fight it took to be on your journey, and committing to the success you want for yourself. I knew from a young age that I was creative and artistic, after college is when I decided combining my marketing degree, corporate America and creativity was not what I thought it would be. So I quit. Read More>>
Cat Ski
Resilience isn’t something you wake up one day and decide to have. It’s shaped in you — often in ways you don’t even recognize until much later. For me, resilience began before I had words for it. I was born in Korea while my parents were preparing to immigrate to the United States. Read More>>
Araceli Amador
I get my resilience from my journey as an immigrant, as a person, and as an entrepreneur. It started with my father — he was also an immigrant in Mexico. From him, I learned how to adapt, observe, and appreciate things differently. While others took things for granted, I learned to value the culture, the people, and the opportunities Mexico offered. Read More>>
William D. Stinchcomb
Growing up in lower socioeconomic status in the 1990s at the height and post-crack epidemic, you get to know a lot of things about life. No, I do not have a story of some 90s tale like Boyz N The Hood or Menace II Society, But I did see those images and reflections of what I observed in my everyday environment. Read More>>
Erin McGrath Rieke
Resilience, for me, is not a trait I carry like a medal or an inheritance passed down intact. It is something I have had to gather—piece by piece, moment by moment—as one gathers seashells after a storm. Some arrive chipped, some luminous, some so fragile they seem ready to crumble in the hand. Yet together, they form a collection, a mosaic of survival. Read More>>
Victoria Mantler
My family and friends. I truly have the most amazing support system. My parents have been cheering me on for as long as I can remember. If we could afford it, they made it happen — ballet lessons, softball tournaments, modeling and acting classes. And when I didn’t have a car yet, they drove me to set without hesitation. Read More>>
Chatrivia U. Nugin
I always knew I was different and didn’t fix in with my peers going up. God gave me a gift and when I become HIV I found out who I was and who’s I was. My resilience comes from Chicago Read More>>
