”Harder to kill.”

Conn Bertish, a high-performing creative director, faced a rare brain cancer diagnosis at 36. Emergency surgery revealed a medulloblastoma, usually only found in children under five. In a matter of hours, Conn’s life fractured, forcing him to confront who he was; and who he would become.

In this episode of Something Shifted, Sean Loots explores how lifequakes - those seismic shifts that upend everything we know - can fracture identity and force us to rewrite the stories we tell ourselves.

Conn’s story begins with subtle slurred speech and six-second headaches that escalated into emergency brain surgery and a rare brain cancer diagnosis.

For him, this was the ultimate identity interruption. A before-and-after moment that challenged everything he believed about resilience, purpose, and survival.

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

Listeners will discover:
- How a lifequake can fracture identity and change the stories we tell ourselves
- The hidden survival strategies that allow people to endure extreme trauma
- Lessons on resilience, purpose, and transformation after life-changing events

Conn’s journey is more than survival; it’s a testament to the human capacity to integrate life’s upheavals into a stronger, more purposeful self.

www.somethingshifted.co.za
Recorded at Latitude Podcast Studio Listen to Something Shifted: The Soundtrack on Spotify