How to Stay Calm When Everything Goes Wrong | Jenn Cassetta
Why can you handle a setback one day, but the smallest thing pushes you over the edge the next?
Jenn Cassetta, keynote speaker, author and third-degree black belt, returns to Adventures in Business with Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano to explore what keeps us steady under pressure. Drawing from her upcoming book, The Secrets of the Sensei, Jenn introduces her resilience reservoir assessment, and the hosts put their own results on the table.
Get To Know Jenn Cassetta
Jenn Cassetta, keynote speaker, author and third-degree black belt, returns to Adventures in Business with Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano to explore what keeps us steady under pressure. Drawing from her upcoming book, The Secrets of the Sensei, Jenn introduces her resilience reservoir assessment, and the hosts put their own results on the table.
Fill Your Reservoir Before the Day Drains It
Mandi Graziano’s morning started with book rewrites and a workout. Then her dog needed an unexpected trip to the vet, her laptop stopped working, and she had to rearrange calls while getting a backup computer ready for the show.
There had been times when one of those problems would have been enough to overwhelm her. This time, she felt equipped to handle them.
Jenn Cassetta calls that having a full resilience reservoir.
“The day goes sideways, or major things in the world can go sideways, or big things can happen in your life that aren’t as planned.”
Her resilience reservoir assessment looks at four areas: physical, mental, emotional, and vision and flow. Mandi scored 89%, while Amani Roberts scored 79%. But the point wasn’t to see who earned the better grade. It was to recognize what was helping them and where they could use more support.
Keeping those reservoirs filled means:
Paying attention to what leaves you depleted
Recognizing the habits that help you handle stress
Checking in with your physical, mental, and emotional needs
Having something to look forward to
Making adjustments even when you feel strong
Mandi’s morning still went sideways. The difference was having enough in reserve to keep going.
Make Your Morning Routine Something You Miss
Jenn’s own routines faced a difficult test when she returned to Los Angeles during the wildfires. After a frightening flight, she arrived home overwhelmed and started packing a go bag.
The next morning, she skipped the meditation, journaling, and breath work that usually helped her feel grounded. With her husband out of town and smoke visible from her window, she struggled to settle. Eventually, she took her two cats to a hotel near LAX.
“I felt like logically I knew the fires wouldn’t reach my home, but my nervous system didn’t get the memo.”
That experience reinforced why she wants people to build routines they crave when they miss them. Her “morning mojo” starts with three Ps: presence, positivity, and protein.
A morning routine can include:
Meditation, journaling, or breath work to feel present
Something that helps you begin with a positive outlook
A breakfast that supports you before work gets moving
Time away from your phone
Habits you can adapt to your own schedule
Mandi describes her routine as buckling her seatbelt for the day. It gives her a chance to prepare before the demands start coming.
Protect the Space Where You Can Hear Yourself
Jenn has spent years learning from martial arts teachers. Those lessons shaped how she leads, teaches, and connects with people. They also taught her to trust her own judgment.
“You don’t have to lose yourself or give yourself over to, you know, a teacher.”
For Jenn, becoming your own sensei starts with getting grounded enough to listen. That can be difficult when every quiet moment gets filled with news, social media, or someone else’s opinion.
She calls for “sacred boundaries” around what we take in and time spent in an “inner dojo,” a place to reconnect with ourselves.
Creating that space means:
Setting limits on news and social media
Noticing how certain people and environments affect you
Making time for meditation or journaling
Considering advice without handing over your judgment
Leaving some quiet moments unfilled
Mandi noticed the value of that quiet when she stopped listening to podcasts and music in the shower. Without something else competing for her attention, her own ideas started showing up.
Have a Vision Strong Enough to Keep You Moving
A potential speaking engagement can bring excitement, followed by a booking, a rejection, or no response at all. Jenn experiences all three.
What keeps her moving is knowing what she wants to build.
“My vision is so strong it pulls me forward.”
She pictures that vision as a sun on the horizon. It gives her something to move toward when an opportunity falls through. Keeping her resilience reservoir filled helps her withstand the disappointment and continue creating.
When Jenn asks Mandi and Amani what the best possible future for Adventures in Business looks like, their answers get specific: live theater shows, a major sponsor, and interviews with people they have long wanted to bring on the podcast.
A vision worth returning to gives you a chance to:
Define what success would look like for you
Picture opportunities beyond the next setback
Remember why the work matters
Keep creating while waiting for an answer
Make room for ideas during walks, meditation, or quiet time
Resources Mentioned
🔗 Check out Jenn Cassetta
🔗 Pre Order Her Book Now: Secrets Of The Sensei
🔗 Take The Resilience Reservoir Assessment
Subscribe on YouTube
🔗 Rate, review, and subscribe to our channel on YouTube!
Comments