In a world where success is often painted as a smooth and upward climb, NVidia CEO Jensen Huang offers a perspective that feels unexpectedly raw. “I don’t know how to teach it to you,” he said, “but I hope your life is full of pain and suffering.” This isn’t the standard script for a high-powered executive at one of the world’s most valuable companies discussing achievement. Huang’s words may seem counterintuitive, even harsh, but they reveal a profound truth about resilience and character. Resilience, one of the most vital traits for both personal and professional success, is often born in times of hardship rather than ease.
For high achievers, especially those early in their careers, pain and suffering aren’t setbacks but springboards for growth. Huang’s view suggests that to thrive, you must build character, and the only way to do that is by experiencing and navigating hardships. This philosophy aligns with my own journey as a business leader and resilience keynote speaker, one that underscores how character and grit are forged through life’s toughest moments. Below I’ll delve into why Huang and I champion resilience, what makes hardship a true catalyst for growth, and how you can cultivate resilience to improve your own happiness and success.
The Importance of Resilience in Achieving Success
Huang’s belief that pain and suffering are essential to success challenges common narratives around achievement. In the tech world, known for innovation, luxury, and constant advancement, Huang emphasizes an overlooked reality: success often involves a willingness to endure and grow from discomfort. It’s, therefore, no surprise that NVidia’s journey has been characterized by relentless effort, setbacks, and resilience—the very qualities Huang considers crucial to real, lasting success.
Many high achievers have been conditioned to seek comfort and streamline their paths to success. Social media and popular culture also play a role—often painting an idealized picture of success without revealing the arduous journey required to get there. However, as Huang points out, it is the hurdles, the moments of deep frustration, and the setbacks that cultivate the tenacity needed to break through barriers. True success isn’t about avoiding challenges; it’s about having the courage, confidence, and commitment to face them head-on. In my keynotes and workshops, I illustrate how resilience is cultivated on life’s uneven ground. In moments of trial, we build the grit to move forward—a lesson I’ve experienced early and often.
My Story: Building Resilience Through Adversity
In my work, I focus on breaking down the anatomy of resilience, cultivating character, and teaching the mindset shifts that empower you to thrive through adversity. My journey has taught me that resilience is strengthened when life pushes you far outside your comfort zone. This message is relevant for everyone, but it’s particularly poignant for younger professionals navigating challenging life and career stages, where resilience can be the deciding factor between plateau and progress. The truth is, resilience isn’t just a natural gift—it’s a skill that’s learned through tough experiences. And this is good news for anyone looking to be more resilient—you don’t have to be born with it. You can grow your resilience muscles over time by exercising them.
Pain and Adversity Are Catalysts for Growth
Adversity often reveals hidden strengths, developing character in ways that success alone cannot. Each challenge becomes a “teacher,” pushing you to confront your limits, reassess your goals, and dig deeper than you thought possible. In my keynotes, I underscore the importance of facing challenges as the foundation of resilient leadership. True character doesn’t emerge in easy times; it’s built when circumstances demand endurance, courage, and adaptability. Leaders aren’t shaped by avoiding hardship but by facing it with a willingness to learn and evolve. After all, if you reflect on your own life, are the most fulfilling achievements the easy things, or are they the harder things that required extraordinary effort and determination? I’m willing to bet it’s the latter.
For high achievers, character means more than skill or talent—it’s the ability to navigate setbacks with purpose, persistence, and humor. Just as NVidia’s CEO sees pain as an essential ingredient for success, the path to true fulfillment lies in embracing growth through adversity. When your character is shaped by the hardships you endure, you’ll have the tools to face any challenge with confidence, commitment, and determination.
Practical Steps to Cultivate a Resilient Mindset
For anyone facing life’s difficulties, a shift in mindset can be transformative. It’s important to reframe challenges as opportunities for growth. By choosing to see setbacks as stepping stones to success, you can begin to build resilience even in the most trying circumstances. Rather than sidestepping difficulties, embrace them as essential to building a strong, resilient mindset. When adversity strikes, acknowledging it and learning from it becomes a critical component of personal and professional growth. This approach shifts the focus from avoiding pain to welcoming it as a catalyst for resilience. If you had a life without any obstacles, how much growth would you experience? How fulfilling would that life be?
I personally recommend techniques like journaling or meditation to help constructively navigate hardships. These are great tools to confront pain, process it, and understand its lessons. Through intentional reflection, you can gain clarity, adapt, and emerge from hardship with renewed strength and insight.
Getting Comfortable with Discomfort
When I teach the anatomy of resilience, one of the five pillars is “Get Comfortable with Discomfort.” This is about bringing discomfort—pain and suffering—into your daily life.
I regularly experienced this through my own journey of going blind. From a young age, I dealt with the social and emotional discomfort of not being able to drive at night, or fully participate in social activities in dimly-lit environments. Then, I faced the discomfort of going totally blind while attending university. Although I transformed my ‘victim’ mindset while training with my first guide dog, returning to university meant I had to enter every classroom with a 100-pound German shepherd—not exactly the most comfortable social situation.
Soon after, I was entering job interviews, offices, and board rooms with that same large German shepherd. All of these experiences were initially uncomfortable, but each one empowered me by forcing me to expand my comfort zone. Now, I continue to push these boundaries through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).
It’s hard to describe just how uncomfortable those first few trips to the mat were. Stepping into a martial arts academy, knowing these practitioners are highly skilled in joint-locking and submission techniques, was humbling. The first six months were filled with frustration and terror.
BJJ is front-loaded with losing. It does not matter how talented, athletic, or flexible you are—you’re going to lose a lot, and losing means you’re going to be in tight spots as your opponent chokes you out. But getting comfortable in those tight positions is a lesson in getting comfortable with discomfort.
The first few times you’re in a tight spot, it feels like your head is being put inside a vacuum cleaner bag. Inevitably, you’ll panic, breathe heavily, and lose all composure. BJJ teaches you to face that fear, embrace the pain, and learn through adversity. It’s a lot of trial and error, where the errors mean you’re getting choked out. BJJ is not just a martial art; it’s a roadmap for life. Greatness comes with showing up every day, putting in the work, learning from adversity, settling into discomfort, and embracing the beginner’s mind that ultimately leads to winning.
The Gift of Hardship: How Adversity Fosters Resilience and Growth
It turns out that Jensen Huang’s powerful words, “I hope your life is full of pain and suffering,” aren’t harsh at all. Rather, they are a sincere wish for growth, resilience, and character. Pain and suffering, far from being enemies, become the very elements that prepare you for enduring success. In times of hardship, reflect on your own challenges and consider how you can use these experiences to build resilience.
Through my own journey of going blind, I’ve come to understand resilience on a profound level. My experience stands as a testament to the strength that can be forged through hardship—a real-life illustration of the power in Huang’s words. My story is a reminder that facing serious challenges can unlock resilience that transforms lives. By embracing adversity as a stepping stone, you can cultivate a stronger, more purposeful life, grounded in the resilience and character that only hardship can bring.
