Over the past decade we have had the chance to learn about so many incredible folks from a wide range of industries and backgrounds and our highlighter series is designed to give us an opportunity to go deeper into their stories with to goal of understanding them, their thought process, how their values formed and the foundations of their stories. Check out some incredible folks below – many of whom you may have read about already and a few new names as well.
Dani Felt
I stopped hiding my pain and started using it as power when I discovered writing poetry, shortly after I began writing lyrics. Music saved my life. Being a songwriter helped me get through the toughest times in middle school and high school. At fourteen, I attended a music camp where I got to go into the studio, put melodies to my lyrics, and record music. Read more>>
K.T. Jay
I think that shift began when I was very young. I experienced a significant amount of grief and loss as a child, and it changed me. At nine years old, I was already learning what it meant to carry sorrow, and in many ways, it opened my heart in a deeper way than I had known before. That early experience with loss expanded my empathy. Read more>>
Leanne Macdonald
I would encourage my younger self to not be intimidated by lack of knowledge or experience; just get out there and do what interests you and what makes you happy. Most people go through their younger decades focused on what others what for them, and the main point of life is to discover what YOU want for YOU. Read more>>
Jessica Díaz
GODs Timing, Universe Aligning Read more>>
Izayah Christopher
I’ve always been a pretty quiet and not overly expressive person. When I was younger, I used to think that meant I was indifferent to the world around me. Because I wasn’t reacting loudly or immediately to everything, I assumed it meant I just didn’t care as much. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that’s not really the case. I just process things differently. Read more>>
Deanna Brooks
As a child, I believed that I had to shrink or minimize myself to fit in. At times, I felt like I was too much or even, the opposite, not enough. I’m already a naturally quiet, shy person, but my personality explodes once I get to know people. There were times when I felt like I wasn’t fully heard or seen in group settings. Read more>>
Dafi Shanti
The fear of being alone has been part of my story. It began in childhood, around age seven, when my brother was assigned to babysit me. That fear stayed with me for many years. I could not release it. For a long time, I remained married simply so I would not be alone — even though I felt deeply alone within the marriage. Read more>>
Alexandra Fresquez
I think I’ve caused a lot of the most defining wounds in my life. Not because all of it was my fault, but I like to take accountability for my own emotions and actions in every situation. I’ve healed them through Jesus, through music, and through learning how to gradually forgive myself for the ways I’ve handled different situations in life. Read more>>
Ben Berkowitz
If you asked my friends what matters most to me, they would probably say one word: family. And I don’t just mean family in the traditional sense. I mean the friends who become family. The dogs we care for every day. The owners who trust us with someone they love. Read more>>
Nick Alvarado
My closest friends would say that what really matters to me is connection — being present, listening, and making people feel seen and heard. I care a lot about how someone feels after a conversation, not just what was said. They’d probably describe me as someone who’s easy to talk to, a good listener, and genuinely fun to be around. Read more>>
Sandra Chahayed
Sitting in my shop when its total silence and having a conversation with my Grandmother my Mom’s Mom. I am at my most peace. She passed away 25 years ago and was an angel on earth. Most people dont know this but i talk to her about my week, any hard time im having. Or just to share an update on my life. Read more>>
Debra Demskis
I feel most at peace when I’m creating, especially when I’m fully immersed in the work and focused on the details. In those moments, my thinking feels clear and steady, and I feel grounded in what I’m doing. Creating brings me both excitement and a sense of purpose, and it’s how I process ideas and experiences in a way that feels natural to me. Read more>>
Parker Green
Not to sound overly optimistic, but I’m always tap dancing to work. I’m a firm believer that when you bring a level of excitement and positivity to a set, it lays a foundation for the work environment. No one wants to work with people who constantly bring the mood down. Especially on sets where the average workday is 12 hours over multiple days. Read more>>
Emily Bourassa
Yes. Hell yes. I am pinching myself daily. I’m being paid to paint. People want to hire me to make art for them. People care about what I have to say. I get to spend hours every day painting watercolor and then hanging out with my kids after school. I feel like the luckiest person alive. Read more>>
Arad Momen & Reese Darlington
I’ve never really been the tap dancing to work type. Excitement, for me, has never looked like adrenaline or surface level enthusiasm. It shows up as clarity, presence, and a quiet sense of purpose. The moments in my career where I’ve felt most energized weren’t loud or flashy. They were focused. They were demanding. They required me to be fully engaged. Read more>>
B Walter Will
It is a great question because does anything matter at all? There is only one answer and it is yes. life and moments are not switches you turn off and on, rather I believe one should always do their best because what moment or chance do you know is real. Read more>>
Dana Claudat
Absolutely. I am a huge believer in always having a passion project to pour into, and always showing up fully for everything, to the best of my ability. That’s excellence and success– and joy– for me. Read more>>
Rob Soghomon
I remember a time when I was offered a job that seemed perfect at first glance. I felt pressured to accept quickly, but I decided to take a few days to weigh my options. During that time, I researched the company further and discovered some concerning reviews about the work culture. Read more>>
Rafi Mizrahi
After 25 years in the diamond business, I’ve learned to tell the difference between a lasting shift and a fad. Synthetic known also as Lab diamonds are a fad. I’ve seen this before — moissanite followed the exact same trajectory. Since lab diamonds were introduced, prices have collapsed more than 90%.! Read more>>
Andres Garzas
I usually differentiate between fads and foundational shifts by looking at what remains once the excitement disappears. Fads are often driven by novelty, social momentum, and short-term attention. Foundational shifts, on the other hand, change underlying behavior, incentives, or systems. They do not just capture interest; they create new defaults. Read more>>
Evan Whitford
If something is still in the public consciousness after hype dies down. Hype through advertising campaigns can be misleading, which is honestly why award shows are especially hard to trust. Impact can’t be judged within a few months of release, let alone one year. Read more>>
rand Courtney
I differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts by looking at whether something deepens human capability or just optimizes convenience. Fads usually promise speed, shortcuts, or surface level results. They spike fast, look impressive, and then fade when the novelty wears off. Foundational shifts tend to feel quieter at first. Read more>>
Christopher Allis
I watched an interview with David Bowie once. I like the way he described it – this sense like you’re in a body of water and you just barely can touch the bottom… you know that any movement in any direction is going to untether you from that last bit of connection with something ‘solid’. That’s where the real work/magic/breakthrough is better likely to happen. Read more>>
Cindy Hernandez
If immortality were real, I would build spaces where creativity and care are woven into everyday life. Places where art, plants, books, conversation, and community coexist, and where people feel safe enough to slow down and be themselves. I would continue building ecosystems rooted in collaboration rather than competition, where local artists, small businesses, and community members grow alongside one another. Read more>>
Maria Dominguez C. Geraci
If immortality were real, I would continue scaling what I’m already building — a healthcare enterprise designed to endure beyond individuals, market cycles, and regulatory shifts. The foundation is already in place; the work now is expansion, refinement, and legacy. I would grow ACP Billing Services Inc. Read more>>
Stan Zhu
Haha, mortality. Read more>>
Lauren Wiskerson
This question feels deeply personal to me right now. I recently lost a sibling, and that kind of loss changes the way you look at time. It removes abstraction. It makes the idea of “ten years left” feel real rather than philosophical. Read more>>
Jeremiah Higgins
I have thought about this question a lot recently. As you get older, I think you start looking ahead and forecasting how much time you have left to accomplish the life you dreamed of. It took me so many years to learn this lesson: Be selective about how you share your time. Read more>>
Marisol Echegoyen
I’m chasing growth and meaning. If I stopped my life would get boring. Read more>>
Rosie Tran
Everything ! I only play ‘long term games’. I always invest in myself and look at things for the long term. My show ‘Rosie Tran Presents…’ is in season 1. I hope to make ten seasons! Or more ! I never do something for the short term. My horizon is (and has always been) long. Read more>>
Justin Prough
There’s a familiar feeling I get when I’m neck-deep in a creative project and suddenly realize I’ve vastly underestimated its scope. It starts as a strange mix of denial and terror, followed by anger and fatigue. Eventually, that emotional eruption settles into a calm, stubborn resolve. That’s when I start adjusting the only levers that really matter: time, money, and quality. Read more>>
Lindsey Wendt
Building a new standard for what ‘functional’ actually means in the pet industry. Read more>>
Lani Cupchoy
In addition to my recent book, I am continuing to invest in long-form writing and scholarship that unfolds over time, where meaningful work is shaped through sustained research, revision, and dialogue rather than immediacy. I take an organic approach to writing, allowing ideas to mature at the pace required for depth, rigor, and clarity. Read more>>
Simon Gissler
Man, I’ve basically had to turn off the part of myself that puts a lot of stock into how many people see my work. Don’t get me wrong, getting a full house on opening night feels great, but sometimes I’ll spend weeks rehearsing an act for a little live show that ends up having only a couple people in the audience. Read more>>
Eline Van Den Storme
For a long time, the battle I’ve been avoiding is the one with my own self-confidence. Working in a creative industry like film and special effects makeup means constantly putting your work — and a part of yourself — out into the world to be judged. And sometimes, the hardest critic isn’t the industry, it’s the voice in your own head. Read more>>
Michael Safaryan
I try to approach challenges the way Sun Tzu describes in The Art of War. Read more>>
Luisa Novo
This is an interesting question. I was just at a screening of a film I worked on called Didn’t Die, and the amazing director Meera Menon was talking about how the whole process was built on trust with her collaborators, and that stuck with me. Read more>>
Major Gurjeet Singh
In my view, it is the ego of human beings that breaks the bonds between us—whether between individuals, families, communities, or even nations. When we let ego dominate, it breeds division—over religion, power, and greed. If we set aside our ego, we see that we are all one human family, with the same energy within us. Read more>>
Prithvi Chauhan
For me, a lack of transparency and disregard for someone’s time are the fastest ways to damage trust. Respect and clarity are what bring people back together. Read more>>
Ben Bar
Bad communication, pomposity and near-sightedness destroy bonds and friendships. Compassion, understanding, humility and empathy restore. Read more>>
Barbara Kris
What breaks bonds most often isn’t conflict itself, but what we fill the space with when communication breaks down. We start assuming. We let our own fears, past experiences, and limiting beliefs explain someone else’s behavior for us. Over time, those unspoken stories create distance, even between people who care about each other. Read more>>
Sorrell Scrutton
What breaks the bonds between people is disconnection, obviously. When spaces stop listening, when communities are treated as trends instead of living, evolving groups, and when people no longer feel seen in the rooms they enter. It happens when the focus shifts away from care, intention, and presence. What restores those bonds is listening. Paying attention to what’s missing. Read more>>
