Discover Your Talent–Do What You Love

Claudia Pennington and her husband were reflecting on their past 10 years together and realized they had been living the daily grind without goals, a budget or a plan, and a vague desire to help people. They decided to tackle some massive changes in their lives, starting with eliminating their debt. Claudia is a digital marketing consultant training side hustlers, freelancers and small business ow...

Aaron Walker is unquestionably a veteran entrepreneur. Starting his first business at 18 and selling it to a Fortune 500 company, he started, bought and sold 12 others over the past 37 years. Committed to personal development, he has been in a weekly mastermind group for nearly two decades, with Dave Ramsey, Dan Miller, Ken Abraham and 7 other notable Nashvillians. Today, as president and founder...

From an early age, Marc was good at math and chess. It was no wonder everyone told him he should be an engineer. After getting a degree in computer science, what he learned about himself on the job was he is a "geek who can speak"–an unusual combination that for 22 years let him change jobs every few year, all within the walls of his first employer. Marc's latest endeavor "Career Pivot" uses his e...

Kate Maree O'Brien saw the hospital job posting for a project manager, she admitted to herself it was a long shot. With a confidence she had developed during hard times—and search results from Google—she convinced the hospital to give her a try. It would be a year before she learned why she had been chosen for the job. A visionary global voice for boldness and truth, she has fought for her life tw...

Lolly Daskal's proprietary leadership program, Lead from Within, is based on a mixture of modern philosophy, science and 30 years coaching top executives. It is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world. Lolly was designated a top 50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc magazine. The Hu...

Matt Ruedlinger wanted to be his own boss from the day he started trading baseball cards in his make-believe, backyard store. But it was the 10 years working in sales for someone else that first taught him how to succeed by walking in his customers' shoes. He is now a serial entrepreneur: the founder and CEO of the marketing firm, Triple R Marketing; president of Jones Caramels; and founder and a...

Lisa Tarves talked to angels as a child. Not until years later did she learn generations of her family members shared similar gifts. In fact, her father had learned to harness his own gifts to rise through the ranks of a major corporation. Could she accept and use her gifts in adulthood and the workplace?  As co-founder of Writestream Radio and Writestream Publishing, she is a bestselling author o...

Jeff McManus grows things. As the Director of Landscape Services at the University of Mississippi, he grows plants, people and ideas. Faced with a multimillion dollar landscape beautification project, a demand for excellence, high productivity and a stagnant budget, Jeff knew that growing the people was critical to growing the plants. Understanding that all humans either have or strive for the inn...

Danny Iny compares the crash of his dream start-up to the painful breakup of a relationship. "As an entrepreneur, your identity is deeply invested in your work." In hindsight, he can say, "Sometimes the rebound turns out to be the one." He sees the irony of being a high school dropout who is passionate about providing business education. He has a soft spot for helping entrepreneurs succeed. Togeth...

Meghan Toups found her life as a professional counselor mostly gratifying and rewarding, but she could also sense burnout approaching. By caring for herself first, she opened doors to a whole new life of service and joy. Self-healing led the way. "People feel better, faster when they begin to heal utilizing a whole person approach." This led her to focus on teaching others how to balance mood, str...

Steve Olsher, a 25-year entrepreneur, is the chairman and founder of liquor.com. He's also a New York Times bestselling author of "What is Your What? Discover the One Amazing Thing You Were Born to Do." Steve is the author of the business technology book of the year, "Internet Profits: The World's Leading Experts Reveal How to Profit Online," host of the number one rated radio show, Podcast Reinve...

Vanessa Gaboleiro was sitting on her couch in Lisbon, Portugal, when she looked closely at her life. "It seemed amazing, from the outside. I had everything I needed, but I had nothing." Later, she would see that moment as the second major turning point in her life. Today she is a transformation mentor who works with positive and empowered women in their 20s and 30s in recreating their lives after...

Steve Ozanich learned for himself that chronic and acute pain can take over a sufferer's life and leave him demoralized. He hit rock bottom with back pain and multiple symptoms that kept returning. Bedridden, he read a book that helped him banished his pain and profoundly changed the direction of his entire career. Over the past 16 years, drawing on his own experiences, the work of John E. Sarno, ...

Damion Lupo is dedicated to disrupting Wall Street by getting people off the stock market roller coaster and in control of their own financial future. An entrepreneur at heart, Damion started his first business at age 11, and has started 30 more since. He is the founder of his own martial art, Yokido ™, and holder of three other black belts. He has also written five books with two more being relea...

Tracey Minutolo, like many young people, brought her college loans and credit card debt with her as she headed for new work on the west coast. When her employer reduced everyone's salary by 20%, she took charge and entered a debt management program. Three years later, finally coming out of debt, she vowed not to slide backwards. Today she is a financial freedom fighter and side hustle coach. She h...

Paul Lamar Hunter had a good job at Chrysler. Then he heard the plant was closing. At age 40, he wondered where he would go next. His union rep gave him some great news that totally changed the outlook for him and his entire extended family. Paul beat the odds against poor kids being less likely to obtain a college education. As the 19th child out of 21 natural children, he became the first in his...

Anna Cragin is the Productivity Advisor at Freeficiency. She teaches online entrepreneurs how to improve their mindset, reduce anxiety, and design their ideal life through effective time management. Anna has a Ph. D. in cognitive neuroscience, and applies brain and behavior research to design ways to work with and around our brains to reach our goals in business and in life.  

Edna Keep never thought just talking to people was a natural talent. "I thought, since it was so easy for me, everybody must be good at it." Learning how her natural talents distinguish her has been the key to success after success.  As a real estate entrepreneur, investment advisor, coach and trainer, she helps people create passive income. With $47MM in real estate assets—built in eight years pr...

Blake Brandes loved his dissertation topic—hip-hop and global youth cultures—but was stuck in writing this crucial paper toward earning his Ph. D. His advisor suggested he create a rap album as a last chapter, so he did. A review committee member wrote on his paper that he had never before had the pleasure of reviewing a dissertation that you could dance to. Dr. Brandes is co-founder of the person...

Cloris Kylie, Marketing MBA, helps coaches, speakers, consultants, authors, and skilled practitioners to build authority and attract the right clients so that they create a business that produces positive impact and growing revenue. She focuses on carefully selecting influencers who are compatible with your values and goals, then building relationships with them and adding value. "That doesn't mea...

Susan Peirce Thompson had been a straight-A student who wanted to go to Harvard, when she found herself in a crack house, where she'd been for four days. "I had a moment of clarity, when I saw who and where I was. I knew if I didn't get out of there—right then—that's all I was ever going to be." A Ph. D. today, she is a psychology professor, a brain and cognitive scientist, and an expert in the ps...

Alex Charfen had felt like an outsider as far back as he could remember. There was no shortage of diagnoses and labels to add to Alex's feelings of not fitting in. But one of his traits led him to dig deeply into history and into the biographies of other outsiders. Not only was he not alone, he discovered he was part of a tribe that is uniquely gifted to change the world, starting with his own.

Dr. Tom Tavantzis offers his expert view of the power of knowing your talent early in life – through high school, college and beyond. Research shows personality and natural abilities are largely formed by age three. These key traits are hard-wired at birth. Self-knowledge gained while young can guide choices about education, career and life planning best suited to natural abilities.

Mary Hyatt was like millions of others, struggling with her weight and juggling prescription medications. Even switching to organic, locally grown foods did not solve her health issues. It was time she got brutally honest with herself and found a long-term solution. Mary believes every person has the ability to create the life that they love. She is on a quest to live a life full of gratitude, joy...

Rob Skrob quickly saw life as a CPA was not for him, even though it offered the job security his parents wanted for him. Still, he had to support himself, so he took a job as a bookkeeper. Little did he imagine that this job would open up a whole new world that he didn't even know existed. The company's owner taught him a new way to view customers and clients, and Rob built a career on those princ...