Episode 221: Why your 20's Suck and What to Do About It with Kate Berski and "30 Phobia"
Release Date: 06/24/2025
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...
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Episode 224: How to "Graduate" into a Joyful, Fulfilling Retirement, with Author and Retirement Expert Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons
Brilliantly Resilient
“The happiest people in retirement are the ones who stay curious.” Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons ~ Retirement Transition Expert, Former Attorney and Author of When you began your work life, do you remember thinking about retirement? For many decades, retirement was the 65-year-old's goal: the end of the "job" and the entry into leisure and relaxation until...um...the end??? Too often, though, the relaxation didn't materialize--at least not in the way it was intended, especially for those who not only enjoyed working, but whose work life seemed to define them. Too many retirements...
info_outline"The 20s are not the best days of your life. It is a myth that needs to be busted.”
~ Kate Berski, Author: 30 Phobia: Why Your 20s Suck and How to Get Unstuck
Ah, to be 20 again, right? After all, the 20s are supposed to be the best time of our lives, right?
Not so fast.
Kate Berski, author of 30 Phobia: Why Your 20s Suck and How to Get Unstuck notes that despite the myth, the 20's are a "tumultuous decade" full of self-doubt, unhealthy comparisons and societal pressure.
Saddled with a demanding timeline that prescribes benchmarks that "should" be achieved, Kate recognizes that the To-do list for 20-somethings is not one-size-fits-all. She advises young people to take the time to reflect on what fits them, choosing to reset old standards with intention to fit their own values, skills and wants.
With small, purposeful steps, 20-somethings can Rise to create a life that fits not predetermined milestones--get the corporate job, get married, buy the house, have the kids--but individual ones that evolve with a changing mindset and changing goals. The 20's can be a starting line fo discovery, provided we support young people who choose to forge a path that fits them.
Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we're firm believers in ditching what "should be" to make room for what "could be." In this case, a fulfilling life that allows individual Brilliance and Resilience to shine, without comparisons.
Be sure to pick up a copy of 30 Phobia and tune in to hear more of Kate's brilliance on this week's episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast. Listen for these additional bits of brilliance:
- “I started to question the internal societal timeline I had internalized to the point of panic.”
- “Uncertainty is just a flag for opportunity.”
- “You don’t have to wedge yourself into a particular life path at 18.”
- “Stop looking out. Start looking in.”
- “You’re not failing. You’re not stuck. You’re just on someone else’s timeline."
- “There are no deadlines on dreams.”
The 20's can be a time rife with opportunity--as long as young people have the courage to set their own goals and timeline. Let's support our young adults, and...
Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!
XO,
Mary Fran