Defining moments aren’t just exciting – they are thought-provoking and fertile ground for learning. These inflection points often are the result of an illuminating moment where some truth of the universe presents itself in an easier to recognize form. Below, you’ll find talented and successful entrepreneurs and artists sharing the stories of defining moments in their lives.
Sheree Carara
On July 3, 2013, I sat in the doctor’s office, staring at the paper he’d just handed me. I could barely make out the names of the three referral specialists. I looked up at him, and said, ‘You write like a doctor.’ We both laughed, and he replied gently, ‘You’re going to be alright.’ I didn’t fully believe him, but I didn’t disbelieve him either. Read More>>
Cheryl Bradley
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LaTarsha Holden
Yes—there was a defining moment in my professional career, and it didn’t come from a title or an achievement. It came from a breaking point. There was a time when I found myself navigating homelessness, raising six children, and carrying the weight of survival on my shoulders. On the outside, it may have looked like everything was falling apart—but internally, something profound was happening. Read More>>
Faith Halverson-Ramos
I’ve been working as a psychotherapist and music therapist for the last 18 years, and about 10 years into my career, I started to wonder if there was something more I could be doing with my life, because I saw limited growth opportunities as a psychotherapist who didn’t want the responsibilities of running a group practice where I’d need to be responsible for other people’s employment stability. Read More>>
Shelley Lynch
One of the most defining moments in my life came after the sudden loss of my husband, Roy, in 2016. In the midst of grief, I was simply trying to get through each day. Everything felt uncertain. I was just going through the motions. About a year later, he came to me in a dream and said, “Come on, I’m taking you to the mall. Read More>>
Laura Dunworth
There was a time in my life when I didn’t know how to slow down or tend to what my body was holding. In my twenties, my younger brother — my best friend growing up — died suddenly in an accident, and my world shifted in ways I didn’t yet know how to name. Read More>>
Lauren Oliver
Laura Jordan
There wasn’t just one defining moment in my career, but rather a series of experiences that gradually shaped the direction of my work. Early in my career as a psychotherapist, I was drawn to supporting people through major life transitions—those moments when identity, relationships, and emotional wellbeing are all shifting at once. Over time, that interest evolved into a deeper focus on reproductive mental health. Read More>>
Dr Mary Welsh
.I tried to return to my professional work after the loss of my daughter, but I found no purpose, no joy, and no sense of impact. I knew the loss could not be the end of the story. To heal personally—and to help my family heal—we simply wanted to help another child smile in Susie’s honor. Read More>>
Salina Womack
While doing a shift change at the hospital one evening as a registered nurse, I heard a shout. ‘We need help in here’! I ran with the other nurse to the room, and the patient who had just been talking minutes before was dead. We performed CPR and could not get her back. Read More>>
Dana Spradling
Yes, and the defining moment didn’t happen in the career for which I planned. It happened in the moments our family’s life changed forever. Before “Just in Time Adaptive Wellness” ever had a name, I was doing what so many of us do: building a life based on what made sense on paper. Read More>>
Elise Redfield
⸻ From the very beginning of my career, I was drawn to a more holistic view of health and the human body. Over the past 45 years working in the fitness and wellness field, I’ve always been extremely drawn to research about how sleep, stress, nutrition, recovery, and lifestyle all work together to influence strength, body composition, and overall well-being. Read More>>