Meet Gene Folkes, MSOL

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gene Folkes, MSOL. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gene below.

Gene, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Before I explain where I believe my resilience comes from, I’d like to share when I learned what resilience was and realized that I was a resilient person. A decade ago, as part of a candidate selection process, a therapist conducted a psychological assessment, and we discussed the results. I was shocked at the accuracy of her assessment relating to my personality traits, family history, and my ability to manage the internal and external environment of my formative years. Perhaps this is a story you’ve heard before, or perhaps it isn’t, either way, I hope that my ability to share where I get my resilience from and the events that made being resilient necessary will encourage anyone reading a snippet of my story to embrace the belief that regardless of whatever challenges you’re facing, you possess the talent, power, and ability to overcome whatever challenges or adversity you’re facing presently. In fact, I would tell you that resilience is built by facing challenges and adverse situations.

I did not grow up in a supportive environment, this is not to criticize my parents, or family members in any way, but, coming up in a family that did not often verbally express love, had less than optimistic attitudes, and family dysfunction without many positive role models, this would leave one with a heterodox view on one could be resilient in these conditions. I am not quite confident if being resilient is something you’re born with or something you learn, I’m more inclined to believe we are born with resiliency, we just possess different levels of it.

I recall growing up being called stubborn a lot, in fact, whenever I set my mind to doing something or completing a given task, you couldn’t pry me from whatever it was until I either accomplished my goal or set it aside. In my aforementioned counseling session, I revealed to my therapist, that I always felt that whatever the obstacles, whatever I couldn’t figure out, there had to be a solution that I was unable to see, and I would really fail the moment I gave up trying to find a way to solve whatever challenge was in front of me. What I learned in that session, which I didn’t know prior to this, was my “stubbornness” was actually resiliency. What distinguished me from being stubborn to being resilient is that in my persistence, I learned to adapt, I looked at things from a new angle, and eventually, I learned that walking away, and coming back at it, gave me a new perspective often leading to the solution.

The best I can tell you is that I knew I would not be satisfied knowing there was a solution to a problem, a way through an obstacle, or an answer to a challenge and if I didn’t do everything in my power to solve it. Something in me wouldn’t/doesn’t allow me to quit, it feels inexplicable, perhaps, but, I’ll try anyway…

I have come to believe that in order to be resilient, you must be tenacious and embrace optimism, these three traits are interrelated and you cannot have one without the other. I would also like to add that you must be mentally agile, and by being mentally agile, I mean your ability to adapt, adjust, and apply different approaches to overcome your obstacles or challenges. Then it takes being tenacious to not give up, regardless of naysayers, time, or what is thought of as possible or impossible, this is where optimism comes into play. I say it this way, “I will not believe what I see, I hold out hope for what is possible.”

Resilience is said to be dictated by a combination of genetics, personal history, environment, and situational context, however, I believe it is very heterogeneous. For me, I wasn’t trying to be tougher, stronger, or better, I just held a belief that whatever pain, hardship, stress, or challenges in front of me, couldn’t last forever, and it would be my hope and faith in God and the talents he blessed me with that in some way all of the difficulties, obstacles, stress, pain, and hurt were preparing me for something better, leading me toward my purpose. This is where my resilience comes from, my faith in the promise that “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me…” and the belief that I was given gifts, and talents for a purpose, and in order to align with my purpose, struggles, failures, obstacles, and challenges, as well as naysayers, and or haters are all necessary to set me on the journey towards my purpose, and without resiliency, I would quit long before I stepped into my life’s purpose.

As you face life’s challenges, obstacles, and failures, and you have those moments in the valley wondering if you’re going to make it through, here’s what I’ll share with you from the valley, you possess that dynamic trait called resilience and it’s being strengthened and developed right now, and you tap into its’ power by tapping into your faith and hope that you are being prepared for something greater.

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?
My name Is Gene Folkes, I am a service-disabled Air Force Veteran, and a former Wealth Manager, currently focused on providing Strategic and Change Integration solutions to Small and mid-sized Companies with Folkes International Group, Inc. and I am also the host of The Folkes Unfettered show streaming on YouTube and as a podcast available everywhere. I began my career in the United States Air Force, where I learned not only the power of collaboration, service, and commitment to duty, but also the importance of never giving up, and that every problem has a solution. The invaluable lessons I learned serving our country in the USAF, would set the tone for establishing the core values that would allow me to obtain my Master’s in Organizational leadership, and enter the entrepreneurial arena, leading to the establishment of one of the most innovative and visionary small Management Consulting firms in the state of Texas.

Currently, I am focused on two things professionally, growing my company to provide more accessibility to capital for small, and mid-sized organizations founded by and serving communities of color. Folkes International Group, Inc. is an SDVOB committed to offering the same level of expertise, advice, and consulting services once only available to large global enterprises, startups, and SMEs looking to grow and expand.

My second focus is serving as host of The Folkes Unfettered podcast, which also is available on YouTube. We are growing our Folkes Unfettered Show, currently being heard in 15 countries, available in Spanish, this show allows my co-host and I to serve as your guide to attaining Spiritual, Mental, and Emotional well-being in a complex world. We engage in unfettered conversations with people from around the world sharing their perspectives on how business, technology, world events, and political policies affect us, although the world is constantly changing, and it may feel difficult to stay grounded, We help you find your center.

Folkes International Group Inc. and Folkes Unfettered Podcast are both dedicated to providing you with the tools and resources you need to navigate the complex world we live in, both personally and professionally by collaborating with experts from a variety of fields, including psychology, spirituality, and business.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, I believe identifying and adhering to my personal core values has been the most impactful along my journey. My core values are Honor, Faith, Charity, Health, and Wisdom. Whenever I have come up against an obstacle, moral, or ethical dilemma, I am reminded of my core values and whether or not the decision I need to make is in alignment with what I believe or whether am I violating my core values. Every important decision is run through this filter and is tested and if it fails to meet my criteria, then I discard it as an option.

My advice to each and every person reading this article is to focus more on WHO you are and want to be instead of what you want to do for a living or the material things you want to acquire. I strongly encourage you to conduct a personal SWOT analysis on yourself and write down your core values, your vision, and your purpose and to keep it with you at all times. This way, you can have it next to you when fear or doubt creeps in or naysayers tell you it can’t be done. I keep my Core Values on my phone, tablet, and PC, and I look at them often, daily in fact, especially on the really tough days, the days I don’t think I’ll make it, and I repeat them over and over again, and I recommend you do the same.

The earlier you do this in your journey, the stronger you will be when the obstacles along your journey come along, however, by then, you’ll be ready, and have a game plan to deal with whatever comes your way.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We are looking to partner or collaborate with Entrepreneurs, Small and mid-sized companies, Investors, and institutions to provide access to thought leaders, visionaries, and like-minded investors to create a community focused on what we like to call “Compassionate Capitalism” which focuses on providing access to opportunity for disenfranchised communities and providing tools and resources on starting, growing, and expanding community bases businesses that serve their community and communities all over the world.

We are also looking for interesting people to appear as guests on the Folkes Unfettered Show.

We look forward to and welcome you to reach out to join our purpose of positively impacting the lives of others by being servant leaders.

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