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Facebook boss Sheryl Sandberg is teaching a free course on how to be mentally strong

Leaders across the world have a certain quality in common: They’re mentally tougher than your regular Joe. Leaders take responsibility in setting the bar for expectations at work so their minds have to be ready to tackle any issue that may arise head on.

For Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook executive and COO, mental toughness during adversity was first a struggle, then a lesson to be learned.

After the loss of her husband in 2015, Sandberg decided to document her experience in her book: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy.

Speaking on her tragic loss to CNN, Sandberg articulated how she felt confused on how to get herself, and more importantly, her children, past the ordeal.

“Going through this … it’s the unimaginable. Those early days … months, weeks, I felt like there was this void closing in on me. The grief. I couldn’t breathe. And I didn’t know what to do. I turned to my friend Adam and I said, ‘How do I get my kids through this?’ Because I was so worried their childhoods were going to be wiped away.”

The book’s central topic is self-help, focusing on how to come out of struggles that test a person, and ultimately, coming back stronger than ever before. Now, the self-help book has come to life through a LinkedIn online course.

The best part? It’s absolutely free.

The book was co-authored by Sandberg and Wharton Psychology professor Adam Grant. In an interview with the Commonwealth Club, they divulge the details of Sheryl’s troubling experience, and those trying to comfort her.

“What I didn’t expect is it really trashed my self-confidence in all other areas of my life, and I wrote a book on self-confidence.”

The complete course consists of 9 videos, ranging between 2 and 3 minutes each. They go into topics like the importance of resilience, the suddenness of encountering hardships, and finally, how to persevere through them.

The practices better your ability to snap back from a stressful time. Sheryl shares:

“I remember asking Adam, ‘How much resilience do I have? How do I figure it out? How much do my kids have?’ He said it was the wrong question. The question is not how much resilience do you have, because there’s not a fixed amount. You build resilience. So what I should be asking him is, ‘How do I build resilience?'”

Resilience is a trait that can be built and made stronger with persistence and practice. Through her lessons and experiences, Sheryl has taught us one thing that will always remain true: Any obstacle faced can and will be surpassed.

Peep the free course here on LinkedIn.