Sheryl Sandberg recently gave the commencement address to Berkeley’s graduates. It’s no secret that I am Sheryl Sandberg fan. I have written about Leaning In (and yes, Leaning Out too). Sheryl gave me permission to share one of her most heartfelt posts to date on losing her husband. It was breathtaking, and you should read it.

So, third time will be a charm around here today.

Sheryl shares so much wisdom in these 26 minutes, that you should sit down, and watch this with your kids tonight. Talk about a woman who got off the fence.

“The question is not if some of these things will happen to you. They will. Today I want to talk about what happens next.” 

And then she proceeds to talk to them about the power of resilience.

“You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive. Resilience comes from understanding three “P’s” — personalization, pervasiveness and permanence. You are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. Like a muscle, you can build it up, draw on it when you need it. In that process you will figure out who you really are — and you just might become the very best version of yourself.” – Sheryl Sandberg

What I have learned through hundreds of hours of research, as well as my own personal hardships, is that it’s not the level of difficulty of the challenge that determines if we bounce back, it’s our perception of the challenge, our choice to be bitter or better from the challenge, and our decision to get back up and keep fighting. We all have challenges, and the choice is entirely ours whether we get back up, or stay in bed, as Sheryl says.

So, grab a cup of fresh mint tea (cuz it’s good for ya, ladies), and tune in above.

And once we’re on the topic of Wisdom Wednesday, I give you another golden nugget from my Queen. No, not Queen Bey, Queen O. This is really, too too good. Please watch to the end.

I would really love to know what you thought about the 30 minutes above.

With lots of love,

Erica3