Couverture de RESILIENT A.F. with Blair and Alana

RESILIENT A.F. with Blair and Alana

RESILIENT A.F. with Blair and Alana

De : Blair Kaplan Venables
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 Welcome to RESILIENT A.F. with Blair and Alana—a podcast that celebrates the incredible strength of the human spirit and the ability to bounce forward. This is the show where we dive headfirst into the raw, real, and unfiltered stories of people who have faced life’s toughest challenges—and come out the other side stronger. In every episode, we explore the complex journey of resilience: the heartbreaks, the breakthroughs, and the triumphs. Whether it’s navigating personal loss, overcoming mental health battles, or finding hope amidst chaos, RESILIENT A.F. is a safe space to connect with others who have been there. Blair and Alana bring a unique mix of candid storytelling, heartfelt empathy, and expert insights, shining a light on the untold stories of grit and growth. With inspiring guest interviews and conversations with mental health professionals, each episode is designed to empower you to bounce forward, no matter what life throws your way. Why listen? 1. Relatable Stories: Hear real people share their journeys of resilience in their own words. 2. Expert Advice: Gain tools, tips, and insights from mental health experts to support your own healing and growth. 3. Empowerment: Leave each episode feeling inspired, hopeful, and ready to tackle life’s challenges head-on. But we’re not here to sugarcoat it—resilience isn’t always pretty. It’s messy, it’s painful, and it’s profoundly human. We’re here to remind you that while life can knock you down, it also offers the chance to rise again, stronger than before. ⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed. If you’re ready to find hope, strength, and the courage to keep moving forward, hit play and join us on this powerful journey. Because no matter what life throws your way, you are RESILIENT A.F. Subscribe now and keep on strengthening your resilience muscle today.Copyright 2026 Blair Kaplan Venables Hygiène et vie saine Psychologie Psychologie et psychiatrie Sciences sociales
Épisodes
  • Living Boldly: How Erica Bazerkanian Turned Her Father's Spinal Cord Stroke Into a Movement | 077

    Living Boldly: How Erica Bazerkanian Turned Her Father's Spinal Cord Stroke Into a Movement | 077
    Apr 28 2026
    What happens when a healthy, vibrant doctor collapses one day and is diagnosed with one of the rarest neurological events medicine knows — a spinal cord stroke? For Erica Bazerkanian, co-founder and CEO of Bold&Zeal, it became the defining moment that would reshape her entire life.In this deeply moving episode, Erica shares the story of her father Jeff Stone — a beloved podiatrist, lifelong fitness enthusiast, and "joke-a-minute" dad — who suffered a rare spinal cord stroke in June 2016, leaving him fully paralyzed between his C2 and C3 vertebrae. What followed was five months of bedside vigils, lip-reading conversations, family memories shared on a screen, and ultimately, one of the hardest goodbyes imaginable.But out of that grief came something extraordinary.Erica went on to raise over $225,000 for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation by running marathons — building a team called "Iam Stone" in her father's honour. And in 2025, after a 30-year career in healthcare marketing, she launched Bold&Zeal: a clothing brand built on the mantra Live Bold, that donates 10% of every sale to the Reeve Foundation.This episode is for anyone who has ever lost someone and wondered what to do with that pain — and for anyone who needs a reminder that boldness is a choice you make, even on the hardest days.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhat a spinal cord stroke is, why it's so rarely diagnosed, and how it differs from a brain strokeHow Erica's family navigated 5 months of ICU care, long-term facilities, and the impossibly complex emotions of watching a loved one fight for lifeWhy Erica chose marathon running as her act of grief and love, and how she built a fundraising team from scratchHow Bold&Zeal was born, what "Live Bold" means as more than a slogan, and why the brand donates to the Reeve FoundationThe moment a family decides to turn personal tragedy into a lasting legacyIf this episode moved you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you want to Live Bold — check out Bold&Zeal and know that your purchase directly supports spinal cord research.Subscribe to our Substack: https://theglobalresilienceproject.substack.com/Buy our books: https://theglobalresilienceproject.com/books/About the Guest:Erica Bazerkanian is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bold&Zeal, leading the company with a deeply personal sense of purpose. The brand was inspired by the loss of her father, Jeff Stone, following a spinal cord stroke that left him quadriplegic, an experience that shaped Erica’s commitment to resilience, advocacy, and intentional living.Long before launching Bold&Zeal, Erica committed herself to paralysis advocacy through sustained action. She has run eight marathons in support of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and, through her own fundraising efforts and by recruiting and leading Team #IAMSTONE in her father’s memory, has helped raise more than $225,000 to expand awareness, funding, and impact.As CEO, Erica guides Bold&Zeal’s brand vision, strategic partnerships, and long-term growth, ensuring the company remains grounded in purpose while building a timeless lifestyle brand. Her leadership reflects a belief that meaningful impact is created through consistency, community, and the courage to move forward.Links: https://boldandzeal.com/https://www.instagram.com/boldandzeal/https://www.facebook.com/p/Bold-and-Zeal-61576669562619/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericabazerkanian/https://www.linkedin.com/company/boldandzeal/⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed.About the Hosts: Blair Kaplan Venables is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured on media platforms like Forbes, TEDx, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is named the Top Grief and Resilience Expert of the Year 2024 by IAOTP. USA Today listed Blair as one of the top 10 conscious female leaders to watch and she empowers others to be resilient from stages around the world. 'MyStory,’ which is a television show available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Google Play, showcases Blair's life story. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast and specializes in helping people strengthen their resilience muscle using scientifically proven methods and guides grieving high performers with her Navigating Grief Framework. The Global Resilience Project’s award-winning book series are international bestsellers, and her fourth book, RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol 2, will be published in January 2025. In her free time, you can find Blair writing, in nature, travelling the world and helping people to strengthen their resilience muscles. Links:https://www.blairkaplan.ca/https://...
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    34 min
  • Rewire Go Higher with Eileen Filliben | 076

    Rewire Go Higher with Eileen Filliben | 076
    Apr 21 2026
    Eileen Filliben overcame breast cancer twice by the age of 42; 10 major surgeries in 10 years; debilitating back pain; severe migraines; depression and PTSD. This is her story and she is RESILIENT A.F.Buy the books: https://theglobalresilienceproject.com/books/About the Guest:During her successful career as an attorney, HR consultant, and senior executive, Eileen was sidelined with major health issues including:• Breast cancer twice by age 42• 15 major surgeries• Debilitating chronic back and leg pain• Chronic migraines including one mimicking a stroke• Depression and PTSDHer journey back to health involved a deep dive into the connection between the mind and the body. Using cutting edge techniques from neuroscience, Eileen was able to 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 to overcome her health challenges.Using her groundbreaking 𝙍𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙂𝙤 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 framework, Eileen Filliben empowers individuals and organizations to rise above obstacles, build sustainable resilience, and move forward with clarity and confidence.Eileen is also passionate about 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆. Speaking at medical and nursing schools, she helps students understand the enormous impact they have on patients' lives, gain insight into what patients really want, and build a practical toolkit to help prevent burnout.Go to eileenfilliben.com to learn more.Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-filliben-jd-mba-speakerauthorcoach/www.EileenFilliben.com⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed.About the Hosts: Blair Kaplan Venables is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured on media platforms like Forbes, TEDx, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is named the Top Grief and Resilience Expert of the Year 2024 by IAOTP. USA Today listed Blair as one of the top 10 conscious female leaders to watch and she empowers others to be resilient from stages around the world. 'MyStory,’ which is a television show available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Google Play, showcases Blair's life story. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast and specializes in helping people strengthen their resilience muscle using scientifically proven methods and guides grieving high performers with her Navigating Grief Framework. The Global Resilience Project’s award-winning book series are international bestsellers, and her fourth book, RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol 2, will be published in January 2025. In her free time, you can find Blair writing, in nature, travelling the world and helping people to strengthen their resilience muscles. Links:https://www.blairkaplan.ca/https://theglobalresilienceproject.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/blairdkaplan https://www.facebook.com/blair.kaplan https://www.facebook.com/BlairKaplanCommunications https://www.instagram.com/globalresiliencecommunityhttps://www.instagram.com/blairfromblairland/https://www.facebook.com/globalresiliencecommunity https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-global-resilience-project blair@blairkaplan.ca Alana Kaplan is a compassionate mental health professional based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She works in the mental health field, and is a co-host of the Resilient A.F. podcast. Fueled by advocacy, Alana is known for standing up and speaking out for others. Passionate about de-stigmatizing and normalizing mental health, Alana brings her experience to The Global Resilience Project’s team, navigating the role one’s mental health plays in telling their story.Engaging in self-care and growth keeps her going, and her love for reading, travel, and personal relationships helps foster that. When she’s not working, Alana can often be found on walks, working on a crossword puzzle, or playing with any animal she sees.Thanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section belowSubscribe to the podcastIf you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or on yourfavorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review.Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review.
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    30 min
  • Finding Purpose After Loss: Grief, Spiritual Awakening, and Soul-Level Alignment with Jacqueline Jenson | 076

    Finding Purpose After Loss: Grief, Spiritual Awakening, and Soul-Level Alignment with Jacqueline Jenson | 076
    Apr 14 2026
    In this deeply moving episode of Resilient A.F., Blair sits down with Jacqueline Jensen, an award-winning speaker and certified Akashic Records practitioner whose life took a sharp, unexpected turn after profound personal loss.Jacqueline’s story is one many listeners will feel in their bones. After leaving a successful legal career, she found herself navigating layered grief: caring for her sister Elizabeth, an oncology nurse who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2019, followed by the deaths of her mother and grandmother in close succession. Add a hysterectomy and a complete identity shift, and suddenly the question becomes not “What’s next?” but “Who am I now?”Spoiler: this episode does not offer tidy answers. It offers something better. Honesty, spaciousness, and permission to rebuild from the inside out.Blair and Jacqueline dive into the raw, unfiltered terrain of grief and transformation, including:Leaving behind a career that no longer fits after lossThe cumulative weight of grief and how it reshapes identityNavigating medical trauma alongside emotional lossSpiritual awakening as a response to heartbreak, not a bypassWhat “soul-level alignment” actually looks like in real lifeHow to stay present when the future feels impossible to imagineThis conversation is a reminder that grief doesn’t just break us; it can also initiate us. Into deeper truth. Into purpose that feels aligned, not performative. Into lives that honour what we’ve lost while still making room for what’s possible.If you’ve ever felt like loss cracked you open and left you wondering who you’re becoming, this episode will feel like a hand on your back saying, “You’re not doing this wrong.”Sponsorship opportunities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15oZsxAigvb6e4wbAmvW_El_1_laeyK4shMY1md6zVWI/edit?usp=sharingSubscribe to our Substack: https://theglobalresilienceproject.substack.com/Buy our books: https://theglobalresilienceproject.com/books/About the Guest:Jacqueline Jenson is an award-winning speaker, certified Akashic Records practitioner, and lifelong intuitive who’s been chatting with angels since childhood. After two decades in the legal world, she traded courtroom logic for cosmic connection. Helping others receive soul-level guidance, clarity, and support.Known for her grounded wisdom and warm, magnetic presence, she’s spoken on major stages and hosts signature events that blend divine insight, real conversation, and high-vibe activation (with a few laughs along the way).Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/jacqueline.m.jenson/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moverndoer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-jenson-b69757a/Website: https://jacquelinejenson.com/⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed.About the Hosts: Blair Kaplan Venables is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured on media platforms like Forbes, TEDx, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is named the Top Grief and Resilience Expert of the Year 2024 by IAOTP. USA Today listed Blair as one of the top 10 conscious female leaders to watch and she empowers others to be resilient from stages around the world. 'MyStory,’ which is a television show available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Google Play, showcases Blair's life story. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast and specializes in helping people strengthen their resilience muscle using scientifically proven methods and guides grieving high performers with her Navigating Grief Framework. The Global Resilience Project’s award-winning book series are international bestsellers, and her fourth book, RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol 2, will be published in January 2025. In her free time, you can find Blair writing, in nature, travelling the world and helping people to strengthen their resilience muscles. Links:https://www.blairkaplan.ca/https://theglobalresilienceproject.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/blairdkaplan https://www.facebook.com/blair.kaplan https://www.facebook.com/BlairKaplanCommunications https://www.instagram.com/globalresiliencecommunityhttps://www.instagram.com/blairfromblairland/https://www.facebook.com/globalresiliencecommunity https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-global-resilience-project blair@blairkaplan.ca Alana Kaplan is a compassionate mental health professional based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She works in the mental health field, and is a co-host of the Resilient A.F. podcast. Fueled by advocacy, Alana is known for standing up and speaking out for others. Passionate about de-stigmatizing and normalizing mental health, Alana brings her experience to The Global Resilience Project’s team, ...
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    39 min
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