From the editor
It’s that time of year when many resolutions quietly slip away. I want to encourage you not to give up. If you miss the gym, fall short of your goal or say something you later regret, tomorrow offers another chance. We all have days when we miss the mark and feel discouraged. That’s normal. What is extraordinary is the ability to get back up and try again.
Babe Ruth once said, “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” It’s one of my favorite quotes and has become something of a personal mantra. Everyone strikes out. Everyone faces moments when responsibility, disappointment or sheer exhaustion makes quitting feel tempting. What separates people over time is not talent, luck or opportunity. It is the willingness to keep going — again and again.
For years, I believed success followed a straight, upward trajectory. Work hard, stay focused and progress would naturally follow. Experience has taught me otherwise. Real success is uneven. It includes setbacks, detours, pauses and lessons learned the hard way. Confidence and doubt often live side by side. The difference is not falling down, but what you do next.
Resilient people do not avoid failure. They endure it. They adjust, regroup and move forward. In my view, resilience is one of the most important skills a person can develop — more important than intelligence, talent or experience.
Resilience shows up in people who keep trying, whether it takes two attempts or twenty. When they fail, they learn, adapt and persist until it works.
If I could go back to my early years, both in my career and as a parent, I would celebrate effort more and accomplishments less. I would praise perseverance over outcomes, especially with my firstborn, who was on the autism spectrum. His communication skills were never what one would call strong, but the effort he put into communicating mattered enormously. I wish I had focused even more on recognizing that effort — the courage it took to try again and again, even when progress was slow or difficult to see.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, school success was often measured narrowly. Remember those bumper stickers announcing, “My child is on the honor roll”? Achievement was the headline. Today, I’m heartened to see a greater emphasis on kindness, mindfulness and inclusion. That shift makes my heart smile. I also hope we continue to recognize effort, because effort is where resilience is built. Children who grow up learning that effort matters become adults who show up, take responsibility and keep going.
As a small-business owner, I’ve learned that those willing to put in the effort often make the best employees — not because they are the smartest or most talented, but because they are willing to learn, adapt and persist.
Life tests resilience in unexpected ways — job changes, illness, global crises and, for many, including Bob and me, unimaginable personal loss. Resilience does not mean being untouched by hardship. It means allowing yourself to fall apart briefly, then gathering the pieces and moving forward.
People sometimes ask how Bob and I have navigated challenges or achieved certain goals. The answer isn’t glamorous. It involves missteps, wrong turns and sustained effort. Progress often comes not from getting things right the first time, but from refusing to give up and continuing to try.
Where we are today does not define where we will be tomorrow. Effort compounds. Persistence builds momentum. And resilience quietly shapes the future long before success becomes visible.
Resilience may not always feel like strength in the moment. Sometimes it feels like survival. Over time, however, it becomes something far more powerful — a steady force that carries us forward, one imperfect step at a time.
Peace & Love, Cindy
