9/11 Survivor: Complacency Breeds Extinction

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Lauren Manning was running late to her high-powered financial job on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and she entered the World Trade Center just as the first plane hit. Thirteen years later, she addressed the Women of the Channel Winter Workshop in New York, telling her story and inspiring determination and leadership.

"Defeat is temporary," Manning said, who suffered burns over more than 85 percent of her body and, at one point, had less than a 10 percent chance of survival.

Manning toiled intensely at years of rehab to regain her mobility and independence. After countless surgeries and procedures, she wrote a book on her experiences, "Unmeasured Strength."

The fight to regain her life can serve as an inspiration for anyone facing a challenge, whether it is in the personal or professional realm.

"Ultimately, in all our lives, the goal is identical. It requires a questioning and requestioning of our goals. And I dared to imagine not what was possible, but what I believed and dreamed was possible," Manning said.

"The win, after all, is in the effort," Manning said.

PUBLISHED DEC. 10, 2014