We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carolyn McCuan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Carolyn, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is the concept of being able to positively adapt, despite hardship and adversity. It’s a character trait that teaches us to have the patience to endure. We are currently living in a generation of instant gratification. With high-speed internet, 5G, phones that are designed to be better and faster with each new iteration, we are fostering the next generation of “I want it, and I want it now!” It’s great for technological advancement, but it draws us away from the art of being patient, which is a key ingredient in building resilience.
Resilience is what has gotten me to where I am today. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Patience is a virtue” which I believe is a universal truth. My resilience comes from being patient and enduring through the hard times. I’ve dealt with adversity, doubt, lack of support, and many times when it felt like everything was working against me. But I never gave up. I have to constantly remind myself that greatness takes time.. It takes time to build your brand. It takes time to build your vision. It takes time to build your career. It takes time to build your life.
Be patient. Have faith. Follow your heart with a clear conscience and trust that it will all work out in the end.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a wife, a mother, a studied scientist, a medical writer, and a businesswoman. I run a healthcare consulting company called CTM Medical Consulting. My company supports medical device manufacturers through the regulatory approval process so that these treatments can be available for patients who need them. Our work consists of researching scientific and clinical evidence, and providing medical writing services aimed at evaluating device safety and performance. We help our clients navigate the requirements with agencies such as the US FDA and other global regulatory organizations. We’ve successfully supported a multitude of clients from startups to Fortune 500 companies. The work we provide is rewarding because we share a common goal of providing safe and effective therapies for patients while also propelling innovation in the medical field.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Patience. 2. Gratitude. 3. Faith.
These are the 3 key ingredients that have shaped me and my journey in this life. Having the patience to endure will make you resilient; practicing gratitude will fill your life with joy and appreciation; and having faith will get you through the difficult times.
Don’t let a bad experience make you think that you’ve failed. Instead, use that experience to improve. You may get a thousand NO’s before you get a YES. But don’t take this as a death sentence, because you’d have given up before you even gave yourself a chance to grow. If I counted on my fingers (and toes) how many times I’ve been discouraged, let down, or flat out rejected, I’d run out of appendages!
Do not be discouraged. Adapt! After all, Charles Darwin said, “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.” Our experiences shape who we are. All experiences, good and bad, are opportunities for us to learn from. If we don’t face hardship, we will never grow.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I have worked diligently to get to where I am. I take pride in having grit and a strong work ethic, but I must humble myself and admit that I owe everything to God. In this world, we will be faced with challenges and put in situations where sometimes we won’t have any place or any one to turn to. God has been the constant in my life that has always been there because whether we like it or not, He never goes away. He is always with us! When I was dealing with situations that felt impossible to overcome, He would lift me up and show me the way. Rather than being upset and sulking in my sorrows, He taught me to look UP and to look forward. Don’t look AT your problems, look PAST your problems.
It took me most of my life to finally realize that I can feel better and be at peace knowing that He has a plan. Sometimes it would be challenging for me to see past the difficulties because I was in the eye of the storm. When we’re in it, it’s hard to see a way out or understand why we are in it in the first place. But conquering every challenge is followed by growth.
Even when we don’t know it or can’t see it, by having faith and having the patience to endure, we can push through and come out onto the other side of adversity. I keep plaques and signs in my office to remind me of this daily. One of my favorites:“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” -Proverbs 3:5-6.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ctmmedicalconsulting.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynmccuan
