My dear friend Andrew Wilder—founder and CEO of NerdPress—reminds us that success is rarely a straight line.

Following a path that has been anything but traditional, Andrew takes us through his surprising journey from lighting designer to food blogger to tech CEO. His story has been about staying curious, trying new things, building resilience, finding joy in the work itself, and most important, leaping even when the goal isn’t clear.

Andrew shares his dad’s advice, to walk different paths and see what you like. He says just showing up and talking with people can lead to unexpected opportunities. Doing this got him to what he is passionate about—empowering people to use complex tech solutions.

One key for Andrew was letting go of the need to define his identity through professional labels. This freed him to measure success by his own standards and metrics. His advice: Target excellence rather than perfection, collaborate with others, and make decisions that align with your values and mission.

Andrew’s story will get you fired up to be bold, take risks, and stay open to possibilities that may lead to your next “It has to be me.”

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS:

• Make decisions from your values.
• Let go of labels and define success your way.
• Strive for excellence, not perfection.
• Try everything you feel like to find where your passion is.
• Just showing up and having conversations leads to opportunities.
• Go with your intrinsic motivation: What gets you up in the morning!
• Reach out for help and collaborate with others to achieve your goals.
• Success isn’t a straight line. Enjoy the messiness and learn from it.

ABOUT ANDREW WILDER

Andrew Wilder is the founder and CEO of NerdPress, a dynamic team renowned for providing exceptional WordPress support, optimization, and maintenance to hundreds of publishers and small businesses. Andrew's first career, in theater lighting design, instilled in him a deep appreciation for collaboration, a principle integrated into the ethos of NerdPress. Andrew’s technical expertise and knack for making complex topics understandable have made him a go-to speaker on web-tech, and a regular contributor on the “SEO for Bloggers” webinar series. Through his Eating Rules food blog, Andrew started the October Unprocessed challenge that inspired more than 30,000 people to adopt healthier eating habits by building community and avoiding processed foods. An Eagle Scout, Andrew serves on several boards and commissions in Los Angeles as part of his commitment to community service.

CONNECT WITH ANDREW

Website: https://www.nerdpress.net/

Website: https://eatingrules.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdpress.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingrules

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nerdpressteam

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjwilder/

Meet Tess Masters:

Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator

Last week, Karen Kipp and I shared how we help people use clean eating and juicing as tools for better health. This week, three women in our community share how The Decadent Detox® changed their lives. Gretchen, Ellen, and Melynn tell us how the 14-Day Cleanse surprised them and the transformations they experienced.

From loving vegetables they never ate before, to being shocked that family members got on board, to the flow-on effect in other areas of their lives, these ladies take us on three different and inspiring journeys.

None of these women tells a typical “detox” story. Gretchen wanted to get healthy but had no idea where or how to start. The program’s structure, meal plans, and personal support got her on a path to losing 30 pounds, reducing inflammation, and feeling confident with healthy eating.

The 14-Day Cleanse helped Melynn redefine what “healthy” looks like, and discover food intolerances that were the key to her chronic acid reflux. With just two weeks of strategic eating, she got rid of the condition, and got off medication she had been dependent on for 20 years.

Ellen also got the nutrition education she wanted, and recipes she and her family enjoy to stay on track with better food choices. Learning to listen to her body helped her recognize the signs of illness and get early diagnosis of a rare, treatable condition.

We celebrate the incredible impacts of practicing self-care through eating delicious fresh food, the value of joining a supportive community, and the importance of making healthy living fun.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS:

• Coaching and a supportive community make it easier to get healthy.
• Learn to listen to what your body needs to make informed choices.
• Take time to nurture yourself physically and emotionally.
• Nutrition knowledge supports better food and lifestyle choices.
• Make healthy living enjoyable and sustainable by eating great food.
• Juice fasting is an effective tool to achieve better health.
• Gently transitioning into a juice fast and out of it gives the best results.
• Two weeks of strategic clean eating empowers you in other parts of your life.

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Join the 14-Day Cleanse: https://www.thedecadentdetox.com/14-day-guided-cleanses/

Learn more about The Decadent Detox®: https://www.thedecadentdetox.com/

MEET OUR GUESTS

MELYNN SIGHT

After a successful career in business, Melynn is enjoying retirement and finding that life is fuller than ever! She loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling, enjoying a good meal, walking the dogs, and playing Pickleball. She is also passionate about facilitating an anti-bullying program for 9-year-old girls in an inner city charter school in Kansas City, and being a Rotarian. After going hard at work for decades, Melynn welcomed the opportunity to really take care of her health by joining The Decadent Detox® and Skinny60® communities. Through cooking the delicious recipes in these programs, her life has taken a big turn, and she feels better than ever!

ELLEN LEWIS

With a degree in International Business and French, Ellen realized her dream of working abroad before marrying and starting her family. After working in customer service and account management, Ellen became a stay-at-home to raise her kids. When her son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, Ellen became passionate about the power of better food and...

Karen Kipp, health coach, juicing expert, and co-creator of The Decadent Detox®, gives us the lowdown on the safest and most effective way to achieve better health through juicing and juice fasting.

She takes us inside how growing up in a meat-and-potatoes family and losing her mother to cancer at 17 made her completely committed to health. She recalls how her dad gave her a Champion juicer he’d picked up (for five dollars) at a garage sale, and got her started with juicing. In the Midwest of thirty years ago, she learned by herself through experimentation, and then taught others.

Life as a working single mom anchored her to a scrappy, “do what you can” approach to everything. This down-to-earth, flexible attitude, combined with her comprehensive knowledge, attracted a loyal following for her in-person wellness retreats.

We recount how we met in Kansas City and bonded over our mutual concern about the popularity of dangerous cleanses. To offer a safer alternative and show people how to juice fast responsibly, we created the 14-Day Cleanse using Karen’s local-community experience as a starting point.

Through our online programs, we’ve helped over 30,000 participants around the world and witnessed countless health transformations.

If you want to lose weight, sleep better, have more energy, and reduce inflammation with personal coaching and a supportive community, join us live for the next decadent detox.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS:

• No one is going to take care of you like you do.
• Why juices and smoothies both belong in a healthy lifestyle.
• Strategies to lower the sugar in juices to prevent blood sugar spikes.
• Juice strategically to support circadian rhythms for better sleep and energy.
• The difference between extreme “cleanses” and strategic clean eating.
• How to avoid the dangers of irresponsible cleansing and fasting.
• Transition gently into and out of a juice fast to maximize the benefits.
• Picture the worst-case scenario. If you can survive it, you can do anything.

MEET KAREN KIPP

As a certified Holistic Health Coach (HHC), reflexologist, juicing expert, and co-creator of The Decadent Detox® programs, Karen Kipp has helped thousands of people achieve and maintain better health.

For more than 30 years, Karen has facilitated wellness retreats, health initiatives, and juice fasts in Kansas City, including live events to support the 14-Day Cleanse.

Maintaining a private practice and two holistic health companies while being a single mom on a budget taught Karen to prioritize self-care without spending a lot of money. She strives to make health and wellness accessible to everyone, sharing simple strategies that work with any lifestyle.

Karen also serves as a volunteer and board member for several nonprofits, and enjoys cooking, gardening, adventure travel, and time with her daughter and large extended family.

CONNECT WITH KAREN

Website: https://www.thedecadentdetox.com/

Join the 14-Day Cleanse: https://www.thedecadentdetox.com/14-day-guided-cleanses/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/decadentdetox

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedecadentdetox/

Meet Tess Masters:

Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of The Decadent Detox® and Skinny60® health programs.

Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many...