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.

Teddy Droseros

My first time visiting a school through Grateful Peoples! The Gratitude in the Classroom initiative started as a pilot program at my old high school where I offered a set of Gratitude Journals to one of my old teachers. The idea was that his homeroom class would take a few minutes each day to write about what they are grateful for. After several months, I visited his class to see how the practice was going. As the students shared their experience with me, I remember standing in front of the class thinking, “This is what I’m going to be doing for the next phase of my life!”. Read more>>

DrRenetta Weaver

As a social worker with a high ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) score, the journey to finding my true calling was filled with challenges and obstacles. I had always struggled with my weight, and my own traumatic experiences had left me feeling helpless and lost. For years, I had worked tirelessly in the field of social work, helping others overcome their own struggles and adversities. However, I began to feel burnt out and disillusioned with the field. I was ready to throw in the towel and give up on my dreams of making a real difference in people’s lives. Read more>>

Joni Carlson

A defining moment in my life that truly propelled me into the work I do today began with a dream. Literally. My Grandma Lorraine had passed away in 2021 and my Grandpa Gordy was devasted. He moped around for months. He was barely living. He was surviving. I saw him often as he visited my parents’ home twice per day, simply to fill his day with something. One day, as he sat across the table from me, in silence, as he often did these days, I mustered up the courage to tell him about a dream I had about his beloved wife. Read more>>

Dr. Nicole Gurash

My journey to being here today has had lots of little and big defining moments. I am fortunate to have created a private therapy practice that was cultivated not only by my educational and professional clinical passions but also by significant life experiences, and many clients’ stories over the past decade. After obtaining my Doctorate in Psychology (PsyD), it was clear to me that we needed more therapy practices that were neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed in their approach. Read more>>

Kaitlin Kreczmer

By the time I was 29 years old, I weighed over 250 pounds. And I say over 250 pounds because I had become so ashamed of my size, and my body, that I had stopped weighing myself. I spent most of my life feeling like I was the girl on the outside looking in – never quite having the appearance and body that society said was acceptable or desirable. Society made me feel like I was different, that I didn’t belong. Read more>>

Renee A. Schuls-Jacobson

I suffered a four-year protracted withdrawal as a result of a disastrous tapering experience coming off a commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medication. While recovering from profound neurological harm, I started painting as a way to distract myself from the hundreds of disturbing somatic symptoms associated abrupt cessation of psychiatric drugs. Read more>>

Jamie Washington

I once dreamed of being an attorney. I wanted to be a mix of Thurgood Marshall and Johnnie Cochran. However, after graduating high school, my parents talked me into going to “hair school.” I didn’t particularly like doing hair, I just knew how to. My dad convinced me by saying that it would be a perfect way to earn money while in college. The program was only nine months, so I agreed. After getting my barber-stylist license, I enrolled in Pulaski Technical College and earned my Associate of Arts degree in Paralegal and and Legal Secretary. Read more>>

Frank Kamasz, DC, CSCS, FR, FRC, SFDN-1

For me the defining moment in my career was based on when I found out I was going to be a father. I was very proud of the work I did in the traditional healthcare setting and the help I provided my patients, but my talents were never fully utilized the way I knew they could be. I knew I wanted to be available for my daughter which meant I could no longer prioritize work over personal obligations, I needed to work closer to home, and I needed to be fearless when pursuing my passions. That last part is especially true if I wanted to set the example for her to do the same as she grew up. Read more>>

Joshua A. Kitto

After earning a NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) certification, I went headfirst into applying for jobs as a personal trainer. Common Stone Age lore in fitness states the only way to make it in the beginning stages is to work for a corporate gym. I applied for a position at two different facilities. Read more>>

Christie Schumate

My defining moment came after taking a class on growing my business. Although the class was four hours in length, the one sentence spoken by the presenter that changed my career only took her four seconds to say. She said: “What got you here (the financial or business level you are currently at), won’t get you there (the level you want to get to)”. Those eight, simple words came to life in me. It reminded me of a saying that I had heard many years prior: “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always be where you are right now”.  Read more>>

Deodge Hill

I have been a certified Physician Assistant since 2004. Working in various specialities from general surgery, vascular surgery, trauma, and ENT. I also worked in primary care. After losing my husband, detroit police officer, killed in th e line of duty my career path changed. I went from hospital settings to outpatient. I started working in addiction medicine and eventually partnered with a PA and opened a family practice. After that adventure dissolved I opened a mental health, substance use disorder, and primary care. My goal is to promote health and wellness. Read more>>

Ashley Browning

My story: I was at a place where I was burned out, pouring from an empty cup, and just giving, giving and giving, and 1 day at work as, I was teaching a sexual health class, I heard one of the presenters say that women of color often take care of everyone else before taking care of themselves and it instantly made me want to do something different. I had to PUT ME First. That was the start of my self-care journey. Read more>>

Tiffani Terrell

Before I started my career as an aesthetic nurse injector I worked as a cardiac nurse for nine years. I had always had a passion for aesthetics and had considered switching to aesthetics for many years before I dove into this new type of nursing. It took me so long to make the jump because I loved my job and the overwhelming feeling of healing those in need. I could not have imagined that I would receive that feeling tenfold in my new career. I remember the first patient that cried when I handed her the mirror after her procedure. Read more>>

Emily Fitzpat

Absolutely! My sophomore year of college I was attending Syracuse and pursuing broadcast journalism at the Newhouse School of Public Communication. I totally felt out of my comfort zone – the school was prestigious and I felt like a fraud with no prior journalism experience (TBH Oprah was my inspiration. I loved her show. I loved the human interest stories she highlighted, and the space she created for sharing dynamic human experiences). Read more>>

Jineen R

I am the go-to Mindset Coach + Self-Love Expert for ambitious moms/women who want to alleviate overwhelm & self-neglect by experiencing more peace, wholeness, and confidence. Teaching them how to stop neglecting themselves and incorporate more self-love in their daily lives. This became a defining moment for me when I too had experienced burnout and struggled with these same things in the past. I had gone on a personal mission to regain my peace, live in wholeness, and show up with confidence in every area of my life. Read more>>

 

Michael Omidi

In 2013 we were on a mission trip to treat patients that needed surgical care. Traditionally these missions were focused on children with deformities such as cleft lips and palates. We expanded our services to adult and pediatric patients with tumors of the head and neck, breast cancer, and injuries from burns and trauma. On our very last day we planned to treat a patient, Felisa, with a breast tumor that she had been aware of for 3 years but was not able to get any care. Read more>>

Sharada Devi

The stage was set for me to start supporting folks to take their lives back from chronic pain, and learn to live pain free when I was young. At 21 I sprained my left hip badly while warming up for a dance class. Little did I know the anxiety and depression that I was already struggling with would join forces with this injury, and start a long cycle of chronic pain. For 2 years I limped in and out of doctor’s offices looking for relief, when a doctor told me in no uncertain terms, “you’re going to have osteoarthritis in that hip”. Read more>>

Njideka Olatunde

My defining moment happened when I went to college with the burning desire, I wanted to be a doctor. When I got to college, I received a big eye opener about my definition of a doctor verses what a doctor really did. To me, I saw a doctor as a healer because as a child growing up that’s what I saw doctors do. But the reality was doctors did not heal people. They did tests and gave medication. I immediately knew that I would not make it in the medical field, so I decided to become a social worker. Read more>>