"Harder to kill."

What happens when life fractures overnight? At 36, Conn Bertish, a high‑performing creative director, was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer usually found in children. Emergency surgery forced him to confront not only survival, but the deeper question of identity after disruption.

In this episode of Something Shifted, Sean Loots explores how lifequakes, those seismic interruptions that upend everything we know, can fracture identity and force us to rewrite our personal narratives.

Conn’s journey begins with subtle slurred speech and six‑second headaches, escalating into emergency brain surgery and a diagnosis that changed everything. What followed was the ultimate identity interruption: a before‑and‑after moment that tested resilience, purpose, and survival.

Through courage, self‑reflection, and hidden strategies that make some people “harder to kill,” Conn rebuilt his life physically, mentally, and emotionally. This conversation dives into the science of resilience, identity after trauma, and the powerful internal narratives we create to navigate life’s most intense disruptions.

Conn’s story is a testament to the human capacity to integrate upheaval into a stronger, more purposeful self.

Recorded at Latitude Podcast Studio