Gratitude, Resilience & The Power of Paying It Forward
- Nov 10, 2025
- 3 min read
By Shirin Behzadi
When I look back on my life, there isn’t one defining moment of success that stands apart from all the rest. Instead, the most transformative turning points were the ones born out of difficulty, the times when gratitude became the bridge between what I had lost and what I was about to create.
I arrived in the United States alone, still a teenager, having fled Iran during a time of profound unrest. I had no roadmap, no money, and no connections. But I had two things that would carry me forward: an unwavering belief, a knowing that someday I was going to run a big company, and a deep sense of gratitude for the chance to try.
That gratitude carried me through years of uncertainty: working at a gas station, studying at night, building a business from the ground up. But it wasn’t until much later in my career that I realized how powerful gratitude truly was as a leadership principle.
The defining moment came when I was leading a growing company and faced a near-death experience that changed everything. After an unexpected brain tumor and emergency surgery, I woke up having to learn to keep my balance and to walk and talk. For the first time in my life, I had to slow down and observe.
Recovery was slow, humbling, and uncertain. But every day, as I learn to recover one step at a time, I focused on gratitude. I was grateful for my family who stood by me, for my colleagues who carried the business forward, and for the sheer miracle of being alive. That practice of gratitude shifted something fundamental in me, and it transformed how I led, how I lived, and how I defined success.
When I returned to work, I didn’t go back to business as usual. I came back with a new lens. I realized gratitude isn’t soft. It’s a strategy. It’s the foundation of trust. The beginning of belonging. It’s what makes people feel seen. When we led with that, our culture transformed. We celebrated people more. We measured success not just in numbers, but in the impact we created together.
Eventually, that same gratitude led me to step down as CEO, not to retire, but to serve in a new way. I had spent decades building companies. Now I wanted to help build people. I wrote The Unexpected CEO because I know that story matters.
That transition was not without risk.
Leaving a high-profile role meant stepping into the unknown again, but this time I did it with the same faith I had as that young girl who arrived in America, knowing that gratitude and purpose would guide me forward.
Today, I advise companies, CEO’s, entrepreneurs, and leaders who want to grow foundationally sound. Through my book, The Unexpected CEO, and my work, I try to pay forward the lessons that changed my life: that resilience is built in the moments when you choose gratitude over fear, and that success means little if it isn’t used to lift others.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that gratitude isn’t just a feeling; it’s a form of leadership. It fuels resilience, fosters connection, and gives meaning to the moments that challenge us most.
My story began with loss, but gratitude turned it into a life of purpose. I believe that every one of us, no matter where we start, has the power to do the same, to transform hardship into hope, and to build something beautiful not in spite of our challenges, but because of them.
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