Talk info

FORTITUDE: The power of resiliency and determination.

At the beginning of 2005 everything looked rosy for me. I loved life and my gorgeous kiddies, Conor and Kenzie. Then cancer took over.

Kenzie was just 2 when she was diagnosed with a paraspinal bone cancer which left her paralysed and fighting for her life. Within a few months I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my marriage broke up and I was living thousands of miles away from family in Ireland.

Coping with cancer is one thing. Coping with cancer while your baby battles the disease is another. I thought life couldn't get any worse, but sadly, Kenzie passed on the 29th Dec 2005.

Through the tragedy and tears, pain and loss, I became a survivor, graduate, and founder of Kenzie’s Gift, a charity which provides support for children and families living with life threatening illness and bereavement.

There were also lessons I learned in defying adversity, which actually opened the door for human potential through determination, persistence, resiliency, self-motivation, leadership, empathy, and compassion.

Never a natural athlete, I turned to physical challenges, grasping life in both hands. I ran my first marathon a year after completing my cancer treatment, overcame my fear of swimming in deep water and completed an ocean swim series, competed in triathlon and embarked on an Iron Man event until an hereditary heart condition raised its ugly head and put a stop to my sporting endeavor’s. This still didn’t stop me…turning once again to the lessons I learned when faced with adversity, I adapted and bought an e-bike.

These are the lessons I share in my talks on resiliency and determination. I have been the keynote speaker at the Human Resource Institutes National conference and addressed audiences of 3,000 people. 

There's no 'one size fits all' approach with my talks. Your organisation will have specific needs and defined outcomes. Be it a keynote address to stimulate innovative thinking, a presentation to motivate staff to achieve target goals, delivery of a performance seminar, or entertaining your clients, I can develop a presentation that is dynamic, engaging and targeted to the audience.

I will meet with you to discuss the needs of your organisation and tailor a presentation to fit you. 

David Nottage
1996 World Champion of Public Speaking

Nic Russell is a determined women who has endured more than anyone should ever be asked to face. Yet, despite all that has befallen her, she is the stronger for it. Nic has a remarkable story to tell and it's worth hearing. It is a story of love, of pain and agony and loss. But always love. It is inspirational to hear of her life's journey and how she has dealt with calamity and how she draws on her inner strength. You cannot help but be motivated by her amazing determination and drive to fulfil her mission to establish Kenzie's Gift. Listen to Nic's story, you will be inspired, you will be motivated, you will be moved.

Naomi Ballantyne
Managing Director ING Life

ING Life has had the pleasure of utilising Nicola Russell’s services as a key note speaker. Nicola’s story is an extremely moving, compelling, and inspirational one which she delivers in a way which speaks to the heart of every person in the audience without any hint of feeling sorry for herself. Nicola held the audience spell bound and we had an overwhelming response from attendees who were extremely touched and inspired by her story.  Her determination to create something so positive out of terrible tragedy is courageous to say the least. We will continue to utilise Nicola’s services for client seminars and I would highly recommend her as a key note speaker to any audience looking for inspiration.

Andrea Ross
Managing Director, PEOPLE POTENTIAL

I was invited to hear Nic Russell speak at a breakfast seminar the other day and I was literally blown away by her story.  Her story is very powerful and although it moved me to tears she manages to make it amusing. For someone who life has dealt so many blows to Nic is remarkably positive and upbeat. She is inspirational, enthusiastic and displays enormous courage.  I would highly recommend Nic as a motivational speaker.

Beverley Main
Chief Executive,HRINZ

Nic Russell spoke passionately and from the heart about fostering resilience at the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ) National Conference ‘Restoring the Trust’ in 2010 - her presentation left a very deep and lasting impression on the audience.  Nic’s story is incredibly tragic, yet she managed to weave humour, warmth and hope throughout it and in looking around the audience it was clear to see that everyone was touched by her experience and her willingness to speak about something which was so very dear and precious to her.  Through her story Nic also provided inspiration to the audience to rise above their own challenges.  Several people commented to me afterwards that her session had been very therapeutic for them personally as they came to terms with their own recent losses.

As a conference organiser, I initially had concerns about adding Nic’s story to the programme – this was a business conference and for three days it explored the cold realities of restoring trust in the workplace after a long recession.  By featuring Nic on the morning of the final day a measure of humanity was added which made the delegates think about the truly important things in life – it put things into perspective for everyone present and rounded out the messages from the conference perfectly.  

In all my dealings I found Nic to be a consummate professional who was a pleasure to work with throughout and am happy to recommend her to others.

Brendon Earl Sparg
Author of the Book: A Stone in my Shoe

"Nic's talk is an inspirational reflection on the hardship and beauty of life. She is a brave and courageous person."