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Jennifer Powell is a Mom and entrepreneur who lives in Toronto. She approached me to share her story about her dear friend Tracy who passed away at only 43 years old. The two were close for years, building a solid foundation of friendship and female support. They even spoke about their wish to spend their retirement years drinking gin on the porch together.   My talk with Jennifer not only revolved around her love for Tracy, but also how she honoured her legacy and became determined to live a full life.  How did she start? She and her husband sold their house and took their children on a trip around the world. Crazy but also super inspiring! Topics included in this episode include: friend lossfemale friendshipsgriefhow to help a grieverhow to talk about grieffinding purposeTo learn more about Janet Fanaki and RESILIENT PEOPLE, go to www.resilientpeople.ca Jennifer Powell can be found at linkedin.com/in/askjennp Theme song for RESILIENT PEOPLE is 'Day Ones' by Kyler Slater.  Follow Janet Fanaki on social media channels: Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

For this episode of RESILIENT PEOPLE, I'm taking you on a walk. It's a Sunday in late July and I'm looking forward to a day of doing nothing.  When was the last time you can say that you did that too? Maybe laying on a lounge chair til you fall asleep with the sun warming your face. Or taking a long leisurely walk through a neighbourhood, grabbing a drink and browsing around local shops.  How do you spend your time doing nothing?  Turns out that its scientifically proven that relaxing promotes a clearer mind for dealing with adversity. Call it preparing for the unknown. But it can be difficult to find long stretches of time to unwind. Particularly when you're caring for someone who health complications or working in a stressful job.  With that said, it's still important to regularly find even smaller amounts of time to rest and, if possible, do literally nothing. This episode is a short one but hopefully it will give you some motivation to find that kind of time.    Topics included: the joy of doing nothingself carecaregivingstress managementspousal lossparental losschild lossbuilding resilienceTo learn more about RESILIENT PEOPLE, go to www.resilientpeople.ca Theme song is Day Ones by Kyler Slater.  Follow Janet Fanaki on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

Thirty years ago, Beverley Burke lost her husband Kevin. She is the mom to a dear friend of mine, but as a fellow widow, she's also become my coach and a close friend. We spoke about her memories of being a young widow, advice for grievers to get back to living their lives and gushed over our mutual admiration for one another. Just the kind of relationship that every widow or widower needs.   In this episode, I share my friendship and the inspiration that Beverley Burke has brought to my life. Every widow or widower should know someone like her who has not only experienced the passing of a spouse but who has also continued to build a happy and fulfilling life on their own. We all need to know inspiring people like her who can help us to move forward.   Topics included in this episode include: spousal lossgriefsetting healthy boundariessingle lifeTo learn more about Janet and RESILIENT PEOPLE, go to www.resilientpeople.ca Beverley Burke is not on social media but if you'd like to share your thoughts with her, please email Janet at [email protected] Theme song is Day Ones by Kyler Slater.  Follow Janet Fanaki on her social media channels: Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

Music can be one of the most healing things when you're going through a challenge. It is effective for managing stress and helping us to let go. Bruce Springsteen once said, "The best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with".  I can personally say that my music has been helping me face the world over and over again.  This episode of RESILIENT PEOPLE covers the important place that music has had in my life. From singing to going to concerts, there's a renewing energy that comes from it.  And I believe that any music can help to build our resilience, especially when we are faced with challenges. From the many grief experiences that I've had with the loss of my parents, husband and daughter, music has always offered the hug that I so desperately needed.   This episode covers: spousal losschild lossparental lossgrief supportmusic as therapy and motivatorbuilding resiliencecommon traits of resilient peoplea quote from Bruce Springsteenmy night at the Boyz II Men concertmy theme song, Day Ones, by Kyler SlaterRESILIENT tshirtsTo learn more visit RESILIENT PEOPLE Buy a RESILIENT t-shirt On social media, Instagram and LinkedIn

This episode is changing the nature of the podcast a bit. After suffering a devastating loss this past fall, with the death of my 25 year old daughter Isobel, I began to rethink what’s important to me and how I view a resilient mindset. I feel like learning to really embrace the in between moments in life is key to rebuilding ourselves. So I’ll be dedicating this season to sharing takeaways that worked for me and hopefully give you some useful food for thought. RESILIENT PEOPLE is a podcast and digital space created by Janet Fanaki. She is a public speaker, patient and care partner engagement consultant and podcaster. Having grieved the care and passing of her husband Adam to glioblastoma, her mom and dad to declining health and most recently the sudden death of her 25 year old daughter, Janet has embraced living life in the “in-between moments”. To learn more about her visit www.resilientpeople.ca and Instagram @janetfanakiofficial

Tara MacIntosh had just discovered that she was pregnant with twins when, only hours later, her husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer. It was during the pandemic and a very stressful time to be a patient or caregiver receiving any medical intervention. As her belly grew, Tara supported Gregor for all of his needs and was learning on the fly how to be a caregiver. She quickly learned the toughness that it takes to care for a loved one as well as the comfort that was missing for many who are in this role. Gregor passed away in December 2021. To give herself something positive to focus on she created Gregor's Gift to help the caregivers in her community of London, Ontario. The charity has provided them with comfort kits while at St. Joseph's Hospice and Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice as well as respite treatments like facials. We spoke about: her husband's Esophageal cancer journeythe challenges of caregivingthe importance of caring for caregiversbuilding resilience and finding purposethe purpose she found in creating Gregor's Gifther passions including writingfinding gratitude during tough timespositive choices to start and end the day (bookending)

Nathan and Dana Schmidt of the Mountain Seed Foundation are my guests on this episode of the RESILIENT PEOPLE podcast. Mountain Seed Foundation helps build resilience in children and families impacted by war with some of their biggest work being done in Ukraine. Nathan is a former Marine who completed three tours in the Iraq war. He and Dana met there when she went as part of the Foreign Service. Both are very open about the effects that war has on individuals and their families. Nathan spoke about openly about his post-traumatic stress disorder and his transparency on needing to talk about it with others and get help. Dana honestly spoke about the challenges it presented to their marriage and the tools - as well as people - that helped them. Mountain Seed Foundation offers children impacted by war the opportunity to learn climbing to help overcome their fears while also offering the mothers of these children therapy in various forms and the opportunity to build a peer-to-peer community. Learning to climb helped Nathan to battle the demons he lived with after Iraq and he instinctively knew that it could do the same for others impacted by war. We spoke about: helping those suffering from PTSD finding love in unlikely placesthe Russian invasion on Ukrainemental health awarenessthe value of professional therapy finding simple joys in lifemountain climbing for building a resilient mindsetTo learn more about Mountain Seed Foundation, visit this link.  If you consider yourself to be resilient, or know someone who you admire for their resilience, please share your story with me. Go to the RESILIENT PEOPLE contact page  For more information on Janet Fanaki and RESILIENT PEOPLE, go to www.resilientpeople.ca Follow on social media:  X Instagram Apple podcasts Spotify

Kelli Gastis is a wife, mother, former dancer and can now add author to her list of achievements. Her book, Fabulous In Flats, is about the journey that Multiple Sclerosis has taken her on and how she has maintained a resilient mindset through her body's changes. She doesn't want to let her condition get in the way of living a fulfilling life and she wrote a book to inspire others. To learn more about Kelli Gastis visit: www.kelligastis.com The RESILIENT PEOPLE podcast is produced and hosted by Janet Fanaki. It features conversations with regular people from around the world who are admired for their resilience. They have experienced a major life challenge, found a purpose from it and now help others to be resilient too.  To learn more about Janet Fanaki and RESILIENT PEOPLE, bookings for speaking engagements, media interviews and to order a RESILIENT t-shirt go to www.resilientpeople.ca On social media: X @resilientpeoplInstagram @resilientpeopleca

Raymond Chhun is a registered nurse in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He's worked in clinic as well as an instructor, and is currently applying for his PhD to research building resilience in nursing. His mother grew up in rural Cambodia and met his father in Thailand. At a young age she was taken from home during the country's civil war essentially having the life she knew before taken away from her. When he was just 13 years old, Raymond had sadly already lost both of his parents. His own life changed forever and through his teen years he struggled in school and his social circle. Thanks to proactive mentors who helped guide him and build his resilience, he went on to a prosperous career in nursing and continues to give back to his community. Crediting this as being a way to help others and keep a resilient mindset. I spoke with Raymond from his home in Winnipeg and mine in Toronto. RESILIENT PEOPLE profiles regular people from around the world who are admired for their resilience. They have experienced a major life challenge, found a purpose from it and now help others to be resilient too.  To learn more about Janet Fanaki and RESILIENT PEOPLE visit www.resilientpeople.ca References: RESILIENT PEOPLE To contact Raymond Chhun, visit him on Instagram @_raymond_5328 American Psychological Association Instagram  @resilientpeopleca Twitter @resilientpeopl

For this episode of RESILIENT PEOPLE, Janet Fanaki speaks with Wellness Coach Sharon Summerfield.  She is the founder of The Nourished Executive and counsels clients on dealing with burnout, stress management and building healthy daily rituals.     Sharon was once a busy executive assistant and project manager for various engineering firms. She made a pivot to create the Nourished Executive by identifying a need and what was working for her in her own personal wellness journey. After suffering debilitating pain from two accidents, Sharon created ‘Project Me’ and built her own team of experts who helped her to get on the right track. She encourages others to follow the same course. She also credits daily practices like meditation, journaling, incorporating joyful activities and micro changes as ways to build resilience. As she said during our conversation, "We forget how far we've come" as a way to reward ourselves for our small self improvements. Our conversation touches on: burnout, stress management, wellness practices, self-care, support from community and building resilience.  To learn more about Sharon Summerfield visit nourishedexecutive.ca

Tara Pyfrom grew up in the beautiful Bahamas. She comes from a long line of family members who lived there for generations. Residents there are used to hurricanes. In 2019 Tara's beloved island experienced the wrath of Hurricane Dorian, the biggest cyclone to hit the Bahamas. Tara, her wife and daughter watched as their home filled with water, making its way all the way up to the attic. Once the storm passed and they were forced to evacuate, they needed to find a place to live and eventually found their way to Canada.   We spoke about living through the scariest moments of the hurricane, the moments of problem-solving, the benefits of therapy and seeking all different types of it, the purpose she found from this challenge and where she draws her resilience.  I want to thank Tara Pyfrom for speaking with me, sharing her story of surviving Hurricane Dorian and the purpose she found in writing for self care and to create a book about her experience.  This episode covers: surviving Hurricane Dorian and the next steps to rebuildingthe benefits of therapythe power of communityproblem solving in tough timesbuilding resiliencewriting for therapy and purposeTo learn more about her, visit www.tarapyfrom.com or her Instagram page.  The RESILIENT PEOPLE podcast is hosted by Janet Fanaki. It's my conversations with regular people from around the world who are admired for their resilience. They have experienced a major life challenge, found a purpose from it and now help others to be resilient too.  To hear more RESILIENT PEOPLE episodes, learn more about Janet Fanaki, order a RESILIENT tshirt and book her for a speaking engagement visit www.resilientpeople.ca Find Janet Fanaki and RESILIENT PEOPLE on: Instagram Twitter Apple podcasts Spotify If you or someone you know is admired for their resilience, please send an email with more information to: [email protected]

For this episode, I reflect on some of the learnings from past guests, the purpose that her guests have found from the challenges they faced and how a bigger purpose can be created through adversity.   Janet mentions in this episode, "a major challenge will most definitely change you, but it doesn’t need to define who you are for the rest of your life." RESILIENT PEOPLE is produced and created by Janet Fanaki. It's conversations with regular people from around the world who are admired for their resilience. They have experienced a major life challenge, found a purpose from it and now help others to be resilient too.  This episode covers: the importance of finding purposebuilding resiliencesome of the purposeful roles that guests have created for themselves because of their lived challengean introduction to the first guest of the season, Tara Pyfrom, who survived Hurricane DorianTo hear more RESILIENT PEOPLE episodes and learn more about Janet Fanaki, order a RESILIENT tshirt and book speaking opportunities visit www.resilientpeople.ca Find Janet Fanaki and RESILIENT PEOPLE on: Instagram Twitter Apple podcasts Spotify If you or someone you know is admired for their resilience, I'd love to hear from you. Please send an email to: [email protected]

This episode is a response to a Twitter post that I recently made that garnered a bit of attention. I was remarking on how I, as a widow, was starting to include a friend who recently lost her husband in my social plans. Inviting her to play tennis, hang out and go out for dinner. So many people replied with their own stories of living with grief and the alienation they encountered while others wrote about the ways in which they had included a griever in their vacations, dinners and making plans together. The grievers had remarked on the typical "outreach" comments that they would hear as a way for others to feel as though they were helping. These are touched-on as well as examples of how they also felt acknowledged, loved and seen which allowed them to make steps to move forward from their loss. The RESILIENT PEOPLE podcast is hosted by Janet Fanaki. This show profiles regular people from around the world who are admired for their resilience. They have lived through a major life challenge, found a purpose from it and now help others to be resilient too.  This particular episode is narrated by Janet and focuses on the ways which we can help support a griever. It is in response to a post that Janet posted to Twitter where she comments on including her friend in plans after she suffered the loss of her husband.  This episode covers: Comments from contributors, as grievers and also ones who have been a support to someone who has faced loss.Sharing tangible ways to help someone living with grief.Avoiding the typical one liners like, "I didn't know what to say" or "Let me know if you need anything".If you are widowed and have a story to share on how someone helped you move forward in your grief, please share your comments on the RESILIENT PEOPLE contact page at www.resilientpeople.ca/contact For more information on the RESILIENT PEOPLE podcast, go to www.resilientpeople.ca If you or someone you know is admired for their resilience, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an email to [email protected] Find Janet Fanaki and RESILIENT PEOPLE on: Instagram Twitter Apple podcasts Spotify

Shaun O'Gorman is an author, motivational speaker, father, and a former police officer in Queensland, Australia Growing up in a police family, Shaun knew from a very young age what he aspired to be when he got older. But he wasn't aware of how much this profession would change him. Witnessing horrific events and drama of day to day life, he struggled for a long time with PTSD, attempted suicide and eventually left the police force. Shaun found a purpose in public speaking to police academies, military, first responders, athletes and schools about his struggles and his goal is to help people to cope with life’s hardships and build resilience. RESILIENT PEOPLE is hosted by Janet Fanaki and features conversations with EXTRAordinary people from around the world who are admired for their resilience. They have overcome a major life challenge, created a purpose from it and now help others to be resilient too.  The  aim is to show that your negative experience does not define your future. It can also be a platform to help you find new meaning, to build a positive and resilient mindset. In this episode, Janet speaks with motivational speaker and former police officer Shaun O'Gorman from Queensland, Australia. Topics covered include: PTSD and policinganger managementpersonal development and self-awarenessbuilding resilienceTo learn more about Shaun O'Gorman, visit The Strong Life Project.  To learn more about the resilience of regular people from around the world, visit RESILIENT PEOPLE. RESILIENT PEOPLE is created and hosted by Janet Fanaki.  Purchase a RESILIENT t-shirt and support programs and services that help brain tumour patients across Canada. The Adam Fanaki Brain Fund has been providing funding to the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, St. Michael's Hospital and Sick Kids. Over $260,000 has been raised to date.  Buy yours at www.resilientpeople.ca Follow the show and Janet on Instagram and Twitter.

Back in 2019 I spoke with a woman by the name of Dawn Custode. She loved to sail, travel, spend time helping the causes that she held dear and having fun with loved ones. At the time, Dawn was dying of colon cancer, a disease that she had lived with for two and a half years. She was spending her remaining days imparting her wisdom on life for the living. And she had some terrific advice.  Our talk came at a time when my own husband was living with terminal brain cancer called glioblastoma.  RESILIENT PEOPLE is hosted by Janet Fanaki and features conversations with EXTRAordinary people from around the world who are admired for their resilience. They have overcome a major challenge, created a purpose from it and now help others to be resilient too.  The  aim is to show that your negative experience does not define your future. It can also be a platform to help you find new meaning, to build a positive and resilient mindset. The guest on this episode is Dawn Custode. She was an Accountant who loved to sail, play games, get together with friends and travel as much as possible.  She passed away from colon cancer on May 26, 2019. Dawn and I spoke about her purpose, her message to others to not waste time, focusing on what matters in life, her travels and what she would regret as her life was ending.     Dawn Custode posted on Facebook and you can find her page at: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.custode?mibextid=LQQJ4d If you are someone with a story to tell, or know someone who does, please record a voice memo or type a message and send it to: [email protected].  Find all interviews from the podcast, information about Janet Fanaki, hiring her for speaking opportunities and order a RESILIENT t-shirt as well as other merchandise at www.resilientpeople.ca. The RESILIENT PEOPLE podcast is available everywhere you listen including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  FOLLOW RESILIENT PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram www.instagram.com/resilientpeopleca & Twitter www.twitter.com/resilientpeopl