We recently connected with Stephanie Page and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I believe resilience comes when something doesn’t go the way you thought it would initially and you come to a crossroads. You can either give up or keep going. If you choose to press on and keep going, it is here resilience is developed. I don’t believe resilience is something people have, I believe it is something that grows within a person through perseverance. In my life and work many things have not gone how I thought they would. Many times I have sat at a crossroads having to choose which way to go. In choosing to press forward when things are not easy we find when the next challenge comes we are more prepared for it. Resilience is the fruit of getting to the other side of challenges and disappointments.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am the Executive Director of an anti human trafficking non profit and we have been working towards building a giveback cafe. The goal of this cafe is for the community to receive education about human trafficking and for survivors and those vulnerable to be supported through safe community, jobs and housing. Currently we are closing the gap so we can break ground on the $1.8 million build in Spring/Summer of 2024. In order to do that, we recently launched a campaign where when we sell 30,000 bracelets at $15 a piece we will have the money needed to break ground and have money in the bank for first year’s operating expenses. We believe every story matters and when people come together change is created. The bracelets say “Your Story Matters” a universal message that spans location, generations and gender.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities I think are important are, being flexible, being able to pivot, and being teachable. Pretty much nothing has gone how I thought and so in order to keep going I have needed to be flexible. Being flexible goes along with being able to pivot. When things don’t go how you want them or expected them to, it is important to be able to take time away to reflect, remember the mission and consider a different way to accomplish the goal you have set before you. The most important has been to be teachable. We are always learning, and this is not negative, but positive. To be always learning sets us up to become better, to meet and engage with new people, to see growth personally and professionally. The secret to growing in these three things is holding everything things loosely except for your mission. Keep the main thing the main thing, but be willing to be flexible with how you accomplish it, or the path to get there.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking to collaborate! Currently we are looking for people who are connected to communities that care about changing culture and thinking outside the box for sustainability. We want to build this first cafe so we can go into communities in other states and regions and build more. I am looking for people who are dissatisfied with how we treat each other and want to create change.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.storiesfoundation.org
- Instagram: @storiesfoundation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/storiesfoundation/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stories-foundation/
