Episode Details

🎙️ Welcome to Healthy Happy Wise Wealthy!

In this rich and inspiring episode, Mary Meyer sits down with Don Kurz, entrepreneur, former championship athlete, dance instructor, and author of Do the Hustle: Life Lessons from Studio 54, the Championship Lacrosse Field, and the Boardroom. If you've ever wondered how to keep going after life knocks you flat, this conversation is for you. Don's story is a remarkable trifecta of sports, dance, and business, from tearing his ligaments on one of the first Astroturf fields to teaching disco steps, dancing at the iconic Studio 54, taking a company public on NASDAQ, and later navigating painful losses with grace and hard-won wisdom. With warmth and refreshing honesty, Don shares what it really took to pivot again and again: accepting brutal reality without sugarcoating it, trusting the "gut algorithm," and discovering that vulnerability is not a weakness but a genuine superpower. You're not alone if you've ever felt blindsided by a setback you never saw coming. This episode is a heartfelt reminder that the pieces do eventually come together, if you're willing to do your part.

🌟 Topics Covered:

• How an athlete became a disco dance instructor at Studio 54
• Pivoting from dance into a career in business and consulting
• Building and taking a company public on NASDAQ
• Facing being fired from his own company and a major financial loss
• The "accept and embrace" philosophy for handling setbacks
• The mind-body connection and the "gut algorithm"
• Why vulnerability is a leadership superpower
• Balancing creativity, business, and the human touch with AI

Key takeaways:

• Accept the brutal reality of a situation before trying to move forward
• Move forward with enthusiasm and trust, not grudging resignation
• Your gut quietly processes data, emotion, and probability; learn to listen
• Vulnerability builds trust and rallies a team more than false certainty
• Creative tension, handled well, is healthy and productive
• Setbacks you can't control are part of the journey, not the end of it

Some questions I ask:

• How did the book come about?
• How did you pivot from dance instructor into the business world?
• How do you pivot out of something as painful as being fired from your own company?
• Is there anything you did for the emotional part of it?
• What was your next venture after that?
• Why would a company work with Omelette? What's your target client?
• How can people get your book?

Learn more about our guest:

• Website: donkurzauthor.com
• Book: Do the Hustle: Life Lessons from Studio 54, the Championship Lacrosse Field, and the Boardroom by Don Kurz
• Company: Omelette (creative agency)
• Featured article: a piece in Authority Magazine on authenticity and vulnerability

Resource List:

• Books mentioned: Do the Hustle by Don Kurz
• Companies mentioned: Omelette, Equity Marketing, Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC), Willis Towers Watson
• Organizations referenced: Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Arthur Murray dance studios, Studio 54, NASDAQ
• Concepts referenced: The gut algorithm, accept and embrace, creative tension, the mind-body connection, Sarbanes-Oxley
• Available at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers

Find all the ways to listen to Don Kurz here:
https://healthyhappywisewealthy.com/index.php/podcast/fired-from-his-own-company-rebounding-from-a-50-million-dollar-loss/

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