Rising from the Ashes: Past Guests on the Fire That Builds You

What does a legendary fire bird have to teach us about building a legacy?

In one of our most unique episodes yet, we revisit some of the most powerful moments from past guests all united by one mythical choice: the Phoenix. This universal symbol of rebirth, resilience, and transformation runs through their stories like a golden thread. From the spark of change, to the flames of trial, to the rise into a new chapter, you’ll hear how each entrepreneur has lived the Phoenix’s journey in their own way.

From founders who’ve battled cancer and bankruptcy, to leaders who’ve walked away from comfort to chase calling, our guests share one mythical creature in common: the Phoenix. Across nine voices and countless reinventions, this legendary bird becomes more than a symbol. It’s a blueprint for the entrepreneurial spirit. Whether it’s Adrian Rae seeing reinvention as a constant opportunity, Eric Zwigart rising from business collapse, or Catherine Bell turning pain into hope, each story reflects the Phoenix’s eternal truth: the fire is not the end, but the beginning. 

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the Phoenix resonates so deeply with entrepreneurs and legacy-builders
• How the “three stages” of the Phoenix mirror the founder journey
• Real stories of burning down what’s safe to create something greater
• Why every ending holds the seed of a beginning
• How to use your own “fire” moments to fuel transformation

Check Out Our Guest's Previous Episodes:

• Ep. 10 - Adrian Rae: From Corporate to Creator
• Ep. 35 - Eric Zwigart: How Losing $35M Made Him a Better Dad
• Ep. 21 - David Priest: Facing Cancer, Finding Clarity
• Ep. 31 - Gary Faules: Think Outside the Box
• Ep. 2 - Eugene Gershman:  From Land to Legacy
• Ep. 15 - Sandhya Seshadri: From Engineer to Investor
• Ep. 33 - Morgan Keim: From Startups to Stability
• Ep. 7 - Kenny Johnson: From Burnout to Balance
• Ep. 1 - Catherine Bell: From Ashes to Impact

About Gold Dragon Investments:

At Gold Dragon Investments, our mission is to bring joy to others by helping them win the game of investing. Helping every client become the hero of their financial journey. We believe that wealth is a tool, but joy is the ultimate outcome.

Through meaningful partnerships, we strive to empower our investors to create freedom, and build lasting legacies of purpose, fulfillment, and wealth.

Join Us on the Adventure:

• Website: https://golddragoninvestments.com
  
  
• Schedule a Call

Chapters

• 0:43 Welcome to the Phoenix Special
• 2:45 Adrian Rae on Rising to the Occasion
• 4:46 Eric Zwigart: Rising from the Ashes (Literally)
• 5:50 David Priest on Renewal After Cancer
• 8:26 Gary Faules: Reinvent Yourself, Don't Be Afraid to Burn
• 9:40 Eugene Gershman: The Practical Phoenix
• 11:12 Sandhya Seshadri on Many Reinventions
• 11:48 Morgan Keim: Burn the Former Self
• 13:01 Kenny Johnson: Rebirth & Healing
• 14:43 Catherine Bell: Beacon of Light
• 15:11 Closing Reflections: The Phoenix Mindset

Transcript

0:43

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to another episode of Dragon's Gold, the magic of mindset. Today we have a very special episode, one that's incredibly close to my heart. One of my absolute favorite questions to ask, arguably the favorite question, is if you could be any mythical creature, what would you be and why? The reason for that question is because it speaks so much to the heart of the person, the character, that they view in their own self as strengths, something that they dream about, something that they want, desire, or would empower them. While I've heard many wonderful answers, and each of them special in their own right to the guest who said it for their own reasons, the one creature that has consistently reoccurred was the phoenix. The phoenix, an incredible creature that symbolizes hope, transformation, and change. The phoenix is a universal myth. In Egypt, the bird is tied to the sun and the Nile's renewal. In Greece, it's the firebird that burns and is reborn from its own ashes. In China, it's a sign of virtue and a new era of harmony. Different cultures, different details, but one truth, the phoenix doesn't survive by avoiding the fire. It survives by going through it and coming out stronger. For founders and leaders, that's a familiar path. Burning down what's safe to build something greater. Coming back from failure. Constantly reinventing yourself to stay in the game. In the Phoenix's story, there are three stages. The spark, the flames, and the rise. Today, you'll hear all three through the voices of some of our inspiring guests. In Greek legend, when the phoenix feels its time is near, it begins building its pyre. This is the preparation phase, not always knowing what's ahead, but feeling the change coming. For some founders, this is the season before a big pivot, when you're quietly gathering the wood for your own transformation. And for some, the Phoenix isn't just about surviving the fire. It's about recognizing the potential for transformation even before the flames arise. Adrian Ray shows how this symbol reminds her that reinvention is always possible, no matter where you are in the journey. Phoenix. for transformation and rising from darkness. I haven't had much darkness in my life. You know, I've been very fortunate, but every pivot, every twist and turn is always faced with new challenges. And I, so far I've been rising, rising to the occasion. And I think if you just keep doing that in life, you'll, you'll get ahead. Adrian's words remind us that the spark isn't only lit by crisis the Phoenix story begins with awareness knowing that the change is coming and Believing that you have what it takes to emerge stronger But in every phoenix story, the spark eventually gives way to flame. And that is where the real test begins. Death in the flames is never easy. The phoenix doesn't glide into its rebirth, it burns. And for founders, for leaders, for entrepreneurs, this can look like bankruptcy, burnout. personal loss. These next stories are facing the fire head on. Eric's company collapsed in spectacular fashion, but like the Phoenix, he refused to stay in the ashes. He rose this time building with more purpose and for more time. for the people who matter. Pain and suffering causes big changes or maybe a positive happy event. But the chances are when you're on a positive hap- roller coaster ride, you're not making much changes. It's the time you make change is when you fell off the tracks and you gotta get the coaster back on the tracks. That's when you make the change. then to come back from it and, know, kind of rise up. And that's where we got to the rise up part is I've made a lot of rise up moves to come out of the ashes. And so you, talked about a mythical creature and character, what is it gonna be? It's the phoenix. It's the rising up out of the ashes. It's coming out of those hardships and being that phoenix that can soar out of those flames and rise out of the ashes. David's battle with cancer was his fire. It stripped away everything unimportant. It left only what truly mattered. And it gave him the courage to start fresh. So my favorite mythical creature would be the phoenix, most likely, because it rises from the ashes. Because I felt like I rose from the ashes when I got cancer, even though I didn't, it was never like life threatening. didn't have to go in the hospital or anything like that. But I felt like my life was ending as far as the way it was. So in a way, it was like a regeneration and coming up. from that. So that was it. And also just being a better version of yourself. Like you kind of have to shed. It let me shed my mediocre self and also gave me the courage to go in and do commercial real estate. I felt like I had nothing to lose. I had just come from something where I thought I was going to lose everything possibly. And so you get it and you kind of feel like, OK, I'm mediocre here. I need to take more risk. I need to be going doing this. And then once I started getting on the road of doing things, I'm getting feedback. I'm becoming a better person. I'm learning more. reading books. I'm able to network with people. And the networking thing was not something that was natural for me. It still isn't. I still have to work at it. I still have to be, I'm kind of introverted and I have to work on that. So it's becoming a better person. So I think, yeah, that the mythical going down and it's destroyed and it rises from the ashes and everyone has like a regeneration. And you know, it could be different things. Some people have a traumatic experience. Some people have a midlife crisis. For me, it was cancer. Some people have something that's a life-changing experience that happens and that turns everything around. So I think you have to go through that and you also have to realize what lessons did you learn from this and then really just embrace that and embrace the good, not the bad. It's always the good things that you get out of something. Like if I had done that, Like at the time things, seemed like a mistake. look later on years later, like, wow, I was so lucky. didn't, you know, didn't go the other way. It seemed like a mistake, but now this is, this is the way that got me. So there's no wrong path. There's just the path you're on and you try to make course corrections as you go along. It's like, what's the Japanese saying? I think they have a saying that, you know, if you're on the wrong train, get off of the next station. So don't just keep going the wrong way. So once you figure you're making a mistake, stop, but don't make the same mistake again. But Yeah, it's about regeneration and renewal and you can reinvent yourself at any time. Gary's advice says it all. If you crash, build a new car. If you fail in business, go on to something else. Reinvent yourself. Don't be afraid to burn. If I could be a mythological creature, I'd be a phoenix. Not just because it's dramatic and burst into flames, which let's be honest is kind of cool. But because it symbolizes resilience, reinvention, and rising stronger from every setback. In racing, in life, in art, I've been, I've seen how things can fall apart. but I've also learned how to rebuild better. That's the kind of myth I want to live. Not about being invincible, it's about being unbreakable in spirit. So if you're blind, bounce back. If you crash, build a new car. If you fail in business, go on to something else for Christ's sake. But do what makes you happy. Make you reinvent yourself. Don't be afraid to burn. Of course in business, the fire isn't always a surprise. Sometimes you can see it coming. You might know the next project is going to crash and burn. And you brace yourself. Eugene Gershman captured this perfectly when he explained why the Phoenix resonates so much with entrepreneurs. I think I have to say Phoenix, because it's one of those creatures that gets to burn down and then gets to experience that rebirth and exist again. I think that because in business, always have to be prepared, especially in real estate development, you always have to be prepared that the next project is going to be a bust. And of course, you're not, you know, not. wishing that you plan to avoid that as much as you can, but the reality is the reality. And that's one creature that can get reborn from its ashes and exist again and keep going. And that's what we have to do. I think as an entrepreneur in general, you have to find that motivation to get reborn and start over and succeed. Eugene's take is a powerful one because it's practical. The fire isn't the end. It's part of the cycle. The phoenix expects to burn and it's ready to rise again without missing a beat. As the smoke clears and the phoenix stirs, What rises from the ashes is never the same as what burned. The new phoenix doesn't just return, it returns stronger, wiser, more focused than ever. These next voices are proof that what comes after the fire can be your greatest chapter. Sandhya shows us that rebirth isn't a one-time event. Every reinvention leaves her stronger, proof that you can keep rising again and again. will be a phoenix rising from the ashes because I have reinvented myself so many times. The first one was just coming on board here as a student, then a professional in an engineering company, stay at home mom, and a real estate investor, stock trader. So I've had to, you know, start over and reinvent myself so many times. And each time it's like I emerged better and stronger. And that's probably the best way to describe me. Morgan's story isn't just about intentional transformation, but having the courage to burn down what's comfortable to make room for something greater. I hope this isn't so cliche, but I think it would be the phoenix, right? You rise from the ashes. The amount of reinventions I've had, people wouldn't even see it. But I've had to constantly reinvent from graduating college in the financial crisis and realizing my degree was going to be worthless to finding a way of creating intentionality when... people weren't really prioritizing a lot of that stuff and to walking away from a high six-figure job in the food tech space to go be a conduit for entrepreneurs in real estate and everything in between. It's all sort of a reinvention process. the Phoenix is rebirth, right? And it's overcoming any sort of stagnation because you're always sort of dynamically moving along. So I think it's like having the courage to almost burn down the former self and to rise up stronger than before. And sometimes the Phoenix rebirth isn't just about personal comeback. It's about using your new strength to help others heal. I don't think so. into the world of Harry Potter, pointing to the Phoenix's healing tears and the way that it inspires others to rise as well. So I'm gonna go with Phoenix on this one. I love the Phoenix, the way it looks. It's the bird that burns up and can rise from its own ashes. In X-Men, there's like the Dark Phoenix who is a Jean Grey, just like super powerful. And then there's the Harry Potter Phoenix, is it? Fawkes, I think is the name, but I just feel like the Phoenix is such a cool, it's a cool creature. think there's powers in the teardrops. It's a red bird that, you know, has fire associated with it. And if it ever gets burned up, it regrows from the ashes, which is just amazing. I feel like the Phoenix would definitely be my choice. There's a lot of other stronger. creatures out there with claws and snakes and whatever powers, but I feel like it's friendly enough that it's elegant and beauty, beautiful when it's not on fire, but it also has that ability to torch somebody. It's a reminder that the phoenix doesn't just survive, it restores. Your own rise can be the spark that helps someone else find their own way out of the ashes. Catherine turned her deepest pain into a light for others. Like the Phoenix's legendary tears, her rebirth has the power to heal and inspire everyone around her. And It's the Phoenix. The phoenix rising up out of the ashes something so new, so inspiring and literally being that beacon of light and of hope for others to be able to go, okay, yeah, this hurt and it hurt bad. But the old part of me burned off and now the new part of me is just shining bright and providing that hope to the world. And that's the beauty of the Phoenix. It never returns as the same bird. It carries the wisdom of its past lives into the new flight. Our guests remind us that the Phoenix isn't just a myth. It's a mindset. In business, in life, we will all face the fire. The question is, when the flames come, will you let them consume you or let them refine you? Every ending holds the seed of a beginning. Maybe your next chapter is waiting for you in the ashes at your feet. So what's your Phoenix moment? Share it with us in LinkedIn, a review, or send me a message. I'd love to hear how you've risen from your own ashes. My friends, thank you for joining us once again on our quest to inspire, educate, and empower you to turn your dreams into reality, one mindset shift at a time. We'll see you next time.