FailCraft

Whatdo you do when a sudden injury during your senior year of college completelyderails your path as an engineering student and Air Force ROTC cadet—leavingyou with a chronic, invisible disability? DavisBain is a neurofeedback specialist,chronic condition advocate, and author of Chronic Pain Warrior: Practical Help and Everyday Hope for ChronicPain, Illness, Injury . Living with post-concussion sy...

Whathappens when an educator trained in anatomy and biology loses her first-bornson to opioid addiction, discovering that grief physically mirrors the exactstages of pregnancy? KatieRizzo holds master's degrees from YaleUniversity and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, having taughtbiology and anatomy for 15 years. In September 2024, her life was upended bythe loss of her son, Nich...

Whatif pushing your resume, credentials, and degrees online is the exact reasonpotential clients keep passing you over for competitors? AndrewColsky is the founder of Be-Picked , creator of the Credibility Generator , and author of Left of Trust . As a former trial attorney and mentalhealth professional, Andrew spent years learning the hard way that simplygetting found online isn't enough to b...

Whatdo you do when you lose your father at 14 and your mother in your mid-twenties,leaving you completely unparented without a roadmap for life? RobertDelFave is a specialized grief coach,host of the Carried Forward podcast (formerly Unparented ), and author of the upcoming book The Other Side of This: The Messy Truth About Grief for Teens .For nearly two decades after his losses, Robert tried to...

Whathappens when you spend 20 years leading people strategy through hyper-growth, brutalcorporate layoffs, and executive crises—only to hit a wall of severe C-suiteburnout yourself? OksanaLukash is a former Chief People Officer,culture architect, and executive advisor. Immigrating to the US from Moscow atage 13, Oksana learned early how to navigate uncertainty. Becoming a singlemother at 24 while...

Whathappens when the exact traits that made you successful—relentless discipline,high performance, and pushing past limits—end up destroying your physicalhealth and leaving you bedridden for a decade? NancyDeyo is a former Silicon Valley CEO,Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow, and author of the forthcomingmemoir Perilous Ascent . When her high-profile tech startupfailed, she sought re...

What do you do whenevery pillar of your life implodes all at once—moving across continents as asingle parent, losing your job in a freezing foreign climate, and swallowingyour pride to take an entry-level position? Dr. Khutso Madubanya is an international change strategist,economist, author, and transformational speaker who has lived and worked acrosseight different countries. After experiencing a...

Whathappens when a top neuroscientist with 30 years of brain research lives throughthe paralyzing reality of chronic anxiety—only to find that traditionalmedications fail when needed most? Dr. Troy Rohn is a neuroscientist,professor, co-founder of the biotech company Cognigenics, and author of Brain Medicine . Having authored over 80 peer-reviewedpublications on neurobiology and Alzheimer's, D...

Whathappens when you spend your days ghostwriting for top business leaders inForbes and Harvard Business Review, only to discover that underneath thecorporate polish lies deep, quiet spiritual desperation? WandaThibodeaux is a professionalghostwriter, author, trauma survivor, and host of the Faithful on the Clock podcast. While craftinghigh-level communications for corporate executives, Wanda was...

Whatdoes it take to lose everything—your business, home, and savings—and rebuild a$2.5M in-person fitness empire that defies the modern industry's digital churn? TimBeynon is an entrepreneur, businessstrategist, and the founder of EliteLadies Kickboxing, Dance and Yoga . Defying the fitness industry'sobsession with cheap transactions and online subscriptions, Tim built one ofthe fastest-gr...

Whathappens when you spend 40 years building a $700 billion global movementspanning 85 countries—only to realize the planet is still degrading, yourmarriage has collapsed, and your physical body is broken? DavidGottfried is a Stanford-trainedengineer, founder of the U.S. GreenBuilding Council (USGBC) and the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), and author of Regen360: An Operating System for a...

Whatdo you do when you have a respectable career in social work and healthcaretechnology, but realize your true calling lies in crafting character-drivenfiction? ChristinaBraver holds a Master’s degree inclinical psychology and spent years navigating high-stakes environments beforepivoting to become a self-published romance author. Walking away from a securecorporate paycheck after a pandemic layo...

Whathappens when your thriving business collapses overnight, leaving you withmassive debt, a failing marriage, and an autism diagnosis for your child—allwhile facing judgment from those closest to you? MridulaAgarwal is an energy scientist, traumarecovery expert, and founder of iReAwake .After her food wellness venture, SoulCare Hospitality, shut down—resulting insevere debt and isolation—she real...

Whatdoes it take to survive a childhood marked by neglect, hunger, and homelessnessin Italy, immigrate to the US as a young adult, and rise to become a topinternational sales leader for tech giants like Xerox and Apple? LaurettaZucchetti is a speaker, author, andexpert in transpersonal psychology. After overcoming severe early trauma andstepping into male-dominated corporate environments, Lauretta...

Whathappens when a Stanford-educated attorney, trained in medical malpractice anddisability law, spends two decades physically disabled from amedication-induced injury she was never warned about? EllenLubensky is an attorney, legal scholar,and relentless patient advocate. After developing severe tardive dyskinesiafrom psychiatric prescriptions given without meaningful informed consent, Ellentruste...

Whathappens when you leave a 15-year career as a police detective managinglife-or-death situations, only to step into corporate boardrooms plagued byexecutive dysfunction, hesitation, and zero accountability? MurraySmith is a certified EOS Implementer®,co-founder of Independent Executives , and an MIT MBA graduate. Afterspending 15 years with Victoria Police handling high-stakes investigations,Mur...

Whatdo you do when the carefully crafted veneer of your "perfect" lifeshatters overnight in a public news story—and your attempt to keep going onlytraps you in survival mode? KarenPeters is a resilience speaker, lifecoach, and former high school counselor with over 25 years in education. Afterher ex-husband's arrest exposed her family to public scrutiny, Karen coped byfalling into &q...

Whatif a life-altering mental health diagnosis isn't a permanent label orlimitation, but a wake-up call to heal deep-seated generational trauma? MaraJ. James is an author, mental healthadvocate, and founder of the ExtraordinaryLives Foundation (ELF). At 48, Mara experienced a severe manicepisode and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Already navigating family lifewhile raising children with...

Whatdoes it actually take to raise boys into grounded, emotionally resilient men ina modern culture that constantly misdefines masculinity? ShaunDawson is a tech leader, husband, fatherof two, and founder of the RaisingMen podcast. Like many fathers, Shaun found himself overwhelmed bythe conflicting messages surrounding manhood today—from toxic bravado to thedismissal of traditional masculine virt...

Whatdoes it take to transition from the steady paycheck and structured chain ofcommand in the Marine Corps and law enforcement into the cutthroat,commission-only world of luxury real estate? ShaunGuardanapo is a United States MarineCorps veteran, former law enforcement officer, and Managing Broker at The Agency Reno . Ranking in the top 1% of producerswith over $100 million in career sales across...

Whatdo you do when your fast-paced career, doctoral studies, and communityleadership leave you completely exhausted—and your past setbacks feel like theyare defining your future? VencheleSaint Dic is a public health leader,author, writing coach, and founder of MESFAMI Care Inc. and Pathway Coach Writing . Currently pursuing her Doctoratein Public Health Leadership (DrPH), Venchele has spent over a...

Whatif pushing yourself to succeed is actually destroying your biological capacityto lead? RachaelEdmondson-Clarke is a leadershippsychology and human performance consultant, executive coach, and formerRegional President of the Professional Speaking Association (UK & Ireland).After over two decades climbing corporate ranks in global blue-chip firms,Rachael hit an absolute breaking point, colla...

Whathappens when a 50-year-old vehicle assembly plant closes down right in front ofyour eyes, leaving hundreds of workers in tears—and changing how you viewleadership forever? KathyMiller is an executive operationsstrategist, independent board director, Women in Manufacturing Hall of Fameinductee, and author of MORE IsBetter . Starting her career on the factory floor at age 17, Kathyrose to lead m...

Whatif your bright, capable child isn't failing school because of laziness or alack of motivation, but because their brain simply lacks the underlyingexecutive functioning skills to initiate tasks, control impulses, and managedaily life? Dr. Norrine Russell is an expert in ADHD, autism, and executive functioning, and thefounder of Russell Coaching —the largest student coaching practice in the...

Whatif the secret to navigating global chaos and healing systemic dysfunctionbegins with the person staring back at you in the mirror? KateHeartsong is an author, speaker,confidence coach, and energy practitioner who transformed the heavy weight ofchildhood trauma into a lifelong mission of empowerment. She is the author of Humanity's Cry for Change and Deeply We Are One . Operating on the bel...