A person I admire very much once said, “I only want to surround myself with smart, happy people”. This is sometimes easier said than done. During my adult life, I can honestly say that I have met a few of the most miserable people on Earth. The type who, when I am smiling, asks very critically, “Why are you smiling?” The type who always finds fault, many times belittling others simply because they are jealous of that person. As I grew older, I learned to distance myself from the miserable ones as much as possible. But what makes so many people so miserable? Why can’t they find “joy”?

I may well have found the person who can help them. I recently had the opportunity to interview success coach, author, and speaker Laura May Culver. Laura May is the creator of the Joy Journal©. As the owner and founder of Knowself Services, she is dedicated to offering personal exploration through speaking, coaching, and consulting. Laura May is enthusiastic and optimistic, motivating, inspiring, and empowers others to live their very best lives.

Laura May explained that she is a therapist of more than twenty-five years and says she has helped people live the way they want to with every session. She believes we are successful just as we are. She explained that a success coach helps people live authentically from what is truly a success according to them. A person experiences success in life by working toward a goal that is authentically their own. A worthy ideal (or in other words, a goal) can be anything that brings forth a person’s JOY. An example of this is a person that wants to be a wife and mother and feels authentically themselves doing it. Another example is a carpenter that builds tables and wakes up excited to build, create, and share their tables with the world, or with themselves. If a person considers their goal as an expression of self and experiences joy in doing, pondering and/or sharing, and they are working toward it, that is success.

She explained that a success coach encourages and gives clarity, holds space for, and holds one accountable to, what their client deems to be success – for them. A person can have one or multiple worthy ideals in their lifetime. Laura May specializes in partnering with ambitious individuals to optimize their strengths, unlock their potential, and accelerate their professional and personal growth.

The Joy Journal

Laura May believes that we all have the light of joy inside us, it is a light in our hearts, and the Joy Journal is a tool to bring forth the light of our JOY. She explained that from a very young age she was encouraged to keep a journal. She did – she wrote everything down, with mostly negative events documented. She rarely wrote about what she wanted or what was good or going right in her life. She didn’t realize that the written word is actually creating further of the same. It was not until after fourteen years of clinical experience and decades of keeping personal journals that she came across information that changed her life.

Focus on the good in life in order to create more good in your life

The business program in which she was studying at the time pointed out the importance of focusing on the good in life in order to create more good in her life. The coaches kept telling her to “write down what you want and focus on the good. There is power in focusing on the good, the joy of life”. They said: Do you have a goal? Write it down. What do you dream of having? Write it down. What do you really want?  Write it down. Do you have things in your life that you are grateful for?  Write it down. Do you dream of wonderful relationships, travel, and adventures? Write it down in all its detail. Well, she did! She did not allow any negativity in any of the numerous notebooks.

One day, in the fall of 2014, while reviewing the process with a coaching client, she heard herself say out  loud,  “Write it down in a book that holds only the good stuff—like a  journal for your joy—and let’s call it your Joy Journal”. That day, The Power of The Joy Journal© was born.

Laura May has also created something called The Red Telephone Booth Meditations https://theredtelephoneboothmeditations.bandcamp.com/ She has found that these meditations have been particularly helpful with teenage groups with which she has worked. She describes the teen years as such a powerful time in life, full of adventure, change and challenge.

Unfortunately, many youth do not have a fun time during high school or in their first years of post-secondary. If anything, their lives are stressful, and they are filled with deep emotional pain, insecurity and fear. In an attempt to feel better and handle their painful lives, youth will model adults. The idea that a ‘quick fix’ is a solution to life’s problems is prevalent in our culture. Laura May says we see this in the use of drugs, alcohol, excessive online scrolling, prescriptions, sex, self-harm and toxic relationships for pain relief. Popular glorified ‘solutions’ are destructive, and our children are the most vulnerable. She has many examples of sharing her meditations with youth groups and how they have helped them ‘wake up’ and to remember their power, their connectedness, and their truth. She has taught them that they can take certain actions to live amazing lives. She has seen amazing results with youth who have learned destructive coping habits but with her help and meditation practices, they found relief and feelings of peace.

Remember Who You Really Are

Laura May has many such meditations that can help one re-focus their attention away from the mainstream messages that keep us ‘half alive’ and living ‘half true’. She suggests finding your own way to take time out of your busy day and just ‘be’, to ask yourself, Who am I? What do I want? What am I willing to practice and cultivate to live my best life?

So, are so many of us fussy because we forgot who we really are?

Laura May is available for customized speaking engagements and is willing to travel. Companies, businesses and organizations benefit greatly from her talks and this is a great way for her to share her message with more people all at once. Book a call with Laura May and she will set it up.

If you would like to learn more about Laura May, please visit www.hotforsuccess.com. To learn more about Laura May’s more recent version of The Joy Journal Guided Joy, please visit https://a.co/d/09P44YeW.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

I recently had the opportunity to interview the founder of Soul State Wellness, Inc., Cindy Hyde. As she explains, her story isn’t a quiet one. Chronic fatigue. Chronic illness. Two cornea ulcers in six months. Temporary vision loss. Intermittent aphonia (her voice coming and going). Memory loss. Brain fog. By the time all these symptoms had presented multiple times it was too late.

She had a deep feeling that something wasn’t right. She was healthy by every other metric (diet, fitness, water, spirituality) so she got curious. As she describes it, obsessively curious. She came to understand that she had been operating in high stress states for far too long. She was a high performer and a people pleaser. She was unable to say no and had no personal boundaries. She was working 24/7. She had minimal connection to nature or the relationships that mattered to her deeply. She had cognitive dissonance. She was unable to catch her breath and settle. She was eating on the fly, running from meeting to meeting. But eventually, her body stopped whispering and started speaking louder. She took her health into her own hands and she explored everything: family physician, ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist, psychologist, psychotherapist, speech language pathologist accompanied by breath work, chiropractor, pelvic floor physiotherapist, metabolic coach, burnout coach, fitness coach, lymphatic RMT, teladoc / Best Doctors Program, naturopath, IV immune therapy, Reiki, somatic practitioner including training, yoga, and qigong.

Ms. Hyde explained that every one of these modalities served a beautiful purpose and supported her in some way. She describes it as putting the puzzle of herself together. Picking up one modality at a time to see if it fits and completes the puzzle she was trying to build – a puzzle of understanding herself. But the real game changer happened when the nervous system was studied and understood, and she received help from a somatic practitioner. That is when she saw the symptoms dramatically improve.

It helped her so much that she became a certified somatic coach. She now seeks to help others with her business, Soul State Wellness, Inc. She specializes in nervous system literacy and supporting people to reconnect with themselves.

Somatic Experiencing is a therapeutic method developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, aimed at addressing the effects of trauma, grief and stress on the body. It emphasizes the importance of bodily sensations and experiences rather than solely focusing on the cognitive aspects. The goal is to help individuals to complete an incomplete threat response by releasing stored energy from traumatic experiences, and/or chronic stress (including burnout) allowing for healing and a return to a state of balance within the nervous system. It is a form of coaching that is created in a safe supportive environment where Cindy’s clients feel deeply seen and supported.

She explained that nervous system regulation is about supporting individuals to become connected to their bodies to feel safe and connected to the world and themselves, in the here and now. It is about understanding sensations in the body and being able to move between the three states of our system (Ventral, Sympathetic & Dorsal). She says that how we do this varies by client, however what is similar is in the approach is that we use various tools to support them to be in the here and now while slowing everything down. She likes to say it is about creating enough capacity to manage our day-to-day activities.

At the center of everything Cindy is working on now is burnout. She believes that learning about the Nervous System is a key skill in Fatigue Risk Management – something she now wants to devote her life to. The prevention. During her speaking engagements Cindy likes to highlight that your biggest risk has a heartbeat.

Not just recovering from it but preventing it in the first place. She believes that we have normalized exhaustion to a degree that genuinely concerns her, and she believes that when women understand what is actually happening in their bodies and their nervous systems, everything changes. That is the mission underneath all of her current work.
Right now that is taking a few different shapes. She is building out training material around Fatigue Risk Management (burnout recovery and prevention) that weaves together nervous system literacy and somatic practice in a way that is both deeply educational and deeply felt. It is not just information; it is an experience that helps people understand themselves in a whole new way.

She is also planning a wellness retreat for October 2026 that she is genuinely excited about. It will be a space for women to step away, slow down, and do this work in a real and embodied way. She says that there is something that happens when you give yourself dedicated time and space that just cannot be replicated anywhere else. That is what she wants to create.

She said that she is most excited to talk about her keynote work. Whether that looks like a lunch and learn, a half day workshop, or being brought in as a guest speaker, this is where she gets to take everything she teaches and bring it into a room full of people who are ready to hear it. She explains that there is an energy to that kind of gathering that she absolutely loves. When a group of people experiences nervous system literacy together, something shifts collectively, and that is really powerful.

From there, for the people who want to go deeper, she offers one-on-one coaching. This is where the real personal transformation happens. She says we slow down, we get specific, and we do the work in a way that is completely tailored to that individual and exactly where she is in her life.

And then there is something Cindy truly loves talking about because it surprises people every single time. She offers holistic facials specifically designed for vagus nerve activation and relaxation. It is luxurious and it is deeply therapeutic at the same time. The nervous system is being tended to while you are being cared for from the outside in. Cindy explains that it is such a beautiful entry point for women who are maybe not quite ready for the deeper work yet, but know they need something.

Ms. Hyde wants to highlight that according to recent data from the Global Wellness Institute, only 9.8% of employed workers are actually benefiting from the wellbeing programs currently available to them. That is 349 million people out of 3.56 billion. Read that again. We have built an entire wellness industry and we are reaching less than ten percent of the workforce. That tells her that we have a real problem, and she does not think we are talking about it honestly enough.

Burnout is not a personal failure. It is not a willpower issue. It is what happens when human beings are asked to operate beyond their capacity for too long, without the knowledge, the tools, or the support to understand what is actually happening inside their own bodies and nervous systems. The hustle culture that shaped the last decade is beginning to crack, and people are feeling it deeply. But the systems around them, the workplace cultures, the wellness programs, the leadership models, have not caught up yet.

This is where nervous system literacy becomes not just relevant but essential. When people understand the three states their nervous system moves through, when they can recognize what state they are in and why, they stop blaming themselves for struggling. That is not a small thing. That is everything.

She states that this is not about pointing fingers. This is not about blaming individuals for not doing enough or blaming companies for not caring enough. This is about recognizing that we have a shared responsibility to do better. Individuals looking inward, building self-awareness, learning to communicate their needs and hold their boundaries. And organizations genuinely reimagining what employee wellbeing looks like, not as a checkbox but as a true cultural commitment.

The ROI is there. Absenteeism, short term disability numbers, employee engagement, leadership capacity, better decision making. All of it is connected to how safe and regulated people feel in their nervous systems. When we invest in that, everything shifts.
Cindy believes we can do better on both sides, and she genuinely believes we will.

If you would like to learn more about Cindy Hyde and Soul State Wellness, please visit www.soulstatewellness.com.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

One thing I remember about my parents was their ability to be present. My father traveled a lot for work, and had a pretty dangerous career during my early childhood. I can remember him coming home to us in a certain snow-covered area of the United States, having been in some exotic location overseas. It didn’t matter that he had been gone, but it mattered that when he came home, he was present. We moved quite frequently and had the chance to live in a foreign country, as well as travel quite extensively at a young age and in to adulthood. I believe that these experiences shaped me and gave me a unique perspective as an adult now with my own children. Today, the knowledge that I can share with my children comes from my unique experiences growing up.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Roger Duthie, Founder & CEO, BearFish Sports Marketing and the Former Head of Global Sponsorships, Emirates Airline. Mr. Duthie is not only a very successful businessman, but he also appears to have mastered the skill of work-life balance and being present with his own children. He is a globally recognized leader in sports sponsorship and brand strategy, with over thirty years of experience delivering high-impact marketing platforms across global sports and entertainment. During his nineteen-year career with Emirates Airline, Roger was instrumental in transforming the brand into a global powerhouse through strategic sponsorships and integrated marketing campaigns. He now has his own consultancy, BearFish Sports Marketing as well as his own sports apparel brand, BearFish Sports Apparel. His signature line of lightweight, breathable caps has gained popularity among athletes and lifestyle enthusiasts looking for stylish performance wear under the sun.

Roger is originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but he now lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I spoke with him about how he ended up in Dubai, and he explained that he and his new wife moved to Dubai from the Bahamas. He explained that while living in Freeport was an amazing experience, he wanted to start his professional career rather than just playing tennis, soccer, and rugby on a tropical island while being broke. He saw a television show segment on Dubai and it intrigued him. He decided, after five fun years in the Bahamas, to take a job with a PR company in Dubai. He worked for a few months with the PR company and his boss asked him if he wanted to join Emirates Airline, where, by that time, he was the head of the communications department. They were starting a new department in sponsorships. Roger applied, got the job, and had a wonderful nineteen year career with them helping them build the brand globally using sports as a marketing and communications tool. It worked – as the Head of Global Sponsorships, Roger oversaw a portfolio valued at over $300 million, leading the development, negotiation, and execution of major partnerships across football, tennis, golf, motorsport, rugby, and cricket. His work included long-term collaborations with the ATP, FIFA, ICC, Formula 1, and premier football clubs such as Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, and Benfica. These partnerships not only boosted global brand exposure for Emirates but also helped drive record levels of consumer engagement, media value, and ROI.

Roger’s stewardship of the sponsorship portfolio led to Emirates being ranked the 4th most valuable airline brand globally from 2017–2019, and among the Top 200 global brands by Brand Finance. Under his guidance, Emirates generated over $4 billion in international media exposure from golf and tennis partnerships alone. He also directed the Dubai Football Challenge, organizing a 42,000-seat event featuring elite international clubs. His hands-on approach to partnership activations ensured Emirates was always a standout brand presence across events, digital media, and consumer touchpoints.

Roger started BearFish Sports Marketing because of what he experienced on the brand side at Emirates. Time and again, they would be sold to by senior agency leaders, only for them to disappear once the deal was signed. The work would be handed down, the accountability would fade, and the original thinking they bought into often got diluted. As a brand spending serious money, Roger wanted to work with smaller, agile teams, good people who genuinely understood what they were trying to achieve and stayed involved throughout. Instead, the market felt crowded with too many “sharks” chasing Emirates’ budget, and that never sat right with him. Eventually, he decided to step away and build the kind of consultancy he would have wanted to hire.

That experience shapes everything they do at BearFish Sports Marketing. Roger explained that most consultants come from agency or rights-holder backgrounds; he spent nineteen years on the buying side as Global Head of Sponsorship at Emirates, managing over $300M per annum across thirty plus sports and making the final yes-or-no decisions with senior leaders. Roger knows what brands look for because he was the one approving the invoices.

Combined with a global network built over two decades and a boutique, founder-led model, BearFish offers something different: clients work directly with Roger from strategy through negotiation and activation planning. The person who closes the deal is the person who delivers it ensuring accountability, continuity, and partnerships built on trust rather than transactions.

When people ask him about Dubai, he tells them without hesitation that it’s the greatest place in the world to live, and he genuinely could never imagine leaving. What makes Dubai special is not just the skyline or the ambition, but the culture and the people. It is an incredibly welcoming and diverse city where people from all over the world live side by side with respect and openness. He explains that the government’s focus is clearly on the welfare, safety, and quality of life of its citizens and residents, and that shows through world class infrastructure, outstanding healthcare and education, and a city with little to no crime. It is a place where families feel safe, professionals can thrive, and opportunity feels limitless. He went on to say that the lifestyle is equally unmatched. You can play almost any sport imaginable and enjoy food from virtually every culture in the world. He still plays in a men’s baseball league there, and there are also communities for ice hockey, Aussie Rules football, Irish hurling, rugby, cricket, and many more. Add in wonderful beaches, an incredible sports and events scene, and year round energy, and Dubai becomes very hard to beat. It combines global diversity with a real sense of community and ambition with humanity. For Roger, it is home, and he truly believes there is no better place in the world to live.

“Always lead by example. It’s not that complicated or hard. Always be there for the team. Let the team have a life. Family is always more important than work, so enjoy.”

Mr. Duthie travelled a lot while at Emirates and he still does. He had two children in Dubai, Isabella and Oliver. He always tells younger friends who are having kids that to be present is the most important thing in the world to maintain a lifelong relationship with your kids. So when he wasn’t travelling, he made sure he went to every swim meet, every play, and every school assembly. He coached his son’s baseball teams and drove his daughter to ballet and piano. He explained that parents become taxi drivers when kids are young and doing activities, but that’s the time you get to groove with Prince in the car with Isabella or talk in depth about the Toronto Maple Leafs with Ollie. Roger explained that if his job ever got in the way of his relationship with his children, he wouldn’t have done it. Eventually he was able to hire younger, single males and females who took on more of the business travel so he could stay grounded.

“I am the happiest person I know.  Sadly I’ve seen too many people pass away over the years far too young, so I continue to embrace life.”

Mr. Duthie is a great example of a family man who balances his very successful career with a wide range of activities, to include travel, sports, and being present with his friends and family. He described his childhood as growing up in a blended sports-minded family. He explained that the main reason he started to travel was because one of his stepbrothers passed away at a very young age but his exuberance for life, adventure, and travel provided the impetus to move away from Toronto and see the world. The greatest advice he can offer is to pursue travel and education. These things have shaped his career and the person he is today.

If you would like to learn more about Roger Duthie, BearFish Sports Marketing, and BearFish Sports Apparel, please visit bearfishsportsmarketing.com.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

Sometimes you meet someone who has defied all of the odds, confronted bias and hatred, and made it through to become incredibly strong and successful. Dr. Susan Levit is just such a person. I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Levit about her amazing life and her new book, Susanna: Journey to my Dream.

Dr. Susan Levit’s inspiring journey began in a small Soviet town and has spanned four continents. She explained that she believes she was genetically preconditioned to become a doctor. During her childhood she was surrounded by her parents and her siblings, who were all doctors. She described being around the dinner table listening to them tell stories and jokes about their lives as doctors and realizing that to her, nothing was as exciting as medicine. It was as natural as eating and sleeping.

Dr. Levit began medical school in the former Soviet Union. The horrific realities of communism and anti-Semitism prompted an exodus to Israel, where she completed her education. This was challenging, as she did not speak Hebrew, but had to learn. She served in the Israeli army as a doctor, and when her husband was asked to work in Africa as a civil engineer, she moved to Africa where she continued to work as a medical doctor. She specializes in internal medicine and there she treated the local people as well as the expatriate community.

When asked what her biggest obstacle in life has been, she didn’t hesitate to answer: Anti-Semitism.

Dr. Susan Levit lived in a world that held her nationality against her. Every obstacle was constructed to make life more difficult. While in Israel, she had to learn Hebrew and English. Whether it was holding medical school lectures and exams solely in Hebrew, which was not her first language, or shaming her for leaving the communist Soviet Union to make a better life, Dr. Susan Levit dealt with it.

Dr. Levit learned Hebrew and English. She finished medical school despite all odds. Susanna found herself fighting in the Yom Kippur War. She lived through a coup d’état in turbulent Africa. Then, she finally arrived at Lady Liberty’s shores.

What stopped her from just giving up? She explained that she never even had the thought of giving up. She didn’t have any choice, she needed to succeed.

And succeed she did. Dr. Susan Levit was awarded with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. She considers this the pinnacle of her success and recognition for her contribution to American society. A girl from a small Soviet town had become the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award given to those who became inspired by the American dream, and fully realized it.

This incredibly elegant woman credits her father and husband as her biggest inspiration in life. They held her high and believed in her, and they knew she had the ability to succeed. When asked what the hardest thing she has ever had to do in her life, her answer was to raise children to be successful and good members of society. Dr. Levit considers both of her children her crowning jewel and greatest accomplishment, with both being highly successful. Her response to my question, regarding if she still believes in the American Dream echoes the message her son, Dr. Eyal Levit, also shared with me:

Yes, she does still believe in the American Dream. She advises to believe in your dream, persevere and achieve.

Dr. Susan Levit’s book, Susanna: Journey to my Dream, is a fascinating story of perseverance that follows her family’s astonishing rise, spanning three generations, four continents, and three wars. It is available in English on Amazon.com and in Russian on Lulu.com, Dr. Susan Levit Stremlenie kmechte.

Dr. Susan Levit’s goal is to influence by personal example; specifically to influence a new generation by personal example. She believes that if you want something strongly enough, and you work to achieve it, it will not only be a dream, but a reality.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

“I think all the guys are staring at you because they think you’re anorexic,” Teri stated with a sneer. We were at a training with various male police officers in rural Maryland, and I was a seemingly buxom, young, blond twenty-something. I was pretty sure they weren’t staring at me judging my possible eating habits. Always having been self-conscious about how thin I was, her words cut me, but I didn’t let her know. She was my supervisor at the time, and one of many in a very long line of poor leadership examples. She wasn’t just imperfect, she was horrendous.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Sam Willing, strategic partner, transformational executive coach, and speaker with over twenty-five years of corporate experience in Organizational Development, People Strategy, and Culture Transformation about leadership, healing and the kind of impact we leave behind. While Sam focuses on equipping business leaders with the tools, confidence, and strategic insight to unlock their full potential, elevate leadership effectiveness, and drive meaningful impact—all while strengthening business performance, her comments about imperfection and compassion really resonated with me.

Sam brings over twenty-five years of corporate HR experience, much of it in biotech and high-growth companies. But it’s her deep compassion, lived wisdom, and disarming honesty that stand out most. She doesn’t just coach leaders, she holds space for their transformation.

Sam shared that the coaching side of HR had always been her calling. From college days where friends called her “the counselor,” to her early career roles, she found herself naturally guiding others through challenge and change. When an organization asked her to continue coaching after she left a full-time HR role, it sparked something: maybe this was her next chapter. She started her own coaching business quietly, building a reputation through word-of-mouth, growing a loyal client base while juggling full-time executive roles. Eventually, she made the leap, bringing her heart, strategy, and powerful presence into full-time coaching.

Many of Sam’s clients are in the thick of leadership—C-suite and senior leaders navigating pressure, pivots, and people dynamics. Especially in biotech and tech startups, where the stakes are high and the pace is relentless, her work helps them find solid ground. Her coaching dives into nervous system regulation, identity, and values. “When leaders define success based on things they can lose, titles, outcomes, recognition, they end up chasing peace instead of embodying it,” she shared. “But when they anchor in who they are and the impact they want to have, everything shifts. The pressure doesn’t go away, but their relationship to it does.”

Sam believes the secret to sustainable leadership isn’t more strategy, it’s more awareness. “You can teach someone how to have a hard conversation, improve their communication etc., but if they’re dysregulated, all those tools go out the window. Regulation is what allows us to access wisdom under pressure.” Her clients learn practical tools like breathwork, movement, journaling, and meditation to return to center, especially in moments of fear or overwhelm. “Fear comes in waves,” she says. “Your job is to learn to ride the wave, not get taken under by it.”

She’s now turning those years of insights into her first book, Regulate to Rise: The Hidden Key to Powerful Leadership and Personal Peace, launching Fall 2025. The book weaves neuroscience, story, and leadership strategy with Sam’s signature warmth and honesty. It’s a wake-up call and an invitation to stop performing leadership and start embodying it.

Sam also hosts the podcast Imperfection Wins, born from her own journey with perfectionism and the healing that followed. Filled with authentic stories and honest reflection, it’s been a space of grace for her and her listeners. She’s closing the podcast this September to make room for new ventures, but its legacy remains.

Another expression of Sam’s heart is The Compassionate Collective, a social impact marketplace she co-founded that features handmade “imperfect hearts” as tangible reminders of the beauty in imperfection. “We’ve sold them for six and a half years,” she said. “People carry them, gift them, and pass them along in moments of loss, hope, and celebration. It’s a piece of compassion you can hold in your hand.”

Sam’s work is more than coaching. It’s an invitation to live with intention, lead with integrity, and remember that the most powerful leaders are the ones who know how to come home to themselves.

To learn more about Sam Willing, The Compassionate Collective, or her upcoming book, visit samwilling.com and compassionatecollective.com.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

“You’re not four years old! You’re too small!”

The mean little girl narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing me in all her four-year-old wisdom. Then she shoved me down the slide, cackling madly, because I was in her way and taking too long.

“You’re too skinny. You need to eat,” the cruel girl looked me up and down with disgust. I was twelve. That exact phrase echoed through junior high, and then on into high school.

“You’re so pale. Don’t you like the beach?” asked an old, leather-faced man in the elevator, leering. I was thirty-five.

I was always the smallest, the skinniest, the palest. Perpetually the underdog, I found myself deeply connected to Eyal Levit’s new book, The King’s Race, which I was honored to preview—alongside the opportunity to interview him.

Dr. Levit is a board-certified dermatologist at Levit Dermatology in the Manhattan Beach area of Brooklyn, New York. He was born in Ukraine in 1971 during the Cold War, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. He explained that as Jews, they were “equal” only in slogans and propaganda. In reality, their passports marked them as part of a “fifth column”—subject to quotas, barred from many jobs, and often deliberately failed in school regardless of academic excellence. Even becoming valedictorian was nearly impossible, as the unspoken rule was to suppress Jewish achievement. Since exams were oral, grading could always be skewed by subjective interpretation.

In January 1972, his parents immigrated to Israel. The process was humiliating. Most heirlooms passed down through generations had to be left behind. Emigrants were allowed only $100 in hard currency. After a long and degrading train journey through Vienna and a short stay there, the family finally arrived in Israel.

Integration wasn’t easy. There was a new language, new climate, and his parents—both professionals—had to retake their licensing exams in Hebrew. Eventually, they settled in Haifa. But by 1973, war had broken out, and both of Eyal’s parents were drafted to serve. He vividly remembers hiding in bomb shelters, sirens blaring as Egyptian planes flew overhead, bombing his city.

At the age of seven, his family was sent on a humanitarian mission to Nigeria—his father as a civil engineer to build roads and bridges, his mother as a doctor to serve malaria-stricken communities. Because Nigeria was part of AIPAC and couldn’t officially request help from Israel, the Israeli construction company adopted the American-sounding name RCC (Reynolds Construction Corporation).

At first, Eyal was enrolled in a school run by nuns. He was the only white child in the class and was called a derogatory name: “Umbakara” (banana-peeled skin). His mother pulled him out after witnessing, by chance, the daily fistfights he had been enduring—fights he had hidden from her to spare her worry. She homeschooled him until the company opened its own school.

By thirteen, Eyal’s family had returned to Israel. He enrolled in one of the country’s top private schools, but soon his parents had to leave again in search of work. Eyal stayed with his grandparents. After three years, he joined his parents in the United States, where they were still navigating life with green cards. Just three months after arriving, a martial arts instructor who believed in him took him under his wing. Eyal went on to win a silver medal in the Junior Olympics—missing gold only because he lost focus in shock at his own unexpected success.

Dr. Eyal Levit is now a successful dermatologist. He explained that it was his mother—also a physician—who encouraged him to consider dermatology. He took her advice seriously, and the more he learned, the more he realized she was right. The skin, he says, is the body’s largest organ and its first line of defense—like an envelope maintaining a constant, interactive pathway between our internal organs and the outside world.

Eyal believes that education should never stop. He teaches and learns daily, and to him, a day without learning something new is a day wasted. Currently, he is working to reverse biological aging—a key to preventing many cancers and chronic diseases. He holds two patents: one for diabetes therapy and another for air purification. He has presented at dermatological and cosmetic conferences both in the United States and around the world, and has authored numerous articles and book chapters in medical textbooks. He also co-edited a textbook on medical and cosmetic dermatologic surgery.

No matter what happens, he says, always remember to have a BALL: Believe, Achieve, Love, and Live.

Eyal recently wrote a children’s book titled The King’s Race, inspired by his education, his medical practice, his personal journey, and the stories shared with him by his patients. The King’s Race is a heartwarming and inspirational story about a noble animal who overcomes adversity and the circumstances of his birth to persevere and shine.

Eyal believes that life constantly tests us—and each time we fall short, we’re faced with a choice: give up, or rise up. Through his global experiences as an immigrant, he has seen firsthand how athletics can unite people and help them rise above petty prejudice. Children, with their open minds, are especially receptive—sports can help them build friendships that transcend race, religion, and nationality.

In the story of Spots the horse, Eyal highlights the importance of open-mindedness, kindness, respect, hard work, and the timeless wisdom of ancient books like the Bible. The book also confronts society’s shallow obsession with outward appearance—an obsession that does not define who we truly are, yet is often used to judge us unfairly.

As a doctor whose mission is to heal, Eyal feels compelled to write when he believes his words can help society. While much of today’s health conversation centers on gut health, mindfulness, and meditation, he believes we must not overlook books. Books are ancient pillars of human knowledge. They help us unlock our potential. Throughout the history of civilization, after the gift of speech, it was writing and reading that became our second most vital tool for survival—preserving the DNA of our shared human story.

The message Eyal hopes readers take from The King’s Race is that kindness pays off. True strength is an internal quality—something each of us can choose to cultivate. He encourages readers to choose their friends wisely, because our environment plays a powerful role in shaping both our character and our future.

When life feels difficult, when hope seems distant, and you’re left wondering why certain things are happening to you—pause, refocus, and take charge of what you can do. Learn from your circumstances, rise up, and change your situation. Eyal believes that heroes are not born—they are forged by the challenges they overcome. He thus advises us to embrace the challenges as an opportunity for growth. Each of us has the potential to be a hero. There’s no limit to how many heroes the world can hold.

He reminds us to celebrate one another’s strengths rather than diminish others to elevate ourselves. We must learn to recognize the beauty in everyone and everything—and to honor it, not extinguish it.

The King’s Race embodies all these values, told through a timeless story that reads like an ancient fable.

The King’s Race is being published by Brave Kids Books and is expected to be available in November 2025.

To learn more about Dr. Eyal Levit, visit www.levitdermatology.com.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

“You’re just like your hair, flimsy and floppy. You’re such a pushover,” the cruel words came out of the mouth of one of the most popular girls in school. Most popular girl almost always coincided with mean girl. I felt the sting of her words, but didn’t say anything back. I was used to being put down by kids at school, and at this point in life I was attending the original Mean Girl High. All through my school years I didn’t feel like I really knew myself and I often looked at others and wanted to be them. I was not very self-aware, or perhaps I was too self-aware. I was sort of like a shell of a person, personality not yet formed. As I reached college, this changed dramatically as I discovered my true self and gained confidence. This becoming coincided with my physical blossoming as a late bloomer.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Astrologer and Certified Life Coach, Adriana “Adri” Barnhardt. Her description of how she felt growing up and into adulthood resonated with me as someone who had been consumed for most of my childhood and teenage years with how I was being perceived and talked about. Adri explained that her biggest fear has always been being seen, perceived, and then talked about. It’s interesting because she pursued such a visible career in musical theater before becoming an astrologer and life coach. She loved theater because she could hide behind a role—makeup, costume, lines. If people judged the performance, it wasn’t her, it was the character.

She later realized that what she was really fighting deep down was self-hatred. Years of therapy helped her realize that she doesn’t care as much anymore about what others think of her, because she knows what she thinks of herself. Adri used to feel so lost—no idea who she was or what she wanted, besides wanting to hide. But now she understands her true calling and that clarity has surpassed the fear. She no longer hides behind a character and she feels free to be her most genuine, authentic self. And if someone has a problem with that? That’s a them issue.

Her biggest challenge in life has been becoming her own best friend and unconditionally loving herself. Once she got out of her own way and started her business, lovinglyadri, unlocking what she calls the ILYSM “intuitively love yourself” mentality, everything in her life shifted. She discovered her passions, her real goals, and began working toward the happiest version of her life. Most importantly, she killed her “sh*t-talking inner voice”. Lovinglyadri is a coaching and astrology practice that helps people return to themselves with clarity, compassion, and radical honesty.

Adri is unique in the life coaching world because she combines being a life coach with astrology. She says that her clients have the answers, she just helps them hear the answers louder. Lovinglyadri exists to guide people through the process of self-awareness, unconditional self-love, and intentional living by integrating astrology, coaching, and intuitive wisdom. Adri has now officially launched ILYSM: the lovingly Adri signature method. ILYSM is a mindset shift – from tolerating yourself to intuitively loving yourself. There are four steps and personalized post-session materials, including a customized astrology study guide and anti-spiraling packets. She begins with the client’s birth chart, what she calls your personal happiness manual, and bridges the gap between your cosmic blueprint and your real, lived experience. This is not your typical “mindset reset”; this is deep, intentional integration. After a chart reading, characteristics that a client thought they didn’t like about themselves turn into a characteristic that can be used as their superpower.

Adri explains that this means less spiraling, more grounding. Less obsessing, more action. Less “I should know better by now,” and more “I get it now – and I’ve got me”. If you’ve ever wished your inner voice sounded like someone who actually loves you, Adri’s service is for you.

Adri is always accepting new clients and she wants people to understand astrology as a tool for self-awareness, not some fortune-telling gimmick. She also offers astrology-only readings for people who don’t want the full coaching experience. In addition, she does friend hangs and astrology dinner parties. Her dream is to travel around the world helping humans gain self-awareness, leading to unconditional self-love.

If you would like to learn more about Adri and ILYSM, please visit lovinglyadri.com.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

As a child I loved to write, with a particular inclination toward scary stories and other types of fiction. This was where I truly thrived, but over time you could say that the mundane aspects of life took precedence, and that creativity was dimmed. Teachers and professors told you what to write, and later, as an intelligence officer, cable writing didn’t exactly align with tales of ghost cats and spooky dolls. Once I resigned from the CIA, I realized I really didn’t have a skill that could translate to the real world. I had never loved any job that I had ever had, and I had quite a few. Sure, there were aspects of each experience that I liked, but I didn’t find my true love until I returned to writing. It was only then that I realized this was my calling and I did have a skill that translated to the world outside of the CIA after all! I then hit reset, started over, and I have officially “come home to myself”, as International Business Coach Dana Grant would say.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dana, and speak with her not only about being an International Business Coach and Master Question Asker, but also a host of global retreats, keynote speaker, and co-founder of Cali’Flour Foods. Dana’s work has expanded into helping people discover the power of using their intuition to make life-changing decisions in their day-to-day lives. She speaks of “coming home to yourself” and she is on a soul quest to see everyone reach their full potential.

Dana describes herself as a master question asker, podcast host, entrepreneur, and creative with deep roots in both healing and adventure. She has worn a lot of hats over the years: co-founder of Cali’Flour Foods, international coach, former business lobbyist with records that have still not been broken, speaker, and most recently, she has just finished her first book and she spends her time “zooming” around the globe supporting and celebrating people. She has a heart that’s always been drawn to service, community and connection.

Dana says that her biggest challenge has been releasing the need to prove her worth through performance. For a long time, she was caught in the cycle of overachieving, over giving, and constantly showing up for others while abandoning herself. She wore success like armor—chasing the next milestone, the next title, the next “yes”—believing that if she could just do enough, she would be enough. But that way of living broke her down emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

The real breakthrough came when she was forced to slow down—when her health, relationships, and sense of purpose all collided and asked her to choose something different. That’s when she began becoming—learning to live from truth, not trauma. Choosing to rest, to receive, to honor herself without needing to earn it—that’s been the most radical, and rewarding, challenge of her life.

Dana described defeating a debilitating illness and going through a season where her body quite literally shut down. She was in chronic pain, deeply fatigued, and no one could give her clear answers. She was told by more than one doctor that she’d just have to “manage” it for the rest of her life. But something in her refused to accept that. She had this quiet, persistent belief that her body wasn’t her enemy—it was trying to get her attention.

Defeating that illness wasn’t a quick fix, Dana describes it as a deep unraveling. She had to change everything—what she ate, how she worked, how she thought. She began learning to listen to her body, to slow down, to nourish instead of numb. She sought out holistic practitioners, functional medicine, and trauma-informed therapy. And, she says, maybe most importantly, she learned how to feel her emotions instead of powering through them. Dana believes that so much of our pain is our body screaming what our mouths are too afraid to say. For her, healing wasn’t just about getting better—it was about becoming whole. That journey taught her to stop outsourcing her power and start partnering with her own wisdom. It’s why she does the work she does now—to help others come home to themselves the way she had to.

Dana’s tips for fighting an illness:

1. Listen to your body like it’s a trusted friend, not a broken machine. Your symptoms aren’t punishments—they’re communication. Your body is trying to tell you what your soul may not have the words for yet. Slowing down to listen is one of the bravest things you can do.
2. Be your own advocate. No one knows your body better than you. If something feels off, trust yourself. Keep asking questions. Keep searching. Just because a practitioner can’t find the cause doesn’t mean the cause doesn’t exist.
3. Heal the emotional, not just the physical. Dana had to face the fact that unresolved trauma, burnout, and over-functioning were contributing to her illness. When she started healing emotionally—setting boundaries, releasing shame, honoring her needs—her body started responding.
4. Let support in. Illness can be incredibly isolating, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Find a community, a coach, a support group—anyone who reminds you that you’re not a burden, you’re human.
5. Give yourself permission to rest. You don’t have to “earn” rest by being productive. Rest is a form of resistance in a world that wants you to push through everything. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is pause and be present with what’s real.

In her coaching business, Dana teaches her clients to use their intuition to make life-changing decisions in their day-to-day life. She explains that intuition is that quiet, inner knowing — the nudge that speaks before fear or logic gets too loud. She believes everyone has it, but most people are just too busy or too disconnected from themselves to hear it. To use your intuition in daily life, you’ve got to slow down and actually listen. That might look like journaling, meditating, walking in nature, or just getting still and asking, “What feels right?” not just “What makes sense?”

Life-changing decisions often come down to what aligns with your peace, not just your plan. Intuition doesn’t always shout, it whispers. But when you learn to trust it, you’ll find it’s one of the most powerful tools for creating a life that’s authentic, aligned, and wildly fulfilling. Dana has built her client base through connection, trust, and word of mouth. She shared her story, showed up consistently, and created results for the people she worked with. That ripple effect turned into a community. It didn’t happen overnight, but within a couple of years, she had a solid client base, and from there, it expanded globally. She now has helped over 3,000 clients across 9+ countries. Dana now primarily coaches high achievers who are ready to scale their impact without losing their soul.

Managing 3,000 clients across 9+ countries isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing things smarter, with structure, soul, and strategy. Dana has built systems that support both personalization and scalability. That includes digital platforms, automated touchpoints, group coaching models, and a solid team. But even with all of that, the real key is presence. When she is with a client, whether it’s one or 100, she’s all in.

For anyone managing multiple clients: boundaries are everything. You must protect your energy like it’s part of your business plan. Clear communication, systems that work while you sleep, and the ability to delegate are non-negotiables. And finally, don’t forget the heart. People don’t just want a service — they want to feel seen. Stay connected to that and you’ll always stand out.

Manage your energy first, and your time will follow.

Dana’s biggest time management tip is to align your calendar with your energy, not just your tasks. Know when you’re most creative, most focused, most social, and batch your activities accordingly. She calls it “energy-based scheduling.” Dana recommends time blocking like it’s a boundary, not a suggestion. Schedule rest and play, not just work. This keeps burnout at bay. Automate and delegate everything that doesn’t require your personal magic. And, most importantly, prioritize what matters, not just what’s urgent.

Currently, Dana’s biggest project is expanding her global coaching platform to support even more high-achieving women who are ready to step into their next chapter — whether that’s building a soul-led business, healing from burnout, or rewriting the stories that have held them back. She’s also writing her second book which focuses on resilience, reinvention, and the power of coming home to yourself. Between that and hosting The Dana Grant Show, she’s all-in on amplifying voices, creating safe spaces for transformation, and building a legacy that reflects love, truth, and possibility.

Dana’s first book The Truth Within The Lie will be out soon.  In the book, Dana delivers a no-fluff, fire-breathing wake-up call for anyone done pretending, performing, or settling for less than what they came here to be. Drawing from her own powerful story of resilience and spiritual realignment, Dana guides readers to reconnect with Universal Principles that govern all creation — principles like alignment, intention, truth, and divine timing.

The Power of Starting Over

Dana Grant feels that no matter where you are in life, it’s never too late to hit reset, reclaim your story, and create something aligned with who you truly are. So many people feel trapped by their past decisions or current circumstances, but she believes that transformation is always possible when we give ourselves permission to grow without judgment. Whether it’s changing careers, healing old wounds, or stepping into a new identity, the journey of becoming is a beautiful, ongoing process, and it’s one Dana is passionate about supporting others through.

If you would like to learn more about Dana Grant, please visit danagrant.com.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

I watched as my friend’s face visibly fell and I could almost feel the dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach that I knew she felt every time she saw that her ex-husband had sent her yet another email. I had never been married, but I had been in enough horrible relationships to know the stress that came along with acrimonious communications. In my friend’s case, they had both moved on long ago, but they had a child, and therefore co-parenting was necessary. But the vitriol coming from his side was palpable. The emotions were high. It was like an endless battle via email, phone, or text, and just checking her messages no doubt caused great anxiety. She couldn’t just ignore him, as they needed to work together for their child, but what if there was a better way? What if there was a way to defuse the trauma involved in constantly fighting with your ex?

I recently had the opportunity to interview Vanessa Carson, the founder of Defuze.io, a cutting-edge platform redefining what it means to co-parent in today’s world. She explained that co-parenting is when parents collaborate post-separation to raise their children, ensuring their well-being and stability. It spans everything from high-conflict scenarios, where “parallel parenting” is often more accurate, to more harmonious setups that include extended family networks. Vanessa has spent years herself navigating the complexities of co-parenting, constantly adapting to challenges while focusing on her children’s needs. She describes her experience as a journey of resilience, patience, and learning the value of clear communication, and especially boundaries. Every family is unique, but prioritizing shared goals for the children remains at the heart of it all. One of the toughest aspects of co-parenting is balancing the mental load while maintaining consistency for the children involved. Another challenge is when communication breaks down, a key area that Vanessa has worked hard to address with her platform, Defuze.

Defuze is a platform designed for separated and single parents, as well as extended families, to streamline communication, manage logistics, and collaborate more effectively. It’s not just about reducing conflict – it’s about simplifying life for modern families. The platform even includes channel access for grandparents, caregivers, and others involved in raising children. In phase two, Defuze will extend support beyond the child-rearing years. Defuze harnesses its own AI, THEA, to make communication constructive and neutral, reducing unnecessary conflict and ‘noise’. It also helps with scheduling, task management, and tracking shared responsibilities, making planning effortless for busy families.

Vanessa explains how she came up with the idea for Defuze as beginning with a lightbulb moment, but says the real magic has been the synchronicity of the journey. Meeting the right people at just the right time – team members, advisors, and collaborators – has been instrumental in bringing her vision to life. Developing Defuze.io has taken just under a year, with the real milestones coming from connecting with the right people at critical stages. Collaboration and timing have been key in shaping the platform. Building it has been a testament to the strength of a shared vision and the magic of timing. Defuze is accessible on both smartphones and laptops, giving families the flexibility to use it in the way that works best for them.

The universal challenge amongst humans is communication. Defuze incorporates an AI tool called THEA to respond without emotion to those potentially nasty exchanges between co-parents, even if the other partner is not open to using the tool. Vanessa understands that every word carries meaning and words can have an enormous impact. The whole idea behind THEA is to avoid escalation in those potentially ugly exchanges and create a more harmonious, successful separated household environment which reduces, and hopefully eliminates, the trauma on the children involved. Phase two will extend beyond the child rearing years and THEA will be harnessed for additional application as well as co-parenting.

Vanessa Carson’s motivation comes from her own children and the mission behind Defuze. Her driving force is knowing that this platform can help families navigate challenges and reduce stress. Defuze isn’t just a tech solution or app – it’s an ecosystem and a reflection of the power of collaboration. It is especially unique because Vanessa and her team are building a community around the platforms, which will extend to physical events they will be launching in the near future. It’s all about empowering modern families – separated parents, single parents, and extended networks – to thrive.

Inspired by her own experiences navigating single and parallel parenting, Vanessa is on a mission to empower parents with practical tools, fostering collaboration, resilience, and independence. Her vision? To create a world where parents thrive, not just survive.

If you would like to learn more about Vanessa Carson and Defuze, please visit www.defuze.io.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.com.

I recently had the opportunity to interview New York City real estate broker Ellen Silverman.  In her childhood, Ellen didn’t envision anything in particular for herself career-wise. She grew up as an only child and her life goal was to be independent, make money, and get out of her parents’ home as quickly as possible! She loved structure and organization and always gravitated toward mathematics. She also developed an interest in the stock market by watching her aunt invest and manage her stock portfolio.  Because she excelled at math throughout grammar school and high school, she went on to Carnegie Mellon University and then worked in finance.

As she says, the rest is history.

Born and raised in Manhattan, what Ellen loves most about New York City is that it is a city that does not stop for one minute. Everyone dreams of making it in New York City and there is always a way to reinvent oneself in New York and make money. If you work hard and hustle, you will make it. She says she would move to Miami if she did move somewhere else.  She describes Miami as Manhattan with better weather.

Ellen explained that New York has always gone through good and bad periods. In her childhood, she remembers taking the subway to school and learning how to navigate the city.  As a young adult, she developed a sixth sense of where to walk and how to avoid suspicious-looking characters.

Ellen had a twenty-five-year career as a Wall Street analyst. When she started on Wall Street in 1990 it was quite a different work environment than it is today. In the early nineties, there was a sense of freedom and expansion. Although there were few women in senior positions, she worked with and learned from the best and brightest of colleagues. Every day was challenging and the hours were exceptionally long. On the weekends she would recuperate but come, Monday it was work, work, work! When the banking crisis hit in 2008, SEC regulators and bank auditors worked onsite, scrutinizing everyone’s work and every move. She finally left the world of finance in 2016.

After her career as a Wall Street analyst, Ellen decided to get into real estate.  Her experience living in New York City as a renter, buyer, and seller gave her a deep understanding of the ebbs and flows of the market and the diverse neighborhoods of Manhattan. Ellen has earned the coveted Certified Buyer Representative and Master Certified Negotiation Expert designations. In addition, she always had a keen eye for interior design and staging.

Ellen works with a lot of first-time home buyers for purchasing co-ops and condominiums as well as international investors who are seeking pieds-à-terre.  She loves new developments and introducing her buyers to current design and architectural trends as well as new neighborhoods that her clients may not have considered.  Ellen currently serves both local New York City clients and international investors from Spain, Portugal, France, Israel, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.

When asked why some people want to rent in New York versus buy, she explained that many renters are in the city for a brief time and want to see how they like living in the city before making a purchase. In addition, many renters do not have the down payment required for a purchase or they don’t qualify for a mortgage. In addition, there is a lot of political and financial uncertainty in the world right now and many buyers are reluctant to purchase. She does, however, believe the right time may never appear and it is better to be in the game than not. Like the stock market, New York real estate appreciates over the long run, but one has to be patient!

During the pandemic, there was a massive exodus of people leaving New York City. She would get calls from her friends constantly asking her why she was still in the city.  Everyone was so fearful. Being a native New Yorker, Ellen knew that those who moved to Florida or the suburbs would come roaring back. And did they ever, as 2021 was one of the best years in real estate for many brokers. The market quieted in 2023 and 2024; however, she expects activity to increase significantly in 2025.  She sees the New York market accelerating with more buyers coming out of the woodwork. Buyers have finally accepted the higher mortgage rates and have realized the need to get on with their lives. Because of the shortage of inventory, she does not see prices coming down significantly this spring.

Ellen describes herself as very bullish over the next five to ten years due an innovative program referred to as “City of Yes.” This approach seeks to distribute the responsibility of creating housing more evenly, essentially extending it to every neighborhood in the city. City of Yes will create more homes accessible to those at lower income levels over the next fifteen years than all of the city’s other inclusionary housing programs. The City of Yes is expected to produce 80,000 new units of housing.

If one really wants to buy an apartment in New York City and it seems out of reach, Ellen recommends investigating in up-and-coming areas of the city where prices are less expensive. These areas will appreciate over time. She also recommends investing in a condominium since the rules are less restrictive than in co-op apartments.

Ellen doesn’t expect to see the great price appreciations that sellers experienced in the past thirty years and feels it will be a good ten years until we see significant profit margins for sellers.  However, she believes that it is never too late to own a home.  If one wants an apartment in New York, she recommends considering a smaller space or more affordable areas of the city. There is always a compromise in a purchase – whether it is apartment size, neighborhood, amenities, or type of building.

As a negotiation expert, Ellen feels that sellers and buyers are never 100% happy. Each partner has to give a little to get a deal done. It is important to understand everyone’s motivations and at what point they will move the needle. She always aims to be collaborative with other brokers to get a deal done.

Ellen only wishes she had begun real estate earlier in life but says that she did not have the guts to leave her job and steady paycheck. She feels it is never too late to begin a new business and to do something you love. Resources exist today that she did not have access to growing up. She believes that we live in a world now where there is no job security so you may as well be an entrepreneur and do something you love. Ellen Silverman is certainly embracing her second career as an entrepreneur.

If you would like to learn more about Ellen Silverman, please visit https://ellenjsilverman.com/.

You can also follow her on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/ellenjsilverman/.

This article was originally published on OpsLens.