03/16/26
STORY
It was a dream of mine to stand on a TEDx stage.
I lived that dream last September.
I gave a 15-minute talk that got such a positive response.
The feedback was tremendous, and I was so excited to share my message with the world.
For months, the talk didn’t get published.
I learned last week that the delay was due to a malfunction at the venue, which jeopardized the audio.
For that reason, the talk will not be published.
It was heartbreaking.
After a year of prepping and rehearsing, the talk will not see the light of day.
I’m so sorry to share this news with you.
I know many of you were waiting to hear the talk…
And I feel as though I’m letting you down.
Last week was very tough for me.
I had to put into practice so much of what I teach in my keynotes, workshops, and coaching.
I had to acknowledge the truth of the situation, along with my anger, sadness, and disappointment.
I sat with the emotions.
I allowed them to be there.
And I came to a certain conclusion:
This will not stop me.
While I’m still unsure as to whether I’ll begin this TEDx process again with a different group…
I will most certainly continue to share my messages with the world through other means.
I’m so excited to publish my first book that I’ve been working on for over a year now.
I have upcoming keynotes where I can continue to refine my message.
So here’s the lesson:
Life will have seasons of major disappointment, frustration, and discouragement.
Things outside your control will present challenges that disrupt you emotionally.
When that happens…
Will you let it tear you apart?
Or will you let it be a source of greater motivation?
Will you get derailed and fall into hopelessness?
Or will you get more determined, and be stronger because of it?
I appreciate your support, and you can be certain that I’ll continue to do my best to give you a ton of value through this newsletter, our podcast, social media, my book, and more.
OBSERVATION
Recent research published in the National Library of Medicine found that individuals who experience growth after difficult life events develop stronger psychological resilience over time. The study showed that working through adversity can improve people’s ability to cope with future stress and challenges.
(Li et al., “Post-traumatic growth promotes resilience development,” Journal of Affective Disorders, 2025)
STRATEGY
This week, I invite you to channel any disruptive emotion into something positive.
If you get frustrated, angry, sad, disappointed…
Leverage that emotion.
Use that energy.
Channel it in a way that drives you towards a positive result.
Rooting for you,
Jay (inviting you to stay resilient)
Global keynote speaker
Host of the “Unstuck” podcast
A TEDx speaker (I’m still owning that title despite the video not being published!)