Michelle Kuei
Resilience and Adversity Speaker
Other Speakers Talk. Michelle Creates an Experience.
If you are planning an event, conference, training, or podcast for coaches or women in transition and you want a speaker who mixes inspiration with practical strategy, you are in the right place.
Michelle brings a mix of story, step-by-step frameworks, and real-life coaching examples that help your audience take action.
At age 11, Michelle was permanently disabled in a car accident that froze her growth at 4’ 4” and left her needing crutches to walk.
By her own admission, she wasn’t just physically small – she used to live her life emotionally small. The hardest part of living with a visible disability was the shame and unworthiness she carried in her heart and mind.
So she embarked on what began as just a physical fitness journey – and evolved into a life-transformation journey when she decided to join her gym mates in their quest to climb Machu Picchu in Peru.
She hiked up the 26 miles of ascending trail 8-10 hours a day. She had to bandage her wrists so they wouldn’t break as they took a load of her body weight with every step on her crutches.
She ultimately ascended the peak … crawling on her hands and knees at the end, to the cheers of those in her party who had been strangers at the outset of the journey.
When she came home, she was changed forever.
Looking to dazzle your audience with resilience and flair?
5 Things That I’ve Learned on This Journey to Machu Picchu.
Choice
Commitment
Courage
Connection
Confidence
These are the pillars of Perseverance and Resilience in Life and in Business.
Past Speaking Clients
Signature Talk & Topics
Build To Rise: Resilience as a life & business strategy
This is Michelle’s core story talk. She shares how living with a disability, hiking Machu Picchu on crutches, and rebuilding her life and business taught her what it really takes to rise after disappointment.
Perfect for: women’s conferences, retreats, corporate ERGs, leadership events.
Your audience will learn:
How to reframe "worst day" moments into turning points
A simple mindset shift to move from stuck to courageous action
Practical daily confidence builders that do not require more time, money, or degrees
Turning Your Worst Day Into Your Best Day: How Adversity Builds Courage, Resilience, And Confidence
Michelle shares how living with a disability, hiking the Inca Trail on crutches, and starting over in her coaching business taught her to turn her worst days into fuel for her best ones.
This conversation is a mix of honest storytelling, laugh so you do not cry moments, and practical tools listeners can use when life does not go as planned.
Perfect for:
Podcasts for coaches, women in career or life transition, personal growth, entrepreneurship, mindset, and resilience.
Your listeners will walk away with:
A simple way to reframe adversity so it becomes a turning point, not a dead end
The 3 building blocks of real resilience: choice, courage, and commitment.
How to find your voice and share your story, even if you do not think it is “big enough” or “tragic enough.”
Practical confidence habits they can start this week to feel more grounded, braver, and visible in their own life or business
Past Clients & Events:
Northrop Grumman, Palmdale “Your Voice”
NovaWorks
UNIFESTIGO, AIESEC in IIT Kharagpur, India
The Wealthy Health Biz Summit
14th Women’s Leadership and Empowerment Conference
Women | Future Conference
3rd Global Conference on Women's Studies - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Create & Cultivate
The NCJW/Essex Center for Women
The Second Samoan Congregation Church of Long Beach
Women’s Entrepreneur Workshop - 50/50 Leadership
There I was, the first day on The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu…
I found myself amongst a diverse group of individuals from around the globe, all converging at the trailhead, ready to kick off our four-day journey to Machu Picchu.
Shortness of breath? Check.
Dehydration? Probably.
Risks? Definitely.
Standing at an elevation of 3,000 feet, but my target - a breath-stealing 14,000 feet summit.
A backpack onto my shoulders - 15 lbs that felt like an overfed bulldog at that height.
26 miles of rugged, unpaved trails.
40,000 stone stairs I had to ascend.
PLUS….my 2 pink crutches lead me to the sacred valley of Machu Picchu, perched 14,000 feet high.
At a mere 4 feet 4 inches tall and relying on crutches for mobility, let's just say that the hike to Machu Picchu didn't seem to have me in mind.
Watch Michelle In Action
Featured on Over 100+ Podcasts
Ready to dive into stories that inspire and strategies that transform?
I've been honored to share my journey, insights, and passion for empowering coaches, speakers, and the general audience to thrive on over 100+ podcasts.
Each episode brings a unique perspective—whether it's building a profitable coaching business, storytelling, overcoming adversity, or embracing resilience.
Explore the playlist to tune in and catch the magic firsthand.
"A walking, breathing reminder of what's possible."
Michelle is inspirational in every sense of the word. She shared her journey with my audience in such a positive, compelling way that we came away with as much respect for her resiliency as her positivity. Michelle is a walking, breathing reminder of what's possible when we're willing to look beyond our limitations to see the magnificent potential that resides in each of us. Having Michelle as a speaker will surely shift any audience's belief in what is truly possible for them.
— Rosanna Gill, Breaking Labels PodcastPerfectly Normal: An Immigrant’s Story Of Making It In America
Michelle Kuei was an 11-year-old student in rural Taiwan when a car running a red light completely altered her life’s trajectory. Through the long and painful process of recovery, Kuei made surprising discoveries about loss, identity, and personal strength--revelations that helped guide her through her journey as an immigrant to the United States. With radical honesty bolstering her storytelling, Kuei shows us how positive transformation can happen when we let go of self-pity, embrace our flaws, and learn to love ourselves.
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