A true story of resilience.

One of the buzz words on everyone’s lips these days is how important it is to be resilient, particularly with the expected technological changes which are anticipated to impact the workforce in various forms.

Organisations are spending mega bucks on training people to be resilient. Such courses may be valuable in raising awareness however my belief is you only really discover how resilient you are when faced with real adversity.

However, other people’s stories of overcoming adversity can provide us with inspiration and enable us to put our own lives and opportunities into perspective.

This is one such story.

Recently I visited Detroit, a US city which had historically been dependent on one industry, the mass production of autos. In recent times the city has been economically and emotionally smashed by loss of jobs in that industry. A city of 1.85 million people in 1950 to just over 700,000 in 2013.

As I entered the city by train, I was shocked to see the consequence of the loss of industry and jobs. Crumbling buildings were everywhere. Absolute poverty was around every corner. It was gut-wrenching and sobering.

In the afternoon while I was exploring the city centre, which had signs of economic recovery, I asked a clean-shaven African American man in his forties, with a slight limp for directions.

I was interested to learn more about Detroit and started a conversation. I asked him what he did in Detroit and he told me he was homeless. He had got out of jail 19 days ago. He told me he had gone to jail because he sought revenge on someone who had tried to shoot him for reasons he did not explain. He had caused serious injuries to that individual.

This gently spoken man with thoughtful eyes said he had done the wrong thing and he was now a better man. He had just got a job as a cook being paid $13 an hour and he was exceptionally grateful. He said just because he was homeless it did not mean he had to give up hope.

As we said farewell, he offered out his hand and as we shook goodbye I felt totally in awe of his attitude to life. Yet I found myself with a knot in my stomach wondering how anyone could survive with nothing on $13 hour.

Anytime I think my life is tough I will remember the resilience of this man on the streets of Detroit and how his city and his fellow citizens have endured the consequences of mass unemployment.