Abstract: In any human endeavour, there are individuals who stand out. Whether through financial success, personality, remarkable actions or even notoriety, these are names which come up regularly in conversation. Agriculture is no exception, and considering the relatively small number of people in the game in Northern Australia, the same names are repeatedly provided as examples of successful or stand-out farmers. This success often related to a demonstrated ability to understand the operating context, and implicitly and explicitly factor variables into successful decision-making to take advantage of a situation. This situational awareness was one of four themes that, along with the Capacity to Plan, the Capacity to Adapt, and Social Connectedness were found to form the core of individual resilience strategies irrespective of industry, scale, or geographic location.