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.

Shannon Brown

I received a Direct Message on social media from a woman I have never met. She found my page through an interview I had with Sarah Jakes Roberts, a popular author and pastor. After following my page and watching a few videos she sent a message detailing the process of a painful divorce and her desire to make a change into a new season of life. Read more>>

Erin Merrihew

There have been a number of defining moments in my career, several of which happened before I even became a coach—but in hindsight, I can see that they were instrumental in shaping my professional path. The first was my choice to leave my undergraduate studies after freshman year and backpack solo through 13 countries in Latin America for 8 months. I was 19 years old at the time. Read more>>

Jessica Karwat

One defining moment of my life was when I realized that I was extremely unhappy at my job at the time. I just finished my studies in business management and marketing and right after I got my first job as a marketing assistant. I was so excited that this was going to be my dream career. No not even a few months in, I realized that this was not it. Read more>>

Cathy Carr

Ive had many defining moments however the one that stands out that change the course of my career was when I was about 38yrs of age. A mum of 2 boys (18mths & 3.5yrs) and working a a 38hr week crammed into 4 days so I didnt have to have the kids in day care every day. I was also teaching group fitness classes, (from 10-15 per week) as well as running a private personal training business. Read more>>

Hanisha Pursley

Beautiful Peace (formally known as Beautiful Peace Nail Studio) began as a full service Nail Salon. I opened the doors to Beautiful Peace back in 2019 and at first, business was going pretty good until Covid had it’s impact on all small businesses including mine. I continued to fight through all of the challenges and tried to continue to build my business, but my nail business continued to take a nose dive. Read more>>

Todd Brozman

When I first moved to New York City over a decade ago, it was an exciting time but also very overwhelming. This was before I had become a massage therapist, and one evening during that period, in an effort to relax and re-center myself, I went and got a massage. It turned out to be a profound experience that blew me away. Read more>>

Limya Harvey

Limya’s Answer: While working as a Team Lead of the Youth Advocates program at Healthy Futures of Texas, I often expressed how important I felt it is to be involved in your community. I suggested volunteering events, provided insight into potential event accommodations for low-income families, and utilized my lived experiences to encourage adapting perspectives. Read more>>

Jeanne Deloughery

I had been teaching Yoga and fitness classes in my local community for several years. I enjoy helping people on the mat, but I had this bigger vision that felt out of reach. I had this dream of connecting with people from all over the world, in community, and spreading the message of how important it is to drop out of the mind and really connect with the body. Read more>>

Michelle Jones

When I was a senior in college, my brother Pete had recently moved back to town and started a master’s degree in industrial engineering. We were 5 siblings and we were all very close. Pete was funny, kind, and light-hearted. He was always the life of the party, aiming to makes others laugh, and was always smiling. Read more>>

Deon Cummings

My defining moment is not technically a moment , but what I do for people and how I am able to use my gifts and passions to help those in need . Whether it’s mental,, spiritual or Physical. I’ve noticed in today’s society how mental illness is very prevalent. When I created DC Fitness I wanted to redefine what Fitness is ! I will have clients who come to me and wanted to look a certain way. Read more>>

Theresa Cramer

I will never forget sitting in the basement of my aunt’s house, I had just turned 31, just gotten a divorce, just survived the worse bout of depression in my life, and was actually living with my aunt – in her basement, and thinking: what in the hell am I going to do with my life. Read more>>

Christine Cocchiola

I began my work as a social justice advocate at the age of 19, becoming a certified domestic abuse sexual assault counselor for the local umbrella agency in Waterbury (Connecticut). Someone I cared deeply for had been a child victim of sexual assault. I could not imagine how she forgave him. And more importantly, I wanted to stop perpetrators from harming our most vulnerable, children. Read more>>

Christina Powell

Becoming a therapist felt like it was always in the cards for me. I was always the person who friends came to for advice and comfort. As I got further along in my career, I worked with all sorts of people – families, children, teens, adults, all by year 2. I also worked in severe mental illness, which taught me more than my fair share of the value of our minds and the way in which mental health can impact not just one person but a whole system. Read more>>

Camille Tenerife

I’m sure that my career will continue to have many different transitions! Embarking on starting my own business stands as one of the pivotal defining moments in my career. For me, it marks the courageous leap from the known confines of employment to the uncharted territory of entrepreneurship. I focused on working with the BIPOC community and made serving this population one of the missions of my practice. Read more>>

Shayne Wells

Throughout college, I had a hand full of curve balls thrown at me that required me to change course. Originally on the path to become a physical therapist, I had always wanted to be involved in either athletics or physical wellness (wanting to help other people), considering majority of my life consisted of playing soccer, to which I was lucky enough to play collegiately on an athletic scholarship. Read more>>

Minie Ramasamy

I still remember that day. The day that led me into a gradual life transformation which still continues today. THE FIRST DEFINING MOMENT The memory is as clear as daylight 20 years ago in Northern Norway. I was a newbie in qigong and tai chi still wet behind my ears. So to learn more, I organized a qigong health workshop for the first time in my town with a guest qigong Master. It was a great turnout, we had a great locality and a successful workshop. Read more>>

Anntonette McEwen

It was the year of 2019 . I was made the matriarch of my family. My mother , uncle, stepdad , 3 aunties, 3 cousins and uncle of my husband all died. We had so many funerals that one year. I didn’t have time to breathe. I wasn’t sure what to do next or how to more. This Devine moment took me from being an family member to being the oldest living member of my family Read more>>

Alexander Zayid

Throughout medical school, students rotate in different fields of medicine to gain an understanding of which specialty they would like to pursue. I found that regardless of the specialty rotation I was on, there was an apathetic attitude towards the signs and symptoms of aging. Whether the complaint was weight gain, lower libido or insomnia, the attending physician would offer more recommendations about settling into their age than solutions to their symptoms. Read more>>

Brian Harris

I have been in practice for almost 20 years as a Cosmetic Dentist and I have always been passionate about what I do but I made a pivot in 2017 that completely changed the trajectory of my career. As I got home from the office one night my wife Maury asked me how my day went and I shared with her that it was a perfect day. Read more>>

Margarett Gabrielson

For several years we both worked together at another local studio to us. We had bigger dreams for ourselves and our community. When COVID hit Monterey County, we had people reaching out to us asking how we could get back together. That moment is when we made the decision to keep our community connections, and that was when Fuel Cycling was born. Read more>>

Heather Wilde

In early 1999 I was studying Neurobiology at Cornell University, and ready to head to the Amazon to complete a research project on the biochemistry of rain forest plants and how indigenous people use them for medicine. It was the second semester of my senior year, I was in love and excited to graduate and begin my life with my boyfriend. Read more>>

Coleen Greco

When my son was 10, he attempted suicide. As you might imagine that brought my family of 4 to our knees and my world was shattered. Initially I did not handle it well, eating and drinking my way up to weights I had not seen since my pregnancies. I hired a nutrition coach to help me regain control of my life. Read more>>