# Motivation: From project failures to the death of his father, he shows how adversity can reshape purpose and leadership. Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/money-making-conversations-master-class-991829/motivation-from-project-failures-to-the-death-of-his-father-he-shows-how-adversity-can-reshape-purpose-and-leadership Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/money-making-conversations-master-class-991829/motivation-from-project-failures-to-the-death-of-his-father-he-shows-how-adversity-can-reshape-purpose-and-leadership.md Podcast: [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://stenobird.com/podcast/money-making-conversations-master-class-991829) Published: 2026-04-09T10:05:00+00:00 Episode link: https://omny.fm/shows/money-making-conversations-master-class-1/motivation-from-project-failures-to-the-death-of-his-father-he-shows-how-adversity-can-reshape-purpose-and-leadership Audio file: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/84d49833-296f-4edc-9845-b4000129cdc7/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/money-making-conversations-master-class-991829/episodes/motivation-from-project-failures-to-the-death-of-his-father-he-shows-how-adversity-can-reshape-purpose-and-leadership Duration seconds: 1693 ## Resource Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio ,  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify , www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily.  I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur.  Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Lavar Thomas. Motivational speaker, author, Peace Corps alumnus, leadership coach, and founder of Empower for Greatness. Lavar’s mission is to help people transform “from the inside out” so they can live with greater intention and purpose. The conversation explores Lavar’s upbringing in Brownsville, Brooklyn; his life-changing Peace Corps service in Rwanda; his understanding of faith, purpose, failure, and leadership; and how he built international development programs such as Leaders of the Free World , which exposes young Black men to global travel and leadership experiences. He discusses how stepping outside his comfort zone—from traveling abroad for the first time to navigating Rwanda after only knowing it through “Hotel Rwanda”—opened his worldview, deepened his empathy, and developed his leadership style. Lavar explains how a major project failure in the Peace Corps forced him to redefine success beyond titles, money, or recognition. This experience ultimately inspired his book, The Other Side of Letting Go . He also shares how he balances a federal government job with building his speaki… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/money-making-conversations-master-class-991829/episodes/motivation-from-project-failures-to-the-death-of-his-father-he-shows-how-adversity-can-reshape-purpose-and-leadership/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/money-making-conversations-master-class-991829/motivation-from-project-failures-to-the-death-of-his-father-he-shows-how-adversity-can-reshape-purpose-and-leadership.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.