Winning often looks like a long trail of losses that were too weak to keep you down. We are beyond inspired by the stories below. Resilience cannot capture the true nature of what so many of these entrepreneurs, artists and creatives possess and there is so much to learn from the folks highlighted below.

Marlee Bruno

I put myself through college and grad school with the dream of working in medicine. Once I graduated, I worked in emergency medicine for 10 years before I got very burned out and decided to try something new. It was so exhilarating and rewarding being an integral part of saving lives–but that’s where my role ended. I never got the chance to know what happened to my patients, I would find myself wondering if they ever fully recovered, or if they changed the bad habits that got them to the ER in the first place. I wanted to form a more personal connection with my patients. So, I decided to start my own wellness and aesthetics practice, Mind Body & Soul Medical. Read more>>

Samie White

Let’s dig into my spiritual journey and self-discovery. It all began in childhood; I grew up in an open minded household. My mom was raised Catholic and dad was raised Christian. We attended a Christian church when I was very young, and stopped around age 4-5. I grew up in an old house with sensitive family members. We experienced spirits and extraordinary happenings. My most memorable spiritual experience was created when I thought to myself “what if we are not really here in this form.” I had this transcendent out of body experience and went crying to my mom. She’d told me not to think of it anymore, yet I found myself provoking the thought and enjoying the experience. Read more>>

Luis Guerrero

I am a Mexican abstract artist based in the PNW. I’ve always been a visual creative since I was a teenager, recently these past few years I’ve been developing my style when it comes to visual arts. Combining soft pastel colors with bold darker colors. My artwork is constantly changing, I like to think of my projects as a balance between chaos and calm. Read more>>

Lisette Solares

I’m Liz Solares, 40 years old, and the world of books has been an adventure of self-discovery. A few years ago, while searching for a moment of disconnection from my daily routine, I found that making bracelets brought me peace and sparked my creativity. That sense of well-being led me to explore other practices like meditation and yoga, but it wasn’t until early this year that I found the missing piece: the 30 Libros reading club. Read more>>

Jessie Treadway

This story all started a short year ago. Yes, really, one year. Unlike many others, my dream of being a photographer came a bit later. I went to college initially for archaeology but ended up graduating early with a degree in anthropology. I was on the path to continue my education in England, but unfortunately, Covid had other ideas, and that was no longer an option. Instead, I did a range of jobs, from gas station work to sales, and even teaching high school. It wasn’t until January 2024 that I started photography. Read more>>

Mackenzie Griffith

I grew up in California with a penchant for adrenaline and mischief. If there’s a way I can go fast, feel strong, and somehow hurl my body through space, I’ll find it. This path led me to trying lots of sports and consistently having fitness as a backbone of my existence (feeding myself with correct nutrition came much later, I’m afraid, but we got there in the end!). Read more>>

Nick Ranelli

I began climbing in 2016, at first casually for fun, but it quickly became an obsession. As I started going to the gym more and more, I learned about the sport of climbing instead of just casually climbing. I was entranced by the idea of climbing competitions from the start and dove in headfirst, joining the competitive climbing team at Doylestown Rock Gym. Read more>>

TJ Cunningham

I started my journey as a painter in 2010, but my love for art began much earlier. Growing up in Vermont, surrounded by the beauty of rural America, I was constantly inspired by the landscapes, animals, and the quiet rhythm of farm life. These early experiences shaped not only my artistic voice but also my perspective on the value of hard work and patience. Read more>>

Taylor Varble

I started The Mixing Bar during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. At the time, like many others, I was looking for a way to pivot and find a new direction in life. After spending years working in various bakeries and honing my skills, I decided to take a risk and start my own business, working from home and launching it under my own name. It was a big leap, especially during such uncertain times, but I knew I was ready to pursue my passion for baking and create something truly special. Read more>>

What’s Cookin’ NYC

WCP started after seeing very few entrepreneurs getting on podcasts to share their experiences and accomplishments. It started as a platform for just NYC but expanded to having guests from out of state to now even out of country. Read more>>

Stacey Harris

I’m a retired mortgage banker who began a second career as a pastry chef. Shortly after attending culinary school to become a pastry chef, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mercy! I was devastated, as I absolutely loved to bake and loved to eat sweets. Read more>>

Daniel Brown

My journey into fashion started with a love for style and creativity from a young age. I’ve always been fascinated by how clothing can express identity and evoke confidence. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve trips to the mall, where I’d eagerly pick out outfits for my mother and grandmother. That early passion grew stronger over time, and during college, I took a job in retail, where I discovered a deeper interest in merchandising. I worked hard, learned the ropes, and eventually landed a role as a Visual Merchandiser. That opportunity opened doors for me, leading to management positions and years of experience with well-known retailers. Read more>>

Freddie Taylor Sr

My current achievements and position are the result of my unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, the constant encouragement and wisdom of my devoted wife, and the inspiration and joy provided by my wonderful children. Read more>>

Carson Wagner

From a young age, I’ve always had a passion for helping others. In high school, I stumbled into one of my first job working with adults with special needs. At the time, I didn’t even fully understand what the role entailed, but the moment I started, I fell in love with the field and the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. This experience left a lasting impression and ignited a deep passion for serving the special needs community. Read more>>

Tricia Dycka

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to personal growth. The belief that we can create the lives we desire by changing the way we think has always fascinated me. Like many, I immersed myself in the world of self-help, trying everything from subliminal audio tracks and self-hypnosis to motivational seminars and stacks of personal development books. Yet, despite my dedication, the changes I experienced were incremental at best. Something was missing. Read more>>

Sarah Dylan Jensen

I have always been a creative person – though I would never call myself an artist. Knowing that art is a very difficult career to survive and thrive in, I opted to go the route of Fashion Design after obtaining my business degree first. I figured if all else failed, at least I’d have business skills to fall back on. To this day, I am still thankful that I built a foundation on basic business building blocks. Read more>>

Alex Wimmer

I came to the United States after being adopted from South Korea. Our family lived in Mississippi before moving to Nebraska, where I would say I grew up. We lived in Millard for a few years before moving to Gretna where I went to middle school and high school. After graduating from high school, I attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) to pursue my Bachelor’s in Music Education. After graduating from UNO, I taught high school and middle band in Gretna. During this time, I got married to my wife. We met at UNO and after she graduated with her degree in music education, she pursued master’s in flute performance before teaching middle school band, orchestra, and music technology in Omaha. Read more>>

Lotus Buckner

I was the kid in college who could not pick a major to save my life and ended up changing majors five or six times until my mother said, “time is ticking.” I ended up majoring in Community and Nonprofit Leadership with a professional concentration in Management and Human Resources. I took my first HR class and that did it. I decided I wanted to go into HR so I got an internship at a hospital one summer and they created a job for me when I graduated. I grew my career there for eleven years in three different departments and ultimately, leading the HR function. From there, I went to my alma mater and then to a tech startup to build up their HR function, team, and strategy as the first VP of People and Culture. Read more>>

Sabrina Patterson

About eight years ago, I was living in Alaska, surrounded by breathtaking beauty that inspired me every day. I realized that when I had a camera in my hand, I felt a deep sense of peace. At the time, I was working a 9-to-5 job, struggling with a sense of stagnation in my life. I knew I wanted more, but I had to push myself to go after it. So, I made the bold decision to quit my college courses and leave my draining job, taking a leap to work at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Read more>>

Mattison Skoog-Simpson

Everything changed for me when I ended up in a very unexpected place—a prison cell.

Over eight years ago, I found myself in a dark chapter of my life, but an opportunity to work with dogs gave me a reason to get out of bed and something I thought I’d lost: hope.

During my five years of incarceration, I gained hands-on experience in training, grooming, and behavior through various programs, including service and rescue dog work. Those dogs were my lifeline, and they taught me as much (probably more) than I ever taught them. Read more>>

Renee Thornton

Active Retiree and a Committed Community Worker. Throughout my life’s journey, I have been given a vast number of opportunities, chances, moments, memories, mistakes, rewards, forgiveness, and do-overs. God has afforded me to reflect on the ability of fulfilling my lifelong purpose of making possible connections and resources to help meet the needs and concerns of people in our community, in our country and throughout our world. All have afforded me the time and freedom to work with a wide range of groups of people and personalities bringing patience to complete amazing results. I am not trying to reach anywhere in my career. This is my story. Read more>>

Marita Karpetta

I am 24 years old currently living in my country – Cyprus. Since I was little all i wanted was to become an actress and be in movies, but I was also very shy to a point that I could not even speak in front of people. My acting teachers were doubting that I could make it as an actress because of how shy I was. But I am an extremely stubborn person so I never listened to anything negative. When it was the time to apply for university I really wanted to go to Glasgow, and one person from my acting school told me to not apply as I was not ready. Read more>>

To Bloom

Kevin and I have been playing music together for the better part of 14 years. We started off playing original acoustic material in our math teacher’s classroom after school. We realized pretty early on that we had chemistry and decided to take music a bit more seriously. After an ebb and flow of different musical projects and a plethora of members cycling in and out, we finally decided that we would take matters into our own hands and handle all of the music writing ourselves. To Bloom came about as the latest iteration of our collaborative efforts. Read more>>

Katie Sargent

I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia – right outside of Washington, DC and have always been a history buff and avid sports fan. The eldest of four and an Aries, my energy and outspoken nature has been strong since day one! I attended Business School at Virginia Tech and worked in the DMV (DC, MD and VA) in various corporate roles before realizing that my passion was in the arts. Taking what felt at the time like a major risk, I decided to switch paths and focus on the creative arts. It was a slow journey, first switching from a corporate role to an hourly position that allowed me more free time outside of work. I took improv classes, participated in plays and starting getting into voiceover work. Read more>>

I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had an imaginative and adventurous childhood climbing trees and exploring the Mojave desert as a kid. The city and it’s natural environment became my playground and creative muse throughout my life. I eventually chose Las Vegas to be my forever home. I’ve traveled and love the adventure of new people and places but the wild west desert has my heart. I have built my studio and life under the big blue desert sky and love it like no other place. Read more>>

Kristen Diederich

K. Diederich is abstract painter working from my studio in Portland, Oregon. Read more>>

Kathi Reichel

I truly believe that everything we do today has roots in childhood. When I look back, I remember dancing and singing around the house, putting on performances for my family, entertaining them. The truth was always there—I just never fully grasped it. Read more>>

KingWojack7@gmail.com 8481682

Early 1980 ies , I was a young Kid living in Tacoma Washington mimicking images from MTV and BETs music videos. I was also tuning in to a Seattle radio station K Fox with DJ Nasty NES Rodriguez’s nightly before it went off the air at 7pm . By 15 I was Building my own dj casket out of used record players and a mixer with a drum machine attached. I dj,ed my first house party for high school friends and rocked it . I began writing raps during high school classes instead of doing school work which made me very outspoken and highly confident when picking up the Mic to battle mcs across the city ! I was the leader of my crew known as the Deff City Rockers. Read more>>

Khadija Ashurova Bellio

I started my journey in Baku, Azerbaijan, where I earned a degree in psychology. In 2018, I moved to the United States and joined the Year Up United program, which equipped me with valuable skills and opportunities. Read more>>

Lorenzo Leyva

When I graduated from film school, I wasn’t entirely sure which department I wanted to work in or what specific job I wanted. However, I had the most experience in editing, so I began my professional career as an unpaid intern, working full-time at two different editing companies. One specialized in high-budget commercials for national brands, while the other focused on documentaries that showed underrepresented stories. These experiences gave me valuable insight into how productions operate on both large and small budgets. Read more>>

Karen Heric

My story started many years ago in the Traffic Department of KOMO Radio. Jobs were hard to find at that time and climbing up the corporate ladder was slow in the early 80’s, so I got impatient and jumped to the Tri-Cities to work at KNDU-TV/NBC. This position was a mix of production, traffic and eventually on-air work. I hosted a weekly talk show and did the weather for the evening news 5 days a week. I learned a lot in this role. Read more>>

Samantha (Sammy Jean) Eckenrod

I have always been interested in photography and capturing a feeling. When I was a kid, I would walk in the woods near my house and take pictures of the nature. I always wanted to photograph people, but my opinion about myself and my lack of confidence got in the way. As I grew older, the desire to put forth effort into photography became stronger as I saw people around me doing it. When I looked at a picture, my first thought was usually how I would want to capture it. In 2023, I got my first camera since I was a kid. This lead me to start at my roots of photographing nature; however, this quickly transformed when I brought my camera to my first concert. Read more>>

Alexandra Hahn

I always wanted to work creatively.
Theater caught me early—during a high school internship in 8th grade. Once it captures your heart, it never truly leaves you. Years later, on a film set, a seasoned cameraman told me, just ten minutes into our conversation: You’re a theater girl. What are you doing here? I can see your heart glow and your eyes shine when you talk about it. Read more>>

Jacob Boyle

I’ve always said that where I am today is the culmination of two major themes that have followed me my entire life: Robotics & Mental Health. A more professional theme, robots have been something I’ve worked on since I was 11 years old; starting in middle school on my school’s First Lego League team, then in high school as the co-CEO and engineering lead of their FIRST robotics team, and then going off to college for engineering and physics. Because of my background in robotics, the summer after my freshman year of college, I was picked up for an “internship” with an advanced military robotics startup on a multi-million dollar 2-year contract with the US Navy. Read more>>

Jessica Nields

I’m a hairstylist in the suburbs of Philly. After graduating from i college with my degree in Marketing and HR I went to cosmetology school. I was interviewing for jobs and nothing felt right. I wasn’t made to sit in an office all day. I started cosmetology school at The Salon Professional Academy in September 2018 and graduated in September 2019. I started my career behind the chair in October 2019. I took extra classes and found all the education I needed to be successful behind the chair. Though my parents didn’t support my initial decision to go to cosmetology school, once they saw I was happy with my career they changed their mind. Read more>>

Alexia Haick

I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, where I lived for 19 years. My mother was a vendor of ophthalmic products and is now retired, and my father is a lawyer. My sister is a doctor. There weren’t many artists in my family, and I’m not sure if I was the first. Fortunately, I grew up surrounded by strong female role models. I was lucky to be around six amazing women who helped shape my vision of who I wanted to become. Both my mother and grandmother had a passion for photography, and I ended up learning it, initially out of irritation with their habit. My sister was an amateur actress, so I grew up watching her plays, which eventually led me to join that community. Read more>>

ART MuZeum

I first fell in love with Hip Hop at an early age. There was a lot of influences. From radio and music videos to movies such as “House Party”. I always loved Hip Hop and its form of expression and representation of culture. The culture of where I’m from and what I would see on a daily basis. I knew then, that I wanted to be a part. I would listen to what my older cousins and friends would put me on to. That heavily influenced the type of music I would like because I looked up to them so much. Eventually I began writing raps. I didn’t know about structure or any of that type stuff. I just wanted to make songs. I’d rap with friends and my cousins. Read more>>

Bat-Sheva Guez

I was obsessed with creating worlds and telling stories from the moment I could first imagine a universe different from my own. It was never a question of whether I would grow up to make things, but more, what medium I would use to do it (writing, film, theater, etc). Most kids grow up playing pretend and then grow tired of it, but I never wanted to stop. Read more>>

Kalen Olson

Around 2012, I noticed how difficult it was for me to make decisions that truly aligned with my heart. It felt like I couldn’t choose what was most authentic to me. It’s so easy to listen to outside voices telling us what to do, but the truth is—no one else has walked our path. Read more>>