It's okay to feel the weight of a setback, just don't stay there too long. Get back up, keep going, and remember: a win is a win, no matter how small.

One setback does not define the future. Confidence isn't never failing - it's getting back up and building the skills needed to fill in the gaps. Growth begins when you keep showing up and resilience is built through action, not perfection. Sometimes you are redirected away from what you want in the moment because there is a different path calling out for us to reveal strengths we didn't know we had!

Every setback teaches you what didn't work, what needs to change, and how you are capable. Failure isn't the end, it's feedback; learn from it and keep moving.

The hardest part of failure isn't what others see, but rather it's what you tell yourself afterward. The moment you change that conversation is the moment you begin rebuilding.

Failure doesn't mean giving up. Failure is proof that you had the courage to try. Treat it as a learning experience; an opportunity to discover what works and what doesn't. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep trying until you succeed. Winning isn't always about success the first time around. Sometimes it's about little success each time you try.

Chronic pain in both wrists nearly made graduation impossible. But every obstacle is an opportunity, so I built the tool I needed. By co-founding Assistivity LLC, we built Phoenix: a voice-to-equation workspace for original work. As long as you're still breathing, you have the power to rise above challenges into something better.

Early in my career, I completely froze while speaking to a large audience in New York City, losing my train of thought and walking away embarrassed, but that experience taught me that confidence is built through preparation, practice, and repetition. I still get nervous before speaking today, but I've learned that very few people are natural public speakers, and every opportunity to speak has made me more confident than the last.

Magnificence is transforming setbacks into strategy, uncertainty into action and experience into evidence. When life challenges your confidence remember that you already have what it takes - courage to find your inner Magnificence and begin again.

I learned that public setbacks are temporary, but quiet perseverance has a way of becoming impossible to ignore. Excellence has a longer memory than failure.

Every setback is the beginning of a comeback. While you cannot prevent setbacks, you must not allow them to keep you down, neither publicly nor privately.

I used to think being witnessed in your worst moment was the most dangerous thing that could happen to your credibility. It took falling apart in a professional setting, mid-divorce, to understand that being human in public isn't a liability. It's the kind of authority that polished, untouched credibility can never earn.

Sometimes the hardest part isn't failing. It's overcoming the story someone else tells about you. The right mentors reminded me who I was, and that's how I rebuilt my confidence.

After my job was terminated publicly, nearly two years ago, I rebuilt my confidence by choosing work aligned with my values and formally launched jnsankey Consulting. That journey taught me my glass is never empty. It's endlessly refillable, and I have the power to keep pouring into myself.

After 30 dynamic years in international exchange, education, and diplomacy, I had built a solid reputation and history of demonstrated leadership in the field. At 50 years old, I launched a company focused on empowering women and divorce coaching, a 180 shift in career focus and had to begin to build my credibility in this new industry over again. It was a value driven decision that I do not regret even to this day because it was aligned with my life's purpose at this stage of my life.

You have to keep going, even though everything feels like it's falling apart. Don't stop fighting for what you want with or without support from others. Sounds cliche, but keep your eyes on the prize.

I've had a few setbacks that challenged my confidence. However, my most public setback came when speaking to a group of about 150 people with a client and a colleague with me, and one of the mentors in my field, who was the Keynote speaker and speaking right before me. He even called me out to the room to say "Hi" at the end of his presentation and set me up for a warm reception. I felt terrible when I awoke that morning but figured I'd power through. I went on and the room started spinning. I was coming down with the flu, and it hit hard at that moment. My presentation was a short 30 minutes, but virtually incoherent. Everyone (including me) was glad to see me leave the stage at the end. Needless to say, we did not get people coming to our booth for leads from that event. Though that was many years ago and I've spoken and received well since then, I still cringe when I think of that event.

You may have to rebuild yourself repeatedly, but with a strong foundation it's possible! Supporting yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally is the best foundation.

Sometimes your greatest testimony isn't that you survived the breaking; it's that you found the courage to rebuild while the world was still watching.

The greatest turning point was not externally proving myself to others. It was in the moment I felt alone, yet stayed true to myself I realized who I was beneath expectations and allowing that strength to guide my next steps forward.

Trauma, divorce, and a newborn at home brought me to my knees, all while I was building my business from the ground up. What followed was a heavy mix of shame, guilt, and fear. But instead of letting it define me, I turned it into fuel; a quiet, relentless drive to prove the doubts wrong, including my own, and to rise above the noise that said I couldn't.

Leadership isn't about never failing; it's about being willing to learn, adapt, and keep moving forward after everyone has seen you stumble. Those moments often become your greatest teachers and can ultimately strengthen both your confidence and your ability to lead others.

Setbacks don't diminish your value; they reveal whether your identity is rooted in what you do or who you are. People aren't remembered because they never faced setbacks. They're remembered because their setbacks never had the final word.

Failure didn't define my story. It refined my purpose. Every setback became the foundation for the woman and leader I was always meant to become.

I didn't rebuild by forgetting my pain. I rebuilt by giving it purpose. Sometimes our greatest heartbreak becomes our greatest opportunity to make a difference.

After 25 years working, I went to a company, and they fired me after less than 3 months. I was devastated. I was very sad and confused, but I did not let it "get to me"; instead, I used it as a motivating force. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that I had value & purpose, no matter if employed or not. I realized that "Purpose" is what guides decisions when the path is unclear. Purpose is what keeps us grounded when the work becomes difficult. Purpose is what transforms technical skill into meaningful impact. My purpose has always been rooted in service — to communities, to the profession, and to the people who rely on the systems we design. It is what drives me to keep learning, to keep growing, and to keep striving for excellence and to keep moving forward and "making it happen". I am of value just because I am me.