Anything But Typical

“Entrepreneurship is scary as well as compelling in a weird way.” – Shay Prosser That’s the quiet admission of someone who’s lived the tension of building something that matters—between fear & purpose, risk & reward—and kept moving anyway. Shay started in chaos: a newborn on the floor, the economy unraveling, & a business idea that couldn’t wait for permission. It wasn’t perfect timing; it was purpose knocking early. ...

“I don’t give advice to my kids. I lead by example.” – Mark Fujiwara Mark’s compass isn’t a slogan on a wall—it’s lived. Born to a Japanese father and Chinese mother, he grew up between two worlds that both valued humility, presence, & community. ✨Wabi-sabi: embrace the cracks & fill them with gold. ✨Ichigo ichie: the sacredness of one moment. ✨Kaizen: one small improvement, every day. ✨Ikigai: doing work that gives lif...

“I don’t take no for an answer, & I’m kind of a warrior for kids in foster care.” – Susanna Kavanaugh That line doesn’t come from a podium. It comes from a mom who’s loved, lost, & chosen to love again. At 18, Susanna placed a child for adoption, a wound so deep it could have ended her story. Instead, it fueled her purpose—to shoulder the ache of kids in broken systems & fight to change their stories. Years later, s...

“You have an opportunity to take your natural skills and put ’em in a place that they aren’t naturally found.” – Rob Norris That’s not advice. That’s a dare. Because it’s easy to keep your talents where they stack neatly, to stay in the aisle with the labels facing forward. Safe. Predictable. Comfortable. Rob refused the shelf. He dropped sales skills into technology. Made early websites usable before usability was a word. ...

“I am staying.” – Jack Barsky Three words on a dirt road. Three words that ended one life & cemented another. Three words that turned a mission into a calling. Because by the time Moscow ordered this KGB agent home, Jack wasn’t just a spy with a cover story. He was a college valedictorian, a successful corporate executive, a father raising a little girl who’d stolen his heart. Piece by piece, he had built a life in America. ...

“I became an American & said goodbye to them [the KGB].” – Jack Barsky Sounds like the opening line of a spy thriller. Except this one’s real. For a decade, Jack lived undercover in the U.S. as a KGB agent. His mission wasn’t excitement. No tuxedos. No martinis. Just the discipline to disappear — and never get caught. And he did it so well that he not only avoided capture — he built a whole new life. A college valedictoria...

"I thought my calling was to be a Catholic priest." – Ryan Monk It wasn’t a whim. Ryan devoted years — undergrad, master’s, a year of theology in seminary — to answering what he believed was his life’s purpose. But somewhere along the way, a quiet unease began to grow. His head said priesthood but his heart whispered his gifts might belong in a different kind of service — one with a family at the center & a new way of walkin...

“That’d be impossible… unless?” – Andrew James

How do you respond when life throws a punch?

If you’re like most people, when you hit a wall, you just push harder—longer hours, more stress, hoping brute force will somehow get you through.

If you’re like Andrew, you stop. Take a breath. And then ask the simple question that’s carried him through every tough season: “What would have to be true for this to work?”

That single question h...

“It’s me just wanting freedom… freedom to make my own choices & live life on my terms.” - Ron Weatherly Ron didn’t start his waterproofing company, Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists, with a business plan, angel investors, or even a clue how to fix a foundation. He started with a crawlspace, raw knees, whatever tools he could scrounge, & a spark of rebellion. Because he knew what he didn’t want… Another layoff...

"I’m not in charge… & it’s a really nice feeling.” – David Amigo Most entrepreneurs chase control. David finds peace in letting go. Because when you’ve been a factory scab at 11, a product manager slinging cookies in your 20s, & a minority owner pushed out of your own family’s business — you learn fast: control is an illusion. What isn’t? Character. Integrity. Showing up. Doing the next right thing, even when the plan ...

"Business… is the best way for me to reach my full potential & see who I can become." – Behdad Jamshidi (Bee) Growing up doing math drills at the kitchen table, Bee didn’t dream. Structure, discipline, grit—that was his operating system. When he became an engineer, it wasn’t out of passion. It was logic. A clear, safe path. But underneath it all? A relentless curiosity & yearning for connection were quietly simmering. ...

"Vanilla is a great flavor." – Austin Palmer Austin may have raised some eyebrows as a kid at 31 Flavors, but he’s always known one thing: flashy doesn’t equal better. So, whether he’s picking ice cream or building financial portfolios, his approach is the same: Simple. Steady. No sprinkles required. His path started predictably—son of a CPA, became a CPA, climbed the ladder at Morgan Stanley & Merrill Lynch. He never cha...

“I take people as a story… I can see their higher self before they can.” – Carlos Salum Carlos grew up under Argentina’s military dictatorship—surrounded by uncertainty, but also by entrepreneurs, poets, and principled people who knew how to thrive despite it. That tension didn’t crush him. It sharpened his vision—so much so that, by adulthood, traditional paths like law & medicine felt like cages, not callings. So he did w...

“I want to know what I'm capable of… but I'm not an adrenaline junkie. I just want to know how far I can take it—because I want to know what my greatest potential is.” – Perry Gladstone At 8, Perry was selling comic books at flea markets. At 15, he opened a skateboard shop that pulled in $100K that summer. By 24, he launched a snowboard company in his kitchen that became Canada’s biggest—& sold it before he turned 30. But it...

"If I can be good about business, & I can do my business well—but then also care about my people & have that noticed in the marketplace—that’s way more important to me." – Greg Lafferty At 27, Greg seemingly had it all: the pedigree, the projects, the prestige of a big job at NASA. But what he really wanted was a life of impact. So, he retired (yes, at 27!) from the confines of government & began a decades-long journ...

“So, it's not just about your business growth. It's also about … creating value & meaningful relationships.” – John Hall In third grade, John launched a lunch brokerage business. By college, he was building a student housing empire. And today? He’s a keynote speaker, investor, & co-founder of multiple companies — wildly different ventures but all rooted in one thing: adding value to others. He didn’t start out this wa...

“I believe that the more my clients know I care about them, the more I can nudge them toward success.” – Natalia Worthington Natalia wasn’t supposed to be here—literally. As her parents rode a bus to make a life-altering decision, her father had a change of heart. That choice sparked a life defined by curiosity, compassion, & quiet rebellion. Born in Soviet Russia, she came of age in a system that crushed curiosity & r...

“One sip of alcohol literally leads to prison...there’s nothing in between anymore.” – Robbie Shaw

For years, Robbie tried to outmaneuver the consequences of addiction—until the day the truth hit him like a bus. No more negotiating, no more "just one more time." His choices were death, jail, or life.

We’re so grateful he chose life.

That choice set him on an unexpected path. From addiction to recovery coach, mental health advocate,...

“If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not doing the job correct.” – Dan Flaherty

With a career that has ventured from the disciplined halls of corporate American to unconventional sales & management consulting, Dan’s story comes with a powerful lesson: Growth comes from embracing calculated risk, stepping out of our comfort zones, & learning not to do more but to do it differently.

But it’s not all work & no play. This p...