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re·sil·ience /rəˈzilyəns/noun the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, toughness. That's Merriam-Webster's definition above but my guest this week, Joanna Chanis, knows there's much more to that one word. A professional mentor and resilience expert, she helps young adults and entrepreneurs who have experienced a serious loss catapult into a more productive and holistic life. Joanna is the author of "The Waiting Room: Your Friend to Help You and Your Loved Ones through the Diagnosis", and a breast cancer survivor who is carrying the lessons learned from her journey into every aspect of life. From young adults to corporate teams, multitudes have found Joanna’s story incredibly powerful and utilize her realistic problem-solving tools and values to obtain healthy resilience, overcome challenges, and increase productivity. Joanna is also the host of the podcast “About Life with Jo” (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/about-life-with-jo/id1575229420) where she connects and helps young adults, creating a space which feels like a night out, with conversations that are real and filter-free. This multi-talented woman has an entrepreneurial background in owning and operating a high-volume restaurant and founding a technology start-up and is also on the board of the Ellie Fund, which provides essential support services for breast cancer patients to ease the stresses of everyday life, and the Philoptochos Society, the philanthropic arm of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America that has offered 90 years of philanthropy through a multitude of programs across the world. A proud Greek American, Joanna celebrates her heritage by traveling to Greece each year and cooking Greek food. Along with her love for fine dining, style and travel, Joanna’s main goal in life is to connect people and form deep relationships no matter where she goes. Joanna and I had a great chat about how as women we both have lied to ourselves and pretend that by putting everyone and everything else before ourselves can be seriously damaging. The two of us have recovered from life-changing health diagnoses and discuss how there IS life after one's diagnosis. Joanna says cancer was her truth teller, actually saved her life, and made her realize she needed to dive deep down and make huge changes within herself. She gives me and all of my listeners the tools and tips needed to overcome our daily struggles, increase our awareness, and live our most fulfilled lives! Be sure to follow her on Instagram at instagram.com/joannachanis/, LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-chanis/, and YouTube at https://bit.ly/32icIns. ​ And last but certainly not least, Merry Christmas to you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a NSD follower! Xo, Tonya