With all the focus on success it’s easy to overlook the valuable lessons we can learn from the more difficult parts of our journey. Below, you’ll find some very interesting insights from some of the most fascinating members of the community.

Madison Clark

Suffering has taught me that nothing truly worth having comes easy. It’s in the hard seasons that I’ve learned to slow down and appreciate the small moments—the ones I used to overlook. Now, when I feel stressed about having too many dogs in daycare, I think back to the early days when we barely had enough to fill one room, and I’m grateful. Read more>>

Denise Saucedo

Success gave me titles, a paycheck, and the validation that I could climb ladders I never thought possible. By the age of 23, I was making six figures and managing at a Fortune 500 company—an achievement that most women, let alone Latina women and single mothers, don’t often get to experience. By 25 I owned my first home and launched into entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Brandi Kvetko Reinauer

Back in 2008 the economy crashed and so did my old vintage store, Go-Kat-Go. Although I held on to the shop for a few years, it was hemorrhaging money and eventually caused me to lose not only the store but also my home at the time. Read more>>

Brandy Isadora

While struggling to publish my first book, a wise person told me, ‘If it were easy everybody would be doing it.’ Sometimes the most important things in life bring the most suffering. However, I’ve learned that I can often turn my suffering into a valuable lesson. Read more>>

Jalia Pettis

Whew—suffering has taught me that I do not look like what I’ve been through. I remember having a consultation with a woman who was interested in helping me grow my business. We talked for a couple of hours, and at the end of our conversation, she said something that stopped me in my tracks. She said, “You don’t look like what you’ve been through. Read more>>

Karen Cummings

The challenges we face in life are often what makes us who we are. How one-dimensional we’d be if we never had to overcome! When we learn to face difficulties head on, to do hard things, we learn so much about ourselves. Read more>>

Ken Conklin

Success reinforces what we already believe about ourselves and our capabilities. It validates our chosen paths and strategies, making us feel confident and capable, but it rarely forces us to question our fundamental resilience or the depth of our inner reserves. Suffering, however, is an entirely different teacher. Read more>>

Holly Knieye’

Suffering taught me stillness, something success could never teach. It slowed me down in a world that rewards speed. It stripped me of the illusion that results equal worth and forced me to sit with myself — not the curated version, but the raw, unfiltered, unseen version of me. Read more>>

Mandy Lyttle

That it’s not necessary to suffer. Read more>>

Chloe Bee

Suffering is a feedback loop. Misery and pity and embarrassment.. it is all a feedback loop. I have been in the most dark, shocked and lost places as a single mom and also as a business owner being burned and used when I didn’t see it coming. Read more>>