Through our work we have had the good fortune of seeing firsthand how success comes in every shape, size, color, faith, and orientation. More importantly we’ve learned that success is often the result of people embracing their unique backgrounds and so we’ve asked the community to tell us about their background and how it has impacted where they are today.

Adriana Richey | Wife/Photographer/Aerialist

I was born in Mexico and lived there for 27 years. My mom wasn’t able to give me economic support, but she gave me something way more important: love and confidence. I was able to go to private schools because I had a scholarship, not because my mom had money. When I was in high school, my mom told me that she couldn’t afford to pay for the next semester and that I might have to pause my education for a while. She hide this from me until the very end, maybe a couple of weeks before the next payment was due. Read more>>

Kunal Khorana | Entrepreneur & Motivator.

To be honest I had a great childhood early on, but at around the time I was 14 or 15 years old things took a pretty drastic turn. Then life became a lot of mental trauma, growing up too fast, pain, suffering, anguish, and all of the other negative descriptive words you could think of. I lost my kidneys at the age of 15 and was put on dialysis, as well dealing with another disease called TTP that had a 96% mortality rate, beat that and then had to have a kidney transplant a year later. That transplant only lasted about a year and a half, and my disease came back. I had to be placed back on dialysis. Read more>>

Joshua Harris | Put master/Chef

I’m from Houston gardens a community located off of homestead road. I must say staying in that area we seen a lot growing up, from broken homes, drugs, violence, poverty, and many other things. I was blessed to grow up with my parents who worked hard for everything they had and provided for us. I always told myself that I wanted to be something in life so that i can change my surroundings, help people in need, and create opportunities for people who have been counted out! My humble beginnings molded me to have the drive I have today! That’s why I’m able to handle obstacles in stride with a smile on my face because i know it could be worse! Read more>>

Anna Lumbreras | Food & Fitness Coach

I am a born and raised Midwest girl. We lived in a few different cities growing up, but I call my hometown Gypsum, Kansas. It’s a rural town near the middle of the state, with a population less than 400. We lived in a traditional farmhouse, complete with a big red barn and acres of open land in every single direction. My upbringing was simple and family-centric. When we weren’t shuffling between football games, theater performances and band camps, my siblings and I could be found racing DIY go-karts (these were rickety, let me tell you) around our neighboring fields or playing in the creek behind our house. Unlike my friends, we did not have a pool, high-speed internet or even bikes to ride as all our surrounding roads were gravel. Read more>>