Episode 210: How to "Be Better" in 2025, with Mary Fran Bontempo
Release Date: 12/31/2024
Episode 234: Resilience in Action: Turning Setbacks Into Service and Purpose and Brilliance, with Bishop Kevin Foreman
Brilliantly Resilient
“Faith isn’t just believing for something—it’s believing through something. Real faith is resilient faith.” ~ Bishop Kevin Foreman, "The People's Bishop," Founder of Harvest Church, Author of Sins of the Fathers, Evolutionaries and History Makers What if every challenge was an invitation to grow closer to your purpose? Collectively, the world isn't in the best shape right now. Challenges abound, both on global and individual fronts. Yet Bishop Kevin Foreman reminds us that these are precisely the opportunities that allow us to build our resilience through faith and...
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Episode 233: The Art of Rising: Finding Resilience Through Creativity with Pia Maillot-Leichter
Brilliantly Resilient
“You have to give yourself permission to suck — that’s how we grow and develop. Resilience is built in the messy middle.” ~ Pia Maillot-Leichter, Founder of The Kolektive Studio and Author of Welcome to the Creative Club Pia Maillot-Leichter, founder of The Kollektive Studio and author of , joins the Brilliantly Resilient Podcast to explore how creativity is one of the most powerful tools for resilience and self-discovery. Pia reminds us that creativity isn’t reserved for artists — it’s a life skill. Whether you’re building a business, solving a problem, or reimagining...
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Episode 232: Turning Resilience into Action: Introducing the Brilliantly Resilient Mini-Course Series
Brilliantly Resilient
“These courses are a roadmap — they guide you to not only uncover your resilience but to rise, thrive, and ultimately find your brilliance within life’s challenges.” ~ Mary Fran Bontempo, Creator of the Today it's me--sharing the story behind the creation of the Brilliantly Resilient Mini-Course Series — Reset with Resilience, Rise and Thrive, and Reveal Your Brilliance. After years of helping people bounce back from life’s challenges through her books, speaking, and podcast, I wanted to create a hands-on way for anyone to learn and live the Brilliantly Resilient...
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Episode 231: Building Resilience One Move at a Time with Jake Weiner of Zooz Fitness
Brilliantly Resilient
“Sometimes resilience looks like showing up. That’s it. Just being here, trying again, and refusing to give up.” ~ Jake Weiner--Founder, Everyone knows that exercise and movement are important to health, both mental and physical. But can exercise help build strength in other ways--like resilience? Jake Weiner thinks so. Jake is the founder of Zooz Fitness, an inclusive fitness community in Los Angeles dedicated to making health and movement accessible to individuals of all abilities. Jake has witnessed the transformative power of movement, and shares how...
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Episode 230: How to Build Resilience By Questioning the Status Quo, with Victoria Lenormand
Brilliantly Resilient
“I realized I was battling in a system that valued the system over the child — and that was a big wake-up call.” ~Victoria Lenormand, Former Police Detective, Founder of Gemini Directions and Author of Have you ever felt like you just didn't fit in? Occasionally, and especially during the teenage years, everyone feels like they don't belong. But how would you manage feeling like that every day? And if you were a parent watching your child struggling with such feelings, how would you help them (and you) through it? Victoria Lenormand is a former police detective from the...
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Episode 229: How to Make Leadership a Habit, with Habituelle Founder, Jessi Sheridan
Brilliantly Resilient
“Habituelle is rooted in the belief that leadership isn’t a title—it’s how we show up, again and again.” ~ Jessi Sheridan, Founder of Habituelle When you think of habits, what comes to mind? Often, when we think of a habit, it's in a critical way--as in a bad habit we want to break. But Habituelle founder Jessi Sheridan believes that making something a habit is a positive way to create powerful, lasting change. In this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast, Jessi Sheridan shares how her approach to leadership grew from the belief that leadership is a habit--one...
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Episode 228: Resilience Beyond the Expected: Harnessing Neurodivergent Brilliance with Rita Ramakrishnan
Brilliantly Resilient
"We have to reshape how we talk about neurodivergence in the workplace--shift from it being a disability that needs to be accomodated to a form of cognitive diversity we can cultivate and harness to drive success." Rita Ramakrishnan ~ Founder and CEO of What if the very things you’ve seen as challenges are actually your greatest strengths? Rita Ramakrishnan was diagnosed as neurodivergent and autistic as a young adult, but she always knew she was different. Getting her diagnosis proved to be the proverbial light bulb, explaining much of what made Rita wonder about how she...
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Episode 227: How Conflict Offers Opportunities to Build Resilience and Growth, with Ursula Taylor
Brilliantly Resilient
“Every disagreement is an invitation to pause, reflect, and reset before we respond.” Ursula Taylor ~ Founder, The legal profession is basically founded on conflict. One side tries to prove the other wrong in order to "win." A former commercial litigator with 17 years of experience, Ursula Taylor has seen her share of conflict, and she's committed to changing the idea of conflict as a battle to be won into an opportunity to clarify values, adjust perspective and focus on solutions instead of blame. By working with corporations and individuals through Conflict Reimagined,...
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Episode 226: The Power of Sharing Your Story, with Sara Connell
Brilliantly Resilient
“The very thing you’re afraid to say is often what will inspire someone else to keep going.” ~ Sara Connell, Best-selling Author and Founder of Thought Leader Academy Have you ever thought about writing a book but believe you have nothing to say? For those of us living "ordinary" lives, it's easy to feel our stories have little meaning beyond our own lives. Yet Sara Connell holds the opposite to be true. As founder of the Thought Leader Academy and a 5x Bestselling author, Sara knows that even everyday stories can have profound impact. In fact, the experiences that test us...
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Episode 225: How to Reset When Achievement Feels Empty, with Dr. Toni Warner
Brilliantly Resilient
“We get addicted to achievement because it’s how we prove we matter.” ~ Dr. Toni Warner, Certified Trauma Therapist and Author of Achievement. Do more. Be more. Check off more boxes. UGH. Most women feel the need to achieve, which is not a bad thing in itself. But when that need keeps us spinning, working, accomplishing, but still feeling drained, and unfulfilled, somethin' ain't working. Dr. Toni Warner’s has walked the walk, achieving by all of society's standards but feeling something missing. Her work centers on redefining success for high-achieving women as she...
info_outline~ Mary Fran Bontempo, Author 'From Broken to Brilliant: How to Live a Brilliantly Resilient Life'
It's 2025. How are you feeling about that?
I find the time right after Christmas to be a bit challenging. After a month of being jolly buying, planning, decorating, eating, drinking, visiting with family and friends, suddenly it's over. And sure, New Year's Eve is fun, but it's also accompanied by that feeling of 'Oh my God, now I have to improve myself again.'
Enter the dreaded New Year's Resolution.
I've never been a fan of New Year's Resolutions (caps to emphasize the IMPORTANCE of them!). Usually, we end up expecting gargantuan feats of ourselves that we would never ask of anyone else--often dooming us to failure. Given that I'm at an age where I'm tempted to dismiss the whole thing, I'd like to, but I can't. I'm committed to living a Brilliantly Resilient life. Quitting entirely is not in the game plan.
However, I do believe we must be more gentle with ourselves, in all of our human frailty. To that end, I've settled on two words for my 2025 resolution: Be Better.
By simply resolving to be better, I'm afforded endless opportunities each day to improve in small ways, which bundled together, can create profound change. Each time I attempt to be better, I am living the Brilliantly Resilient concept of taking small, imperfect actions to move forward. So much easier and more life-affirming than trying to remake myself, which, let's be honest, isn't going to happen. (I will, however, try to be better when driving behind some soul who seems to have forgotten where the gas pedal is. Patience is not my strong suit.)
As we enter 2025, be kinder to yourself, and resolve to Be Better. It's doable, and will create wins in every day. And do more that makes you happy. We all deserve that.
Finally, thank you with sincere gratitude for your support of me and Brilliantly Resilient. It means more than I can say to share this powerful message for good and I am beyond appreciative.
Tune in to hear more brilliance (yes, mine--remember to pat yourself on the back regularly, too!) on this week's podcast and check out the new book for a great start to 2025.
- For me the time right after Christmas is a little bit hard. We've been so jolly and spirited for a month with buying and planning and family and friends and cooking and the lights and everything else, and then all of a sudden it's over. And sure, New Year's Eve is fun. But it's also accompanied by that feeling of 'Oh my God, now I have to improve myself again.'
- If we can be a little bit better every time we catch ourselves doing something that we don't like about ourselves...we can decide that's not the way we want to live.
- Mindfulness means being where you are. Be in that moment and just in that moment, try to be better.
- Come up with little short questions. Am I being better right now? Is this what I really want for myself right now? Am I here where I am right now? Be here and be better, instead of thinking about remaking yourself.
- Look back through your calendar of the last year. And review that. See the events that you went to see the things that you did and look at the ones that really made you happy. (Thank you, Fran Hauser!)
- I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season. I hope that the new year is full of light and joy and love and purpose and health and happiness for all of us.
As we enter 2025, I thank you again and wish you every joy and blessing. Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!
XO,
Mary Fran
Mary Fran Bontempo is an award-winning 2-time TEDx and Keynote speaker, workshop presenter, author, humorist and podcast host who teaches audiences to uncover their Brilliance and Resilience 15 minutes at a time. A sought-after speaker for ERGs, BRGs, DEI, conference and association events, Mary Fran is author of From Broken to Brilliant: How to Live a Brilliantly Resilient Life, The 15 Minute Master, The Woman’s Book of Dirty Words and co-founder of the life-changing program Brilliantly Resilient. To bring Mary Fran to your company or organization, visit www.brilliantlyresilient.net.