Resilience and Beyond

There is so much I want to share with you about The Speaker Collective. It’s a group of 12 extraordinary people, each approaching their public speaking and working from a different, powerful perspective.

Perhaps the most meaningful thing I can do is to introduce you to each member by sharing how they answered the question: What does resilience mean to you?

Meagan O'Nan said: “Resilience is the willingness to be vulnerable while simultaneously allowing others to do the same.”

I said: “Resilience is the ability to respond quickly and effective to unexpected events or changes. It is a key trait that enables individuals, communities, and organizations to tolerate adversity, uncertainty and disruption.”

Ken Hannaman said: “Given that change is most often resisted, we cannot expect others to change if we ourselves do not show leadership and resiliency by initiating the change ourselves. It takes great courage in oneself to consistently move against the grain of normality and stand out. It takes resiliency to be the puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit in and to be comfortable being that piece that you were meant to be.”

Jasmine Cochran said: “Being resilient means coming out on the other side of difficulty as a better version of yourself, however long it takes.”

Eliot Marshall said: “Being resilient is the ability to get back up after you have been knocked down.”

Ken W. Stone said: “Resilience speaks of restoration; of the experience of oneself, everyone, and everything as an undistorted expression and extension of the Divine, by whatever name.”

Tula Goenka said: “Resilience is confronting the trauma, giving yourself the grace to heal, and then sharing your experience to empower others.”

Tamer Elnoury said: “Resilience, to me, is how we deal with failure or let-downs in life. Learning from and adapting to our life experiences makes us who we are, so why not always strive to do better and better?”

Shane Power said: “Resilience is going from attempt to attempt, whether failure or success, with the same effort and energy.”

Bethany S. Lord, PHR, SHRM-SCP said: “Resilience is continuing to move forward despite challenges. To intentionally choose to reset and continue on in spite of the odds or your past because the end result is worth it.”

Gerald Smiley said: “Resilience is the ability to bounce back and adapt in the face of adversity, challenges, or setbacks. It involves maintaining a positive attitude, staying flexible, and finding ways to overcome obstacles while learning and growing from the experience.”

Joe Strechay said: “Resilience means to be able to fail and move forward.”

These quotes barely scratch the surface of how outstanding these individuals are, and the diversity of backgrounds in The Speaker Collective is extraordinary. I wish I could craft a simple sentence to tease you about each group member—I tried, but it started turning into a book, LOL!

If you want to connect further with the author of one of the quotes above, you’re interested in hosting a member for a keynote or workshop with your organization, or you want to learn more about everyone, I invite you to read The Speaker Collective’s 2024 publication?Beyond Resilience: Leading the Way with Grace and Grit.

What does resilience mean to you? I'd love to hear from you.

?