Brilliantly Resilient

What are my transferable skills? I’m a big believer in using all of the skills I’ve gathered along the way.

~ Gail Robertson

Have you ever spent time doing something and thought, “Well, that was pointless”?

We tend to put value on things that are only immediately useful, discarding those that don’t prove their worth right away. 

Yet, have you ever been in a situation where those skills–the ones you thought were pointless–have come back to serve you? Most of us have.

This week’s guest, Gail Robertson, is a big believer in using transferable skills–one of the pillars of living a Brilliantly Resilient life. Gail sees having an eclectic past as an asset, believing that all of our experiences can serve us if we recognize their potential value. 

To be truly Brilliantly Resilient, we must be aware of ways to utilize our transferable skills. Everything we experience can teach us, and we never know when something that seemed to have no value might be exactly what we need in the present moment.

Tune in to this week’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to hear more of Gail’s wisdom. 

Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

P.S. To get a 1-minute Brilliance Bit in your mailbox weekly, visit brilliantlyresilient.net and sign up on our home page!

We have different play needs at different times of life. We never outgrow the need to play.

 ~ Jill Asher, Magical Bridge Foundation

Have you ever passed by a playground and simply listened to the shouts of joy from children playing? Better yet, do you remember the joy you felt as you ran, jumped, and played as a child?

The world is a serious place–one that can make play seem frivolous and unnecessary in the midst of so much crisis. But our guest this week, Jill Asher of the Magical Bridge Foundation, reminds us that we never outgrow the need to play. And everyone, regardless of ability or age, should be given the opportunity to experience play.

Magical Bridge builds playgrounds that are accessible to everyone of any age or ability, ensuring that everyone can play in a community setting, strengthening bonds between all members in a safe, joyful environment.

We all have challenges, many of which need almost constant attention. But remember to save some attention for yourself and to direct that attention to playing. Feed your soul, feed your body, feed your mind. Just play.

Tune into this week's episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to hear more from Jill about Magical Bridge. Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together.

XO,

KS & MFB

It is about finding that Resilience and strength to say, “Okay, I’m gonna show up another day. I’m just gonna show up another day." And then the next day and the next day. ~ Maria Johnson, a.k.a. Girl Gone Blind

How often in a crisis do you think to yourself, “I just can’t do this anymore”? 

When a challenge hits us with a sucker punch, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated. Crisis changes life in an instant, taking away, sometimes permanently, what we knew or believed to be true. Being exhausted and wanting to give up is a common response.

That’s why it’s important to break down our challenges in manageable chunks. It may be impossible to imagine living permanently in the current state of upheaval, so don’t try. Instead, just show up, if not for a day, for the next 15 minutes.

This week’s guest, Maria Johnson, a.k.a. Girl Gone Blind, lost her sight at age 50, changing her whole life. And while Maria admits to sitting “in the hallway of denial for a long time,” she eventually realized that she didn’t have to tackle blindness all at once. She just had to show up, one day at a time. And if a day is too much, follow Mary Fran’s advice and live life as a 15 Minute Master–take it 15 minutes at a time.

Tune into this week’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to hear more from the Brilliant Maria Johnson. Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

The critic is the voice of fear; the coach is the voice of love. Talk to yourself like you want  yourself to win.

~ Kristin & Mary Fran

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we can really be mean. To ourselves, that is.

It’s hard to imagine, but statistics show that we talk to ourselves thousands of times a day, and it’s often 80% negative. And not only does that negative thinking apply to our circumstances (the person paying by check in the express checkout lane–Grrrrrr!!!),it also affects the way we speak to ourselves.

How often have you berated yourself for failing at something, making a mistake, or just forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning? If you’re like most of us, you do it frequently, and you’re none too nice to yourself in the process.

That inner critic is the voice of fear–reminding us that we’ll never be good enough, at even small things, let alone the big ones. But if we can turn that fear into love, our inner critic can become our coach.

The next time you find your inner critic giving you a mental bashing, think about how you would talk to your child or your best friend. Then take that loving, nurturing, assuring voice and use it on yourself–turning your inner critic into your supportive coach.

When we tune into our inner coach, we set ourselves, and our brains, up to create winning strategies. We build our own confidence and set out on a path of successful action. Quiet the critic and let the coach take over the game.

For more with us, tune into this week’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast. Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

We’re our own best case study. We’ve had to dig in, find our resilience, find the Brilliance within that challenge and then create some really cool stuff. We lived the Brilliantly Resilient process.

~ Kristin & Mary Fran

Did you ever hear the expression “Do what I say, not what I do?” Well, here at Brilliantly Resilient, we don’t believe in telling anyone to do anything unless we’ve tried it ourselves. 

That’s why, every time we offer a Brilliance Bit or some strategy to help you live with a Brilliantly Resilient mindset, you can rest assured that we’ve done it ourselves. Over, and over and over again.

You see, as much as it would be great if you could just learn how to be Brilliantly Resilient one time and then always be Brilliantly Resilient, it doesn’t work that way. (We know; we weren’t happy about it, either.) You must return to the Brilliantly Resilient process of Reset, Rise and Reveal your Brilliance again and again, because life isn’t a straight line.

Yet, that’s the beauty of being Brilliantly Resilient. Once you learn the process, it does get easier. Each time life throws you a curve ball, you can immediately return to the process and find your way back–uncovering your Resilience and sharing your Brilliant self with the world once again.

We’re blessed this week to share Brilliantly Resilient with two awesome conferences–the Gulf-South Summit, and AHRA Climb–both highlighting leadership. As we happily jump into spring, let’s embrace being leaders for ourselves and those in our tribe and be Brilliantly Resilient together!

 

Happy Spring!!

XO,

KS & MFB

Being Resilient and Rising are about failing your way to success.

~ Beate Chelette

Failure. The word alone can feel like an anvil on your head. But it wasn’t always that way.

No one remembers learning to walk, but talk about failing spectacularly. Babies fall an average of 17 times an hour while learning to walk! When they do, they don’t cry, they don’t blame the rest of the world because they can’t do it, they simply get up, over and over again, until they walk.

As children, we realize that failure is simply a part of learning. The shame comes later, when as adults, we see failure as, well, FAILURE. 

But this week’s guest, the Brilliant Beate Chelette, knows that failure is simply a part of the pathway to success. Without it, we don’t learn, we don’t grow, and we don’t achieve all that we’re capable of. 

A first generation immigrant who found herself $135,000 in debt as a single mother, Beate eventually created a business that she sold to Bill Gates in a multi-million dollar deal. And failure, coupled with resilience and rising, were part of the journey.

Tune into this week’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to hear more of Beate’s wisdom. Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

Take imperfect action.

~ Kate Erickson: EOFire

How many times have you refrained from taking action on a problem because of the what-ifs? 

The thought process goes like this: Well, I can do xyz, but what if (insert new problem) happens? Then what do I do? I just don’t know how to proceed…. Before you know it, you’re paralyzed and you’ve talked yourself out of doing anything.

This week’s guest, Kate Erickson of EOFire, knows how it feels to be stuck and frustrated. Often, Kate felt like her life was moving in a one-step forward, two-steps back progression–or regression. But once Kate learned to let go of the emotion accompanying her situations and take imperfect action, she began looking for the opportunities in challenges and released herself from expecting a perfect outcome.

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we know that nothing is perfect–neither our plans nor their intended outcomes. Waiting for perfection is the best way to ensure failure. So, “take imperfect action” is excellent advice, and one of our favorite mantras, to keep things moving and evolving towards progress and success–even if it’s not the progress you envisioned.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, tune into this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to hear more of the brilliant Kate Erickson’s practical, simple strategies for success. Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

However much anger you have will affect your future outcome. Conversely, the more love and faith, the better the future. ~ Eric Edmeades

Have you been angry lately? Yikes. Perhaps a better question would be, who hasn’t been angry lately? 

These days, the world is a pretty angry place. Everyone has an opinion, everyone’s opinion is right (???), people feel they deserve whatever they want, and if they don’t get it, they take it–or get really angry and spew venom all over the dang place in frustration.

But this week’s guest, Wildfit Founder Eric Edmeades, reminds us that we have control over our anger, as we create our own triggers along with the meaning we give to events. When we assess life events with anger and anxiety, we condition ourselves to expect more of the same. But more important, the same goes for an outlook full of love and faith–expect more of that.

Given the choice--and it is a choice--who wouldn’t want more of that love and faith stuff? We can all have it; we just have to choose.

Tune into this week’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast and learn how to control your triggers–to build a life full of love, faith and success!

Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

KS & MFB

Create a silver lining—Do something, build something, create something.

~ Dr. David Fajgenbaum

Have you ever heard the expression: Find the silver lining? It’s about looking for something positive in a lousy situation. That sounds great, but what if things appear so bleak that you can’t find a silver lining? What then? To hear Dr. David Fajgenbaum’s story, it’s easy to see why it was nearly impossible to find a silver lining. Diagnosed with Castleman’s Disease as a young medical student, David almost died five times before hearing doctors say there was nothing more they could do for him. That’s when David went to work–creating his own silver lining. He found a cure for his own disease by using his knowledge in new ways and repurposing a treatment for another disease as one that proved effective for his own. (Be sure to read about David’s journey in his best-selling book Chasing My Cure.)

Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we’re big believers in not only using transferrable skills to bring your Brilliance to new situations, we’re also believers in action–and in knowing that “No” might just mean we need to find another way. (And it doesn’t happen overnight, but it can happen, if you’re willing to “turn hope into action” – more advice from David.)

Throughout his journey, David has amassed great wisdom–plus, he’s funny and kind. In fact, it was really hard to decide which of his Brilliance Bits to highlight today since everything David offered was a gem that perfectly reflects our Brilliantly Resilient mission.

Tune into this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to be moved, inspired and learn more about how to create your own silver linings–even when times are tough. Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

 

XO,

KS & MFB

It’s about discovering and remaining in your zone of genius as much as possible. Discover it and own it. Lean into the brilliance that you have and do it unapologetically. ~ Chris Ducker

Have you ever had someone compliment your Brilliance and instead of responding “Yes!! Thank you; I am Brilliant!”, you muttered something like, “Well, it was no big deal; I didn’t do much.”? Come on, you know you have.

We have a tendency to downplay our gifts and Brilliance, when we should be shouting it from the rooftops! We’ve been given our Brilliance for a reason, and it is our obligation to share it. It’s a gift to the world, but we have to share it–whenever we possibly can!

We knew from the first moment we met Chris Ducker that he was speaking our language. A wildly successful entrepreneur, coach, author, speaker, etc., etc., Chris is also one of the kindest, most generous and encouraging folks we’ve ever met. Oh, and did we say he’s BRILLIANT?

Chris knows the value of knowing what you know and owning it, as well as knowing what you don’t know and bringing others into your tribe who can share their Brilliance with you. Recognizing and owning your Brilliance and building a tribe that complements what you bring to the game ensures not only your success, but the success of others–all boats rise.

Everyone can be Brilliantly Resilient; in fact, you ARE. Make sure you own it. And share it with the rest of us–WE NEED YOU!

Be sure to tune in to hear more from the amazing Chris Ducker in this week’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast!

XO,

KS & MFB