Drown the Noise

They believed in their business so much so, that they packed up their family and moved around the world to bring their vision to life. Founder of social enterprise and global lifestyle brand, Thankful, Kim McDonnell and her husband spent many years just trying to trademark the concept. Their mission: tapping into the science of positive psychology, Thankful creates opportunities to provide Thankful Moments via an innovative busines...

It’s amazing to see couples blend their creative talents to create a thriving company, while still maintaining their own interests. JP and Kirsten McCrea have managed to do just that as partners in business and life. When they met, they were both working on their own creative pursuits – Kirsten had her own business as a muralist and artists, as well as founding Papirmass on her own, while JP was a teacher, design professional and w...

Clinton Bopp knew from an early age that he loved art. It was almost as if he was born with the talent. But he never thought he'd make a career out of being an artist. It just wasn't practical.

And to be honest, the career kind of happened a bit by chance. He couldn't afford to go to art school, so he decided to take a job teaching art in America. Which was a far cry from his New Zealand roots. Once he got to the states, he just ne...

Before founding her own sustainable fashion company, Kirsten Dickerson was working as an art director in the film world, as well as holding various jobs within the global non-profit leadership realm. Raven and Lily's origins began with Kirsten calling together some of her friends in the L.A design scene to create a non-profit focused on offering women a more sustainable livelihood within the fashion industry.

They wanted to help gu...

Do you think that if you lived with less that you would be happier? This was the questions Cait Flanders posed to herself a few years back. Not one to shy away from setting personal challenges, she decided to do a self-imposed shopping ban for a year.

All she could buy were necessities, like groceries, toiletries and gas for her car. Everything else - including coffee- were off limits. And she will be the first to tell you that it ...

These two were destined to create positive and lasting change in the world.

They may not have always been personally aligned; but essentially, their values and morals were the same. Cassandra worked in development, while Edison toiled away in investment banking and consulting for companies working in developing regions.

Eventually, they realized that their visions were intertwined, and what was once a friendship, blossomed into a r...

Ben Brown wasn't always super political. He was political in the sense that he got out to vote, but that was about it. He wasn't one to vocalize his political opinion to friends or family.

Until one day he couldn't get this idea out of his head. He recognized that there wasn't a lobbying voice out there for young Americans, and so he began thinking about what that might look like if there was an group that would fight for youth on ...

Mary Neely grew up in the entertainment industry. Not only is she a native of L.A; but both of her parents also worked in the industry. So she's no stranger to the glitz and glam of it all. From an early age she wanted to be an actress. She got her B.A. in acting + Scandinavian culture from UCLA's School of Theater, Film & Television, wrote a screenplay that became a top 40 finalist in The Academy's Nicholl Fellowship and then wrot...

Samatha Paige has had her fair share of 'bad' things happen to her in her lifetime. Enough to make a person ask "why me?" over and over again. But instead of dwelling on that, Samantha has turned her own heartache and trauma into something that's released her truth and vulnerability.

After being diagnosed with cancer at 21 and then told she had the BRCA1 gene in 2008, Samantha decided to take matters into her own hands. Those exper...

Ashley didn't always want to be a baker. In fact, her pastry class in college really frustrated her. She actually wanted to be a chef. But life had other plans for her and her creative heart.

After working for many years as a line cook and sous chef, she realizes that her creative side was being stifled. So she tested out her abilities at a chocolate shop, and eventually at various high end dining establishments around Toronto as a...

Not dissimilar to a lot of health professionals, Meghan found nutrition and a love for cooking slightly out of necessity. When she was in her early 20s, she was headed down the corporate path, and pretty stressed out. At that time, her doctor also diagnosed her with crohn's disease. Armed with the knowledge that she would never be rid of the disease - according to Western medicine - Meghan decided to do her own research and investi...

When you have the travel bug, it's almost impossible to shake it. For Tracy Komlos, her love for travel began at an early age, thanks to her parents who valued experiences over things. At the age of 19, she took off on a solo-volunteer trip to India and immediately realized that she wanted to build a life around travel. But how?

She studied communications and history in University, quickly coming to the conclusion that she didn't w...

There are those of us that do good in the world and then there are those who make it their life mission to invoke positive change by creating movements. We known them as change-makers.

Alexis Jones is one of those people. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be an activist. She may not have known how or what that would look like; but that didn't matter. In University, when she felt like her female friends and her didn't re...

Melanie always wanted to be a doctor. She was going down that path, studying for hours and focusing all her energy on getting into that profession. But as life often does, she was thrown a few curve balls and her plans changed, setting her on a different path. And she's thankful it did.

She had been volunteering and doing placements in hospitals, and what really struck her was how stressed out and exhausted everyone was. Even thoug...

Negative self-talk can take you down a dangerous and toxic path, if you let it. It can lead you to meet the wrong people. Open the doors to jobs that don't serve your highest self. And make you think that you're unworthy of happiness and love.

That's exactly what happened to Gillian B. But she found the strength within herself through yoga, meditation, spirituality and mentorship, to make the necessary positive changes in her life,...

Life has a funny way of working out. When you have a passion and a desire to learn and grow, it's amazing who we get connected to and the opportunities that present itself.

In Taylor's case, he never really dreamed of becoming a famous surf filmmaker. He just loved to surf and hang out with his buddies. He realized at an early age that he probably wasn't going to make the surf tour; but that he passion lied in documenting the exper...

Do you worry about money and your future? Are you constantly blaming yourself when you work hard, but then go and splurge on something you probably didn't need?

I'm sure this is everyone. And the blame game, guilty conscience is a real thing when it comes to our finances. There's the whole 'work hard, play hard' mentality; but that could be dangerous if taken literally. You may not have enough money to live in the end. Especially i...

Life doesn't always turn out how we plan. And that's OK, because everything we do is a learning experience. When Christina Hug moved from Toronto to San Francisco to work in the tech and startup field, she hustled to land a 'dream job.' The experience and knowledge she gained from that career opportunity was invaluable; but it was also leading to burnout and a lack of social life.

To counter that feeling, she made a pack with herse...

You know those people who have always wanted to be an entrepreneur? Those people who only talk about the businesses they've built or are building? Well, Tim Cormode was never that guy. This was not the path he thought he'd be on.

He always wanted to help people and make an impact in some way. He knew he wasn't destined for a shiny office or the corporate world; but beyond that awareness, he didn't really have it figured out.

With a...