Amir Baluch was a shoo-in for medical school, or so he had always thought. He would follow his father and become a doctor. But when he was rejected, he asked himself, “Can I do anything else? Maybe this is a sign.” Later, Dr. Baluch founded FundingNest to provide investment opportunities to investors and physician colleagues around the globe. In addition to being a successful real estate investor, he is also a realtor, business owner, holds a securities license and is a board-certified Anesthesiologis

Larry Minnix, a leader in the non-profit aging services field since 1973, served as CEO at Wesley Woods Center of Emory University and at Leading Age, which represents 6,000-plus non-profits. A minister, author, and speaker, he consults widely on long-term care issues. He has received numerous national awards for leadership from the National Council on Aging and others. Leading Age named their leadership academy after Larry to honor his retirement.

Kim Ades was 15 years into building a family and a business with her husband. When her marriage dissolved, so did her shares in the company. A tool she used to deal with her loss—she says, “it was like my oxygen”—is now the core of her thriving business. As president and founder of Frame of Mind Coaching and JournalEngineTM Software, she’s an author, speaker, entrepreneur, coach, and mother of five. Kim helps clients shift their thinking to yield extraordinary results and personal transformation.

Pat McDaniel’s 10-year success in building a faith-based community for single people led him to take his family and his commitment to help others to the West Coast. Nothing he tried there worked. For a time, he felt angry at God. He faced some hard choices. Later he founded WiseInsights.net, dedicated to helping motivated but weary achievers keep making progress toward their goals and dreams. He uses a blend of research-backed insights and time-tested wisdom to offer smart, sure paths toward greater succ

Ilan Ferdman is co-founder of Satori Prime. A life coach, entrepreneur and motivational speaker, he is fiercely dedicated to your success, helping thousands of people around the world to connect with their inner passion and transform their lives. His training shows how you can have it all—the ideal job, relationship, and abundant bank account. Your greatest life is just on the other side of your greatest fear. He shows how to reprogram your brain's fear response to see the challenges as growth experiences

Shirley Piccarreto was working at Eastman Kodak—in its heyday, the place to be in Rochester, New York. “But I was horribly bored! I needed a do-over! I sold my fancy Camaro, got an old Toyota pickup truck, and my girlfriend and I took off for Texas.” Dr. Shirley has been in the health, wellness and alternative medicine field for over 30 years. She was a area corporate fitness director for Bally’s Fitness and is now a Doctor of Naturopathy and a certified herbalist and instructor.

Steve was a solid athlete in school, but no scholar, especially at math. Then, in the tenth grade an inspiring teacher changed all that. More importantly, he came to understand that reshaping an attitude can change a person’s life dramatically. Today, as CEO of Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs (JKCP), he specializes in youth-to-adult programming to foster a culture that creates memories that last a lifetime. He’s an expert on youth development and education, and understanding and adapting to youth.

Pete Mockaitis is an award-winning trainer who helps brilliant professionals perform optimally at work. He’s delivered 1-on-1 coaching to more than 700 clients hailing from organizations such as Google, McKinsey & Company, the United Nations, Goldman Sachs, and Apple, in 50 countries, and at every Ivy League school. He began his career at Bain & Company and currently hosts the podcast, How to be Awesome at your Job.

Chelsea Fournier was only 28, waking up with anxiety attacks so severe she could not breathe. It was not that her law career was so awful, but somehow she had lost touch with her creative side. Finally, she decided this was just not acceptable.” She now helps entrepreneurs thrive in the digital economy, and helps people launch home-based businesses. She lives a life of geographic freedom and loves traveling the world meeting and helping new people.

Michael Sacca created an online product to help clients manage their brand assets. “Customer feedback was great, but we quickly realized we had no idea what we were doing!” So, he started a podcast to open doors to the experts whose brains he needed to pick. It led to a whole new gig. He joined Crew two years ago as head of partnerships and has now taken over as president. Companies have trusted Crew to source freelancers for more than $30 million in design and development products.