What if the thing standing between you and your creative life isn't talent, but the story you've told yourself about who gets to be an artist? Ratatouille knows. Remy wasn't blocked by ability. He was blocked by a world that said a rat had no business in the kitchen. And that's exactly what Kirsten Hirst discovered when she stopped trying to recreate someone else's picture and finally started making her own.

Kirsten Hirst is the Director of Revenue Operations at RCG Law Group, a practicing collage artist, and the daughter of an architect and a writer. She has spent years sitting at the intersection of analytical thinking and creative identity, and in this conversation she unpacks why insecurity, not lack of talent, is the real block that keeps most people from ever owning the creative side of who they already are.

Using Pixar's Ratatouille as a powerful metaphor, Ryan and Kirsten dive into the belief that "not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere." Together they unpack how creativity shows up in unexpected places like business strategy, architecture, marketing, and personal growth.

3 Actionable Takeaways

1. Buy a mixed media journal for $8 to $10, grab some old books from the thrift store, and make one collage a day for a month. What you learn about your creative blocks will be more valuable than any class.

2. List your childhood favorites — food, movie, TV show, favorite outing — then start doing those things again. Stop outsourcing joy to some future version of your life and let yourself be a kid.

3. Try on the identity of an artist before it feels like it fits. It's not something you aren't. It's something you've been afraid to admit you already are.

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each episode connects familiar narratives to real-world wisdom you can actually use.

New episodes every Thursday.

What if the path to harmony requires breaking first? Brave isn't just about a rebellious princess, it's about what happens when perfectionism, expectations, and fractured relationships force you to explore a new path.

3 ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS:

1. The Gratitude List - Write down 20 specific things you're grateful for TODAY. Not general things. Be specific. Why it works: If you weren't grateful for it, would you want God to take it away? That question makes the list get real long, real fast.
2. Lead with Humility - Be open to being wrong. Listen to understand, not to respond.
3. Lead with Curiosity - In your next conversation, ask 3 more questions before sharing your perspective.

Try one this week and comment which you're starting with!

In this episode, Ryan Brown, founder of Ideal Practice and Reprieve Women's Recovery Center, shares his journey from high-functioning alcoholic to creating a sanctuary for women in addiction recovery. Using Brave as our lens, we explore what it means to break free from perfectionism, face your authentic self, and rebuild relationships that seemed too fractured to heal. Ryan's story includes:

    - Breaking his back in 2007 and the Oxycontin prescription that started everything

    - Years of hiding alcohol addiction while running a successful business

    - A heart attack in Central Park at age 38 (leather-bound in an ambulance)

    - The DUI that forced him to confront reality

    - Entering rehab in 2021 after a moment of complete emptiness

    - How God directed him to buy a house in the mountains

    - The miraculous pivot to creating an all-women's recovery center

Whether you're navigating addiction, rebuilding after hitting rock bottom, exploring a major life change, or trying to repair a fractured relationship, this conversation offers hard-won wisdom about humility, harmony, and hope.

ABOUT RYAN BROWN: Ryan Brown is the founder of Ideal Practice, a credentialing and contracting company serving medical providers across all 50 states. In 2023, after his own journey through addiction and recovery, he co-founded Reprieve Women's Recovery Center in Mountain Green, Utah—a residential treatment facility specifically designed for women seeking healing and long-term growth. Over 150 women have graduated from Reprieve's program in its first two years.

Connect with Ryan:

    🔗 LinkedIn: [link]

    🗄Ideal Practice: [link]

    🏡Reprieve Women's Recovery Center: [link]

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

    📚 "Rising Strong" by Brené Brown

    🎬 Brave (2012)

💬 Continue the conversation:

• Have you made your gratitude list of 20? Share one thing from it below.
• What's a conversation where you could lead with curiosity this week?
• Have you experienced a "wisp moment" where something bigger guided you?

👉 Subscribe to Yes And Land with Ryan Gregerson on YouTube for thoughtful conversations about growth, resilience, and what comes next.

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Yes And Land on all podcast platforms and share it with someone who believes connection still matters.

#Brave #AddictionRecovery #DisneyAnalysis #WomensRecovery #FindingHarmony #Sobriety #MentalHealthRecovery #LeadershipLessons #YesAndLand #DisneyForAdults #RecoveryStory #Gratitude

You don't need authority to be a mentor. You just need experience and the willingness to share it. The Intern shows exactly how—and so does the attorney who went from pharmacy to patents to divorce law.

3 ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS:

1. Put Down Distractions and Observe - Stop scrolling. Look around. Someone near you needs guidance but won't ask. Why it works: Mentorship opportunities are everywhere, but you'll miss them if you're distracted.
2. Look for Struggle (Not Just Failure) - Find someone working on something hard. Approach gently: "I've done this before. Want to know what worked for me?" Why it works: People are more open to "here's my experience" than "here's what you should do."
3. Lead with "Here's My Experience..." - Never: "You're doing it wrong." Always: "When I faced this, here's what I did and what happened." Why it works: Sharing experience gives people agency. Telling them what to do takes it away.

Try one this week and comment which you're starting with!

In this episode, Kenton Walker, attorney who took the road less traveled (pharmacist → patent litigator at AmLaw 100 firm → family law attorney) joins me to explore what real mentorship looks like when you don't have a title, program, or formal authority. Using The Intern as our framework, we discuss how Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) becomes invaluable not through his tech knowledge (he has none) but through his experience, presence, and willingness to guide without taking over. Kenton's known at RCG Law Group as "the paralegal whisperer" and his approach mirrors Ben's: mistakes are expected, trust is earned through consistency, and the best mentors are guides, not commanders.

We discuss:

- Why Kenton left a successful patent litigation career to start over in family law

- How mentorship works when you're not anyone's manager or supervisor

- The power of "here's my experience" vs. "here's what you should do"

- Why letting people make mistakes (and fixing them together) builds trust

- How The Intern's Ben Whittaker mentors through principles, not technology

- Why explaining the "why" behind what you do is mentorship anyone can practice

Whether you're early in your career wondering how to add value, mid-career feeling like you should be mentoring but don't know how, or experienced but lacking a formal leadership title, this conversation shows you exactly how to start.

ABOUT KENTON WALKER: Kenton Walker is an attorney at RCG Law Group with one of the most unconventional paths to family law you'll hear. After working as a pharmacist at Johns Hopkins Hospital System and in the pharmaceutical industry, he went to law school and spent 22 years litigating patents for pharmaceutical companies—both in-house and at an AmLaw 100 firm. When he was ready for a new chapter, he chose family law and discovered his passion for mentoring others without needing a formal leadership role. Known affectionately as "the paralegal whisperer," Kenton's approach to mentorship centers on sharing experience, building trust through mistakes, and guiding without commanding.

💬 Continue the conversation:

• Who in your life could use a "here's my experience" conversation this week?
• What's one mentorship opportunity you're missing because you're distracted?
• Have you ever been mentored by someone without a title? How did they do it?

👉 Subscribe to Yes And Land with Ryan Gregerson on YouTube for thoughtful conversations about growth, resilience, and what comes next.

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Yes And Land on all podcast platforms and share it with someone who believes connection still matters.

#TheIntern #RobertDeNiro #Mentorship #LeadershipWithoutTitle #FamilyLaw #CareerChange #MentorshipMatters #YesAndLand #ExperienceOverExpertise #ParalegalWhisperer