More than a year before she ever set foot on the TEDx stage, Comox Valley resident Shannon Donohoe-Simpson was already laying the groundwork for her talk, one filled with heart, honesty and hope.

TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED乌鸦传媒檚 overall mission to research and discover ideas worth spreading.

TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe through TEDx events. These events are organized by passionate individuals who seek to uncover new ideas and to share the latest research in their local areas, which sparks conversations in their communities

Through a connection in a women's group in the Comox Valley,  Donohoe-Simpson, who heard about a TEDx in the works in Victoria and reached out to event organizer Ian McPherson, had a series of questions for her to complete.

乌鸦传媒淚 asked for the application questions and sat down with Sean to really think through my answers,乌鸦传媒� she recalls. In January 2024, she hand-delivered those answers to Ian in Brentwood Bay 乌鸦传媒� months before the official application even opened.

乌鸦传媒淚 was the first one to connect with him,乌鸦传媒� Donohoe-Simpson says. 乌鸦传媒淎nd he never forgot that.乌鸦传媒�

By the time the online application launched in June, Shannon was already ahead. Despite encouragement from her coach to apply elsewhere, she didn乌鸦传媒檛.

乌鸦传媒淚 knew this was my stage. I didn乌鸦传媒檛 need a backup plan.乌鸦传媒�

On Sept. 11th, she got the news: she乌鸦传媒檇 been selected. With just six weeks to prepare, she poured herself into shaping a talk that wasn乌鸦传媒檛 just memorized 乌鸦传媒� it was embodied.

But her preparation had started long before. Every day as she got ready for the day, she visualized herself on that stage and rehearsed her talk so that she could focus on being present for the talk. 

乌鸦传媒淚 truly believed it was going to happen,乌鸦传媒� she says.

Her TEDx talk was titled "The Gift of Failure: How Discomfort Shapes Success." Donohoe-Simpson notes that it was about the power of failure, leaning into discomfort, and trusting the process.

乌鸦传媒淓ven when I couldn乌鸦传媒檛 see the full path, I kept taking the next step ... It took tenacity. It took determination. It took faith in the unknown, and a fierce kind of trust that what was meant for me would find me, and it did.

乌鸦传媒淭here are no wrong steps,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淓very twist, every so-called mistake 乌鸦传媒� it all shapes us. Sometimes, we just need to lean in and trust.乌鸦传媒�

Donohoe-Simpson's TEDx talk is now featured on the  ).

For more on Donohoe-Simpson, visit