How to Rise Strong When Everything Topples

Don’t Let Stress Derail Your Destiny

You can’t let stress stop you from the life you were meant to live.

Imagine this: you’re an intrepid but exhausted Silicon Valley CEO. Your startup is burning through cash and will be out of runway in weeks. A product launch is looming. You’re working around the clock when your co-founder — a lifelong friend — suddenly walks, taking staff, assets, and credibility. Then the market tanks. Your personal portfolio implodes and your savings evaporate at the worst possible moment. You’re stressed, you’re barely home, relationships are fraying. One crisis cascades into everything before you even have a chance to breathe.

We’ve all been there in different ways. When one domino falls, it can feel like they all topple at once. Big life events often arrive in intense clusters — either lifts or blows. The difference between getting crushed by that cascade and using it as a springboard is how you show up: grounded, clear, and detached enough to see the next right move.

Sometimes the Universe puts a wall in front of you to redirect you to a larger, truer path. If you get lost in the problems, you’ll miss that redirect — and repeat the lesson until you learn it. So when things go sideways, do this instead: get organized, get calm, and get tactical.

Use The Three-R Mantra: Review, Re-Focus, Revamp.

Review — step back, get clarity

This is your mental rewind. Pull yourself out of the heat so you can see the situation honestly. Clarity is the opposite of panic. Find a place that quiets you — a park, a short drive, the beach — somewhere you can breathe and think straight. Bring a notebook and make columns: family, money, work, health, friends. List every problem and put it in the right column.

This simple exercise organizes the chaos and gives you control over how you feel about it. When you see everything laid out, the problems stop being amorphous monsters and become manageable tasks.

Re-Focus — sort hiccups from life-altering issues

Look at your list and ask: which items are true, life-changing crises and which are hiccups with solutions? Hiccups are annoying, not existential. If something is a hiccup, there’s a fix.

Use this three-step mini-process:

1. Spend 10 focused minutes on one problem. Think it through from every angle — cause, timeline, impact. Then stop.

2. Take 10 minutes to brainstorm three possible solutions. Weigh pros and cons for each.

3. Ask three trusted, objective people for their perspectives — mentors, colleagues, or friends who aren’t emotionally entangled.

   
   

Nine viewpoints = far more clarity than you had alone. Pick the option that aligns with your values and resources and re-focus your energy there. You are capable. You are strong. And often, the pressure you feel is temporary — you’ll be better able to solve it when you’re not emotionally consumed.

Revamp — act, but do it in steps

Now put the plan into motion. Remember my line with clients: where your focus goes, the energy flows. Focus on solutions, not problems, and you’ll draw solutions forward.

Take your chosen solution and break it into small, sequential steps. Don’t try to fix everything at once. Check each step off as you complete it. Maintain perspective: you are in control of the situation — not the other way around. Keep your voice calm, your tempo steady, and your decisions rooted in the new clarity you created during Review and Re-Focus.

When you act from that place, the obstacle becomes a lesson. You’ll come out stronger, smarter, and more aligned with your true path.

A final note — reinvent often

I tell my clients it’s healthy to reinvent yourself every 5–10 years. Life, business, and technology change constantly — so should you. Use the Three-R Mantra not only in crisis, but as a regular practice to upgrade your life.

The universe has something incredible planned for you. When the dominos fall, steady your center, get strategic, and move forward. You’ve got this!