Brilliantly Resilient  By  cover art

Brilliantly Resilient

By: Mary Fran Bontempo & Kristin Smedley
  • Summary

  • What's your train wreck? Everyone has one–past, present, or future. Why do some people come through stronger while others never recover? Hang on for the ride as Kristin and Mary Fran teach you to move beyond crisis to discover your brilliance and resilience. You'll face challenges with strategies to come through brilliant, not broken, for personal and professional fulfillment and success!
    © 2020-2023 Brilliantly Resilient
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Episodes
  • Episode 194: How to Take Your Power Back with Dr. Jennifer Gardella
    Mar 19 2024

    Brilliantly Resilient is back!! After some much needed time off, B.R. is back with new episodes, amazing guests, and more inspiration for you to live a Brilliantly Resilient life. Let us know what you think and reach out at howdy@brilliantlyresilient.net. Be sure to check out www.brilliantlyresilient.net for more! And now, on with the show!

    Who is to say my day is worth nothing? Take your power back and say "I get to choose."

    ~ Dr. Jennifer Gardella

    Are you an entrepreneur or just starting a business? Do you have an area of expertise that has value in the business marketplace? Or are you a "professional volunteer" expected to put up your hand every time someone needs something?

    It's often difficult to put a value on what we do, particularly if you are just starting a business or do work in an area with societal impact. It's not unusual for people to expect you to give your time or products away for free, or minimal value, especially if you are a woman. (It's hard to believe a man would be asked to give of his time or work for free.) And if you are a known volunteer, it can often feel like your life is up for grabs for anyone who needs anything.

    On this week's episode, Dr. Jennifer Gardella shares important insights on how to value your work and your time, starting with learning to value yourself.

    Dr. Gardella notes that setting boundaries is the first step in taking back your power--and not everyone is going to like it. When we put up boundaries, those who are used to having us behave in a certain way (read--be available on their terms) won't be happy when told, "No." But a little pain will be worth a lot of gain--for you.

    Tune in for a strategy to accomplish your personal power grab (Awareness, education, empowerment and growth), and be sure to listen for these additional bits of brilliance:

    • You have to get paid for your expertise.
    • You can still do things for free, but you get to choose what and when.
    • Awareness and education lead to empowerment and growth.
    • Your business and personal lives are very enmeshed. Where are your boundaries? You have the right to say, "This is how I'm spending my time."
    • Be ready to acknowledge that things are not working. Dig deep and keep asking "Why?"

    Learn more about Dr. Gardella at jennifergardella.com.

    Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

    XO,

    Mary Fran

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    40 mins
  • Episode 193: How to Create Activism Through Story-Telling, with "Live Through This" Author, Kristen McGuiness
    Dec 5 2023
    Storytelling is a Trojan horse, with our activism inside. It’s a much gentler approach to guide someone to a wider lens of understanding, compassion and empathy.

    ~ Kristen McGuiness

    Have you ever felt “changed” by a book? Those who love to read–and write–know what it’s like to become lost in a story, feeling along with characters and experiencing their trials and triumphs along with them.

    Kristen McGuiness, founder of Rise Publishing and author of Live Through This, believes in the power of storytelling as a tool to create understanding and change while building alliances for the greater good. An activist against injustice from a young age after losing her father to a long prison sentence, Kristen believes in storytelling as a way to share experiences and encourage others to see a different point of view. 

    Here at Brilliantly Resilient, we believe that broadening perceptions to include those of others is part of building resilience. When we are willing to look through a different lens, we learn and grow, as well as create alliances with others. Tune into this week’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast to hear more of Kristen’s wisdom and pick up your copy of Live Through This. Be sure to listen for these additional bits of brilliance:

    • Books aren’t banned because people are ‘afraid of turning gay,’ for example. They’re banned because we recognize that story connects us and the fear is that a perspective will be changed and you’ll become an ally of something others don’t like or endorse.

    • If we have the desire to write, we are often writing from a place of pain or hardship, and of someone who has had to overcome that. That is always a story of justice to me and of justice being served in some way.

    • The systems in which we live, like a five day work week with only two days off, can keep us from feeling we have the time to be socially active. We need to make a choice to build more justice in this world.

    We can make change. Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

    XO, 

    Mary Fran & Kristin

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    40 mins
  • Episode 192: How to Build “Organization Muscle” in Your Business, with Author Kevin Nolan
    Nov 28 2023
    Building community both in your business and with your customer community is essential. I see community as “common unity.” Everyone in a community has something they care about and we want to be part of that. It’s good for employees and good for customers.

     ~ Kevin Nolan

    By their nature, entrepreneurs often start their businesses alone, taking on many roles as they try to build their companies into sustainable, viable organizations.

    But going it alone, without recognizing the need for a community of support–and for building a community of support for employees–can stop an entrepreneur’s dream in its tracks.

    Kevin Nolan is the founder of Nolan Painting and Nolan Consulting and author of the new book Organizational Muscle. Started to make money while he was in college, Kevin has built Nolan Painting into the nation’s largest and most successful family-owned residential painting company.

    Along the way, he’s learned powerful lessons, many of which dovetail with the Brilliantly Resilient tenets of building both a professional and personal foundation on a clear values system. Kevin’s success begins with the values he believes in as an individual and makes a part of his business, and which his employees share as well. Citing community as a primary value, Kevin makes certain to imbue his office culture and community outreach with a sense of community building, creating employee and customer loyalty in the process.

    Be sure to check out Organizational Muscle for dynamic tips and practical strategies for building a business. And listen to Kevin’s episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast for these additional bits of brilliance:

    • The way to build Organizational Muscle starts with 3 things: mission, vision, values, repeat.

    • If you’re not putting the culture in your company, someone else is.

    • You have to work as a team within your business. Human beings work together; make your business a place of collaborative opportunity for everyone.

    • Be careful of Hourglass management. That’s when you set yourself up to have to approve each grain of sand as it falls through. The only way to succeed is to get out of the hourglass; get others involved so you aren’t constantly overwhelmed. 

    • Organization muscle is building a team, working together and building strength and endurance with routines. Routines are grounding.

    Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together!

    XO,

    Mary Fran & Kristin

     

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    40 mins

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Listen, learn, laugh? YES!A truly dynamic duo!

MaryFran and Kristen Launched this podcast at the beginning of the pandemic when all of us hit the wall or at least felt normal life been derailed. They seem to recruit some of the most amazing individuals, men women and kids! Each of them share their stories and acquired skills for realigning and in some cases restarting their lives
! Time very well spent and listening!

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