More than a year before she ever set foot on the TEDx stage, Comox Valley resident Shannon Donohoe-Simpson was already laying the groundwork for her talk, one filled with heart, honesty and hope.

TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED鈥檚 overall mission to research and discover ideas worth spreading.

TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe through TEDx events. These events are organized by passionate individuals who seek to uncover new ideas and to share the latest research in their local areas, which sparks conversations in their communities

Through a connection in a women's group in the Comox Valley,  Donohoe-Simpson, who heard about a TEDx in the works in Victoria and reached out to event organizer Ian McPherson, had a series of questions for her to complete.

鈥淚 asked for the application questions and sat down with Sean to really think through my answers,鈥� she recalls. In January 2024, she hand-delivered those answers to Ian in Brentwood Bay 鈥� months before the official application even opened.

鈥淚 was the first one to connect with him,鈥� Donohoe-Simpson says. 鈥淎nd he never forgot that.鈥�

By the time the online application launched in June, Shannon was already ahead. Despite encouragement from her coach to apply elsewhere, she didn鈥檛.

鈥淚 knew this was my stage. I didn鈥檛 need a backup plan.鈥�

On Sept. 11th, she got the news: she鈥檇 been selected. With just six weeks to prepare, she poured herself into shaping a talk that wasn鈥檛 just memorized 鈥� it was embodied.

But her preparation had started long before. Every day as she got ready for the day, she visualized herself on that stage and rehearsed her talk so that she could focus on being present for the talk. 

鈥淚 truly believed it was going to happen,鈥� she says.

Her TEDx talk was titled "The Gift of Failure: How Discomfort Shapes Success." Donohoe-Simpson notes that it was about the power of failure, leaning into discomfort, and trusting the process.

鈥淓ven when I couldn鈥檛 see the full path, I kept taking the next step ... It took tenacity. It took determination. It took faith in the unknown, and a fierce kind of trust that what was meant for me would find me, and it did.

鈥淭here are no wrong steps,鈥� she says. 鈥淓very twist, every so-called mistake 鈥� it all shapes us. Sometimes, we just need to lean in and trust.鈥�

Donohoe-Simpson's TEDx talk is now featured on the  ).

For more on Donohoe-Simpson, visit