How does a 14-year-old from the suburbs of Minnesota go from cold-calling agents in the Yellow Pages to starring in cult classics like Freaks and Geeks and major films opposite Chevy Chase?

In this episode of Making Business Personal, I sit down with actress and entrepreneur Brianna Brown Keen for a raw and inspiring look at the power of resilience.

Brianna opens up about her "foundational moment" surviving relentless middle school bullying and a mental health crisis, and how that experience severed her need for external validation, fueling a fearless career in Hollywood.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The "Hip Pocket" Strategy: How Brianna landed a top L.A. agent before she even moved to California.
• Overcoming Stage Fright: From being rejected for middle school plays to singing in the prestigious St. Olaf choir.
• The "Figure It Out" Mentality: Why a Midwest work ethic and a history of rejection are actually competitive advantages in business and acting.
• Divine Intervention: The vivid 14-year-old "awakening" that led Brianna to realize actors can have a more powerful voice than politicians.

Whether you're navigating the entertainment industry or trying to build a business with "balls-out" tenacity, Brianna’s story is a masterclass in turning pain into purpose.

Connect with Brianna Brown Keen:

• LinkedIn: Brianna Brown Keen
• Instagram/TikTok: @briannabrownkeen
• Websites: briannabrownkeen.com, manifestingyourmission.org, and thenewhollywood.org

Season 1 Finale

This is the final episode of our first year on Making Business Personal.

Instead of asking what you accomplished, this episode asks a different question:
What did your success cost you?

Not just time or energy.
But presence. Health. Relationships. Parts of yourself you set aside to keep things moving.

Success isn’t a trophy.
It’s a relationship.
And every relationship has a cost.

In this episode, we explore:

• The hidden toll of achievement

• Why burnout comes from paying costs you never consciously chose

• The difference between a cost you accept and a tax you don’t realize you’re paying

• How to assess the real price of success before you say yes again

This is a slower, more honest conversation for leaders and high performers heading into a new year.

Don’t just count your wins. Count the cost.

Season 2 begins in January 2025.

Tired of transformation fatigue? 😫 In this episode, Jason Weiss tackles the biggest myth in leadership and business change. The relentless pursuit of speed and transformation is quietly burning out your team. The real path to sustainable growth and evolution moves at one speed: the speed of trust.

Learn why the pace of the human nervous system is the key to corporate change , and how to implement a 90-Day Evolution Sprint that truly works. This is essential listening for any entrepreneur or leader dealing with organizational burnout.

You'll discover:

* The 3 critical reasons most change initiatives fail. * The 4 elements of emotional scaffolding you need to build team trust and resilience. * Why Evolution is the River, and transformation is a destructive Flash Flood.

The real work of leadership is accelerating trust.

Want to stop chasing performance and find purpose?

Join Jason's free community, the Leadership Renaissance, for weekly letters and meaningful conversations.

Find the community link here: https://tinyurl.com/yc3b76h6

Please FOLLOW, give us a 5-Star Rating, and Share this episode with a leader who needs to evolve!