Red Katz is a businessman, author and motivational speaker who teaches entrepreneurs the necessary tools required to build resiliency and fuel growth in their businesses. His new book, Live Your YOUlogy, is an inspirational guide to learning how to unleash genuine passion and unlock lasting business success. “Living an unconscious life, without examining your own life’s meaning, ultimately will not work. I want people to face it, know that it's OK, and see what it's like on the other side. That's what I like to do, to open the door so at least they can see it.”
Kemi Egan is a bestseller author and top rated podcaster of New World, Real Estate. Homeless in her early 20s, she dove into studying wealth and success. In a year she raised $1 million and built a multi-million dollar portfolio, while still homeless. Defying the pull of inter-generational poverty in England, Kemi put herself through college to become a physical therapist, then opened a community clinic to fill gaps in care of the National Health Service. Lack of business experience, and the 2008 financial crash, brought bankruptcy, then a passion to conquer poverty.
Josh Trent, founder of WellnessForce.com, host of Wellness Force Radio Podcast, was awarded “Top 50 Digital Health Influencers 2015″ by Onalytica. A corrective exercise specialist, quantified-self enthusiast and expert in fitness technology, Josh is online and on iTunes. His mission is to empower wellness in over one million lives through technology. His motivation to help thousands to wellness is deeply rooted in a childhood and adolescence marked by weight and health struggles. A partier at age 22, he had a dramatic mind change. “I refuse to live this mediocre life,” he declared, and launched into the self-education about nutrition which he continues to this day.
Giorgia Rossi is the co-founder of LookBooker, New York City’s premier hair and beauty appointment aggregator bringing together customers looking for salon, spa and barbershop appointments with salon owners looking for customers. People can book their appointments online, anytime, anywhere. Sick of trying to book a bikini wax from the middle of an iron ore mine, Giorgia co-created an entrepreneurial solution. Leaving a budding career as a management consultant in Australia, she launched LookBooker in Singapore, where it is Southeast Asia’s top hair and beauty aggregator, then took on New York.
Adèle McLay is a business and personal success strategist, coaching her entrepreneur clients around the world for more than 20 years toward her vision of “Soulful Vitality.” She declares, “Each of us should be sizzling in business and life, but too many of us are only simmering. It concerns me whenever I hear someone say, ‘I’ll be happy when...or if,’ because when they get it, they just go on to want the next thing. They're never happy. My view is, we create happiness in the moment, in the now. If we choose happiness now, everything will change.”
Jason Zinzilieta has been in broadcasting for nearly 30 years. He's the general manager of two radio stations, KYCA-AM and KAHM-FM, in Prescott, AZ. He also hosts The Victorious Writer Daily Podcast, and writes The Victorious Writer Blog at www.thevictoriouswriter.com. Jason is 45 years old, married, with two children. In radio, developing a podcast, blogging and life in general, Jason has been guided by “three simple words: be not afraid. When we take chances, even if we fail, it does not necessarily mean our complete downfall. Most people don't understand the talents they do have, and they DO have a lot.”
Sonia Ross is a therapist and a licensed clinical social worker in the Washington, DC area. Author of the Amazon bestseller, "The Journey Within: Healing Our Hearts and Minds through A Course in Miracles,” her practice focuses on helping others find the barriers to the peace that exists within us all. “When you are able to go into your own pain, hold it, look at it and not be afraid of it, you can be with other people, see their pain and help them through it. I love having in-depth conversations with people, lifting people up, connecting with them on a soul level.”
Alex Harris is an award winning web designer, best-selling author and founder of AlexDesigns.com. He hosts the top ranked podcast, MarketingOptimization.tv. PPC Hero named him the "#4 Top Influential Conversion Rate Optimization Expert of 2014.” His latest book, Small Business Big Money Online, became an Amazon #1 Best Seller. Alex got online in 2000, designing web pages. He quickly learned about internet marketing, developing landing pages to drive email traffic to websites. Freelancing, he soon was #1 in Google for keyword "landing page design." “I got a lot of work from that.”
Queenie Kawabe has been teaching Chinese and Japanese to people from all walks of life in a variety of settings since 2006. A qualified online language and secondary school teacher, she is based in Fukuoka, Japan. Teaching English speakers to expand their world with language, using techniques that are fun and easy, is her dream. “In my (Asian) society we follow what the parents say, and kids are getting stuck. Don't get stuck just because everyone else is doing something. My friends sometimes say, 'You do what you love and it's great. How do you it?" I say, “You just have to believe in yourself.”
Dr. Nicoline Ambe has taught in schools and universities across the U.S. for two decades, teaching parents effective strategies to help their children excel in school and prepare for a successful future. She is an educational trainer and consultant, bestselling author, speaker and entrepreneur. “Start early to give your children the WHY behind going to school. Talk to them consistently about how they can use their talents, their smarts, the unique gifts they have to create something wonderful for their life in the future. Consistently talk with them about their passion, purpose and meaning.”
Delano Lewis, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, rose from segregation-era Kansas to prominence in government, business, and the not-for-profit world. His memoir, “It All Begins with Self,” affirms his belief in family, education, hard work, perseverance, mentors and supporters. His career includes top positions at National Public Radio and the Peace Corps. As a full time law student, working 44 hours a week at the renowned Menninger Clinic to support his family, Delano was tapped for the new Honors Program at Robert F. Kennedy’s Department of Justice. His whirlwind initiation exposed him to espionage and criminal cases, and whetted his appetite for government service.
Deatra Harris left a global management position in 2012 to pursue her passion in film. With a master’s in marketing weeks away, she is already an award-winning independent filmmaker. Her films have screened worldwide. She recently wrapped production on a web-based design show. A divorce triggered Deatra to use her lifelong love of writing, but, instead of journaling, she gravitated toward creative writing, enrolling in courses at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater and writing for stage. Attending a film festival in Miami introduced her to Spike Lee’s workshops and a love of the visual storytelling of film.
Mitch Russo co-founded Timeslips Corporation, the largest time tracking software company in the world. He pioneered the virtual organization with Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins, co-creating Business Breakthroughs International, with nearly 300 people and about $25M in sales. In 2013 he wrote the bestseller, “The Invisible Organization,” a guide for fully virtual organizations. As an applications engineer right after college, Mitch noticed the sales reps were earning three times as much as he was. He asked his boss about going into sales and was told, “Great salesmen are born, not made.” Mitch thought, “I’ll show you,” and proceeded to build a $10 million company.
Krysta Youngs is an artist with a true voice, whose career spans songwriter rounds in Nashville, Tennessee, and the gritty, inspiring streets of Los Angeles. Her creative collaborations include The Writing Camp’s David Quinones (“DQ”), Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo, Rihanna and others. A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. “Stay focused on what your goal is. I always say I don't like to have a back-up plan because I don't want to back up… I would say 90 percent of my opportunities and successes came from the honest, true and real relationships that I've built. They’re what life is all about.”
Melissa Cohen, LCSW, wrote the bestselling ParentKnowledgy, A (Simple) Guide to Surviving Your Teen. She is dedicated to helping individuals find their own identity while managing their need for independence. Whether it is anxiety, conflict resolution, communication, self-esteem or managing expectations, Melissa tailors her approach to each unique situation. "I think it takes a long time to build up (the) courage to move forward with what we want. I had found what I loved to do earlier in life. I just hadn't found a way to make it my own. It took all these years to do that.”
Kevin Crane began his career as a U.S. Special Agent in 1985 with the Defense Investigative Service, conducting thousands of investigations for U.S. government security clearances. Through his bestselling book, Access Granted, he helps job seekers and others gain clearance for government jobs. Increasingly, jobs in government and business require security clearances. While helping young people and others navigate the process, he realized how much he loves being of service. In active retirement, he continues to share his expertise and has branched out into many new areas of service with children, youth and community.
Diane Whitney’s passion is focused on improving the lives of dogs and their owners through humane, force-free behavior modification dog training methods. In her nearly 20 years as a canine behavior specialist and a pet dog training instructor, she has taught nearly 2,000 group classes and hundreds of private clients, using basic classical and operant conditioning. “When there's something inside of you that says, ‘I would really like to do that, but…,’ that’s where we start, with the ‘but.’ You have to stoke your own fire. Yes, we do need support from our friends and family, but we also need to be our own spark.”
Dahlan Foah, president of Visioneering® International, Inc. is a pioneer in the audiovisual/multimedia industry. As a principal audiovisual consultant to the U.N., he brought his diverse skills to exhibitions, Visitors’ Centers. World’s Fair pavilions, installations for corporate clients. Born into a highly artistic family, which included Enrico Leide, founder of the first Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he was steeped in music and art appreciation from childhood. Being a photographer in a documentary at the United Nations for an independent producer opened doors for his future collaborations with U.N. agencies worldwide.
Mercedes Guzman recalls her childhood self in war-torn El Salvador as, “a dreamer with a passion that could never be defeated.” Rising above the civil war, she moved to the United States. Today she helps people heal their childhood wounds from the inside-out. Know “that your thoughts become your reality. What you say consciously, daily, creates your reality. I learned to observe what I am thinking, feeling and saying, because that will create my reality. It's not the government, not the economy. It is what you are consistently thinking and saying that creates your reality.”
Prue Batten writes award winning historical fantasy and fiction from her farm in Tasmania in her native Australia. After working as a journalist/researcher for Australian Broadcasting Corporation and raising a family, she writes novels and farms with her husband in a cropping and grazing operation. Dissatisfied with a librarian job, she walked up the street. At the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, she thought “I'll go in there and ask for a job.” Hired on the spot for a human resources slot, she was a researcher three months later. “It was the best job of all time. I loved it.”
Hugh Massie, president and founder of DNA Behavior International, is a behavioral management strategist and entrepreneur with 28 years of diverse international experience. His goal: to make behavioral intelligence practically usable on a scalable basis to “Know, Engage and Grow” every employee and client online. As an accountant, Hugh created a financial services business. It was lucrative, but he felt miserable. He started seeing how people’s decisions and behavior were often “hard-wired.” The light bulb came on. “I could re-invent financial services to be human-centered and educational, not just a transaction and commission.”
Marjorie Hope Rothstein, founder of Living the 5 Star Life...without limits, is a spa trends specialist and new aging/boomer expert focused on becoming ageless. As a “Boomer Babe” with her finger on the pulse of the latest leading edge breakthroughs in beauty and preventative health and wellness, she is passionate about finding and sharing her discoveries of the fountain of youth with you. "I've always been passionate about beauty as an art form, and in all forms: nature, sculptures, stone carving, and of being a feminine woman in a world of very conflicting messages."
Marshall Chiles is a comedian with the heart of an entrepreneur. His current venture, Humor Wins, offers corporate comedy roasts, executive humor coaching and applying self-deprecation. Why? Because, as Inc. Magazine said, “Leaders who laugh at themselves appear more likable, trusting, and caring to their people.” “My mindset is that you're not in business to make money. Money is just something that comes along from doing the right stuff. It’s always been whatever's best for comedy,” Marshall declares. Because of that approach, he has a good reputation with comedians, including many famous comics.
Deedra Determan helped make KOKI-TV a top Fox affiliate in the U.S. As “the wife of one and mother of two,” she used her 20+ years of marketing savvy, and her parenting knowledge, to create several websites attracting 100,000 moms each month. To continue using her entrepreneurial skills and simultaneously be close to her family, Deedra shifted her focus to D2 Branding, her innovative marketing communications firm, igniting brands to be the market leader in their industry. Recently she became an online mentor and youtube instructor at Thrive15.com, which offers affordable business education.
Dr. Paul White specializes in the language of authentic appreciation, and how to express it meaningfully to others. Co-author of three books and the Motivating by Appreciation Inventory, used by corporations, colleges and universities, medical facilities, schools, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Feelings of being unappreciated are cited by 79% of people that leave an organization voluntarily. Companies have responded by creating employee recognition programs. “The problem is, they're largely viewed as inauthentic and disingenuous, just sort of going through the motions,” Dr. White explains. The key: learning the language of appreciation.