Mark:
When people talk about “making it” as an entrepreneur, they often think of one giant leap—some dramatic exit from the day job into a life of freedom and flow.
But in our experience, the most meaningful success isn’t built from a single leap… It’s built leap by leap.
Each bold decision.Each stretch.Each time we bet on ourselves, not knowing exactly how it would work—just that it had to.
One of the most pivotal leaps came in 2013, while I was still at EPIC Coaching Academy with Rich German. Rich encouraged all of us to attend his friend Maya (Marcia) Wieder’s Wealthy Visionary Conference in Los Angeles.
I didn’t know it then, but that conference would change the trajectory of my life.
Sitting in that room, I saw people leading from the stage with such presence and clarity. I watched as stories shifted hearts and sparked tears. I remember whispering to myself, “One day, I want to be up there.”
I had no idea that dream would unfold into hosting our own 3-day transformational event six years in a row, starting in 2020.
But that seed was planted at the Wealthy Visionary Conference.
When I arrived in LA and checked into my hotel, the first thing I did was call home to let Renee know I had made it and check in on her and the kids. Our twins, Eden and Xen, were about a month away from turning three.
After a brief hello, I asked to talk to them. Eden wouldn’t get on the phone. She felt abandoned by me, and she let it be known in the way only a toddler can. Xen took the phone and said a quiet “hi,” but didn’t have much else to say.
I hung up the phone and sat there, questioning myself, feeling the weight of the time I’d never get back.
Was I making the right choice?Was this just selfish ambition?Was I chasing a vision while missing the most important moments at home?
But when I got home, Eden ran into my arms and wouldn’t let go.She held on for what felt like an hour. No words. Just love. Just presence. Just connection.
At that moment, I realized:
This isn’t about choosing one or the other. It’s about becoming the kind of man who can hold both. Both purpose and parenting. Both ambition and presence. Both the call to grow and the call to stay grounded.
That conference stretched me—and not just professionally. It helped me see that taking bold action wasn’t just about business. It was about who I was becoming for my family and the movement we would go on to build.
Renee:
When Mark came home from that event, something had shifted.
It wasn’t just excitement, it was something deeper. A knowing. A sense that what he had seen, what he had felt, couldn’t be unseen or unfelt.
And the thing about vision is, it doesn’t just change the person who receives it.
It changes everyone around them, too.
While Mark was in California, soaking in the experience that would plant the seeds for everything we’re doing now, I was at home in Florida, with two two-year-olds, no family nearby, and no real support system.
It was the first time Eden and Xen had really been away from their daddy. And it wasn’t just a few hours, it was days. And it wasn’t just a car ride away; he was on the other side of the country.
I did my best. We filled the days with trips to the toy store, visits to the play place, and afternoons at the park. I tried to make it an adventure for them and maybe a little bit for me, too. But the truth is, it was hard. It was lonely. It was exhausting.
And yet, even in the hardest moments, I knew Mark needed to be precisely where he was. I could feel it. He was stepping into something bigger than either of us could see yet. And part of my role in that season was simply to hold it all together so he could take that step.
Not because it was easy. But because that’s what you do when you’re building something that matters.
Mark:
At that same conference, I was introduced to Cynthia Kersey, the Founder and CEO of the Unstoppable Foundation. Her mission—and her model—blew me away.
She wasn’t just raising money to build schools and wells in Africa. She was teaching the transformational power of giving. The kind of giving that unlocks something in you. That says,
“If I’m this moved… it must be part of my purpose.”
Cynthia’s work had already impacted 500,000+ lives across 23 communities in Kenya. She had partnered with global leaders like Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, Mary Morrissey, and Marci Shimoff. But what struck me most was how real she was. Humble. Grounded. Purposeful.
Later that year, I purchased a ticket to the Unstoppable Gala. That decision led to an invitation I almost said no to: A spot in her one-day Unstoppable Mastermind, hosted by her friend Bob Proctor.
Forty leaders who had raised $25,000 or more for her foundation were invited to attend for free. Another ten of us were invited to join… for a $5,000 donation.
At the time, that was a huge stretch for us. There were no guarantees. No promises. No "proven funnel." Just a gut feeling that said, This is your next step.
So I said yes.
And it changed everything.
That day, I sat in a room with some of the top names in personal development and online marketing. People I had only seen in bestselling books and big stages.
That one decision led to 20 of those leaders participating in our second Personal Transformation Summit—including an Oscar-winning producer and several thought leaders I now consider friends and collaborators.
I had taken a risk. I had bet big on myself. And for the first time… it felt like the Universe was saying, “Thank you.”
Renee:
If you know me, you know I'm not a risk-taker by nature. I like security. I like to know the numbers add up. So when Mark told me about the Unstoppable Gala, the $5,000 donation, and the opportunity to attend the one-day mastermind hosted by Bob Proctor… it would have been easy for me to say no.
Especially considering where we were financially at the time—scraping by, stretching every dollar, trying to make a new dream work while raising two little kids.
It wasn’t just the money. It also meant another trip across the country. Another week of me being home alone with Eden and Xen, juggling two toddlers with no family nearby.
And yet...
Somewhere deep down, I knew he needed to go.
I knew this wasn’t just about opportunity.
It was about relationship capital—the kind that doesn’t show up on spreadsheets but changes the course of everything.
So, I encouraged him to do it.
Go big or go home, right?
It wasn't easy.It wasn’t convenient.But it was a moment when we chose faith over fear, and that choice planted seeds we’re still harvesting today.
Mark:
That experience opened the door for an even bigger leap. In 2016, I invested $16,000 in my first high-end mastermind—specifically to learn how to host transformational events.
It felt like a wild move at the time.
But that decision—like all the ones before it—wasn’t about the short-term ROI. It was about the long-term vision.
It still took another four years of building, growing, investing, and trusting…
But in 2020, we signed the contract for our first Soulful Leadership Retreat, with a $10,000 deposit.
It felt like a stretch. A test. A sacred yes to something so much bigger than us.
And every year since, we’ve expanded.
Renee:
Oh, that $16,000 investment. For the first time, I wasn’t immediately onboard. And I’m sure it confused Mark. After supporting his dream 1,000% through all the earlier leaps through conferences, masterminds, late nights, and big decisions, why was I hesitating now?
The truth was... I knew something he didn’t.Something I hadn’t even fully put words around yet.
Deep down, I knew that the little lump I had found in my breast wasn’t just some benign thing I could just write off. I knew we were about to face something hard, something that would require every ounce of strength, focus, and faith we had.
And being in a high-level mastermind, traveling for events, and pouring energy into the next big thing didn’t fit into the plan my intuition was quietly preparing me for.
But I didn’t tell Mark that. I didn’t want to burden him with my fears or dim the light he was carrying so fiercely.So instead, I kept it to myself.
We moved forward with the investment, and I stayed steady, holding space, managing the day-to-day, and doing my best to prepare for a future that felt more uncertain than ever.
Looking back, it’s clear: Mark wasn’t just building a business. He was building it for me. For us. For the life we didn’t even know we would have to fight for yet.
And somehow, that $16,000 investment—the one that felt so risky at the time—planted the seeds for everything that has blossomed since.
By 2025, our 6th annual Soulful Leadership Retreat cost over $100,000 to produce and became the catalyst for our largest MetaMind Mastermind yet, welcoming 49 incredible members.
Mark:
Here’s what we’ve learned:
👉 The leap doesn’t come with certainty. It comes with commitment.
👉 The ROI isn’t always measurable. Sometimes, it’s exponential in ways you can’t yet imagine.
👉 Betting big on yourself is rarely logical. But it’s always transformational.
Mark & Renee:
The leaps we made weren’t just about bold investments or big ideas. They were about trust. Trust in each other.Trust in the quiet knowing that even when everything felt uncertain, we were building something sacred.
It wasn’t about burning everything down to chase a dream. It was about weaving dreams into the real, messy, beautiful life we were living every day. Holding vision and fear. Stretching and stabilizing. Leaping and loving.
✨ Calculated risks
✨ Conscious growth
✨ Courageous action — even when it didn’t feel brave at all
That’s how we went from whispering dreams in hotel ballrooms… to building a global community of leaders thriving in their purpose.
And the truth is...We’re still leaping. Still believing. Still becoming.
And we’re just getting started.