How many times have you been faced with an obstacle that seemed insurmountable?
The first step towards regaining control and happiness in our lives lies in making the decision to choose to be resilient in times of adversity. Choosing Resilience is about making a conscious decision to keep moving forward against undeniable opposition. Responding with resilience means finding the courage and strength to keep driving, pushing and pursuing—having the determination that no matter how bad the circumstances may appear life will be better.
After living the “American dream” with his wife, Maleka, and their son, Cameron, Tiran Jackson’s life was more than just complete. It was perfect for a simple man whose only desire was to provide for his family while showering his marriage and their son with an overwhelming amount of love. Mr. Jackson’s career as an engineer was rapidly growing. And with Maleka climbing the corporate ladder as an HR Executive, the Jackson’s were the envy of many who respected them and their devotion to each other.
Then tragedy struck. While celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary vacationing in the Bahamas, a sudden boating explosion claimed Maleka’s life and left Tiran severely injured and on the verge of death, resulting in his left leg having to be amputated for him to survive. The love of his life was unexpectedly taken away from him, leaving him with a broken spirit, heart, mind, body, and soul.
However, while undergoing multiple surgeries to salvage his life, accepting that his wife was no longer here, and arriving at the realization that God was not finished with him, Tiran began evaluating his situation. Despite how suddenly and tragically his life had been altered and how challenging it would be, he was determined to bounce back from these setbacks. Tiran made a conscious decision to choose to be resilient, despite how difficult the road may be.
Tiran Jackson has faced numerous obstacles in his inspirational journey to move on without the love of his life. He struggled with grief, survivor’s remorse, emotional breakdown, loss of confidence in himself physically and mentally, adapting to life as a single father, and so much more. However, in the process of overcoming these challenges, strength and a level of resiliency transformed him into an improved version of the man that he was. He was able to re-discover his path, find his most authentic self, develop skills in coping with change, become a better father, learn to be vulnerable and how to love again, and unlock business and financial success. And in doing so, he has discovered his purpose, encouraging and inspiring others to find their strength and resilience to persevere in the face of tragedy.
About The Author Tiran Jackson
Tiran Jackson has gone through an incredible transformation and journey recently in his life. He grew up in rural Alabama and was a very good student, with a strong STEM background through school, while being a multi-sport athlete. With a strong work-ethic and determination to improve his livelihood, he was able to earn a full academic scholarship to Tennessee State University (TSU), earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As Tiran was graduating from TSU, he met the woman who would become his wife, Maleka, who was a teacher at the time. Upon graduation, they moved to Indianapolis and he began his career as an engineer at Rolls-Royce. While working there in various engineering capacities producing gas turbine engines for 8 years, he earned several accomplishments, including being identified as an Early Career/High Potential (ECHP) leader, led teams to generate over $3MM in engineering cost savings, and was nominated for the ‘Black Engineer of the Year’. He also earned his MBA from the University of Indianapolis and began his family where their son, Cameron, was born. They later moved to Atlanta, where he progressed through his career into numerous positions of leadership with various companies, along with Maleka, where she was a human resources executive, focused on improving diversity and inclusion in numerous Fortune 500 companies.
However, Tiran’s life took a sudden and dramatic turn. In June, 2018, while he and Maleka were on a vacation celebrating their 15 years of marriage, the couple went on a boating excursion. Several minutes into the tour, there was a catastrophic explosion, severely injuring Tiran, but tragically Maleka did not survive the explosion. Since that ill-fated moment, life has not been the same for him, nor would it ever be again.
Since then, Tiran has had to face tremendous challenges as a result of this tragedy. He’s had to face the emotional pain of unexpectedly losing the love of his life and their son losing his mother, the physical challenges associated with being permanently handicapped, losing his left leg and learning how to function in the capacity that he remained, the mental outlook associated with figuring out how to move forward with his new life now that everything that he was used to was going to be different, and spiritual aspects of trying to understand and accept why this had to happen.
Tiran has reached some of his lowest points imaginable, but despite this, found the courage and fortitude to not only withstand what life has thrown at him, but take it and become the epitome of what strength is, while inspiring others to overcome the challenges faced before them. His positive outlook and faith in God has driven his physical and emotional recovery allowing him to be capable of withstanding the other challenges that he never imagined before him. His perspective on life had to change in order to awaken the inner strength to not only ”keep moving forward”, but to also lead and create a path for others. He has found that his purpose is far greater than he ever imagined. In order to do this, he has had to make major transformations in his life. His story is inspirational, and as he continue to follow the path that is set before him, he hopes to aid others as they overcome the challenges within their journey as well.
