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.

Eleanee Jimenez

Resilience, for me, comes from a blend of personal experiences, community, and inner drive. Growing up in a close-knit Latino family, I learned the importance of strength, determination, and pride in my roots. My mother was my first role model, showing me what it meant to face adversity with grace and courage. She pushed me to pursue my passions, and when I started dance, I discovered a world that would test and shape me in countless ways. Dance taught me discipline, persistence, and the ability to overcome obstacles—both physical and mental. Read more>>

Rebecca Coppage

I have learned resiliency from my amazing mom, Christine Glenski. Throughout my entire life, my mom has shown me time and time again how to be resilient, whether it is through her life stories or through watching her carry herself when times get difficult. She puts her chin up, and she puts one foot in front of the other. She has shown me that being resilient doesn’t mean that you don’t struggle. It means you don’t give up. It also means asking for help when you can’t seem to do it on your own. Asking for help doesn’t make you less strong; it actually shows that you are strong enough to admit when you need someone else to help carry the burden you are shouldering. Read more>>

Jonas Saul

There is a one-word answer to this question: discipline.

Early on, I learned that discipline was my friend. It would get me through, and it would show me the way.
So, I hunkered down and worked at my craft. As an author of over fifty full-length novels, I can tell you that discipline put me in my office chair, got my fingers on the keyboard, and helped me create millions of words. Read more>>

Rodrigo Leite

God Read more>>

Faith Eidse

From childhood I faced unusual circumstances and challenges as a Third Culture Kid. That is, I was raised among many cultures, in several countries and continents as a child of professionals who practiced in Congo, Canada and the US. This meant I learned to navigate home and host cultures, selecting traits from each to develop my identity and respond to many challenges–such as revolution, disease, language barriers, and cultural differences. Sociologists have termed children who select traits from first and second (and third or fourth cultures) to create a unique combination, Third Culture Kids. Read more>>

Aura Matta

From the depths of my being, I unravel a story intertwined with threads of resilience. My parents were very young when I was born and shared my upbringing, I grew up as an only child amidst their turbulent circumstances. And as young as they were, they knew how to forge a foundation of resilience in me through their support. My mother is the embodiment of strength for me; she fueled my every aspiration with resilience, shed light on my darkest moments, and urged me to rise once again. Like a beacon, her unwavering belief in my potential is what motivates me to keep trying even in the face of uncertainty. That is the flame in me, that is resilience, that is what drives me forward with determination and vigor even when I am broken. Read more>>

Jayeman

From the difficulties I’ve faced and overcome as well as the teachings I was brought up in Read more>>

Mac Stanley Cazeau

My resilience is deeply rooted in my life experiences, culture, and the determination to carve a path as a Black male therapist in a field where representation is scarce. Growing up in Haiti and later moving to the United States as a teenager, I faced the challenges of assimilation, such as learning a new culture, adjusting to a different educational system, and establishing my identity in an unfamiliar environment. Those early experiences taught me adaptability and perseverance, two traits that have served me well throughout my personal and professional life. Read more>>

Divine Anthony Richards-ahonsi

I was born in Dublin, Ireland, where life felt like paradise. My childhood was filled with bouncy castle birthdays, street-lit BBQs, and unforgettable parties. I made lifelong friends—Jess, Jede, and Elrich Caputo. Shortly after, my family moved to the UK, with my dad saying it would bring a better life. Things quickly changed for me and my brother, Freeman. Read more>>

Alejandra Betancur

I got resilience from my mother, I always saw her working hard and always having a positive actitud even in a difficult times. since I was a child life had told me to recover from difficult time since my father was killed and my family was separated. Read more>>

Faralene Charlemagne

I would say I get my resilience from my mother. She’s not afraid of nothing or no one! She goes for whatever she wants and she never ever gives up! A lot of that is instilled in me and is what makes me the woman I am today. Read more>>

 Erin Arnold

My resilience comes from God. He set me on this path and I’m just doing my best to listen and be patient on where he tells me to go next. There are times I doubt what I am doing as an entrepreneur but then he shows me that I am right where I need to be. I’ve passed my first year in operation so I am blessed. I may not have orders every single month but I’ve participated in events that last year I had only been praying about. I’ve met wonderful and like-minded people that have been got me through some hard times. I finally put up my go fund me so I can start moving towards a physical location. Since its been up only one person has donated. I could take it down but imma leave it up because there’s still work to do. And who knows maybe more will donate overtime. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing what I can to promote and showcase my business so I can build my support. I’m thankful for everyone who has supported me thus far whether it’s a like, a share, buying. It’s helped with my resilience and confidence in my work. Read more>>

Robert Werner

Well I’m originally a Jersey Boy instilled with that stubborn immigrant attitude from my family. That mentality that I’ll keep going and keep working to get where I want to be. I have had every reason to give up or change gears, but I can’t seem to shake the passion and drive for creating art and telling stories. Even when my family had very little, we made it work and we made everything we had special. So for me, even when my spark fades and temporarily faulters I always remember that tomorrow always comes. My family helped show me what’s possible. I’ve had nothing before, so why not live with my passion and dreams? And at a certain point you’ll be better than where you were. Read more>>

Kindall Kaufmann

My resilience has been cultivated from an early age through the challenges and adversities I encountered. Growing up with my father as my sole guardian, we faced significant financial hardships, particularly following the 2008 economic downturn, which resulted in our homelessness and dependence on friends for temporary shelter until we found an apartment in a perilous neighborhood rife with drugs and gangs. Despite the unsanitary living conditions, we made it our home. I remember relying on candles for light due to unpaid electricity bills, while my teachers often provided me with meals because my father struggled to afford groceries. This led to bullying from classmates who viewed me as different and impoverished. At 11, I began working at an ice cream shop with my father, often staying late into the night on school days. Although I carried many responsibilities, soccer served as my refuge; I would practice for hours against the shop wall, developing my skills and laying the foundation for my future as an athlete. On the field, I experienced a sense of worth and empowerment that starkly contrasted with my feelings of inadequacy in other areas of life. These challenges persisted throughout high school and college, leading to periods of self-destruction, as I often felt overwhelmed by my circumstances. Nevertheless, these experiences have shaped my young adult life, teaching me to learn from failures and setbacks, ultimately fostering a mindset of optimism and effective coping strategies that have been instrumental in my success. I am where I am today because I am resilient! Read more>>

Elizabeth Ibarra

As a first generation Latina, I was the first in my family to do many things. First to go to college, first to graduate with a doctoral degree, first to start a business. At the young age of 15, I lost my Tia (aunt) to cancer and surgical malpractice. It stirred up a fire inside of me to want to be a prudent provider, prevent disease, and help my community. Read more>>

Jess Mahogany

I would say I received my resiliency simply from seeking to be more resilient; from seeking to be able to move beyond things that attempted to turn me into a “quitter”. Once the seeking began, I was able to see the things that happened (as that old but true cliché goes), as things that were happening FOR me and not TO me. As I say to my clients, the benefit of certain challenges if not all of them, is that you are able to measure just how well you have advanced when it comes to mastering them. If I want to learn to have control over my anger, then I need to engage in practices that are aimed at doing that, and then I would actually have to have it tested in some way. If I am never again angered, I am not sure just how well I have learned to manage it. Same with resiliency and the myriad of other emotions we can experience that we would like to have more control over. Ask for it, and that act alone can begin to shift the way you view the events that threaten said resilience. Once I was able to see events more so in the light of being FOR me, the power that undesirable outcomes once held, was reduced. Read more>>

Angel Li

Resilience has been a constant theme throughout my life, and I believe it’s largely rooted in my upbringing and life experiences. Growing up in Taiwan, my family that deeply valued education and early on I learned the value hard work and of perseverance, both of which became essential when I made the decision to come to the U.S. alone in my early 20s. Adjusting to a new country was challenging, to say the least. English wasn’t my first language, and I found myself struggling with both language and cultural barriers. But even then, I wanted to explore, learn, and fully experience life in the U.S. Read more>>

Ashley Willis

I receive my resilience from the lord. I use prayer to help strengthen me. When I find myself in hard and unbearable situations, I pray. Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”. Read more>>

Dr. William C. Washington

Resilience is something you hope you would not have to tap into in this society.. and I believe being a Black man has created an inherited resilience that I have been learning to live with rather than survive from. I believe being as emotionally articulate and connected as I am, I see and experience things in my world that are genuine attacks on my wellness and identity. I find that resilience is accepting that the opposition I experience is somehow my responsibility when there are so many factors. I believe mine is more inherited, to keep it simple. Read more>>

Kelsey Kroll

My resilience is fueled by my passion and drive. My art isn’t just something I do—it’s who I am, and without it, I don’t feel complete. Giving up has never been an option; when I set my mind to something, I pursue it with everything I’ve got. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing an idea come to life. Read more>>