Bounce back- don’t allow the situation to overcome you
Focus on the reality at the present moment, how things are now- you can’t change the past so no need to focus on it
Gain self-control of your emotions- control those emotions, everything doesn’t require a reaction
Adapt to change- be ok with things changing instantly in knowing that everything happens for a reason
Stop worrying about the future- concern yourself with the now and what’s in front of you
Resilience has been described as the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Times are not easy now. How do we develop greater resilience to withstand the challenges that keep being thrown at us? In this interview series, we are talking to mental health experts, authors, resilience experts, coaches, and business leaders who can talk about how we can develop greater resilience to improve our lives.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mrs. Sathya Callender.
Sathya Callender is a resilient and purpose-driven woman who decided to use her experiences and life journey to shift the scene and claim her legacy! As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse beginning at the tender age of 6 years old, as well as trying circumstances such as having a mother who battled drug addiction; Sathya Callender has demonstrated great faith, persistence, strength, strategy, and healing. She has managed to SURVIVE through the foster care system, through teen pregnancy and parenthood, through lack of resources and through domestic violence and homelessness.
As Sathya managed to balance the lemons that were being thrown her way, she was able to slowly make lemonade and lighten her burden through faith and through dedication to a craft and skill she’d developed; diaper-cake making. — After being abandoned by her ex-husband and attempting to gain stability in her new relationship, Sathya began making diaper cakes from the Motel 6 she lived in for a year, and was able to grab the attention and develop a partnership with Walmart. She was able to use that opportunity to obtain a home and stability for her family, as well as begin her dreams to serve the victim community of sexual and domestic violence.
Sathya Callender has now launched her company, Scars of Survival, Inc. which also houses her digital and print publication, Scars of Survival Magazine, and Scars of Survival Survivors Bootcamp — Since launching her business, Sathya has been publicly awarded and recognized for her patriotism and service to the community. She has landed speaking engagements, hosted workshops, guest featured on podcasts and radio shows, as well as highlighted and featured in national magazines.
It is Sathya’s dream and goal to continue to impact the masses and reach more survivors, potential victims, and to educate the general population on what goes on behind many closed doors.
@Sathyacallender
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
Absolutely! I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY by way of Atlanta, GA. Some would say I’m a serial entrepreneur because I own more then one business. I’m Founder of a Non-Profit Organization (Scars of Survival Inc), CEO of a Globally impacting publication (Scars of Survival Magazine), Best Selling Author, and overcame a 9-year domestic violence relationship.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
The most interesting story from my career is being told I wouldn’t be able to do something and actually getting it done. I’ve learned what is for me is for me and someone else’s no just might be your yes. We should always follow our own instinct and not the instinct of someone else.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
What makes my company stand out is that we’re the very first publication globally in the domestic violence community that has cultivated a safe place for survivors to share their stories of triumph. One of the stories shared has been turned into an actual movie.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I’m grateful for the young lady who took the time to show me the basics in starting an actual publication. Although I invested finances into her, she took her time to show me.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience is the ability to recover from a difficult or touch situation quick. The characteristics or traits of a resilient person are: Motivated, has self-control, realistic, and self-aware.
Courage is often likened to resilience. In your opinion how is courage both similar and different to resilience?
Courage is the ability to do something despite your fear. Courage is also similar to resilience because you show that characteristic of bravery.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
When I think of resilience of course I would have to think of myself. I chose myself because despite all the many challenges I’ve faced from childhood until now, I still with the grace of God was able to overcome and now thrive. From being a teen mother, to homelessness, and living in a shelter to name a few. I had no choice but to bounce back quickly because I had a son that depended on me.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
Yes, there was a time that someone told me something was impossible. I connected with a guy who had a children’s clothing line, he was trying to get into the Walmart stores but at the time was told no. He insisted on telling me I wouldn’t be able to have my product in the stores as well. I decided to not listen and contact the store manager and to make a long story short, I was given the opportunity for product placement in the store.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
One major setback was being abandoned by my ex-husband while living in a hotel. I had no vehicle at the time and didn’t know if my credit was worth enough to get a place. Although I was fearful and unsure, I decided to put my best foot forward. In doing so I purchased my vehicle and ended up getting my own place for myself and my children. During that process I also landed a partnership in being a supplier for Walmart.
How have you cultivated resilience throughout your life? Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I would definitely say I cultivated resilience throughout my life. Learning how to be a mother at the young age of 14 helped be to build resilience. A lot of challenges I faced I was a mother at a time so there was no time to be stagnant. I had to bounce back from whatever I was feeling and going through and be a mother. I was all my son had.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
- Bounce back- don’t allow the situation to overcome you
- Focus on the reality at the present moment, how things are now- you can’t change the past so no need to focus on it
- Gain self-control of your emotions- control those emotions, everything doesn’t require a reaction
- Adapt to change- be ok with things changing instantly in knowing that everything happens for a reason
- Stop worrying about the future- concern yourself with the now and what’s in front of you
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If I could inspire a movement, I would want to start my own sneaker and clothing line with a meaning that’s relatable to the survival of domestic violence. I believe we should wear something meaningful.
Funny thing is, I do have my concept already written down and my vision plain.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
If there was one person in the world, I would love to have breakfast with-it would-be Oprah Winfrey. I chose Oprah Winfrey because of her strength, resilience, integrity, morals, and values. I feel this woman of wisdom can teach me things I don’t know about life, business and more. I also would love to talk to her about her story as well and what she overcame.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Readers can follow me on Facebook & Instagram at Author Sathya Cullender, Scars of Survival Magazine, Scars of Survival. My websites are www.sathyacallender.com and www.scarsofsurvivalmagazine.com
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!