5% Resilience: How to Get Anything You Want
Most people quit too soon. That’s the real reason they don’t get the promotion, land the dream job, or hit the big life goals.
In today’s world of corporate leadership, high performers often think that hard work should equal results. But when it doesn’t happen on their timeline, they give up. That’s the difference between the 95% who stay stuck and the 5% who create epic careers and lives.
I call it 5% Resilience — the ability to keep going, adapt, and try new strategies until you win.

Let’s take a common scenario.
You apply for a VP role at your company. You’re qualified. You’re ready. You’d crush it.
You send in your application. And then… crickets.
Your brain whispers, “See? It wasn’t meant for me.”
That’s where 95% of people stop. They decide the rejection means it’s never going to happen, and they quit.
But 5%ers? They know this is the moment that defines them. They don’t stop. They regroup, evaluate, and take new action.

The Pillbox Analogy
I teach my clients to picture their goals as a pillbox. Inside that box is the “orange pill” — your dream role, your dream body, your dream relationship.
Most people try one way to open the box (like applying online 100 times). When it doesn’t work, they throw the whole box away and say, “See, it wasn’t for me.”
5%ers do it differently.
• They try the back. If it doesn’t work, they try the side.
• They get resourceful. They network. They build skills. They get creative.
• They never stop until they find the way in.
That’s resilience. And it’s what gets you the orange pill.

The Two Promises
When someone works with me, I only ask for two commitments:
1. Believe in the inevitability of your dreams. You have to know deep down that it will happen.
2. Be willing to feel uncomfortable. Growth doesn’t come from easy, it comes from doing the hard and awkward things most people avoid.
If you commit to those two things, there’s nothing you can’t create.

How to Build 5% Resilience
Resilience isn’t about pushing harder at the wrong strategy. Walking ten more miles in the wrong direction won’t get you closer to your goal.
Instead, 5% resilience is about:
• Evaluating weekly. What worked? What didn’t? What needs to change?
• Getting creative. How else could you get noticed, build influence, or prove your value?
• Borrowing belief. Sometimes you need a coach and community to hold the vision for you while you’re still building it.
Think of it like a baby learning to walk. They fall hundreds of times, but no one says, “That one just isn’t a walker.” We expect success. We allow failure. And eventually, they walk.
Your career, your goals, your dreams work the same way.

Why Resilience Matters in Leadership
In executive coaching, resilience is the muscle that changes everything:
• It gets you promoted when others stall out.
• It helps you handle pressure with calm authority.
• It keeps you moving when circumstances are tough.
• It turns rejection into redirection.
Most importantly, it makes you the kind of leader who always finds a way.

Listen + Join the Waitlist
If you’re ready to dig deeper into what 5% resilience looks like and how you can apply it to your own goals, I covered it all in this week’s episode of The 5% Club Podcast.
🎧 Listen here on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube: The 5% Club for leaders – Podcast – Apple Podcasts

The Performance + Happiness Lab just closed, but you can join the waitlist for the next round. You’ll get a quick weekly tip to boost your performance, pay, or happiness — and you’ll be the first to know when doors reopen.
👉 Join the PH+ Lab Waitlist: Join Shayla King’s 5% club waitlist

About Shayla King
I’m Shayla King — a former waitress turned C-Suite executive and now executive coach.
After leading billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions and serving as a Chief People Officer, I created the Performance + Happiness (PH+) Blueprint to help ambitious leaders achieve more without burning out.
Now I coach powerhouse women (and a few great men) to master results, relationships, rituals, and mindset. My clients don’t just win at work. They win at life.