Overcoming Adversity

There are heroes in our midst, men and women who have the passion, integrity and persistence to make a stand for something they believe in and inspire the rest of us to think that we too can make a difference. FountainBlue’s When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series brings quality men and women in our community together and celebrate leadership, build bonds with fellow men and women in support of leadership, and help us all think critically about how we can communicating and leading today.

This post's theme is ‘overcoming adversity’ – a perfect theme to launch our series. The dictionary says that adversity is ‘A state of hardship or affliction; misfortune’ or a ‘calamitous event’. But the word ‘adversity’ means different things to different people. It could be a physical handicap or affliction, whether it’s a congenital condition or the result of an accident or disease. Worse yet is the physical limitations people suffer as victims of continuing physical abuse. I am personally inspired by the people who proactively meet these challenges and tell a victorious tale.

But more common than physical adversity are the challenges of emotional hardships and misfortunes. Many of us have experienced sub-optimal relationships which are emotionally challenging. Many of us are in a web of ties with people we regularly interact with who are not bringing out the best in us. And almost every woman I’ve ever met are even harder on themselves than others are about them.
My objective for this session is to identify the challenges we are each facing in our everyday lives, and think critically about what we can change in our circumstances and in our mindsets to empower ourselves to overcome emotional adversity, caused by ourselves or those around us, and to come out stronger for the experience.

My personal story is really about overcoming the difficult and challenging circumstances in my life. In my early childhood, I was faced with the challenge of overcoming the extreme poverty and also navigating the language and cultural hurdles of acclimating to the American culture. Through college and into adulthood, I faced the financial, emotional and educational challenges of making my own way in the world: learning from my academic and hands-on experience, succeeding in challenging work situations, and running and building two self-funded businesses.

My words of advice from these experiences are below for your reference.

• Follow You Heart
• Lead with Integrity
• Have Courage
• It's All In Your Attitude
• Keep Raising the Bar
• Leverage Your Strengths
• Persistence Pays
• Learn from Your Mistakes, Forgive Others for Theirs
• Collaboration is Key
• Celebrate Your Successes and Enjoy the Ride

I invite all of you to share your stories, your learnings and your advice to others. May we all benefit from the experience of others!