Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of most of the wildly successful folks in our community have exhibit an extreme degree of resilience and we’ve come to believe that if our goal is to help our community achieve great outcomes we have to help build resources and knowledge around how one can become more resilient.

Oscar Méndez

I come from a humble middle-class family in Guatemala. Since I was a child, I witnessed how my parents strived to provide a good life for my siblings and me. They prioritized necessities like education, love, and respect for nature over luxuries.  Read more>>

Dominic Postle

As a Management Consultant, I help a wide range of companies navigate diverse business and technology challenges. In my position, I conduct thorough analyses of companies’ business, operations, and market environment, delivering custom solutions that advance their strategic goals. Read more>>

Nicole Abejon

My resilience stems from a combination of factors. Firstly, my upbringing, specifically my father, instilled in me the importance of perseverance and facing challenges head-on. Secondly, the journey of building and growing my business has taught me to embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth and refinement. Lastly, the support of my loved ones and the belief in my vision keep me resilient even during the toughest times. Read more>>

Helena Josephs

My family is full of entrepreneurs. Growing up, I watched my parents put in blood, sweat, and tears to make their dreams a reality. There were long days, tough decisions, and moments where things didn’t go according to plan, but they never gave up. Read more>>

Kate Eckert

My resilience bubbled to the surface on a boxy hospital couch in 2017. It seemed to do so without my permission, which is kind of the funny thing about resilience. In order to possess the quality, you have to suffer through some type of crucible.  Read more>>

Daisy

I get my resilience from my parents and siblings. my godmothers. from years as a competitive gymnast. My first memories are in the gym. sweating crying failing, trying, achieving celebrating. That feels like home to me. The stage is another place that shaped me.  Read more>>

Hipolito Munoz Navarrete

Creating Creators holds a vision for youth to thrive in life, to possess agency over their destinies, and to access opportunities through education. Reflecting on my own life, I deeply understand the pivotal role education played in granting me access to networks, financial independence, and opportunities beyond what my parents could provide. Read more>>

Sidney Williams

My resilience comes from an overwhelming amount of childhood trauma and animals being a huge part of what healed me. Unfortunately, I did not grow up in a very affectionate/loving household, but I am grateful for it. When I was a child, I didn’t have a lot of people there for me, I very much looked for love/affection from my childhood cats/dogs. Read more>>

Rosetta Metz

I am the youngest of eleven. I grew up with eight older brothers and two older sisters in an old Victorian home with one bathroom in Chicago. The home had a grand entrance to the creaking, winding staircase to the second floor. Read more>>

Tara Rose Timberman

It pains me to say my first tactic for resilience is disassociation (which, not surprisingly, is tied to an anti-capitalist brand of anarchic thinking). When I say disassociation, I mean to say an intentional calibration to choose what to focus my attention on. If that means the electric red of the geraniums I’m walking past or daydreaming about a world in technicolor, there are countless ways to disassociate from reality (without paying a dime).  Read more>>

Joanne M. Cherisma

Resilience is the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before. I have suffered many losses the past couple of years. Some were more painful than others. But, throughout them all, I have learnt one crucial lesson “as long as you’re alive, you must go on”. Read more>>

Tenee King

I love this question and as I think about it, I must break it down into segments. Single Father Raised – My father was a true example of resilience. Let’s just say being raised by a single father in the 1980’s was no easy feat. He pulled from all his resources to help raise me to the best of his ability. Read more>>

Rosalinda Gonzalez

When I was into astrology and new-age spiritualism I thought my resilience was some mystical timing meets primal drive to overcome my ancestral and family trauma. Last year I had a supernatural encounter with Jesus which healed me from a lot of trauma and bondage. That is when I realized my resilience came from God protecting me all these years in my hardship. Read more>>

Lindsey Locklear

My resilience came from my grandparents they gave me so much courage and love that it made me want to take on the world! From all the hard work they did to keep our family up it taught me to be be resilient against anything. Read more>>

Angela Burns

The funny thing about resilience as a small business owner, is I often don’t feel like I am being resilient in the moment. It isn’t until after the problem is solved, after the pivot has been completed, or after the new process is put in place that I see what was accomplished. Read more>>

Steven Kieboom

The Unbreakable Spirit of a Gay Entrepreneur Growing up in Alberta and attending private Christian School for most of my education, naturally, I felt like an imposter every day. As a young person coming to terms with my sexuality, I knew I was different. But why was I different and why did it matter to so many people? But instead of letting the world dictate my identity, I chose to rise above it. Read more>>

Jay Jermo

I started my sales career in Chicago selling direct mail printing and letter shop services. The guys I worked for made it abundantly clear that in order to succeed sales was on numbers game and I would get despondent after a while of reaching out to prospective customers but not seeing any traction. Read more>>

Michelle Valiukenas

“Thank God we don’t look like what we’ve been through.” A few years back, a friend said this to me, seemingly complimenting me for surviving the unimaginable. I understood what she meant and appreciated her saying it because inside, I did not feel very put together. Read more>>

M.Christine Manko Petersen

Well, that is a very good question. I would say through Life itself! I’ve always been the type to embrace change, seeking new challenges whenever monotony crept in. I believe my upbringing and social environment, coupled with my adventurous approach to life, has instilled in me a solid foundation of resilience. Read more>>

Namisa Bizana

Before moving to the States with my husband in 2021, I would have proudly described myself as a strong black African woman. Who came from a long line of strong black woman. I would fane humility and eloquently give homage to my ancestors, who fought the English colonialists and won. Who survived through apartheid. Read more>>

Trevan Castillo

When I think of the word resilience, the first thing that comes to my mind is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life experiences. Being resilient doesn’t necessarily mean I’m experiencing stress at the moment or emotional upheaval but rather having the power to navigate through it all. Read more>>

Allison Peck

At the age of twelve, I almost lost my family when we were hit by a semi driven by a drunk driver driving to my state championship swim meet. My mother had driven our family station wagon three hours to Atlanta, Georgia, on a Thursday evening so that my brother, sister, and I would be ready for our events the next morning.  Read more>>

Ric Peralta

I suffered from a major medical issue in 2003. I was hospitalized for 3 months and by all rights should not have survived the incident. It reset so much of my perspective on what matters to me, and what a patient is experiencing. I now approach every patient with the expectation that I will resolve their issues, no matter the expense. Read more>>

Blake Cortes

I get it from watching my father work his butt of to provide for me. A single father raising a boy in the eighties in NYC wasn’t a common thing. Read more>>

PABLO.ANMUAR

My main motivator has always been my family and my loved ones. They are the ones that day in and day out remind me who I was when I decided to become a musician and how far I have gotten since then. I have always been aware that to be successful in music I have to play the long game and believe in myself.  Read more>>

Jenya Semenkova

I am a strong believer that every situation has a solution. You just have to find one! If you make mistakes along the way – those are not really mistakes, but rather learning opportunities that shape you as a better leader. Just keep your head up and move forward! Read more>>

Caitlyn Lopez

I draw my resilience from my close-knit family, who have always been my greatest source of support. My entrepreneurial moms, running their own successful businesses, instilled in me the belief in my own capabilities.  Read more>>

Brielle Bucksell

I draw my resilience from the deep well of love & determination I have for my daughter. As a survivor of domestic violence, I am committed to using my voice to advocate for change and to ensure that my daughter grows up in a world free from the horrors I endured. Each day, she is my inspiration to continue pushing forward, despite the challenges I face. Read more>>

Harjeet Kaur

As a cancer survivor, my resilience likely came from various sources, such as my inner strength, my support system from my family and friends ; faith & Hope to fight my battle and live. Read more>>

David Ifediba

My resilience is deeply rooted in both my parents’ guidance and the rich tapestry of Nigerian culture. In Nigeria, the phrase “Naija no dey carry last” embodies the ethos of never accepting defeat, urging us to continually strive for excellence and success.  Read more>>

Dora Breaux

In the crucible of the crack epidemic, my mother’s life story was forged. With a partner ensnared by addiction and the societal scorn that often accompanies the lack of formal education, her journey was fraught with obstacles that seemed insurmountable. Yet, it is precisely this narrative of struggle and ultimate triumph that has imbued me with an unyielding resilience. Read more>>

Jessi Pugh

During a guitar lesson, my mentor David Coffey declared, “You’re a songwriter.” At 10, I’d never written a song. Yet, by 12, I was hooked. With Nashville experience, David guided me. Throughout high school, I’d write in my bedroom, showing my work to David for feedback. His honesty was invaluable, shaping my songwriting skills. Read more>>

Mary Lucia Spake

Everyone has a story…. your parents divorced as a child, you had one parent who couldn’t parent, so you had to parent yourself during the early stages of your childhood, losing a loved one too early, witnessing grief and devastation.  Read more>>

Ruthia Fuller

I came from a poor Haitian family who couldn’t afford new clothes for school. I was never the pretty girl in school and boys never looked my way. When I was diagnosed with cancer at 16, I was relieved to learn my fight was almost over. But there was a hunger in me that the chemo and radiation therapy couldn’t silence. Read more>>

Lyle Michaud

Well, I know I’m certainly not the most resilient person out there, but I can say for sure that one thing that has impacted me is studying history. For as long as I can remember, there have been men and women from the past that I’ve admired and looked up to. People who started from less than me, and yet achieved more.  Read more>>

Billie Welchman

My resilience isn’t just a trait; it’s a part of who I am, cultivated through a lifetime filled with extraordinary experiences. Picture a life in a Wyoming town so small, it’s almost overlooked on a map, home to fewer than 500 people. Here, the pillars of life were ranching, mining, and the railroad. Read more>>

Connie Gillock

During the 1990s, I was a marathon runner. I completed two Chicago marathons and I also completed the Los Angeles Marathon. I trained by myself and I enjoyed the solitude – running along the lakefront was the best feeling. From that experience, my body and mind adjusted to the idea that I can complete any task that I aim for. Read more>>