CEO Stories: Life By Design

FASHIONING A CAREER

An early and unfulfilling foray into the fashion world—after majoring in Italian and religious studies in college—ultimately gave Darrah Brustein the insight that she wanted a career guided by service. She and her twin brother started a payment processing company that solved a major pain point for her former clients in fashion. It was the beginning of a career guided by intuition and being “a chief curiosity officer” at her subsequent endeavors.

DESIGNING HER LIFE

The desire to help—not to pursue money or other people’s definitions of success—led Brustein to develop events that went beyond business-card exchanges and the transactional focus that typically defines networking with “Networking Under 40.” Her interest in people, a knack for making connections, and a steadfast belief in the power of intuition brought her to the next stage in her career: teaching and mentoring.In 2018, Brustein held a three-day live, virtual summit, “Life By Design,” with 45 speakers—Brustein’s own mentors.

SELF-AWARENESS, SPIRITUALITY, AND CAPITALISM

Among the speakers at the summit was Deepak Chopra, with whom Brustein now does a series of weekly YouTube videos. Brustein says Chopra has served as not just a mentor but a powerful example of how following one’s passion and calling is complementary to building a business. Among her other ventures: helping children understand the power of money and achieving financial literacy through http://www.financewhizkids.com/, which combines “fun, fiction, and finances.”