Whispers & Bricks Ari Schonbrun

Mike Schlappi had an ordinary childhood until at the age of 14 he and his friend were playing with his friend's dad's police gun and his friend accidentally shot him. That moment changed and shaped his life forever. He was paralyzed from the waist down but he did not let that hold him back. Always an athlete he joined a wheelchair basketball team, learned how to drive a car with adaptations, graduated from high school, received a degree in business, and graduated from business school. He was in the Olympics, has five children, and owns his own business. He now speaks to businesses and organizations to motivate them and wrote a book. His story reminds that we can't control our circumstances but we can control our attitude. He reminds us to find your bullet what is holding you back in your life.

Susan Brown is a coach, author, mother, and entrepreneur. While life is going well for now she has to overcome many bricks. She was bullied as a child, was homeless for six months lived in her car, attempted suicide, had to care for her mother who became paralyzed after an accident, suffered 3 miscarriages, and had depression. Through it, all her faith in god pulled her through. Her story reminds us that no matter what we do we are never too forgone for god's love to reach us and if he gives us a brick we will be able to get through it. Her story is one of resilience and strength.

Bae Bloeser as a minister's daughter had seen her father help people all her life and went to several countries to help people. She dreamed of going to Africa when she was 10 years old. She got her to wish when she followed her husband to help eradicate smallpox in Nigeria during a civil war. She had two small children who moved to Africa with them. Her son was 4 years old and her daughter was 18 months. She witnessed many atrocities and suffered traumas from soldiers going through her things with bayonets among other incidents. Then she went to Equatorial Guinea which was under the rule of a horrible dictator who committed terrible atrocities. She stayed because her husband's mission to fight smallpox was so important. She has since written a book about her experience Vaccines & Bayonets: Fighting Smallpox in Africa amid Tribalism, Terror and the Cold War. She reminds us how important it is to do what we can to help others. We all can use our skills, or time to help others in some way.

Kelly Hopkins is a happiness coach using art to help others figure out what in their past is keeping them from being happy but she had to overcome many bricks early in her life to get there. From living in the projects to being raped at a young age, to dealing with her step-father who had a drug addiction, to running a daycare as a teenager. As an adult, she had a successful career as a social worker but after she adopted her daughter she realized she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom but couldn't do it in Los Angeles so she moved to Costa Rica. She realized she had been using work to push down her pain. She started to heal with some neighbors she discovered art was healing which is how she started her coaching practice Soul Exploration Through Art. She reminds us that when we feel lost the best thing to do is act take a walk, and take a small step toward your goal. Do something nothing will change if you don't act,

Yael Trusch called the Jewish Oprah is a coach for Jewish women helping women build careers that support their faith and values. She also hosts a very popular podcast called Jewish Money Matters. Yael describes her journey to embracing her faith and not even letting the demands of an MBA program get in the way. Not letting anything compromise her values and still succeeding. To run a business with her husband, to running into difficult times financially, to start her own business helping others. All of it she has used to help women build a career that supports their faith. She reminds us that everyone can have a career that supports their values.

Michelle Keui faced a major brick as a child she was hit by a taxi which caused her to have to go through several surgeries. They did not work and Michelle had to use crutches to get around her growth was stunted at 4 feet. This brought a lot of challenges with it and affected her self-esteem. She had a hard time finding her place in the world. Another brick came when her family moved from Taiwan to New York she had to learn English and get used to a new culture. Despite all that, she obtained her pharmacy degree and has a successful career but felt she was missing out on life. At the age of 40, she decided no more she started going to a trainer and decided to take on an adventure. Now her goal is to help one woman find her voice and hopefully that woman will help another one and on.