How to be resilient in unprecedented times – words from resilience speaker, William Pike.

Gidday, amongst many other things, I’m a resilience speaker based in Auckland. I love inspiring people to overcome adversity and become more resilient. No thanks to Covid-19, all of my upcoming speaking engagements have been wiped out. So, I’ve decided to share some of my messages that I share in my keynote presentations. That way I’ll be ready to jump straight back onto the stage when Jacinda Ardern releases us from lockdown.

Right now and for the foreseeable future, overcoming challenge and change is about to become a big and constant part of our professional and personal lives. As an inspirational speaker who also specialises as a resilience speaker, I know that our ability to be resilient and overcome challenge and change is now more important than ever.

Here’s some background before I launch into things. In my early 20’s my life took a rather interesting and dramatic turn when I lost my leg and almost my life in a volcanic eruption. I learnt how to walk again, kept my mental and physical wellbeing in check, and returned to the workforce. I even went on to climb Mt. Scott in Antarctica, established a successful speaking business and a nationwide youth development programme called the William Pike Challenge.

Being a resilience speaker I’m often asked how people can themselves become more resilient. Here are some questions that I’m often asked:

Don’t underestimate yourself – I’ve learned that we are much more resilient than we can imagine. When pushed to the brink, we Humans have an almost indestructible spirit. We have grit, determination, and bloody-mindedness to get through the toughest of physical and mental challenges. Most people don’t realise this because they’ve never ‘been there’.

Know your purpose – we’ve got to have a purpose or a reason to fight. I was able to draw resilience from my purpose. I strongly believed in 3 things: the outdoors, people and education. It was those things that gave me the courage, confidence and resilience to fight my fight. For more on purpose, see my Purpose Blog.

Rely on your team – I have never achieved anything great by myself. A huge part of my ability to be resilient has come from the support I’ve received from my family, friends, and colleagues. Building a tight-knit team at home and in the office is a top priority for me. Because when (not if) things turn pear-shaped in life, you’ll be grateful for that team surrounding you.

You can learn to be resilient – I believe people learn to be resilient, we aren’t born resilient. I was fortunate as a youngster to spend many challenging days and nights bushwalking and mountaineering through New Zealand’s backcountry. It was those experiences (and others of course) that developed my resilience and set me up to overcome significant challenges and change in my life. Regardless of how you find your resilience, it can be learnt. And you can become resilient. Each and every one of us has the grit, determination, and bloody-mindedness to get through the toughest physical and mental challenges.

As you, your company and colleagues navigate the ups and downs of business and life, remember that aligning people with purpose is essential to achieving the extraordinary. I will inspire and motivate your people to focus on their purpose and achieve excellence. I constantly strive to be the best speaker I can be. I do this by working with professional speaker bureaus, getting a comprehensive brief from my clients and tailoring my messages. Purpose is just one of many topics and messages I share as a motivational speaker. If you’re interested in having me speak at your next event, get in contact now to avoid missing out.

My top 3 tips on how to become more resilient.

Know and reflect on your purpose – this gives you fuel to fight your fight and be resilient.
Step outside of your comfort zone – being comfortable being uncomfortable increases your ability to be more resilient.
Build strong teams – have the support in place before you need it. Strong teams are resilient and able to weather the storm.

My top 3 tips on how to ensure your staff become more resilient.

Preach your purpose – constantly talk about your organisation’s vision, mission and purpose.
Challenge your staff – set big goals, get them to step outside their comfort zone to become more resilient.
Encourage self-belief – make sure staff don’t underestimate themselves, they are better than they think.

There you go, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you’ll be able to use some of these ideas and transfer them into your own lives. That’s it from me for now. Stay safe, stay well, stay connected.

P.s. I constantly strive to be the best speaker I can be. I do this by working with professional speaker bureaus, getting a comprehensive brief from my clients and tailoring my messages. Resilience is just one of many topics and messages I share as a motivational speaker. If you’re interested in having me speak at your next event, either virtually through video or in person, get in contact now to secure your booking.