About

Derrick Rumenapp

Derrick Rumenapp is a man of faith, a husband and father, a servant leader, a passionate writer, an epilepsy advocate, a nature enthusiast, and a self proclaimed resilience mentor. He has felt the pain of hardship, the power of miracles and the importance of intentionally building a resilient mindset to face life’s inevitable challenges. Life’s “storms” have been his greatest teacher.

Acceptance: Life is full of storms. Raised in a single parent household in the 70’s, Derrick witnessed the effects divorce and alcoholism can have on a family and the critical role a stable home has in shaping our identity, self-esteem, and self-worth. As an adult and parent, he’s experienced the fear of rare childhood neurological disorders, navigated a career during a company meltdown and endured the unexpected loss of both parents during a pandemic. These painful experiences and others have brought an acceptance that life can be difficult or how he puts its “full of storms”.

Meaning: Life happens for us, not to us. For the last 30+ years, Derrick has led high performing teams in the areas of IT Operations, Finance, Process/Quality, Cyber Security, and Enterprise Architecture for startup companies to Fortune 100 companies. During this time, he has lived through the growing pains of small companies and the downsizing/ transformation of large companies, witnessing the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty any level of organizational change can bring. Believing “life happens for us” as Tony Robbins states, has helped Derrick avoid victim thinking during these moments and given him a unique “lens” to see the opportunity that lies within the storm at work and at home.

Response: Life is easier with a bison mindset. Losing both parents within 8 months during a pandemic is still the hardest time in Derrick's life. But a strong faith and a "bison" mentality has taught him that running from the challenge will only prolong the agony. Therefore, the Bison's innate behavior to move towards the storm has become a role model for facing adversity, not running from it.

Humility: Life’s is easier with the help of others. Derrick believes we all have a path to walk, a cross to carry, and a responsibility to act on what's in our control…especially in the hard times. He often quotes the serenity prayer as a reminder to “accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This is easier to live out when we accept that the “wisdom to know the difference” is the result of our willingness to ask others for help. Our humility uncovers a strength that was always there.

Purpose: Life’s pain can become our purpose. Derrick has a personal tie to Epilepsy which began when his son was diagnosed in 2009 with Myoclonic Astatic Epilepsy, also referred to as Doose Syndrome. Derrick knew nothing about seizures or seizure first aid when his son had his first seizure and admits “I did everything wrong and almost made it worse”. This began a journey of a hundred seizures a day, 5 medications, and 3 hospitals, leaving Derrick and his family hopeless with no known cure. But through prayer, sound medical advise, patient advocacy, the Ketogenic Diet and a miracle from God, his son’s seizures miraculously stopped in 2010. Since then, it has become Derrick’s purpose to raise donations and awareness for epilepsy and seizure first aid by sharing his story in hopes of helping others.

Strength: Life's Storms can make us stronger. Derrick learned and accepted through his own storms, that our strength and resilience truly comes from what we have overcome. And just like a muscle must be broken down through exercise to strengthen it, so too must our lives to make them stronger.

To live out these 6 Lessons, Derrick developed The Resilience Habit, a process designed to help himself and family during the pandemic. This methodology was expanded and shared with businesses, charities, schools and individuals to help them also build strong and resilient lives. Through 1:1 and group mentoring as well as professional development workshops, Derrick uses his personal story and the 10 practical “habits” he follows to help others intentionally prepare, endure, and overcome life’s inevitable challenges.

In his spare time, Derrick cherishes time with his family and his Goldendoodle, Graycie. He finds healing, peace and restoration in outdoor activities including gardening, hiking, running and in capturing nature’s peace and beauty through his personal photography.

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” -Matthew 19:26