Her Story of Success

Ruta Sepetys (twitter:@rutasepetys) is one of the most admired writers in contemporary children’s literature — with the bestsellers Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray among her riveting historical novels for young readers. But it was only after a 22-year career as a music business manager that she finally found the courage to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. The turning point was a trip to her father’s homeland in Lithuania, where she discovered a long hidden family secret. Though she had tried to write novels before, “It was only when I started harnessing my own story that people started to respond,” she tells us.

In this episode, Ruta retraces her unlikely journey to becoming an internationally bestselling author and offers her thoughts on working with challenging clients, the importance of mentoring, the power of stories and the enduring value of failure.

As a young single mother, Marcela Gómez (IG:@marcelagomez_1234) started a marketing firm in 2002 to focus on strategies for reaching the growing Latino community in the U.S. Launching her business was a turning point for Marcela, a native of Colombia who moved to North Carolina with her family as a teen. When she was laid off from her marketing job with a major Christian publishing house, she finally decided to take the reins of her own career. “I never wanted anyone else to have my destiny in their hands,” she says.

In this episode, Marcela also shares her ideas on building a support network when you move to a new city, making the decision to leave a job that diminishes you, the myths of work-life balance — and why she goes to bed each night with "total peace of mind."

Raised on a farm in South Carolina, Britnie Turner (IG:@britnieturner) was a beauty contestant (and Miss North Carolina) who showed her passion for helping the disadvantaged by doing mission work in Africa and Latin America. Today, at the age of 30, Britnie is the CEO of Aerial Development Group, a multimillion-dollar real estate business she started literally from the ground up to pursue her vision of helping others on a broader scale.

In this episode — recorded before a live audience in Nashville — Britnie tells us about living intentionally, thriving as a woman in a male-dominated industry and using the growth of her business to accomplish philanthropic goals. “Frustration is one of the best things you could ever have,” she says, “because it means you have the vision of a higher standard.”

The misery she felt working in corporate jobs proved to be a strong motivator for Laura Lea Goldberg (IG:@lauraleabalanced), who took a leap of faith when she left the traditional business world and began her journey to become a Certified Holistic Chef, a successful cookbook author and the voice behind the popular healthy eating website, LL Balanced.

In this episode, we talk to Laura Lea about how she found the courage to make the change, how she overcame the self-limiting beliefs that held her back and how her approach to healthy eating has changed her own life and the lives of her readers. “My life just opened up,” she says about the joys of pursuing her passion. “I went from black-and-white to color.”

Success can be defined in many ways. Our conversations with trailblazers, entrepreneurs, artists and business leaders explore how diverse women have paved their own way forward. Many have launched profitable companies; others have walked away from successful careers to pursue their dreams in other fields. As you listen to the stories of these determined and talented women, we hope they will inspire you to overcome the obstacles in your path and create your own unique version of success.