“Entrepreneurship is scary as well as compelling in a weird way.” – Shay Prosser That’s the quiet admission of someone who’s lived the tension of building something that matters—between fear & purpose, risk & reward—and kept moving anyway. Shay started in chaos: a newborn on the floor, the economy unraveling, & a business idea that couldn’t wait for permission. It wasn’t perfect timing; it was purpose knocking early. When her one-to-one financial coaching couldn’t reach enough people, she rebuilt the model—bringing financial education into workplaces & later onto military bases with the USO. That pivot became her pattern: find the gap, build the bridge. So when business owners began coming to her not just for answers but for direction, she created spaces to think differently—to set bold goals, make smart moves, & scale with clarity, courage, & connection. Today, she helps business owners do what she’s always done—move forward, even when the path isn’t clear. Not with ten-year dreams, but ninety-day wins. Progress, not perfection. Because growth doesn’t come from having it all together—it comes from showing up anyway. To learn more, connect with her through North 12 Partners or Birthing of Giants. Shay reminds us what Amelia Earhart said best: “The most effective way to do it is to do it.”

“I don’t give advice to my kids. I lead by example.” – Mark Fujiwara Mark’s compass isn’t a slogan on a wall—it’s lived. Born to a Japanese father and Chinese mother, he grew up between two worlds that both valued humility, presence, & community. ✨Wabi-sabi: embrace the cracks & fill them with gold. ✨Ichigo ichie: the sacredness of one moment. ✨Kaizen: one small improvement, every day. ✨Ikigai: doing work that gives life meaning. Those ideas shaped not just his mindset—but how he leads. In boardrooms, he’s the calm in the storm. In life, he’s the guy who turns struggle into connection. As a wealth advisor, speaker, & founder of Sanctuary 88, he doesn’t preach balance—he models it. He builds spaces where honesty is strength & leadership begins with stillness. Because in a world obsessed with hustle, Mark reminds us that the rarest power is peace. The kind that leads quietly, listens deeply, & lifts everyone in the room. If you’ve ever needed a reminder that leadership can sound like silence… Connect with Mark through Sanctuary 88 & markfujiwara.com. Lao Tzu said, “To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” Mark listened.

“I don’t take no for an answer, & I’m kind of a warrior for kids in foster care.” – Susanna Kavanaugh That line doesn’t come from a podium. It comes from a mom who’s loved, lost, & chosen to love again. At 18, Susanna placed a child for adoption, a wound so deep it could have ended her story. Instead, it fueled her purpose—to shoulder the ache of kids in broken systems & fight to change their stories. Years later, she & her husband fostered a little boy, loved him for nine months—then watched him leave. The heartbreak dimmed her fire, & she swore she’d never do it again. But conviction has a way of roaring back. And when it did, Susanna swung the door wide open. From babysitting “just for a weekend” to launching Least of These Carolinas, she kept saying yes. Yes to heartbreak. Yes to risk. Yes to kids who need more than a trash bag to carry their lives in. She hasn’t just built a nonprofit. She’s built a movement—by refusing to stay quiet when the system says no, & by relentlessly saying yes to kids who just need a champion. Get involved at LOTCarolinas.com. Susanna proves what Albert Schweitzer said: “Wherever you turn, you can find someone who needs you. Even the smallest act of caring has the potential to turn a life around.”

“You have an opportunity to take your natural skills and put ’em in a place that they aren’t naturally found.” – Rob Norris That’s not advice. That’s a dare. Because it’s easy to keep your talents where they stack neatly, to stay in the aisle with the labels facing forward. Safe. Predictable. Comfortable. Rob refused the shelf. He dropped sales skills into technology. Made early websites usable before usability was a word. Turned the chaos of employee benefits into a platform big enough for Aflac. Even saw the promise of blockchain before most people could spell it. That’s what he does: He takes complexity, makes it human, & builds businesses from the translation. Every entrepreneur faces a moment where their skills feel out of place. Rob shows us that’s not a weakness. It’s the opportunity. To learn more, connect with Rob on LinkedIn & Launch Key. Rob’s story reminds us to create bravely—to place your gifts where the map says “not here.” Or, as George Bernard Shaw put it: “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

“I am staying.” – Jack Barsky Three words on a dirt road. Three words that ended one life & cemented another. Three words that turned a mission into a calling. Because by the time Moscow ordered this KGB agent home, Jack wasn’t just a spy with a cover story. He was a college valedictorian, a successful corporate executive, a father raising a little girl who’d stolen his heart. Piece by piece, he had built a life in America. Not perfect. Not easy. But real. A life that didn’t come from forged documents or coded radio signals. One built like any other—by late nights, failed ventures, second chances, & love discovered. So, when the KGB told him to run, he stayed. He chose the life he’d built over the life he’d been assigned. And that’s the real story here. Jack’s tales of espionage may make headlines, but it’s the everyday work of building something that lasts — a business, a family, a future — that defines his legacy. And it’s exactly what defines yours. To stay—to keep building, to redefine yourself again & again—that’s what sets you apart as an individual & an entrepreneur. Ready for more? Connect with him at JackBarsky.com. Jack proves what C.S. Lewis said best: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

“I became an American & said goodbye to them [the KGB].” – Jack Barsky Sounds like the opening line of a spy thriller. Except this one’s real. For a decade, Jack lived undercover in the U.S. as a KGB agent. His mission wasn’t excitement. No tuxedos. No martinis. Just the discipline to disappear — and never get caught. And he did it so well that he not only avoided capture — he built a whole new life. A college valedictorian. A corporate exec. A family man no one suspected. Until one day, the story broke on 60 Minutes. That’s when Jack faced the choice every entrepreneur knows too well: – Start over. – Reinvent yourself. – Risk failing again & again. He wrote a book that flopped until he rewrote it from scratch. He gave speeches so bad he wanted to “jump in a lake”… and kept at it until Microsoft put him on stage. He built a business that went nowhere — and had the guts to kill it when no one showed up. Every failure became fuel. Every dead end, a redirection. This isn’t just a peek into espionage. It’s a raw look at resilience, reinvention, & the grit it takes to survive when the plan collapses.

Winston Churchill said it best: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Connect with him on LinkedIn

"I thought my calling was to be a Catholic priest." – Ryan Monk It wasn’t a whim. Ryan devoted years — undergrad, master’s, a year of theology in seminary — to answering what he believed was his life’s purpose. But somewhere along the way, a quiet unease began to grow. His head said priesthood but his heart whispered his gifts might belong in a different kind of service — one with a family at the center & a new way of walking alongside people in their most important moments. So, he traded vestments for brick dust, late-night restaurant shifts, & finally, law school — chasing a career that could both provide for his young family & serve others. Then 2008 hit. The economy tanked. A Big Law offer disappeared. And that mortgage, those babies… they were staring him down. Ryan took one last leap of faith — starting from a borrowed desk in a warehouse. Little by little, he built his own law firm on three values you can’t fake: humility, gratitude, & joy — the kind that shows up in grief, uncertainty, recessions, pandemics, & all the moments in between. If you’ve ever wondered whether changing course can bring you closer to your true calling… Connect at monklegal.com Joseph Campbell said it best of journeys like Ryan’s: “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.”

“That’d be impossible… unless?” – Andrew James

How do you respond when life throws a punch?

If you’re like most people, when you hit a wall, you just push harder—longer hours, more stress, hoping brute force will somehow get you through.

If you’re like Andrew, you stop. Take a breath. And then ask the simple question that’s carried him through every tough season: “What would have to be true for this to work?”

That single question has shaped everything he’s built—taking him from a scrappy kid flipping diet plans on eBay (& later hustling affiliate offers & imported products) to the founder of Eyeball Division & Cerebro Analytics, two companies helping brands grow smarter and faster.

And it’s the same mindset that’s pulled him through the messy middle: the clients ready to walk, the pivots that felt terrifying, the nights where the easy answer would’ve been to quit.

If you’re ready for an episode that part wake-up call, part permission slip to do things differently:

Download Andrew’s episode of the Anything But Typical Podcast (link in 1st comment) Connect at cerebroanalytics.com Andrew has built a life out of tackling challenges most people walk away from—and actually enjoys the climb. Which is why Walt Disney’s words feel spot on: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”