Intrinsic Drive®

 Photo: Kathleen O'Grady (L) Faith Imaafiion (R) Theatre of Note's production of Fruition 2019


A lifelong actor, Kathleen O’Grady’s earliest memory of her life’s work finds her riding with her siblings around Los Angeles, in the back of her mother’s car—driving to the next audition. Growing up in the town of Reseda -  named for the mignonette a fragrant plant found in the gardens of the San Fernando Valley -...

Robert Cutarella spent most of his childhood evenings burrowed under his pillows, a transistor radio speaker in his ear listening to the Dick Clark Show and other famous deejays. A passion for rhythm emerged during drumming sessions with wooden spoons borrowed from his aunt. At nine years-old Robert’s parents took him to see drum icon Gene Krupa at the Metropole Club in midtown Manhattan. Krupa’s physicality and deep passion for hi...

Lynn R. Miller is a painter, farmer, horseman, and writer. Odd jobs ranging from commercial fisherman, logger, sawyer, farmer, workhorse teamster, lecturer, and cattle rancher, supported him through college. Over the past 40 years, Lynn has become a world-renowned authority in the fields of alternative farming and animal powered agriculture. 

In 1976 with the encouragement of his father’s suggestion to “grow a crop of literature”, t...

Lynn R. Miller is a painter, farmer, horseman, and writer. Odd jobs ranging from commercial fisherman, logger, sawyer, farmer, workhorse teamster, lecturer, and cattle rancher, supported him through college. Over the past 40 years, Lynn has become a world-renowned authority in the fields of alternative farming and animal powered agriculture. 

In 1976, with the encouragement of his father to “grow a crop of literature” to assist the ...

Music Intro: "Another Place, Another Time."--Performed by Lily Anel in collaboration with Barbara Anel.
Music Outro: "Estey's Theme."--written and performed by Barbara Anel.
Photo Provided by :  Lili Anel  


Growing up in a Harlem tenement perched above a record store, the Anel Sisters spent their Saturday “cleaning days” listening to albums and 45’s bought from their chore allowance....

Haejin Shim Fujimura describes her college years as rebellious. While searching for her life purpose she received a calling to raise funds and attend World Vision’s® 30 Hour Famine retreat. Haejin witnessed horrific images from the civil war in Sierra Leone, which left fifty thousand dead over eleven years. She wanted to help those terrorized, vulnerable and left behind. After college Haejin pursued her calling to become an advocat...

Dr. Jim Loehr has authored 19 books including, New York Times bestseller, The Power of Full Engagement, and his recent works, Wise Decisions, and Sapiens Reinvented.

Before embarking on his quest to merge sports psychology, research, and technology, the field of human performance didn’t exist. To fill this industry void, he created and co-founded the first ever Human Performance Institute, where he set the global standard...

Urban trail access began as a young boy for Ryan Chao; growing up in Portland, Oregon, skiing, fishing, and cycling were a way of life. After architecture school, he mentored with a talented group of visionaries at the Bryant Park Revitalization Project, where he discovered his love for “people over buildings,” turning New York City’s most dangerous park into a global model for urban greenspace renewal. 

In 2019, Ryan was ...

The gift of stepping inside the lives of this season’s guests gave me unexpected insight for my own challenges, struggles, and failures. Answers are there when we allow ourselves to listen.

·This world is full of landmines for those who have suffered from sexual abuse.  Victims No Longer author,  Mike Lew and the community of survivors prove that recovery is possible, providing much-needed hope.

·Architect and designer Eve...

Beatrice Mori Gerfalco Welles has devoted her extraordinary life to a multitude of humanitarian causes, in addition to her tireless dedication to the preservation of the work of her father, Orson Welles. In 2018, she co-created and co-starred in The Eyes of Orson Welles  - directed by Mark Cousins - which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The sole heir of the Orson Welles Estate, her vigilant work includes overturning Turner B...

Three-time Olympic Medalist, DeeDee Trotter has been a fierce competitor since the age of ten. She loved basketball and dreamed of playing for legendary coach Pat Summit at the University of Tennessee. Her quickness on the court convinced her coaches to steer their star athlete into track and field. Thus began a tenuous, and oftentimes inharmonious relationship between DeeDee and these two sports, her heart firmly fixed on basketba...

Makoto Fujimura’s home and community were devastated during the terrorist attacks of 9/11, emotional fractures began to surface. He found solace in his art, creating some of his most transformational work. 

From his earliest painting experiences as a child, Mako always sensed a flow of energy transcending space and time; encouraged to pursue his art, he was invited into the prestigious mentorship in the study of Nihonga—an ancient J...

Kate Erickson is the engine that powers the daily Entrepreneurs On Fire Podcast as well as  Podcasters Paradise, an online educational resource teaching aspiring and seasoned podcasters how to create, grow, monetize, and build a sustainable business. Kate shares her mastery of business systems in her Kate’s Take podcast. In her new podcast, Nicole and Kate Can Relate—she shares entrepreneurial insights with friend and fellow podcas...

Mary Sullivan, a straight-A biochemistry major while at Loyola University, thought she wanted to be a doctor but came to the realization that medicine wasn’t for her.  She chose law instead, studying at Georgetown University.  Upon graduation, she accepted a position at a full-service law firm in Los Angeles, learning the trade and transitioning to the entertainment arm. Mary came to realize that not growing up in the entertainment...

As Andre Williams saw it, there were only two options for men in his family -  join the military or become a drug dealer on the streets of his hometown Richmond, Virginia.  But sports presented another option – basketball was his first choice – and he wanted to use cross country as conditioning for it. However, he quickly fell in love with his newly adopted sport and showed promise: skyrocketing into national prominence, winning th...

Stephanie Slocum, was quickly moving up the corporate ladder planning to enjoy the engineering career of her dreams. As an architectural engineer, she loved designing the “bones” of a structure, buildings that have lower environmental imprint using sustainable materials. She has built hospitals, schools, laboratories, and university buildings. These buildings will stand through hurricanes, earthquakes, and blizzards---as a testimon...

Cecilia Schiller was born into a working-class family, without money for college she became a hairstylist. While viewing a retrospective of the abstract expressionist sculptor and designer, Isamu Noguchi she realized she was going to be an artist. Uncertain of where she fit in the American landscape, she embarked on a seven-year journey working as an artesania making handmade crafts, which she sold on the street. 

After overcoming, ...

As a young girl growing up in Australia, Eve Picker loved playing with Lego blocks, solving math problems, and exploring cities. Armed with degrees in architecture and urban design, she moved to Pittsburgh’s Friendship neighborhood, where she renovated an old Victorian home with her husband. Eve found her tribe by joining a protest and community, which united to save a nearby historic home from demolition. Her community of voluntee...

As an eight-year-old boy from a large family, living together in a Brooklyn tenement, Mike Lew had a singular goal—to meet every person on the planet. Today,  Mike and his Next Step Counseling, co-director Thomas Harrigan, travel the world providing individual therapy, couples counseling, group therapy, professional training, and public lectures around the globe.

Mike is a psychotherapist and cultural anthropologist, spec...