We’ve shared some incredible stories of resilience below that we hope will help you on your journey towards building up your resilience.

Eva Schaumkell

I imagine rejection is a part of almost everybody’s life at some point; professionally, personally, or both. As a musician, it can feel like we are faced with rejection and criticism constantly: at competitions, auditions, concerts, from managers, teachers, as students, as job applicants in an ever smaller number of desirable positions whilst competing with an ever greater pool of qualified musicians. As professional musicians, the personal and professional are not separate – they are one and the same, as we pour our hearts and souls into the music, into our performances, into our teaching. Read more>>

Shannon Lee Whalen

My resilience comes from my passion and is strengthened by my practice of hypnobreathwork. My passion being to help others overcome their obstacles and limitations, by reconnecting to their bodies to feel, and holding space for transformation. In a world where we are bombarded with ideas of who we “should be”, what’s “good enough”, and what’s “acceptable”, having a practice that allows you to see these concepts and structures for what the truly are, and not holding them as truth is the most powerful tool for resilience I’d ever experienced in my life. Read more>>

Alfred Rucker

Resiliency is an attribute that is learned from the environment that fosters a person. My parents were instrumental in my development of my resiliency and grit. My retired military father provided me with structure and determination. My mom was an entrepreneur who built the hair salon, Creative Touch, from its infancy. Watching them perfect their respective crafts taught me that trials and tribulations will come, but it’s my resiliency that will see me though. Read more>>

Mark Harris II

My resilience comes from my family. They raised me never to quit and never to give up. It also comes from college my years . Being a college graduate and a member of 2 Greek organizations helped me to believe I could finish and overcome anything Read more>>

Hunter Hathaway

I owe a lot to my mom, throughout my journey making jewelry she has been there every step. She always helps me stay motivated and moving forward, even when I wanted to give up. I remember one holiday season I ran a huge sale on my shop without having enough inventory made. I got over 50 order in one night. My mom stayed up all night and I taught her how to make my jewelry and we just sat there together making orders. Read more>>

Larry Joseph

I believe my resilience was instilled in me by my dad. Mainly the reason is from hearing the stories he shared from his childhood of coming from another country and having a rough upbringing. This shows me how fortunate and that advantages shouldn’t be taken for granted. Read more>>

Sarah Scarborough

In Finland, there is a word, “sisu”, which loosely translates to resilience. It describes the courage, inner strength and determination to rise above extreme challenges, to reach beyond personal limitations and to persevere against all odds. Sisu describes the national character of the Finnish people and it was imprinted upon me while growing up spending part of each year with my maternal lineage in Finland. Read more>>

Kristel Robinson

Resilience is the ability to overcome challenges by the grace of God. I was able to keep pushing forward through my darkest times because I hold on to my faith. Hold on to God and trusting his plans for my life even when I don’t understand. Read more>>

Leslie Kell

As a digital artist at the forefront of the movement, I encountered a significant barrier when it came to establishing the legitimacy of digital art itself while introducing my creations to the world. I vividly remember attending an artist group meeting during the early stages of my journey, where I explained my digital techniques. To my surprise, the reaction from some was skepticism, with comments like, “But isn’t that cheating?” Read more>>

Vicky Pasion

I get my resilience from my mum. She’s from the Philippines, Cagayan Valley – a small rural village in Northeast Philippines. Women in the Philippines typically leave home to work abroad, to better support their families and community – to this day, my mum’s been my example of hard work, dedication and being of service to others. Read more>>

Gabriel de Leon

I’ve seen so many people around me build themselves from the ground up just by working so hard, and I kind of based my way of maneuvering through my career by trying to emulate what they have done. Being resilient is extremely difficult these days with social media and experiencing imposter’s syndrome, but I’m trying to stick to my guns and celebrate everybody’s successes and learn from them. Read more>>

Tim Kothlow

I would say that my resilience stems from my childhood in competitive sports. I was never the best at anything, so I was mostly trying to reach a bar that kept getting higher. I was a competitive swimmer for over 10 years, and each year as I would grow in the sport, the competitive environment would grow around me that much more. Read more>>

Doretha James

My resilience comes from years of trauma and being able to overcome that trauma by wanting to break generational curses, and definitely wanting more for my children. I want my children to have the best that I could give them mentally, emotionally, and economically. I want for them to be genuinely who they are through the process. And that no matter what they aren’t limited. Read more>>

Enrique Trevino

I believe that I’ve developed my resilience over the past three years of being in business, but also that developing resilience is an ongoing process for me especially as my business has faced some recent, unexpected challenges. When my family and I first started Thoughtful Snacks LLC, we were only selling our first and signature product Coco Chops: air-fried chocolate covered pork rinds. In the beginning things were pretty slow, and it took a while for people to be willing to try our product, and even more time for us to start gaining familiarity among our customer base at farmers markets around San Antonio. Read more>>

Melinda Tolbert

Melinda Tolbert’s unwavering resilience and determination can be traced back to her upbringing and personal experiences. Growing up in the shadow of her mother’s drug addiction, Melinda faced immense challenges that shaped her into the strong and self-reliant individual she is today. Read more>>

Emily Hartstone

I draw my resilience from two powerful sources: my Nana and my journey with leukemia. This experience has completely transformed my mindset and my approach to leadership. I have come to realize that we cannot separate “who we are” from “what we do.” As a survivor of a rare disease, I have faced immense challenges – it has been lonely and overwhelming at times. However, this difficult journey has brought me great clarity. I now know exactly what I am fighting for and the kind of legacy I want to leave behind. Read more>>

YASUKE THE JASHIN

Honestly I am really stubborn. Like unbearably stubborn. My mom said it’s both a gift and a curse. I’ve watched her do the impossible on multiple occasions and I think it’s just ingrained in our DNA to keep going even when it gets rough. I have been through every possible hurdle and storm that I could think of and even when it got seriously dark my body just refused to give up even when my mind did a long time ago. Read more>>

Gabriel Gipson

This is going to sound super egotistical, however being realistic I wouldn’t like myself if I allowed myself to just give up. Knowing that I have the power, the ability to be in control of my evolvements in life, and that it is all up to me is my push. Understanding that I am responsible for the outcome of my journey is the foundation of my resilience. Being accountable that every decision I have made in the past has resulted me to where I am now and applying that method to my decision making today supports my resilience. The only thing that can hold me back from prospering is me. Read more>>

Vismita Varghese

My mom. While pursuing her master’s degree, navigating life in a new country, and juggling a full-time job, she always found time to spend, love, and take care of her 2 children. Read more>>

Jessica Pope Brittany Banks

Our resilience comes from the life we believe our family, friends, and community members deserve. The idea for our company stems from the idea of legacy. We believe strongly that what you leave behind for the next generation is important and the work we do today is a direct investment into tomorrow. Read more>>

Valentina Menasche

At 6 years old in the middle of an evening with my mother I told her I wanted to be a fashion designer, at that exact time I decided on the name of my brand and the path began, in a way I made a promise to myself that day, I made a promise to that little girl… I felt like that was it, my path, there was something inside me that just lit up. of course, as the years passed and I got more into the fashion world, doubts and lows came but the highs were and are so high that I just envision where I know I can get, the talent I have and where it can get me, so basically my resilience comes from believing in my talent, in my art, in myself. Read more>>

Matthew Silkwood

Once upon a time, I gave up on things very easily. The lesson that changed my mind: natural talent is a skill, but so is enduring past the point when everyone else quits. Read more>>

LaTasha Kaiser

I was raised in an extremely supportive encouraging household. My parents raised us in an environment that you can literally become, and accomplish anything in this life, as long as we put our mind and action behind it. Therefore that’s what we did. I’m going to honor the sacrifices and challenges our parents overcame to raise us. I bend…I don’t break. Read more>>

Warren Shaw

My resilience is a product of my upbringing which is underlined by never giving up. The mindset growing up was not to focus on what I didn’t have but how to make the best of what was available to get to the next level. I don’t come from a poor family, we were in the lower middle class, but not having a vehicle in the house posed challenges. Read more>>

Jason Brown

I think I get my resilience from a few different channels. First, it’s my love of my family and wanting to make sure I can do everything I can for them. I always put family first and always will. Then I think the other spot is early on in my life/career, there was constant rejection from other jobs to people saying, “You’re not good enough,” and wanting to prove them wrong. Read more>>

Hanna Fahmy

I would say I get my resilience from the sheer number of obstacles I have had to overcome to be where I am now. From the moment I decided to leave my life in Egypt to come to America and create a better life for my family and I, I have been faced with adversity at every turn and corner. From having to learn a new language, to working as a military interpreter across the country, to moving 9 times in 13 years and having to join new communities and make new friends each time. Read more>>

CJ Prince

I get my resilience from my mother. Growing up I never seen her quit on nothing or for nobody even when she struggled she always made a way. She’s one of the strongest women I know. She pushed through when all the odds seem to be against her. I learned that sometimes storms don’t come through in life to destroy things but they may come in order to clear a path for you to reach new heights.. Read more>>

Hanisha Pursley

Along my journey I have encountered countless challenges and obstacles and with each challenge I have discovered new things about myself. Read more>>

Jennifer Terrell

Who am I? Why am I here? Will I overcome my challenges? These questions surfaced within me in the days of my youth. My mind continually empowers me with optimistic answers to these questions through my personal experiences, prayer, and spiritual reflection. From the early days of my life to the current days of my life, the lessons that I have learned through my personal experiences, prayer, and spiritual reflection coming together have empowered me to find resilience regardless of my situations. Read more>>

Lisa Niver

Embracing Resilience through Community Support Read more>>

Alexandria Singleton-Smith

I believe that my resilience comes from the many experiences I have had in my life. Whenever I have faced adversity, I have always confronted it directly and emerged victorious. I make a conscious effort to surround myself with positive and supportive people who uplift and motivate me. Having a strong support system is absolutely essential when dealing with challenges. Read more>>

Nicole Landon

Resilience is such an amazing word!! Most people would say they get their resilience from a parent or family member. I beg to differ. I believe resilience comes from deep within. Resilience is showing up for yourself when no one else is around and taking the time to love yourself even more. So….where did I get my resilience? Read more>>

Madison Young

I draw my resilience from a profound and transformative journey that shaped the very core of who I am today. Growing up from nothing, in an environment plagued by addiction and alcoholism, presented numerous challenges and obstacles that could have easily led me down a destructive path. However, I chose a different course—one fueled by the desire to rise above my circumstances and create a better future for myself and those I cared for. Read more>>

Gloria Clay

My residence runs deep in my family history. I came from hard working parents and grandparents. My dad raised hogs for a living. My maternal grandfather has his own Pulp wood business. My paternal grandfather worked the railroads. My mother and both of my grandmothers raised children while tending a garden, making butter. Every thing my mother and grandmother made was from scratch.. I watch my loves one work: not just work but worked hard. So it was only natural for me to have that same driving passion.. Read more>>

Chaunda Walls

Resilience is like that shiny, gold coin you are blessed to find in a River of Pennies. As a lifelong entrepreneur, I’ve learned that success is for those who endure the ups and downs of business. Success is never a straight path and there are levels to success and it’s important to remember that you are greater than your failures. Resilience taught me to never be afraid to fail- just be afraid of not trying. Read more>>