There's always a way forward

My latest resilience hero is a 15-year old kid from Peru.

His name is Cliver Huamán and he’s from a tiny village in the Andes. His dream has been to be a professional soccer commentator for quite some time. He and his older brother started a small social media channel to do what they love. They commentate with just a phone, a mic, and a big dream to eventually call the world’s biggest games.

When it was announced that Lima would host the important 2025 Copa Libertadores final, Cliver and his brother decided this was their shot.

They raised money from their community, got on a bus, and travelled 18 hours to the capital with the hope of scoring a media pass to enter the game.

But when they arrived, reality hit. Without any professional media accreditation, and certainly without a ticket, they were denied access into the stadium.

It’s a moment most of us know all too well. We prepare. We show up. We do the right things and hope for a bit of luck. But that door still closes.

Sometimes it’s that job application we never hear back from, the project that gets canned after months or work, or the sales pitch that gets ghosted.

That’s life. It happens to us all.

Often when these doors close, we’re left standing outside our own version of the stadium, with our heart sinking, wondering “what was the point?”

But here’s what Cliver and his brother did when that door closed.

They changed the angle, literally. They physically found a way to watch the game from the skies.

They headed to a nearby mountain that overlooked the stadium, and climbed. Up there, they could see the field and decided to create their own stadium atmosphere. They set up the phone, pointed it towards the glowing bowl in the distance… and Cliver did what he came to do.

He commentated the match from the mountain.

And then the wild part hit. That clip of him shouting into the night sky, narrating the decisive goal from way above the stadium, went viral. Millions of views, a new wave of followers, and soon enough, invitations from broadcasters. Suddenly, those doors that were previously bolted shut, they flew open.

From the outside, it looks like a fairytale story. The classic “right moment, right time” luck. But when we take a closer look, it’s a story about how adaptation and resilience actually creates that luck.

It’s the years of prep and passion that had him build enough trust from his supporters to raise the money for the trip to Lima. It’s the seeking of an alternative solution, and it’s the resilience of finding a way to get the job done.

Plus, perhaps most importantly, it’s another reminder of a focus on the things he could control. The decision to stay, the hike, the commentary.

That’s the tension most of us live with in our own careers and lives. We can’t force the lucky break, but we can keep putting ourselves where luck can find us.

Climbing our own hill.

Here are four simple ways to turn Cliver’s story into something practical to use at work and at home.

1. Prepare like someone’s watching. Cliver spent years commentating to almost no one from a village with patchy internet. The viral moment worked because he was ready when the moment arrived. We can pick a skill that matters in our role (perhaps presenting, leading meetings, understanding AI) and then practicing it deliberately, even when it feels “extra.” It’s training for a day we can’t yet see, but we trust will eventually come. Because it will come.

2. Opportunities are everywhere. When the front door closes, we need to look for the nearby mountain. Instead of treating his denied entry as the end, he saw it as a prompt to look for what else was possible. We need to be open to new angles and opportunities. Maybe it’s a smaller version of the project, maybe a different audience, or maybe it’s turning the rejection into feedback and refining the approach. This is our way of refusing to let that closed door be the end of the story.

3. Bet on a bit of luck. It’s good to be optimistic in life. By putting ourselves out there in the moment, we give ourselves the best shot. It’s not magical thinking, but rather just a fierce belief that eventually the cards will favour us. We do this by asking ourselves to find one small way we can increase the odds for something good to happen. That might be sharing our work with one extra person who might care, or even posting our insights on LinkedIn instead of leaving them in our minds. Any move like this quietly tilts the odds in our favour.

4. Use the story while we’re still in it. If we’re going through hell, we’re growing. It’s hard in the moment, but gosh we will appreciate it later in life! Those difficulties or mistakes that we made? We need to make them worth it. Cliver’s story only works because he was rejected by security. If he’d gone straight to the mountain, it wouldn’t have had the same impact. But because he was rejected, we found ourselves cheering for him. It also makes a better story. So, when we’re in the thick of it, just remember the story that we’re writing….because that’ll be the fuel we need one day.

The mountain was real for Cliver and we love him for it. While ours might be metaphorical, it’s still relevant. When we get rejected, or things just don’t go our way, we can remember this 15-year-old kid from Peru who managed to adapt to find a way forward.

Because when we’re sweating and busting a gut by doing the work….well that’s when luck is going to find us.

Until next time friends, stay resilient.

Carré @ Resilient Minds

PS - I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that 2025 has been a tough year. To get 2026 off to the start we all want, I’m creating a lightweight, practical 21-day experience to help you start the year mentally stronger and more grounded. It’s called The 21-Day Resilience Kickstart, and it’s built to help you create real resilience through small, daily actions. Full details coming soon!