“We all have things that we can be grateful for. When I was in the hospital, I had a choice to make. I could wallow in my pity and be a downtrodden and depressed about how my life has turned so dramatically or  I can look at all the positive things in my life and be thankful for them. That’s what I chose. I chose the attitude of gratitude. By doing that, I have not only set myself up for future success, I have also  motivated and inspired others to do the same.”

—Chris DT Gordon

“I live in this place of impossibility and I make things possible. ‘Life is not fair,’ that has never been okay with me. That's why I do the work around diversity, equity, inclusion in workplaces with managers, and equipping them to be more effective because it's not okay to accept that life is not fair. If it's not fair, what can we do to make it more equitable?”

— Martine Kalaw

“My mission is to enable independently-own businesses to survive and thrive. I believe that independently-owned businesses are the corner-stone of our communities.”

— Patti Mara

“I started practicing yoga 31 years ago. I wanted to change my destiny by practicing and understanding that Yoga is a very complex system. I really was hooked into it and I still am because it transformed my life completely for the better. I wanted to pay it forward.“

— Georgiana Danet

“There are very common things people struggle with, tying dry flies, tying small flies. I even wear glasses because tying a little tiny insect is not as easy as it used to be. I always think that my struggle is with my customer. I’m not the hero here, the hero is my customer. I’m basically, Yoda.”

— Dave Stewart

“All my interactions are done from the perspective of “Be-Do-Have”. Be the change you want to see in the world. Be honest with integrity. Tell people the information they need to have in order to make a good decision for them. Trust the world to be reciprocal. Trust that the world will come back to you with the right clients and the right employees who want to be a part of that same world that you're building around yourself.”

— Lucas Root

“I get it. People are getting sick and losing their jobs. It's a very tough time. But part of being an entrepreneur is going through that journey and experience. And this is quite the experience. 2020 has been really an experience probably for the worse. But personally, I'm all about the experiences, for better or for worse.”

— Naresh Vissa

“I always reach out on the same day — usually within the same hour. Right off the bat, if they give me a call or shoot me an email, I respond right away. Always. Without fail. So that they're not waiting forever.”

— Devin Miller

“I don't think I'm any better than anybody else. I've learned over the years, but it's very different. One of the things that was very difficult for me to comprehend was how I'm viewed because I'm that kid from the street. I didn't ever forget that — no matter how old I get. I've realized the power of my presence.”

— Jerry Brazie

“And sitting there in that desk staring at those downtown Portland. It just came to me. And I said, if you don't shut up and listen if you don't find people that are smarter than you are, you're going to still be working for $45,000 a year or maybe a little bit more when you're 50 years old. And I had that specific epiphany, shut up and listen.”

— Jerry Brazie