Living Your Legacy

Renee Everett is on a mission to bring back something many families have lost: the village. As the founder of Everbrite Academy and the Renee Everett Collective, she is building a childcare model that goes beyond supervision by focusing on emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and family empowerment.
In this episode of Living Your Legacy, Renee shares how her experiences growing up in Miami shaped her vision for helping children thrive in a rapidly changing world. She discusses the growing need for 24-hour childcare, why emotional regulation should be taught early, and how technology can become a powerful educational tool when used intentionally. Through practical lessons and real-world examples, she reveals her approach to developing confident, resilient children who can solve problems, express themselves, and navigate life's challenges.
Whether you're a parent, educator, entrepreneur, or community leader, this conversation offers valuable insights into building stronger families and creating a lasting impact through service, leadership, and child development.
Key Takeaways
• Why 24-hour childcare is becoming essential for modern working families
• How emotional intelligence can be taught through everyday challenges
• Why critical thinking and problem-solving are skills children must develop early
• How technology can enhance learning when properly guided and monitored
• The importance of creating safe spaces where children feel heard and understood
Notable Quotes
• "I'm bridging the gap between a 24-hour childcare with our community."
• "It could be a problem, but let's be solution based."
• "Kids absorb, and that's very, very important."
• "If you just have one person to understand you, you got it."
• "I always give kids the space to express themselves."

Helena Khomkalova went from building a successful career in Ukraine to rebuilding her entire life and business from scratch in Miami after war forced her family to leave everything behind. In this episode of Living Your Legacy, Helena shares how she trusted her instincts, walked away from a legal career, embraced entrepreneurship, and transformed adversity into opportunity. She reveals the mindset, planning, and relentless focus that helped FKTR Group become one of South Florida's fastest-growing luxury interior design and architectural finishes companies. From leadership and manifestation to building a world-class team and creating unforgettable client experiences, Helena offers a powerful lesson in resilience, vision, and refusing to waste time on a life that doesn't align with your purpose.
Key Takeaways
• Why Helena left a promising legal career to pursue marketing and entrepreneurship
• How fleeing Ukraine during the war became the catalyst for building a new life in Miami
• Why creating premium experiences is the foundation of luxury business growth
• How building a company like a family accelerates team performance and long-term success
• Why successful entrepreneurs plan years ahead and refuse to waste time waiting for opportunity
Notable Quotes
• "Life is going too fast. We can't waste any minutes, any second."
• "When you see someone else succeeding, you realize it's time to start immediately."
• "If you don't have a clear plan in your mind, how can you do this?"
• "We are the best one. We are representative of a high-end brand."
• "When you inspire people, you will have a great team that supports you everywhere."

Kristin Merwin, founder of Magic Inside, shares the deeply personal journey behind building a movement dedicated to helping women, children, and families reconnect with their authentic selves. Raised in a small Montana town and inspired by her grandmother’s Magic Mountain stories, Kristin reflects on the experiences that shaped her purpose, the challenges that nearly caused her to quit, and the powerful lessons she learned through motherhood, entrepreneurship, and healing. From launching a business during a global shutdown to creating the Seven Magic Mindsets curriculum, she reveals how resilience, intentional parenting, emotional growth, and self-discovery became the foundation of her legacy. This conversation explores what it means to break generational patterns, trust your inner compass, and build a life rooted in connection, courage, and purpose.
Key Takeaways
The magic we search for is often already within us.
Intentional parenting creates lasting generational impact.
Resilience is built by moving through challenges, not avoiding them.
True wealth comes from connection, purpose, and meaningful relationships.
One healed heart can influence generations to come.

Notable Quotes
"Don't give up on this. Do not give up on this."
"The magic you seek is already inside you."
"Sometimes the magic doesn't show up before the hard things. It shows up because we walk through them."
"Success isn't about how much you earn. It's about how much you live."
"I believe one healed heart can heal generations."

At just 23 years old, Ethan Karian is already chasing a vision he’s had since childhood: building a company that disrupts an entire industry. Raised by two entrepreneurs and inspired by the lessons of Think and Grow Rich, Ethan shares how years of self-education, early business failures, and relentless ambition led him to create SipSkip, a hospitality technology platform transforming the way people order drinks at bars, festivals, and stadiums.
In this episode of Living Your Legacy, Ethan reveals the moment the idea struck him at a crowded LSU bar, why he abandoned another business to go all-in on SipSkip, and how he approaches entrepreneurship with a fail fast mindset. Along the way, he shares powerful lessons about belief, resilience, team building, innovation, and creating something so simple that competitors struggle to improve upon it.
Key Takeaways
• Why failing fast gives entrepreneurs a competitive advantage
• How childhood exposure to entrepreneurship shaped his mindset
• Why self-education can accelerate success beyond traditional learning
• The importance of pivoting when a bigger opportunity appears
• How simplicity can become a company's greatest competitive advantage
Notable Quotes
• “I knew since I was a young kid that I wanted to found a company that was going to disrupt an industry and change the world.”
• “When I came up with SipSkip, I was doing another company at the time. I said, this one's it.”
• “The idea was create something so simple, so seamless that there would be no better way.”
• “Fail quick and fail fast.”
• “Anything is possible as long as you want it bad enough and are willing to work for it.”

Andrew Oleson never planned to become the owner of the company he admired most. While still in college, he took a chance, walked into his professor’s office, and made a bold offer that would change the course of his life. Today, as CEO of PDG+Creative, Andrew helps businesses build stronger brands, clearer marketing strategies, and deeper customer connections. In this episode, he shares why business is ultimately about people, not numbers, how company culture became his greatest competitive advantage, and the lessons he carried from military service into entrepreneurship. Through stories of leadership, branding, hiring, and business growth, Andrew reveals what it takes to build a company designed for long-term impact and lasting legacy.
Key Takeaways
Why Andrew bought a business from his college professor at just 24 years old
The surprising lesson that shifted his focus from numbers to people
How a 90 to 120-day hiring process helps create a high-performance culture
What military service taught him about leadership, teamwork, and accountability
Why successful branding starts with strategy, storytelling, and understanding people

Notable Quotes
"About six months into this business, I realized it had absolutely nothing to do with numbers. It was all people."
"I don't just get to go to work, I get to run to work."
"Ideas only get stronger when they're challenged."
"If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's it saying and to who?"
"Every entrepreneur wakes up and the world spins because we get up and push it with our feet."