Better Than Yesterday: The Resilience Journey of Speaker Dan MacQueen
Introduction: A Life Rewritten in a Moment
At just 28 years old, Dan MacQueen’s life changed in the blink of an eye. What began as a routine optometrist visit for a severe headache ended with him being rushed to the hospital, where doctors performed emergency brain surgery. A massive hemorrhage left him in a coma for weeks and on a grueling path of recovery that included months of rehabilitation to relearn how to walk, talk, and even smile.
That kind of life-altering trauma might have broken most people. But for Dan, it became the foundation for a new purpose. Today, he is not only walking and speaking again but also traveling across North America and Europe as a sought-after keynote speaker. He uses his extraordinary story to teach leaders, organizations, and individuals how to transform adversity into opportunity, replace change fatigue with momentum, and move from disengagement to action.
Dan’s message is clear, simple, and unforgettable: resilience is a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.
From Chaos to Clarity: The Early Lessons
Dan’s first attempt at walking outside the hospital wasn’t in a quiet park or a controlled rehab facility. It was in the chaos of Tooting Broadway in South London a place buzzing with people rushing past, brushing shoulders, and barely noticing his struggle.
At first, Dan thought it was the worst place imaginable to relearn how to walk. But then, a realization struck: if he wanted the best training ground, it needed to be difficult.
“Worst became best,” Dan recalls. “That reframing of adversity was key to my recovery, and it’s just as useful in business. You can’t control the crisis, only how you respond to it.”
That simple but profound shift in perspective became the cornerstone of his philosophy: adversity is not the enemy it’s the teacher.
Small Wins, Big Change: Building Momentum
Recovery from brain trauma is not a linear path. Some days progress is visible, and on others, even small steps feel impossible. Dan’s secret weapon was intention.
Each day, he anchored himself in simple but powerful routines a cold shower, meditation, making his bed.
“None of these are magic tricks, but the intention creates momentum,” Dan explains. “Even in rehab, those small daily actions stacked up into real progress. In organizations, it’s the same: stack small wins until they multiply into lasting change.”
This concept resonates deeply in corporate life, where large-scale transformation often feels overwhelming. Dan’s advice to leaders is simple: start small, aim small, miss small. Build resilience like compound interest with small but consistent deposits.
Reframing Adversity: Turning the Worst into the Best
Organizations today face constant disruption economic shifts, technological transformations, and workforce challenges. Dan teaches that the key is to reframe adversity.
The exercise he recommends is deceptively simple:
- Write down everything that makes a situation “the worst.”
- Flip it and ask: how could this actually be “the best”?
- List what you can and cannot control then focus relentlessly on what you can.
When companies apply this framework, overwhelm transforms into opportunity.
Research backs it up. According to Gallup, only 21% of global employees were engaged in 2024, costing companies an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity. By contrast, the most engaged teams delivered 23% higher profitability.
The message is clear: resilience is not about ignoring reality it’s about reframing it into fuel for growth.
The Triple A Model: A Framework for Resilience
Central to Dan’s approach is his Triple A Model: Acknowledge, Accept, Adapt.
- Acknowledge what’s happening. Name the problem honestly.
- Accept it. Acceptance isn’t surrender; it’s the foundation for change.
- Adapt by experimenting and innovating once reality is faced.
In rehab, Dan acknowledged he couldn’t walk. He accepted that fact. Then, through relentless trial and error, he adapted until he was back on his feet.
“It’s a simple model, but it works everywhere,” Dan says. “Whether you’re in healthcare, government, or business, it gives teams a language for navigating disruption.”
Humor as a Superpower
Resilience doesn’t always look serious. In fact, Dan believes humor is one of the most underrated tools for overcoming adversity.
“My story has dark moments, but a single line can reset the room,” he says. “I’ve had audiences cry one minute and laugh the next. That rollercoaster keeps people present.”
Humor, when used with intention, becomes oxygen for resilience. For leaders, it’s a reminder that levity doesn’t dismiss seriousness it sustains people through it.
Speaking to 20 or 400: The Art of Connection
Dan has delivered talks to intimate groups of 20 and to grand stages of 400. The scale changes, but his goal does not.
“With 20 people, it’s eye contact and conversation. With 400, it’s theatre bigger pauses, bigger energy. But whether it’s 20 or 400, every person should feel I’m speaking directly to them.”
This adaptability is one reason why Dan’s feedback is consistently outstanding:
- At Service Canada, 99% of attendees rated his keynote valuable, 97% inspiring, and 95% memorable.
- At CyberQP, participants called his talk “a roadmap for resilience.”
- Spendesk credited him with helping teams hold a positive mindset during tough times.
- Hootsuite praised him as “a gifted and authentic speaker.”
Barriers to Resilience in Organizations
If resilience is so powerful, why do so many organizations struggle to build it? Dan points to one barrier above all: mindset.
“Too many companies think resilience means grinding harder. That only burns people out. True resilience is about trust. Leaders acknowledge what’s real, accept it, and then empower teams to adapt.”
When employees feel seen and trusted, adversity becomes fuel instead of friction. The shift is cultural, not cosmetic.
Practical Advice for Leaders
Leaders often ask Dan where to start. His response is both practical and profound:
- Start small. Encourage tiny, consistent wins.
- Celebrate progress, no matter how incremental.
- Build trust by keeping promises both to yourself and to your team.
Momentum, he insists, is the secret ingredient. Once an organization starts moving forward, resilience multiplies.
The Way Out Is Through
Perhaps the most powerful message Dan delivers is also the simplest: the way out is through.
Not around. Not over. Through.
It’s a truth that guided him in rehab and that now guides his audiences in business and life. With the right tools, habits, and mindset, anyone can move through even the toughest challenges.
Quick Takes: The Man Behind the Message
- Book that shaped him: Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday a reminder that humility fuels growth.
- Sport that recharges him: Swimming a meditative escape where solutions surface lap by lap.
- Grounding habit: Preparing tomorrow before ending today momentum never stops.
- Alternate career path: Teaching. At Hootsuite, he thrived on helping people unlock tools for success.
- Fun fact: In rehab, Dan once wore an eye patch upside down for hours before anyone told him. Instead of embarrassment, he took it as a reminder not to take himself too seriously and today, he shares those photos in his talks.
Final Word and Call to Action
Resilience is not a buzzword. It’s a competitive advantage. In a world of constant disruption, organizations that master resilience outperform those that don’t. Dan MacQueen’s journey from coma to keynote stage is living proof.
Through his Triple A Model, his mix of honesty and humor, and his practical frameworks, Dan equips audiences with more than inspiration. He gives them tools they can use tomorrow.
“If your leaders are tired of pep talks and your teams are struggling with constant change, I bring tools grounded in experience, tested frameworks, and storytelling that moves people from theory to action,” Dan concludes.
Whether in healthcare, government, or business, the message lands the same: resilience isn’t about grinding harder it’s about growing stronger.
Dan MacQueen doesn’t just talk about resilience. He embodies it. And he leaves audiences with a challenge: to be better than yesterday.