Brilliantly Resilient

I was driven towards chaos, turn-arounds, new-ideas, startups. I discovered that I like the burning buildings. You can lead through disruption, but it's important not to make fear-based decisions.

~ Antonia Hock

How many of us are drawn to chaos? We've all had more than a taste of it over the past several years, and most of us couldn't wait to get back to "normal." Yet if we're honest, that state of chaos encouraged many of us to be creative, find our brilliance and rebuild our lives in ways that were new.

While we'd never say we enjoyed the chaos, our friend Antonia Hock looks at chaos with a unique perspective, seeing the opportunity dramatic change can offer to remake and rebuild things we often content ourselves with because they've always been that way. 

A world-renowned business coach, Antonia believes that great challenges offers great opportunity, and encourages her clients to value people, building "exceptional customer experiences and a world-class employee culture."

Antonia also recognizes that we must constantly challenge ourselves in order to grow, and took up rock climbing to engage herself physically and mentally, helping to add clarity and focus to all areas of her life.

How can you put aside fear to lead through chaos and disruption? Tune in to hear more of Antonia's wisdom on this week's episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast.

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

Those of us who live in the Philadelphia area remember with great clarity the early evening of May 12, 2015, when an Amtrak train bound for New York from Washington, D.C. derailed in Philadelphia, killing 8 and injuring over 200 people. 

Geralyn Ritter, our guest today on the Brilliantly Resilient podcast, was on that train, and was one of the 11 people critically injured whose lives would be forever changed. Taken unconscious to a nearby hospital, Geralyn was without identification and was unable to contact her husband and children, who searched desperately for her all night.

Geralyn speaks of her experience, how she survived her trauma (doctors said her survival was nothing short of miraculous) and how she has dedicated herself to helping others heal from devastating challenges by sharing her story, especially through her book, Bone by Bone. With a determined, resilient spirit, Geralyn offers lessons to navigate crisis and even find the true purpose within them. 

Tune in to this week's episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to hear more of Geralyn's truly inspiring story.

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

We don't celebrate failing. We should fail proudly and share our failures. Just show up imperfectly.

~ Renee Bauer

How many times have you failed in your life? Beginning with childhood (babies fall around 17 times an hour learning to walk!) the answer is probably zillions–so, a lot.

As children, we innately recognize that failure is a part of learning. And as we absorb the lessons of each failure, we come that much closer to success. It's only as we begin to know shame and embarrassment that failure becomes FAILURE!!! and we neglect to recognize its value.

The other downside of our relationship with failure is that it makes us afraid to try. Our friend Renee Bauer knows "failure" in what many think of as the traditional meaning of the word. She's also chosen to take intentional action to not only learn from her failures, but use them to propel her forward both personally and professionally. Twice divorced and now happily married in a blended family, Renee built a legal practice serving individuals who couldn't imagine a happily ever after by encouraging a mindset change along with imperfect action and courage with hard decisions. She also inspires women around the world with her She Who Wins Summit.

Tune in to hear more of Renee's wisdom on this week's edition of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast and start on the path towards your happily even after.

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

In the last three years, how many times have you heard the term "self-care?" Probably almost as often as you've heard about "resilience." But what do they mean? If we try to define either word, we rarely agree on a singular definition. As to how to integrate either, or both, into our lives, well, that makes room for even more opinions and suggestions, but few concrete strategies.

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we're all about specific tools to help you tap into your inherent resilience (learn more at www.brilliantlyresilient.net), as is our friend Peg Sadie, founder of the Resilient Mom Academy, and an expert on helping mothers create calm and intentional lives.

Peg advises that in order to practice meaningful self-care, we need to intentionally take note of what is and is not working in six major areas of our lives. Being unbalanced in any one, or more likely several, can lead to anxiety, overwhelm, and parenting that is not only less than ideal, but passes on those challenges to our children.

By recognizing what is lacking, we can "reverse engineer" the problem, finding solutions to fix what's broken or let go of it altogether. Self-care is not about bubble baths (not that there's anything wrong with that!), but rather, allowing ourselves the time and focus to pay attention to ourselves.

Tune in to hear more of Peg's wisdom on this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast.

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

Understand what the situation needs and bring the tigers. There's too much emphasis placed on being the lone wolf.

~ Steven Rudolph

We Americans love our independence. It's kind of our thing, going all the way back to our founding as a country. There's something about individual success that's empowering. Saying "I did it–all by myself!" makes us feel strong.

It can also make us feel lonely. And contrary to what we may think, taking on challenges as a "lone wolf," in the words of our friend Steven Rudolph, doesn't always give us the best results.

Steven Rudolph believes in tigers. Not only the big cats, but the tigers we all have inside of us. Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we see our tigers as our Brilliance. And Brilliance is meant to be shared.

As Steven reminds us, when we bring our tigers, or Brilliance, and encourage others to do the same, we discover better solutions to challenges and build better teams, as everyone brings their best selves to each situation.

Our tigers are our strengths, and combined with the strengths of others–our tribe–we are more productive, successful and stronger. We're all just better.

Tune in for more of Steven's Brilliance on this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast.

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

The Surgeon General has pointed to a loneliness epidemic. Losing your support group is the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. We have to invest in our relationships.

~ Julie Schechter

How many Facebook friends do you have? How about Instagram followers? What's your count of LinkedIn connections? Isn't it amazing to have so many friends?

If you're on social media, odds are you have thousands of "friends." But how many of those are people whom you really know, and who know you? Even with so many connections, we can still feel isolated and alone. Our real relationships often get lost in the shuffle as we forget birthdays, anniversaries, or even making a phone call (???!!!) to let someone know we're thinking of them.

Julie Schechter reminds us that our relationships are the most important parts of our lives, impacting both our mental and physical health. The former ballet dancer and lawyer wants to help us reconnect with those we care about through her company Small Packages. Julie began her values-based business after realizing that she herself was missing out on her relationships, and admitting that she needed a way to let those she cared about know she was thinking of them. By building a business with intention (97% of Julie's products come from small suppliers), Julie encourages people to send small gift packages (pre-packaged or personally chosen) to loved ones as a tangible reminder that we care–especially appreciated in our electronic world.

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we know the value of a tribe. Be sure to nurture your relationships, both personal and professional, and show appreciation for the "real" people in your life.

Tune in to learn more about Julie here, and be sure to learn more on this week's podcast!

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

"It's important to make sure the teen perspective on mental health is understood. Having kids speak about it is really relevant. By hearing teenagers speak, it makes you feel represented….Hearing other teen voices comforted me and provided a safe space."

~ Matt Suescun and Faiza Ashar from On Our Minds

Do you remember what it felt like to be a teenager? As we get older, it's easy to romanticize our teen years. We were young, we had our whole lives ahead of us, and life was easy.

But was it really? If we're honest, most of us will admit that our teenage years were TOUGH. Full of teen angst yes, but also crowded with worry about our place in the world, where life would take us, and what kind of world would await us when it was time to take on the role of an adult.

Today's teens have no less on their plates. In fact, given the last several years of global challenges, they likely have more. That's why we at Brilliantly Resilient were so thrilled to hear from Matt Suescun and Faiza Ashar, the season 2 hosts of PBS's On Our Minds.

On Our MInds deals with the mental health issues facing young people today. The show provides an opportunity for teens to share their concerns, worries, and yes, fears about a subject many are afraid to speak about publicly.

With so much noise in the world, it's essential to LISTEN to our young people. They are wise, thoughtful and unfortunately, struggling. Thanks to PBS for giving them a voice; let's hear what they have to say. Tune in to hear more from the amazing young people on this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast. Thanks Matt and Faiza–we love you!!

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

Does it align with the message we're trying to deliver? People don't know what their brands are anymore.You see brands struggling to be something else. We need to do what we do and do it better and stop trying to be something else, and people will find you. Do you.

~ Jen Cook, GM of WUCF TV & FM Orlando

Do you have a brand? Believe it or not, you do. Everyone does. A brand is just another word to describe what you stand for. Here at Brilliantly Resilient, the word brand represents values–the things that really matter to us and show who we are and want to be.

Jen Cook is the director of a public media station in Orlando. As Jen tells it, Orlando is a tough news town, unfortunately the site of many challenging events. After one such event, Jen found herself besieged with questions from parents about how to talk to children regarding the frightening situation. Jen recalls saying "Why are you asking me?" in return. Parents responded with "You're PBS. You know how to talk to kids."

It was a lightbulb moment for Jen. As director of a PBS station, Jen realized that the public's association with PBS and children afforded the station to craft a unique program to introduce children to community workers, and Meet the Helpers was born.

By acting on the PBS values system or brand, Jen was able to deliver a brilliant response to a need in her community. When we live based on our personal and professional values, the best of us rises to the surface, inspiring us to utilize our resilience to rise and offer our brilliance to the world.

Tune in to hear more from our friend Jen on this week's episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast.

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

You can't blame yourself. You can't blame others. You just have to give yourself grace and move forward. Grace is a beautiful word.

~ Amy Combs

This week brings a special episode of Brilliantly Resilient. September is suicide awareness month, and during that time, we were honored to meet Amy Combs, who lost her brother to suicide. Amy shares her challenging story with us and after telling of her loss, goes on to offer hope to others affected.

Amy speaks of giving yourself grace–something we should all do when dealing with trauma. And she notes, "It's been a process, because it's difficult. It's an everyday thing."

Great loss often saddles us with blame. What could I have done to prevent this from happening? Yet, it's essential to recognize that others' decisions are out of our control. The best we can do is support others when we can, support ourselves, and offer grace as we walk together on our human journey.

Thank you, Amy, for sharing your story. We are most grateful for your time and your wisdom. Tune in to hear more from Amy on this week's episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast.

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together.

XO,

KS & MFB

You cannot live your best life until you allow yourself to be happy. You must give yourself permission and make the choice to be happy. Otherwise, you're just pushing a broom through the room of your life.

~ David Brinkley

Do you remember the Tim McGraw song, Live Like You Were Dying? David Brinkley knows exactly how that feels. At age 49, David received a cancer diagnosis, giving him only 18 months to live. As David tells us, "Every perspective that you have in life changes when somebody tells you there's a clock and that clock is running out."

But rather than turn to anger, David recognized the freedom in letting go of the "To-do" list he kept, as we all do, and turned to celebrating every moment he had, which also required him to be thoughtful about the people he surrounded himself with and the choices he made every moment.

How often do you tell yourself you'll get to something you've been wanting to do after you check everything off your daily list? And how often do you ever get to the bottom of that list and give yourself a reward?

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we've learned, as David has, that every day holds joy, and a reward, if we choose to be happy. But, as David reminds us, we must give ourselves permission to make that choice.

We're delighted to report that David is still enjoying life five years after his initial diagnosis, and the wisdom he shares in this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast is something we should all incorporate into our daily outlook. Tune in to hear more, and put that broom back in the closet!

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB