Flipping Forward When Life Derails – Jay Waddell

What do people actually do after life blindsides them?
Not the polished version. Not the motivational version. The real version — when they’re stuck, uncertain, and unsure how to move forward.
In this talk, Jay Waddell introduces the concept of “flipping forward” — the small, often quiet shifts that begin to change direction after adversity or trauma. Drawing from his own journey through stroke recovery, heart failure, and heart transplant — along with stories he has collected from others navigating profound disruption — he explores how forward movement rarely starts with bold decisions. It often begins with something much smaller.
This session is for anyone who has been brought to their knees by life and felt stuck.
You’ll hear how real people moved forward after illness, loss, and identity-shifting events — not through formulas or advice, but through messy, relatable steps Jay calls “micro-flips.” You’ll gain a new lens for understanding your own stuck moments, language for recognizing forward movement, and the reassurance that meaningful progress often starts quietly. And if you’re lucky, you might leave inspired to become a “serial flipper.”
Sometimes the most powerful way forward is seeing how someone else took the first step.
Jay Waddell writes and curates stories of people who have faced life-altering adversity and found ways to move forward. A former business executive and university professor, his own path was disrupted by a catastrophic stroke, years of heart failure, and a heart transplant. During his challenging recovery, he became fascinated by “positive outliers” — people who rebuilt their lives despite overwhelming setbacks.