FailCraft

What do you do when you are handed a billion-dollar responsibility that you are entirely unqualified for, simply because no one else in the room wants to do it? Larry O'Nan is a non-profit consultant and author who has helped organizations raise over $150 million globally. But his staggering career wasn't built on having all the answers. In 1977, Larry was sitting in a high-stakes meeting...

What do you do when the corporate identity you spent 15 years building is stripped away in a single meeting? Andre W. Thornton was a high-flying engineering director at Lockheed Martin, overseeing 2,000 people and capturing billions in business. But a sudden corporate reorganization left him without a title, a team, or a trajectory. Plunged into a massive identity crisis, Andre had to learn how to...

What happens when your absolute certainty as a leader becomes the exact thing that destroys your business? Tyler Chisholm is the CEO of clearmotive, a national marketing agency, and the author of *Curious as Hell*. But before he was running a thriving firm and hosting over 600 podcast episodes, he was surviving on $1,200 in Los Angeles, literally washing his dishes in a bathtub. Years later, he ne...

What do you do when the corporate ladder you've been climbing is the exact thing making you terminally ill? Simon Luthi spent years chasing the standard definition of success, climbing to the top as a C-suite executive. But his body began pulling the emergency brake—resulting in three near-death experiences, a paralyzing autoimmune disease, and a devastating cancer diagnosis. Simon realized th...

What do you do when you discover that your quiet, dignified father spent his childhood trapped in a Polish brothel? Shirley Novack was told by a teacher at age nine that she would be a great writer. But growing up in a highly negative household where her parents told her college was "a waste of time and money for a girl," Shirley buried that dream. She spent decades pursuing other paths—...

What do you do when the drive that built your multi-million dollar company is actively destroying your health? Craig Cooke started his digital agency in 1996 with just $1,300 and an Apple computer. Over a 26-year marathon as CEO, he grew the company into an Inc. 5000 powerhouse. But behind closed doors, the grueling schedule and relentless pressure led to extreme burnout and a full-on diabetes dia...

What do you do when you’ve climbed the ladder in a high-profile broadcast television career, only to realize you are completely running on empty? Michael Klassen spent years as a veteran broadcast producer, chasing the next big story in the fast-paced, high-stress world of news and sports. But despite the external accolades, he felt a deep hunger for truth and spiritual filling that a corporate ne...

What do you do when you are days away from moving back home, drowning in debt, and sharing a two-bedroom apartment with 20 other people? You fake a resume and bluff your way into the television industry. Gary DeFranco is an Emmy-nominated television executive producer who has spent two decades running hit reality shows like *The Ultimate Fighter* and Street Outlaws. But before he was navigating th...

What do you do when the career you’ve dedicated 30 years of your life to fires you in the exact same week you are diagnosed with breast cancer? Kay A. Oliver spent three decades as a screenwriter and producer in Hollywood, only to be repeatedly told by studio executives that her highly intelligent, female-driven stories were "unmarketable." When a devastating cancer diagnosis cost her bo...

What happens when you spend 30 years sacrificing your own happiness to take care of everyone else, only to wake up at age 50 and realize you have absolutely no hopes or dreams of your own? Debbie Weiss is a best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur who spent decades trapped in a profound victim mentality. Overwhelmed by family caregiving, weight struggles, and unimaginable grief, Debbie’s int...

What happens when you keep your head down, work harder than everyone else, and wait patiently for a promotion—only for your boss to tell you they completely "forgot" about you? Kendall Berg, known online as "That Career Coach," spent five years stuck in "corporate purgatory." She was a high-performer doing the work of a director with the title of a manager, but she ke...

What if your financial struggles have nothing to do with your ability to do math, and everything to do with your unhealed childhood trauma? Bob Wheeler sits at the unique intersection of finance and funny. By day, he is a CPA and the CFO of the world-famous Comedy Store in Hollywood. By night, he is a stand-up comic and a somatic therapist. But despite his professional credentials, Bob openly admi...

What does it take to sell a business successfully, and why do so many founders leave tens of millions of dollars on the table at the finish line? Eric D. Coonrod is a 20-year veteran investment banker who has originated and executed over a hundred mergers, acquisitions, and capital transactions. Now the founder of E. Coonrod & Co. and the author of *The Preparation Principle*, Eric knows that...

What happens when you reach the pinnacle of your career as a Chief Science Officer, only to have your global organization dismantled overnight? Dr. Lizette Warner is a neuroscientist and executive coach who spent over 20 years leading high-performing teams in high-pressure environments. But despite her expertise in human biology, she hit a wall of stress that left her with sleepless nights and hea...

What happens when you spend months building the "perfect" technical solution, only to realize nobody actually needs it? Bill Shander is an information designer and educator who has reached over 2 million students on LinkedIn Learning. After 30 years of navigating complex projects for organizations like Harvard and Stanford, Bill discovered a massive professional failure mode: The Failure...

What happens when you spend 30 years building a business only to realize you’ve been leaving your wealth on the table every single day? Craig Morningstar is a serial entrepreneur, seasoned C-level executive, and exit planning expert who has spent over three decades helping business owners build—and more importantly, keep—their wealth. From standing in front of a school gym at age 10 to save his sc...

What happens when you do everything you were supposed to do—get the safe job, buy the house, start a family—but find yourself completely dead inside? Sean McManus is a Christian Men's Strength and Nutrition Coach who spent eight years trapped in the corporate grind. He hit a wall of burnout and "quiet dissatisfaction," realizing that while he was succeeding on paper, he was failing i...

What happens when your decades of clinical training as a therapist and social worker completely fail you in the face of your own tragedy? Dr. Sheila K. Collins has spent 40 years helping others navigate life’s toughest transitions. But her most profound expertise was forged in the fire of losing two of her adult children—a son to AIDS and a daughter to breast cancer. Instead of collapsing, Dr. She...

What do you do when your career collapses, you're navigating a Zoom divorce, and you suddenly find yourself raising three young boys alone in a small apartment during a global pandemic? Bridget Hom didn’t just survive the "Reinvention Evolution of 2020"—she used the chaos to launch a thriving business. A top mindset coach, best-selling author, and creator of The PrOp Method, Bridget...

What do you do when you’ve climbed the corporate ladder, served in leadership at your church, and look like the "picture of success"—but you’re privately using alcohol to survive the day? Rose Ann Forte is an international best-selling author and the creator of the Choose Freedom Program. For years, she maintained a perfect facade while navigating a toxic marriage and intense career pres...

What do you do when you’ve spent 30 years holding the microphone, reporting on other people’s worst days, only to find yourself as the lead story on the evening news? Beth McDonough is a duPont Columbia and Emmy award-winning investigative reporter who covered tragedies like 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the death of Prince. But her life took a devastating turn when two DUIs led to a public...

What do you do when the voice you’ve used your entire life to teach, sing, and communicate suddenly stops working? Eileen Meehan was a passionate special education teacher and a lifelong choir singer. Her voice was her livelihood, her spiritual expression, and a core pillar of her identity. But then she began to struggle to speak. Eventually diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia—a rare, incurable neu...

What do you do when you pour your blood, sweat, and tears into a launch, only to hear absolute crickets from the market? Eric B. Horn is a business operations expert who has spent over a decade helping entrepreneurs turn chaos into clarity. But his expertise didn't come from a textbook—it came from launching ideas that met silence and having to rebuild his own business from the ground up. Toda...

Why do 70% of small businesses fail, and how can you ensure yours isn't one of them? Bryan Wetzel is the definition of a serial entrepreneur. From editing high-profile murder trial videos and working the 1996 Olympics to launching education startups and owning restaurants, Bryan has seen the "messy middle" of success from every angle. He survived a near-death car wreck that reshaped...

What do you do when your noble, selfless profession requires you to completely sacrifice your own identity to keep others alive? Kevin Jackson, better known as Kevie The Dreamer, spent 15 years working as a nurse. While he was dedicating his life to caring for patients at their absolute lowest moments, he was quietly neglecting his own passions. After a brutal season of intense hospital burnout co...