Bringing light into the darkness — with Amber Runyon

“I believe that if we can teach little girls to dream that they'll be the force that changes the world.

But more than that; I believe that if we can teach broken women to dream like little girls again, it will be a force the world is yet to see.” 

AMBER RUNYON, Founder, Legacy, and Eleventh Candle Co. 

Changing the world can be daunting and overwhelming. So how do you do it? How do you seek justice without being crushed by the injustices around you?

According to Amber — one small act at a time. Oh, and start a candle business while you’re at it.

This former hospice nurse will tell you that running a nonprofit organization that owns a for-profit business isn’t easy. She’ll say she never set out to be an entrepreneur. She’ll admit to not even being a fan of scented candles — the kind her company, the Eleventh Candle. Co., makes. But in the next breath she'll tell you she couldn’t sit on the sideline and do nothing as she saw women in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio — and young girls in Ethiopia — being trafficked; bought and sold like a commodity.  It’s exactly how to bring light into darkness — and the powerful metaphor isn’t lost on her either. 

Amber’s story is deeply personal while also being selfless. She’s employing women who desperately want to dream again and believe in life’s possibilities. She’s also giving hope and refuge to little girls a continent away. And she’s doing it with some wax, a wick, and a little redemptive storytelling.

Amber epitomizes what it means to change the world with small steps. In time, they add up to an impact that far exceeds expectations.    

Eleventh Candle Company

Legacy (mission video)

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Finding joy after tragedy — with Ian Burkhart

“(Regarding my injury) there’s a point where insurance believes you’ve plateaued and you’re not going to make any more progress. I wasn’t ready to accept that. I wanted to do more.

I asked my doctors about other types of therapy, what else might be out there for me. And that’s when I was at the right place at the right time. I was the perfect candidate.”

IAN BURKHART, Founder, Ian Burkhart Foundation and first-ever neurobridge implant patient

Ian remembers being a typical, jovial college student having fun on vacation at the beach with his friends. He also recalls the moment when he dove into the ocean waves off of the Carolina coast and hit a sandbar — that very moment when everything changed.

Ian learned shortly thereafter that he had suffered a devastating spinal cord injury. His diagnosis: paralyzed for life. At age 19, Ian’s life was forever altered.    

Ian shares his story that is equal parts heartbreaking, heartwarming and, truth be told, literally mind altering. Ian is the first person ever to undergo an elective brain surgery to implant a device that can read his brain waves in effort to help him regain movement. It is here — where life and science intersect, and joy and pain coexist — that Ian speaks with a steady cadence of hope and reason borne of a tragic accident. 

We return to the site of his first internship, Brainstorm Media, which was the type of place he could envision a career after college. Ian gives us the encouragement to be optimistic and inspired, especially when a new set of aspirations are ready to replace those best laid plans.   

New York Times article  |  Columbus Monthly article

TEDxColumbus talk  (photo credit: Time Tank Labs)

Ian Burkhart Foundation

Losing that spark and finding it again — with Mark Henson

“I felt like every conversation with a mentor on another business person came back to ‘I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up’ and I didn’t like that because I knew for the longest time — this is it. I love what I do and want to do it forever... and then I didn’t. And that was weird.”

MARK HENSON, Founder of sparkspace & author of Ordinary Super Powers

Anyone who knows Mark would likely agree that he’s one of the more upbeat and positive people you’ll ever meet — and as the founder and creative force behind sparkspace, he’s running one of the coolest places on the planet for creative inspiration, personal development and team building. 

And that’s all Mark wanted to do. Run a business just like that.

Until he didn’t. 

Mark opens up about what happens when you lose that spark for the thing you love, how depression can still get its grips on the optimist, and how figuring out what you’re good at — and not simply passionate about — is the key to unleashing your ordinary super powers. This is a story of rediscovery and finding that spark again to do your best work — that stuff you were meant to do.

We also discover some interesting back history on Mark as he reveals tidbits about his life as as Top 40 radio disc jockey in middle America, with a not-so-middle-America on-air persona.    

sparkspace

Ordinary Super Powers  

Bikes, brews & the things that move you — with Chris Bishop

“I never worked in a bike shop until I owned one. My first day on the job I was reporting to myself. Sometimes we fear what we don’t know but forget to celebrate or praise what we do know. There's this really awesome saying: we fail at the margins of our experience. When we do, great. We grew. We don’t grow by having a cushy, comfortable life.”

CHRIS BISHOP, Founder, Backroom Coffee Roasters and hop merchant 

Pulling up to Chris’s airplane hangar turned “workshop” — where he roasts beans for Backroom Coffee Roasters today — is a much different setting for his business compared to when he was fueling his coffee fix out of the back room of a bike shop, hence the company name.

Chris is far from being stuck in the same gear. He’s the kind of guy who has multiple interests and a willingness to pursue them as far as they will go. He’s also a guy who avoids getting too comfortable with any venture, knowing that comfort has a way of stunting growth and breeding complacency. 

Chris charts his entrepreneurial path and insatiable desire for discovery, from motor sports to bicycles and from coffee to beer. And he believes in doing the kind of work you’re passionate about and can pour yourself into. It’s how he has turned his passions into paychecks and immensely enjoyable work.

Chris’s story will encourage you to go for it — whatever your “it” might be.   

Trading the cubicle for tiny living & bigger vistas — with Nick Couts

“People ask me all the time ‘how did you convince your wife to do this?’ when the fact is she’s the one who spearheaded this whole idea.”

NICK COUTS, Founder, LOVE Cinema, LLC, and full-time traveler 

Most people who think about purchasing an RV and traveling around the country plan to do so in retirement. For Nick Couts, taking that leap as a millennial was a calculated move to enjoy the world now and not wait for another 35 years. After taking a sabbatical from the acclaimed Spacejunk studio, getting encouragement from his wife, and honing a motion graphics skill set that doesn’t confine him to a cubicle farm, Nick is now two years deep into being a nomadic artist without a permanent address. He’s a man happily living out his plan in a van. 

Traveling the wide open west with his wife and a massive Saint Bernard, Nick talks about the challenges and rewards of working remotely, a radically different shift in lifestyle and the inspiration a creative gets when the landscape is constantly changing. 

Nick supplies us with his story of mapping his own road, as well as a handful of photographs he’s taken during his travels, with links to his Facebook and Instagram account to show more of his adventures.   

Nick's Website

Facebook

Instagram

It’s never too late to pen a new script — with Bill Lilly

“I thought because of the skill that I had, I should make big bucks. When I turned it down (the White House job), the pay was equal to a truck driver's union-skilled job” 

BILL LILLY, International Senior Master Penman, nonagenarian and retiree

You might not know it from his gregarious laugh and unimposing stature that measures closer to five-foot tall rather than six, but Bill Lilly is a legendary character who pens legendary characters. He is regarded as the world’s foremost Master Penman — a title he’s held for the better part of three decades. Bill’s story is one of his incredible talent in scriptwriting and flourishing with a steady hand, and how his love of script has led to genuine surprises and unforeseen stardom. 

At a youthful 90 years old, Bill sits down with us in his humble in-home studio and weaves tales about serving in WWII, leaving college to improve his script, turning down a job at the White House, plowing through a career he never really enjoyed, and how he ended up becoming a world sensation long after his retirement from International Harvester. For the past 25 years, Bill has been showcasing his work while also giving private lessons to both young designers and hobbyists who desire to learn his technique and who actively seek him out from all over the world.  

Bill's story is a testament to finding one’s joy, honing a hobby into something more, and never abandoning that passion from within. His rise to unlikely fame reveals a remarkable journey that has spanned nearly 70 years in the making. 

Running from boredom (part 2) — with Andy J. Pizza

“Until you see someone like you thriving, you don't think you can.”

ANDY J. MILLER (aka Andy J. Pizza / Dr. Pizza) illustrator, instructor, speaker, and chief motivator of the Creative Pep Talk podcast.

In this episode, we continue the conversation we started with Andy and explore the importance of transitions and transformations; work vs. play and open vs. closed mode; the brilliance found in side projects; the need for space to actually be creative; and why calling yourself a “commercial artist” is more of a badge of honor and not some misguided notion of selling out.

Andy also talks about why he’s not romantic about the podcast format, and the reasons for that point of view, in spite of hosting his own wildly successful podcast.    

You can check out Andy’s illustration work on his site andy-j-miller.com and listen to his podcast at Creative Pep Talk.

Running from boredom (part 1) — with Andy J. Pizza

“From a young age, I always felt I was doomed... because I thought there’s no way I'm going to have a job that isn't boring.”

ANDY J. MILLER (aka Andy J. Pizza / Dr. Pizza) illustrator, instructor, speaker, and chief motivator of the Creative Pep Talk podcast.

It wasn’t that long ago that Andy J. Miller was in need of a pep talk specifically for himself. His so-called “beginners luck” and initial momentum as an illustrator began to evaporate and the need to fill the income void came in the form of other important, albeit less creative, roles. But as they say: once an artist, always an artist. Getting back on the horse wasn’t easy, and Andy learned a lot of things about himself and his craft along the way — things he now imparts on the Creative Pep Talk to thousands of loyal listeners who need a regular dose of creative inspiration.

The “doctor” is in for a two-part podcast where he prescribes practical ways forward for creatives and relays his insights about main gigs vs. side gigs, being entrepreneurial vs. an employee, commercial art, the need to evolve, and on being an artist with ADD. He also ends the debate, once and for all, on which pizza version is superior: thin crust or deep dish.  

You can check out Andy’s illustration work on his site andy-j-miller.com and listen to his podcast at Creative Pep Talk.

Life at the seams of product innovation & personal purpose — with Daniel McKewen

“I remember my wife saying to me, ‘if you don't do this, if you don’t see it through, you're going to wonder what would've happened — and it's going to drive you crazy.’ And that was the absolute truth.”

DANIEL McKEWEN, founder,
Seagull Bags & Singing Needle Studio

At first glance, Daniel isn’t likely to be pegged as a guy who spends his day sewing or cutting fabric. Yet when presented with a need for a better messenger bag, Daniel picked up his grandmother’s sewing machine and went to work. What started as out as a personal project while in art school was suddenly turning into into a word-of-mouth business with international clients before he graduated. With growth of more than 300 percent for the first five years, his epic rise also came with epic challenges — leading to a need to pause and reassess everything. But as the calloused fingers of any true craftsman will tell you, giving up just wasn't an option.

Hear Daniel’s story and how he’s kick-starting a second chapter for a beloved brand and is embarking on a crowdsourcing project to solve a problem for musicians like himself.

www.seagullbags.com
www.singingneedlestudio.com

The adventure & advantages of never growing up — with Greg Walter

“We’re trying to do something that appeals more to the child in everyone. We want to invite people to bond with a brand and have fun together rather than just being impressed by it.”

GREG WALTER, Bossman, 2Tall Animation Studio

Greg is a like a lovable kid in a tall man's body — a 2Tall one to be exact. To view his work today, it’s seems rather obvious this self-proclaimed expert daydreamer was destined to make animation videos for Sesame Street Studios and turn otherwise mundane content on its head. But finding his stride hasn’t been easy. After a 2,400-mile move from Seattle to Columbus, getting laid off and essentially starting from scratch, Greg plumbed his inner, optimistic child and found his voice...while being chased by wolves, no less. For a man who claims he’s “barely qualified to run a lemonade stand let alone an animation studio,” it’s clear he's taken his lemons and made lemonade.

Whether it’s laugh-out-loud ridiculous or surprisingly heartwarming, his trademark style of animation is always joyful and infectious. We talk with Greg about the “rock cycle” from our middle school days in science class; monsters and yetis; where his inspiration comes from; and the fine line between comfort and doubt in creating his line of work.        

www.2tall.tv

Taking a leap of faith for the good of others — with John McCollum

“Early on, I acknowledged ‘I don't know what I’m doing’ and that was one of those things that was really helpful. I didn’t get the big picture of what this would become, so I was able to learn piece by piece. 

I didn’t have any illusion that I had anything I could bring to the table that would help these people other than money — and I didn’t have much of that." 

JOHN McCOLLUM, Executive Director, Asia’s Hope

John will jokingly refer to his decision to close down his design agency to take on the leadership role for a nonprofit organization that helps orphaned kids in Asia as taking the down escalator in terms of wealth, influence and success in business. Admittedly, it’s not a conscious decision that many of us would choose to make — John included. But what John discovered, first through adoption, and then by recognizing those who would never have that chance, led him on a journey half-way around the world to bring hope to some of the world’s most vulnerable children at risk of sexual and economic exploitation. 

John’s story is about listening, feeling, and acknowledging that call on his life — and then having the faith to step out and actually do something about it.   

www.asiashope.org

Persevering & rediscovering your purpose — with Jessica Hollins

“Instead of asking ‘why did this happen to me?’ ask ‘what am I supposed to learn from this?’ 

What I learned was what a child in foster care goes through. I know exactly what it feels like to have your life ripped out from underneath you.” 

JESSICA HOLLINS, Founder & CEO, My Very Own Blanket

“When you’re going through hell — keep going.”

Despite this quote that Jessica references in our conversation, her story is truly an uplifting and inspiring one. While she never set out to start a nonprofit organization that would comfort tens of thousand of kids in the foster care system, her idea for providing hand-make blankets grew from her own rocking chair into something much bigger. But with growth comes new and different expectations, and the curve ball she was thrown in her own life provided the perspective she needed to persevere for the good of the kids she was called to serve. Jessica takes us through the highs and lows of trying to do good by everyone, and along the way rediscovers her joy by redefining what success and impact looks like. 

www.mvob.org

Believing in & living out your authentic self — with Brittany Baum

“When I was a kid drawing, I may have started with an idea, but I was always interested to see how it would evolve. It’s kind of how I feel about this business. I don’t want it to be this monotonous, boring thing.”  

BRITTANY BAUM, founder/owner of Brēzel

Our interview with Brittany is peppered with laughter and revelations, and words like “weird” and “crazy” and of course, “pretzels” — but don't let that fool you. Her commitment to discovering and developing her craft is a serious one. Leaning on her unique food experience in Germany, she’s checked the box on corporate and government work life, transitioned to DIY experiences and farmers markets, and experienced a major learning curve while working odd jobs to make ends meet. Brittany drops plenty of inspiration and wisdom on the road to becoming a successful entrepreneur. She also wears her inspiration on her sleeve (literally) and possesses enough spunk and can-do attitude to make the most outrageous challenge seem achievable. After all, we are talking about pretzels.

www.brezelpower.com

Accepting the plot twists in your story — with Thad DeVassie

Communication strategist and writer Thad DeVassie has always been drawn to the power of a good story. But he admits, writing your own story with intention is hard. A good story takes you on a journey, and a journey worth taking will push you out of your comfort zone to discover new and surprising plots twists. For Thad, it has made his story far better than he could have ever imagined.

www.ratchetstrategy.com