Understand first. Respond with intention.
Unexpected hurdles interrupt all of our lives. Teisha Rose demonstrates that it is how we respond to these challenges that will define our life experience.
Teisha Rose was just 22, had completed a double degree at university and was on the fast track to corporate success when her life was interrupted by a huge and unexpected hurdle. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Immediately, Teisha grieved for her lost dreams and was caught in an avalanche of endless hospital ordeals and gruelling rehabilitation. Her devastating physical condition came to dominate her identity… until she decided to turn her hurdle into hope.
With tremendous mental strength, Teisha travelled the world by herself, turning an existence of debilitating lows into a life of exhilarating highs. Teisha then went back to university and gained a social work degree, working with families at The Salvation Army, and then clients experiencing homelessness in central Victoria.
It has now been over 20 years since Teisha was diagnosed with MS, and today her life is unrecognisable from years ago. Every day presents different challenges, yet the aggressive relapses have stopped. By prioritising her health and wellbeing, Teisha has discovered new gifts, new perspectives, new homes, new friends and, in an amazing set of circumstances, she found love.
Teisha shares her story and insights in her published book 'Life Interrupted, My Journey from Hope '. Teisha has also had numerous blogs, articles and interviews published both in Australia and overseas, including Huffington Post, WellBeing Magazine; GT, The Age, The Mighty and Medibank Be Magazine.
Teisha's extraordinary story will break your heart, inspire you, enthral you and thrill you. Yet her presentations are more than a life story. Teisha recognises that every person listening to her has been, is being and will continue to be interrupted by life's unexpected hurdles.
Whether it be a chronic illness, disease, injury, disability, separation, divorce, redundancy, death of a loved one, a sick partner or an ill child. Each interruption makes continuing on with everyday life difficult and plans and dreams for the future seemingly impossible.
Teisha shares her story and unique insights to impart confidence that moving forward from an unexpected hurdle to a life filled with hope is possible.
Talking Points
Life Interrupted: Finding Your Way from Hurdle to Hope
What happens when the life you imagined changes without warning, not once, but again and again? Drawing on almost three decades living with multiple sclerosis, a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis and a life-threatening health crisis, Teisha shares a remarkable story of disruption, uncertainty and finding hope. Through the Hurdle2Hope® approach, she challenges audiences to rethink what's possible, exploring how mindset shifts, intentional choices and the way we respond can influence the direction of our lives. Audiences leave with a fresh perspective on hope, resilience and finding their own way from hurdle to hope.
Life Interrupted: Finding Your Way from Hurdle to Hope
Resilience Isn't the Beginning: What Comes First Matters
What if we've been starting the resilience conversation in the wrong place? Resilience is often presented as the answer to life's challenges, but Teisha explores what people need before resilience can begin to grow. Drawing on lived experience, professional insight and the Hurdle2Hope® approach, she challenges audiences to look beneath the surface of pressure and uncertainty, and consider the role of understanding, hope, connection and personal agency. Audiences leave with a new perspective on resilience and how the way we respond, to ourselves and others, can help or hinder the path forward.
Resilience Isn't the Beginning: What Comes First Matters
When Inclusion Becomes Connection: The Power of Everyday Interactions
What if the moments when people most need inclusion are also the moments when they're most easily misunderstood? Drawing on lived experience of disability, changing capacity and major life disruption, Teisha explores how assumptions, everyday interactions and our responses to others can strengthen or undermine connection. Through her Hurdle2Hope® philosophy of understanding first and responding with intention, she challenges audiences to look beyond good intentions and consider what inclusion actually feels like for the person experiencing it. Audiences leave with a fresh perspective on how everyday responses influence whether people feel understood, valued and able to contribute.
When Inclusion Becomes Connection: The Power of Everyday Interactions
Beyond the Policy: The Human Side of Psychosocial Safety
People don't experience a policy. They experience how they are led. Drawing on lived experience and professional insight, Teisha brings a fresh perspective to psychosocial safety by exploring what it means to genuinely support others when they're experiencing workplace pressure, uncertainty or changing capacity. Through the Hurdle2Hope® approach, she challenges assumptions about behaviour and performance, showing how understanding first can lead to more intentional responses, meaningful support and action on the workplace conditions affecting people. Audiences leave with a new perspective on their role in creating workplaces where people feel understood, supported and able to contribute.
Beyond the Policy: The Human Side of Psychosocial Safety
Video
Teisha Rose | Speaking & Storytelling Highlights
I still have goose bumps from last week's meeting [NDIS Provider Collective], and people are still talking about you. What a presence you have. ... keep reading Tender Loving Care Disability
Teisha was an excellent choice, as she was able to tell her story about her life including all her ups and downs and the audience were amazed at her positive outlook and successes. Teisha was very entertaining and held a very captive audience. At the end of the night she remained behind and spoke to several people and able to offer them advice and words of encouragement in their own personal battles.
Thank you so much for sharing your raw and personal story last night. It was so powerful, and I feel so privileged to have been able to hear it.
