one of the most powerful ways we build
connections with one another is by
telling a story stories can reveal a lot
about an individual like their strengths
their vulnerabilities what they value
and who they aspire to be I love hearing
stories about people who maybe have come
from a difficult past or a place of
vulnerability like JK Rowling who was
rejected by many many publishers before
the success of her Harry Potter series
or Michael or whose story was told in
the blindside who overcame poverty in a
broken home before being drafted by the
NFL these two individuals along with
many others have found ways to build
themselves up and become inspiring
leaders I was 16 years old and while
most kids were getting their drivers
license going to school dances and
preparing for university I had a
completely different reality I started
getting these horrible vivid images in
my mind they were so clear it’s like I
was constantly watching a horror film
I’d sit at the dinner table with my
family and I think what if I got that
knife and cut my wrist my vision would
blur my palms would sweat my body would
shake I needed to throw up I would drive
to high school in the morning and I’d
hear a voice inside inside my head say
crash the car just to do it just end
your life already
now it’s essential to understand that I
did not want any of these thoughts they
were intrusive and they absolutely
terrified me so I would do everything I
could to make these thoughts go away I
avoided everything that would trigger
them I wore long sleeves in the hot and
very very humid summers of st. Louis so
I wouldn’t have to look at my wrists I’d
cover my neck with my hands to protect
myself I didn’t look at anything red
because red meant blood and blood meant
danger I slept with my arms tied behind
my back at night because that’s what I
was convinced I needed to do to keep
myself alive I couldn’t understand what
was going on in my own mind I was
finally diagnosed with
obsessive-compulsive disorder which at
that point had completely stripped me of
my independence these stock thoughts
started coming 10 11 12 hours a day and
they completely took over my mind how
was I supposed to do something with my
life when I was living every minute in
constant fear two weeks after my high
school graduation I moved to Wisconsin
for treatment and I would spend the next
six months there in residential care
going through the gold standard
treatment for OCD which is called
exposure and response prevention the ERP
is based off the face your fears
approach so I slowly started to
introduce myself to everything that had
made me anxious until I have bitchu
eight into this anxiety
it might seem counterintuitive but I was
actually retraining my brain not to be
scared of these objects now this process
took years and to be honest I’m still
retraining my brain today I thought I
had this perfect plan of how my life was
gonna look and OCD took that away from
me but it gave me something even better
in return
if I hadn’t suffered I wouldn’t be
studying psychology and social work so I
can help others with OCD Sunday I would
have never had the opportunity to intern
at the hospital that saved my life I
wouldn’t be involved with Active Minds
here at Creighton and I wouldn’t have
co-founded a support group for people
with OCD in Omaha I’ve come a long way
from the girl I was five years ago but
it wasn’t some special quality that I
was born with that helped me move from a
place of vulnerability to empowerment I
used what I nicknamed my three-point
punch and I want to share this idea with
you all today to help you become a
leader in your own life
point one take the first step forward
this is often the hardest and it
requires a huge leap of faith but you
have to be willing to do this when
seems scary or it seems impossible I
want you to think about something in
your life that you’ve been avoiding or
that you’ve always wanted to do but you
haven’t because it seems too far out of
reach that’s when you have to take that
first step forward because if we don’t
take the first step forward to lead
other people cannot follow in our
example looking back it was only because
I took that first step forward to get
treatment that I have the opportunity to
live the life I’m living right now and
it’s honestly the only reason that I’m
able to stand here and talk to you all
today taking the first step has made me
a better leader because it’s taught me
that it’s okay if I fail as long as I
don’t give up it’s taught me to be more
empathetic to every person I meet
because I truly don’t know their story
and it’s allowed me to build
relationships with some of the most
amazing people in my life who had
continued to inspire me every single day
point to use your obstacles as
motivation I was frustrated that I
wasn’t in school and that school was not
a given for me and at this point I had a
choice to make I could let my struggles
consume me and not come to Creighton or
it could give it everything that I had
and that’s when I decided to reframe my
obstacles to use them to my advantage
I used my frustration as motivation to
work hard in treatment so that I could
get my life back step two is a huge
turning point because contrary to what
we believe our greatest strengths
actually come from our most challenging
obstacles and our most challenging
obstacles create perseverance and
resilience which are two very important
qualities to have an elite er 0.3
combined motivation with passion to
become a leader now this will look
different for every one of us because we
all have different passions a leader
doesn’t necessarily have to write
heartwarming novels about young wizards
or play a professional sport a leader is
someone who is able to take a risk and
put themselves out there when others are
too afraid to do so a leader has to be
passionate about what they do because at
the end of the day passion is
is going to inspire others and that’s
what will make you an empowering leader
we all have obstacles it’s just part of
being human but we get to choose how we
respond to them every day are you going
to let your obstacles hold you back or
are you going to use the three-point
punch to reframe your obstacles and use
them to your advantage to become a
leader who’s capable of working towards
change and empowerment the choice is
yours [Applause]
connections with one another is by
telling a story stories can reveal a lot
about an individual like their strengths
their vulnerabilities what they value
and who they aspire to be I love hearing
stories about people who maybe have come
from a difficult past or a place of
vulnerability like JK Rowling who was
rejected by many many publishers before
the success of her Harry Potter series
or Michael or whose story was told in
the blindside who overcame poverty in a
broken home before being drafted by the
NFL these two individuals along with
many others have found ways to build
themselves up and become inspiring
leaders I was 16 years old and while
most kids were getting their drivers
license going to school dances and
preparing for university I had a
completely different reality I started
getting these horrible vivid images in
my mind they were so clear it’s like I
was constantly watching a horror film
I’d sit at the dinner table with my
family and I think what if I got that
knife and cut my wrist my vision would
blur my palms would sweat my body would
shake I needed to throw up I would drive
to high school in the morning and I’d
hear a voice inside inside my head say
crash the car just to do it just end
your life already
now it’s essential to understand that I
did not want any of these thoughts they
were intrusive and they absolutely
terrified me so I would do everything I
could to make these thoughts go away I
avoided everything that would trigger
them I wore long sleeves in the hot and
very very humid summers of st. Louis so
I wouldn’t have to look at my wrists I’d
cover my neck with my hands to protect
myself I didn’t look at anything red
because red meant blood and blood meant
danger I slept with my arms tied behind
my back at night because that’s what I
was convinced I needed to do to keep
myself alive I couldn’t understand what
was going on in my own mind I was
finally diagnosed with
obsessive-compulsive disorder which at
that point had completely stripped me of
my independence these stock thoughts
started coming 10 11 12 hours a day and
they completely took over my mind how
was I supposed to do something with my
life when I was living every minute in
constant fear two weeks after my high
school graduation I moved to Wisconsin
for treatment and I would spend the next
six months there in residential care
going through the gold standard
treatment for OCD which is called
exposure and response prevention the ERP
is based off the face your fears
approach so I slowly started to
introduce myself to everything that had
made me anxious until I have bitchu
eight into this anxiety
it might seem counterintuitive but I was
actually retraining my brain not to be
scared of these objects now this process
took years and to be honest I’m still
retraining my brain today I thought I
had this perfect plan of how my life was
gonna look and OCD took that away from
me but it gave me something even better
in return
if I hadn’t suffered I wouldn’t be
studying psychology and social work so I
can help others with OCD Sunday I would
have never had the opportunity to intern
at the hospital that saved my life I
wouldn’t be involved with Active Minds
here at Creighton and I wouldn’t have
co-founded a support group for people
with OCD in Omaha I’ve come a long way
from the girl I was five years ago but
it wasn’t some special quality that I
was born with that helped me move from a
place of vulnerability to empowerment I
used what I nicknamed my three-point
punch and I want to share this idea with
you all today to help you become a
leader in your own life
point one take the first step forward
this is often the hardest and it
requires a huge leap of faith but you
have to be willing to do this when
seems scary or it seems impossible I
want you to think about something in
your life that you’ve been avoiding or
that you’ve always wanted to do but you
haven’t because it seems too far out of
reach that’s when you have to take that
first step forward because if we don’t
take the first step forward to lead
other people cannot follow in our
example looking back it was only because
I took that first step forward to get
treatment that I have the opportunity to
live the life I’m living right now and
it’s honestly the only reason that I’m
able to stand here and talk to you all
today taking the first step has made me
a better leader because it’s taught me
that it’s okay if I fail as long as I
don’t give up it’s taught me to be more
empathetic to every person I meet
because I truly don’t know their story
and it’s allowed me to build
relationships with some of the most
amazing people in my life who had
continued to inspire me every single day
point to use your obstacles as
motivation I was frustrated that I
wasn’t in school and that school was not
a given for me and at this point I had a
choice to make I could let my struggles
consume me and not come to Creighton or
it could give it everything that I had
and that’s when I decided to reframe my
obstacles to use them to my advantage
I used my frustration as motivation to
work hard in treatment so that I could
get my life back step two is a huge
turning point because contrary to what
we believe our greatest strengths
actually come from our most challenging
obstacles and our most challenging
obstacles create perseverance and
resilience which are two very important
qualities to have an elite er 0.3
combined motivation with passion to
become a leader now this will look
different for every one of us because we
all have different passions a leader
doesn’t necessarily have to write
heartwarming novels about young wizards
or play a professional sport a leader is
someone who is able to take a risk and
put themselves out there when others are
too afraid to do so a leader has to be
passionate about what they do because at
the end of the day passion is
is going to inspire others and that’s
what will make you an empowering leader
we all have obstacles it’s just part of
being human but we get to choose how we
respond to them every day are you going
to let your obstacles hold you back or
are you going to use the three-point
punch to reframe your obstacles and use
them to your advantage to become a
leader who’s capable of working towards
change and empowerment the choice is
yours [Applause]
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