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.

Dr. Adriane Knorr

There was a defining moment early in my career that fundamentally solidified the importance of how I practice medicine. I was seeing a young woman suffering with years of debilitating pelvic pain, fatigue, and digestive symptoms, and so much more. She had seen multiple providers, undergone countless tests, and been told “everything looks normal.” Her frustration and hopelessness were palpable. Read more>>

Franck Joly

After 20+ years in dermatology, plastic surgery, and medical-grade skin care, I’ve tried almost everything for skin rejuvenation. One treatment stands above the rest for its safety, results, and cost-effectiveness: medical micro-needling. Read more>>

Kelsey Chittick

My life changed suddenly on 11/11/2017. After my husband passed away suddenly in front of my kids, everything turned upside down and I didn’t know how we would survive. Early on in this experinece, I knew I had a choice. Would this experience break me or could it possibly also change us for the better? When Nate died, I stayed with my current corporate job for about 6 months, and then decided something had to change. So I began to write a book about my experience. I wanted to learn how to survive hard things, and what tools we would need to get through one of life’s most devastating moments. Read more>>

Sierra Werner Rachael Reid

The year was 2020 and nothing major was going on in the world… Rachael and I were working together at a 20 year OG massage studio in Nashville, locally owned, well known, very busy and fully staffed with a close knit team. During those first few months when the world was closed, I think we were all contemplating life, priorities, and trajectory. With that came the opportunity for the business owner we worked for to retire after 20 years, like what great timing to close that chapter after so long. So Rachael and I have this team of phenomenal therapists, a long list of clients that are in desperate need of bodywork, and this demand for a safe space in our community for human touch, healing, and peace. Read more>>

Courtney Ihaza

One of the most defining moments in my journey happened in Cavite, Philippines, during a study abroad trip in 2018. I was shadowing a midwife in a rural clinic—just her, my trip guide, and me—when we supported a woman through labor and birth. I didn’t know it then, but that moment would shift everything for me. Read more>>

Lori Reese Spivey

After working for many years in corporate America I experienced a traumatic brain injury and was reduced to darkness. My frontal lobe processing had been impacted and I was unable to process any visual or auditory stimulation. After fifteen months of neurologist, psychologist, and forensic neuro psychologist, along with a cocktail of medications, the medical world pronounced me, “as good as I was going to achieve.” The doctor explained how my critical thinking skills had been impacted and I would no longer be considered a high functioning individual. Read more>>

Debbie Cassidy

I had always been an outdoor person, especially enjoying the activities the mountains of Colorado offers. In the early 1990’s I was brought to a halt in my activities when I developed severe asthma. I could not run, hike, bike, or climb the “14er’s” (mountain peaks over 14,000 ft in altitude). I couldn’t even walk over a few hundred feet without the aid of an inhaler. After a few years I was depressed and disillusioned with health care for lack of a cure of better solution for my condition. I should mention that I had been in health care as a nurse for almost 20 years, and my disillusionment was a bit more pronounced because of my “medical:” knowledge. Read more>>

Sophia Lorin

I started my career in wellness as a personal trainer after being a student athlete. I enjoyed seeing people achieve their goals from losing weight to being approved for IVF. It genuinely felt like I found a way to make a lasting impact for people. I was then introduced to yoga by the owner of a loving studio who said that it would diversify my skills and make me more marketable. I had never taken a yoga class so my first time on a yoga mat was in Yoga Teacher Training. She allowed me to try the class one week before I agreed and I was taken aback by the mindful practices and emotion that came from practicing yoga in that first week. Read more>>

Stevie Bowen

I became a dating coach because of a stranger at a party. At the time, I was already 3 years into building my dating wellness platform, The City of Dating, which consisted of a weekly dating advice column where I shared dating tips and advice. Not only was it inspired by my personal dating life, but also the conversations I had with singles in New York City.  Read more>>