Vincent Pugliese knew what he wanted to do when he was a kid: He wanted to become a famous sports photographer. By the time he was in his early 30s, he was winning top awards for his shots of famous football and hockey players, living a life only a few people even dream of. But he and his wife, Elizabeth, also a photographer, were both making about $15 an hour, and they had a baby on the way. They both wanted her to stay home; he had to figure out a solution. In desperation, they started a wedding photography business on the side -- and used every cent they made to get out of $140,000 of debt, including paying off the mortgage on their house. Eventually, Vincent went from making $32,000 a year to $32,000 in a day. I talk with Vincent (who is refreshingly down to earth) about doing what everyone told him was impossible: living debt free, choosing when and where he wants to work, and taking as much time as they choose to home school their kids and travel with them, sometimes for month...

2017 has been a tough year -- from hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and fires, to political news. If you've been watching and wanting to make a difference, but you live a busy life or you're just not sure how to get involved, this episode is for you. Sarah Davison-Tracy runs Seeds of Exchange, an organization that uses storytelling to make tangible change. Sarah gives advice for getting involved in service -- with small, doable steps. In this episode, she talks about helping the Lighthouse Foundation, which rescues Nepalese girls from a life of sex slavery. Bonus at the end: Hannah Badi, one of the first girls to be rescued from this life, tells her story. Highlights: - To live a life of meaning and purpose requires three components: destiny/superpower, tribe, and offering. Sarah defines each one. - Without a tribe, service is unsustainable. We burn out. Grow a tribe or turn to your existing one to continue offering service (and to continue creating something new, which is hard). - ...

Author and Colorado State RepresentativeDafna Michaelson Jeneton learning how to accept and grow from the grief of miscarriage. Her book, "Peanut's Legacy," releases this week. This interview was recorded live at Setting the Stage, a women's concert and networking event in Denver. Coach Christy Belz follows with strategies for recovering from grief and loss and reclaiming creativity and purpose. Julie Geller's song, "Here I Am," which is excerpted in this episode, was filmed at a concert at Swallow Hill in Denver. Click here to see The Julie Geller Band in performance.

Tameka Montgomery tended to the needs of the nation's 28 million small businesses as one of the Small Business Administration's top executives in the Obama administration. Her job, as Obama's hand-picked leader of the Office of Entrepreneurial Development, ended at noon on Inauguration Day 2017. It was a very public -- and classic -- One More Shot story: How would she decide what to do when her job ended, through forces beyond her control? After a sabbatical, she decided to shift her focus from adult entrepreneurs to small ones. Today, she's on a mission to help parents learn how to raise entrepreneurial kids. She talks about how to transition after a high-profile career ends; how to stay open to opportunities; the role of persistence as the "difference-maker" between success and failure; and what even 5-year-olds can do to earn money and become empowered people. This episode is for you if you've ever had a job end; if you're not sure what to do next; if you want to become an entrep...

Denise Soler Cox seems like a force of nature -- bigger than life. But she hasn't always been this bold. More than 20 years ago, she had an idea to make a film about people like her -- the 16 million people in the U.S. who have at least one parent from a Spanish-speaking country. But like so many of us do, she kept on living her life, putting off her big idea from one year to the next, to the next -- living a "someday, one-day" life. Until she didn't any more. In this rollicking conversation, Denise describes how she finally decided to pursue her dream; the havoc it caused; how she had to confront being a beginner all over again; and how she knows it's all been worth it. Our charter sponsor is Beacons Community Space, a beautiful, flexible gathering place at the Parkside Mansion in Denver. www.beaconscommunityspace.com.

William Loopesko had a great-paying job, a house in trendy Denver, and a girlfriend: the perfect Facebook life. But he hated going to work. One day, hiking with his dog, Clovis, he got an idea for a new company. His new purpose changed everything. He gave it all up to found PuppTech (PuppTech.com) -- and he says this reinvention has made him happier than he's ever been. We talk about William's transformation from engineer to CEO and entrepreneur, and what it takes to live a good life with meaning and joy.

Debbie Scheer is a successful Denver humorist with a penchant for telling the truth about her life, no matter how raw. Edgy but warm, she catches audiences off guard and then they fall in love with her. On this third episode of One More Shot, she tells the story of how she used the worst moment of her life to reinvent herself and become the courageous comedian she is today-- and how we can find courage in our darkest moments, too. TRANSCRIPT Elaine Appleton Grant: [00:00:07] Debbie Scheer was a stay-at-home mom with two small kids and a secret drawer full of jokes. Then her life fell apart and after she stopped crying she found a way to reinvent it. Debbie Scheer: [00:00:19] I'm going through something so scary, I should probably find something else that's even scarier to take my mind off this really scary thing. Elaine Appleton Grant: [00:00:31] And that's how Debbie Scheer became a standup comic. She is my guest on this episode of One More Shot, the show about taking a spark of an...

For years, Grace Estripeaut led a double life. There was her work, where she was a star corporate employee, known as the woman who could get things done. And then there was the rest of her life, the life she really wanted, devoted to mindfulness, meditation, and spirituality. Never the twain shall meet, Grace thought. She was wrong. Listen to this episode to hear the courageous story of how Grace made her passion her career at Boost Your Zen.

Kari Knutson is just like you and me. She's a school counselor, a mom of two, and the easiest person to talk to you've ever met. Eight years ago, she dreamed up an idea for a book of stories about her life, called "Ain't Never Met a Stranger." But after this epiphany (inspired by a stranger on a plane), nothing happened. That is, until now. Now, everything's happening. Warning: You may laugh until your stomach hurts.

Here's a trailer to tell you all about what you can expect on One More Shot, the show that shows you how other people have reinvented their relationships, their careers, their creativity and their lives, so you can too. Going through a reinvention of your own? Join the One More Shot Facebook group or join us in person at the One More Shot meetup in Denver, Colorado. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 001 Elaine Appleton Grant, Host: [00:00:05] Hi there, and welcome to the podcast about people who are taking a spark of an idea and making it real. Now. One More Shot. [00:00:21] I talk to guests honestly about their remarkable stories of reinvention and dig deep into the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them. [00:00:33] What was the role of saying out loud, "I want to make a film or I'm going to make a film?" What was...Did anything happen as a result of telling people? Denise Soler Cox, Being Enye: [00:00:45] So oddly, here's the thing--I definitely sounded like one of those people I was l...