Drown the Noise
Andrea Lynett : Journalist, Adventurer & Entrepreneur
Recent Episodes
Vitina is living the entrepreneurial dream. She's figured out how to combine her love of travel and wellness and make a career out of it. Cool, eh. But that wasn't always the case. She basically had to have a breakdown of sorts - or breakthrough - in order to see that the life she was living for years, wasn't fulfilling her any longer. At the time of this transformation, she had been working in advertising in the music industry - working over 80+ hours a week - and consistently going to the best events and parties in town. To a lot of outsiders, she was living a dream life even then. But it's true - if you're doing something that doesn't align with what your soul craves, then there will be an end point.
Her journey to co-founding a wellness business, Wanderwell, and her own blog, WanderfulSoul, mirrors a bit of an Eat, Pray, Love storyline. She left the hustle of city life behind, for a month in an Ashram and five months of travel. It's also where she got to know herself again and her true desires and passion. And somewhat serendipitously, around the same time, she met her co-founder. In this episode, you'll hear how you too, can get back to your own passions, quiet the noise, and create a life that is fulfilling and profitable, so you can continue to do what you love without compromise.
They believed in their business so much so, that they packed up their family and moved around the world to bring their vision to life. Founder of social enterprise and global lifestyle brand, Thankful, Kim McDonnell and her husband spent many years just trying to trademark the concept. Their mission: tapping into the science of positive psychology, Thankful creates opportunities to provide Thankful Moments via an innovative business model that merges a product licensing program, global cause awareness campaigns, and a nonprofit arm. Creating the first multi-product, multi-cause social impact brand capable of spreading thankfulness and measurable impact. Thankful donates a percentage of their profits to their non-profit foundation, and then re-distributes the money to other non-profits around the world. After years of working in the advertising world and for major brands, they realized that their skills and expertise could come together to make a positive and lasting impact. Not just in dollar form, but for people and the planet. Consumerism isn't going anywhere. But if we can have a say in how our dollars are spent, who they go to, and have a positive impact on someone else- wouldn't you want to be a part of that movement?
It's amazing to see couples blend their creative talents to create a thriving company, while still maintaining their own interests. JP and Kirsten McCrea have managed to do just that as partners in business and life. When they met, they were both working on their own creative pursuits – Kirsten had her own business as a muralist and artists, as well as founding Papirmass on her own, while JP was a teacher, design professional and writer. When they got together, JP was really intrigued by what Kirsten started with Papirmass, that he knew he wanted to help it grow. What started out as a passion project with 100 subscribers in its first year, has now grown to upwards of 1500 people who look forward to their monthly curated art collections from around the world. They still do their own things and follow various creative pursuits - but together, they saw the hole in the art world and decided to fill a niche market. If there's one key takeaway from this one, it's that if you have a passion, follow it. You don't need millions of subscribers to make an impact. You just need that unique idea to gain a loyal audience.