Drown the Noise

Vitina is living the entrepreneurial dream. She's figured out how to combine her love of travel and wellness and make a career out of it. Cool, eh. But that wasn't always the case. She basically had to have a breakdown of sorts - or breakthrough - in order to see that the life she was living for years, wasn't fulfilling her any longer. At the time of this transformation, she had been working in advertising in the music industry - working over 80+ hours a week - and consistently going to the best events and parties in town. To a lot of outsiders, she was living a dream life even then. But it's true - if you're doing something that doesn't align with what your soul craves, then there will be an end point.

Her journey to co-founding a wellness business, Wanderwell, and her own blog, WanderfulSoul, mirrors a bit of an Eat, Pray, Love storyline. She left the hustle of city life behind, for a month in an Ashram and five months of travel. It's also where she got to know herself again and her true desires and passion. And somewhat serendipitously, around the same time, she met her co-founder. In this episode, you'll hear how you too, can get back to your own passions, quiet the noise, and create a life that is fulfilling and profitable, so you can continue to do what you love without compromise.

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 business model that merges a product licensing program, global cause awareness campaigns, and a nonprofit arm. Creating the first multi-product, multi-cause social impact brand capable of spreading thankfulness and measurable impact. Thankful donates a percentage of their profits to their non-profit foundation, and then re-distributes the money to other non-profits around the world. After years of working in the advertising world and for major brands, they realized that their skills and expertise could come together to make a positive and lasting impact. Not just in dollar form, but for people and the planet. Consumerism isn't going anywhere. But if we can have a say in how our dollars are spent, who they go to, and have a positive impact on someone else- wouldn't you want to be a part of that movement?

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 writer. When they got together, JP was really intrigued by what Kirsten started with Papirmass, that he knew he wanted to help it grow. What started out as a passion project with 100 subscribers in its first year, has now grown to upwards of 1500 people who look forward to their monthly curated art collections from around the world. They still do their own things and follow various creative pursuits - but together, they saw the hole in the art world and decided to fill a niche market. If there's one key takeaway from this one, it's that if you have a passion, follow it. You don’t need millions of subscribers to make an impact. You just need that unique idea to gain a loyal audience. 

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 never left. Something about his surroundings kept keeping him there.

Over time, he's become one of the most sought after muralists and street artists in L.A; but his success didn't happen overnight. He spent many year perfecting his craft, working with other professionals, and often blending many different types of art together to create a unique masterpiece. That includes everything from painting, to drawing, digital, sculpting, wood, stone and many more. And he uses his art to express the inter-connectedness of the world and people around him.

He may appear as more of a street artists to the naked eye; but he's really inspired by the art of the ages, and often invokes a sort of renaissance approach, with a modern twist.

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 guide and train these women to create garments that people all over the world would desire and seek out, and provide them with security and a sustainable living. Once Kirsten saw the joy and need the non-profit was creating, she quit her job and pursued this work full time.

The company is now a certified B-corporation, that employs over 1500 marginalized women in countries like Kenya, Cambodia, Guatemala, Pakistan, just to name a few. They offer these women a fair trade wage, access to a safe job, sustainable income, healthcare and other tools that help them thrive. As Kirsten believes, "when women move forward, the world moves with them" - African Proverb.

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 changed her life for the better.

It definitely wasn't easy. And the self-development/reflection that came up throughout the year was extremely difficult at times; but she finally felt a renewed sense of purpose and fulfillment.

She no longer turned to things to feel happy. In her book, The Year of Less, Cait documents how she managed to get out of the vicious cycle of want, buy, rinse, repeat - that we all so often fall victim to - and the steps she took to stay accountable. She not only got rid of belongings, but she liberated herself from the constraints of consumerism, and all the guilt that follows.

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 romantic relationship and an eventual life partnership. Now, they work on their own NGO, Justice Rising, where the goal is to empower communities affected by war through proper education and continuous support and guidance.

They aren't about a bandaid solution. Everything they do is about sustainability, proper training on the ground and consistent support. Educating children living in war zones empowers them to break the cycle of war and build a culture of peace.

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 issues that affected them. Like student debt, climate change and criminal justice.

What would the future look like if the 3 billion dollar lobbying industry was disrupted by young people? How would the world look in twenty years if this type of organization existed? And so, he left his clean-energy job to start up the Association of Young Americans (AYA). They are getting close to having 10 thousand members. Have created partnerships with brands that align with their vision and are holding politicians accountable to their word, by having consistent engagement with legislators on issues that youth care about. They lobby on behalf of young Americans and make it easy to stay informed.

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 wrote, directed, produced, edited, and starred in her first short film THE DRESSER. The thing about Hollywood, is that you could wait your whole life to be 'discovered' or be given that perfect script. And Mary wasn't willing to wait for someone to find her. When she has an idea, she tests it out. That's how she's built her resume with so many accolades and accomplishments in such a short time. Including having her latest short film selected for SXSW. Mary is a self-taught director, who recognized the gap in strong female characters and decided to create a reality where they exist.

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 experiences were tough and created a lot of change in her life; but they shaped her worldview and showed her how to literally and figuratively make those 'last cuts' in ones life. She looks at these last cuts are those decisions we are faced with in our lives, that we're too scared to make; but know are necessary for us to live in line with our essence. 

These health challenges have helped Samantha to rise stronger and release her artist within, focusing on raw conversations with others and herself with the Last Cut Project. She's now a role model and thought leader who shows others how to engage in vulnerable self-inquiry to live a connected, fulfilled life that feels like one's own.