Future Leaders: Dina-Marie Weineck Of ‘Way of the Founder’ On How Ambitious Young Adults Are Redefining Success
An Interview With Eden Gold
Financial Success is no longer the endgame. That doesn’t mean that money isn’t a part of success. On the contrary: Money is becoming a means to an end. The end being contribution to societal shifts. We’re just now recognizing that time, and freedom of how to spend that time is just as crucial to feeling healthily fulfilled and being able to have a greater impact on your community, as money is.
In a world rapidly changing through technology, societal norms, and global challenges, a new generation of leaders is emerging. Ambitious young adults are not just aiming for traditional markers of success; they are redefining what it means to be successful. Beyond the corporate ladder and financial milestones, they prioritize impact, sustainability, and personal fulfillment. They are entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, and artists who are shaping the future with innovative ideas and actions. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dina-Marie Weineck, Founder and Creator of Way of the Founder.
A professional coach of 5+ years, Dina-Marie is the creator of Way of the Founder, which offers a pathway to holistic success where personal growth, spiritual exploration, and business leadership converge with an insatiable desire for freedom. Her lifelong quest for purpose and freedom has revealed her vision to support leaders in defying old paths and forging new ways into business growth that are outrageously purpose-aligned, deeply fulfilling, and increasingly impactful.
Her company, Way of the Founder, provides a coaching space and comprehensive resources for location-independent entrepreneurs and seekers. It lends hands-on strategic support, deep inner healing avenues, and seemingly endless travel inspiration for those who can’t help but seek both with their soul and their body.
A native of Leipzig/Germany, former transplant to Los Angeles, and perpetual traveler at present, Dina-Marie grows her company entirely independent of location, a feature that is key to her definition of success. Her strategic efforts are informed by her previous career as a fundraiser, conference producer, and community manager in the performing arts, 5+ years of professional coaching, as well a deeply dedicated spiritual practice that weaves a fabric of connection and surrender throughout her otherwise action-first approach.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about cultural sensitivity, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Absolutely. Throughout my life, I’ve been driven by an insatiable hunger for exploration of the planet, innovation, and, in more recent years, spirituality. However, born and raised in Germany, I was taught that there would be a straight shot from elementary school through college to settling into a job, all the way to retirement. Let’s just say that my company, Way of the Founder, sort of defies that notion. I spent my childhood mostly playing instruments and slipping into fictional characters on the musical theater stage. I learned my very first life lessons from the characters I played and the dance routines I performed.
Eventually, and thanks to a generous scholarship and private sponsors, I attended college in the US, pursuing a career in classical music management. On campus, I found myself mesmerized by my entrepreneurship classes. Ironically, the classical music industry was anything but entrepreneurial at that time. Naturally a rebel, I explored how creative entrepreneurs could affect the industry to become more relevant to the communities it served. That’s when my inner social entrepreneur first revealed herself.
While settling into a full-time fundraising job in Los Angeles, musicians began to approach me about their creative business ideas, most of which were informed by the musician’s personal story of facing adversity and discrimination in the industry. Their question was always the same: “I have this dream for my community but don’t know how to realize it. Can you help?” So, while my mentors promised me a swift ascend to the top of the industry, I found myself longing to travel more, all the while growing fascinated with the impact one conversation with a musician-entrepreneur could have on their lives and the work they did in their communities.
Eventually, my desire for freedom became synonymous with my definition of success. I turned down a sweet visa sponsorship deal at the orchestra, quit, and booked a one-way ticket to Viet Nam. With a few savings in the bank and a clear business plan in mind, I started backpacking. My business plan? “I help people”.
Over the years, this ‘plan’ has morphed into Way of the Founder: a movement that empowers soul-driven entrepreneurs to grow their lives and businesses in a purpose-aligned way, so that personal fulfillment, societal impact, and financial freedom become one truly successful life, independent of location.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
When I was just beginning to backpack in Viet Nam, I ran into a woman who called herself Lemon. At the time, I had just done the exact opposite of what I was ‘supposed to do’ at that stage in my career, having quit a promising job to go backpacking. So I was a bit lost for guidance. Lemon taught me that what brings me joy in life doesn’t have to be all too far from what makes a successful business. This was over 5 years ago. Her vagabond’s way of moving through life left a huge imprint on my DNA. It was the first time I realized that purpose, joy, and career success could be achieved in the same life. The interesting thing about it, however, was that I had been intensely asking for guidance at the time. Not on forums and at conferences, but in my journals, meditations, and prayers.
Since that dinner with Lemon, I’ve noticed that the most synchronous things happen in my life when I humble myself enough to put out a call for guidance.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Well, that, in part, depends on your definition of success, doesn’t it? Not to jump ahead, but there is a traditional way to define success and a purpose-aligned way to define success. My personal belief is that true success sets you free from expectations, location, debt, and judgment, and from having to trade in what’s precious to you for the pursuit of success. Traditional success, on the other hand, seems to demand the sacrifice of one’s values and needs. Based on this definition, I’d say that having a personal vision, being curious inside- and out, and choosing to persevere have been most instrumental to my success.
1. A clear, exciting vision is key to creating a path to success. Now, creating and pursuing a vibrant, aligned vision is much easier said than done. However, I’ve seen time and again that creating a vision can become a litmus test for today’s strategies and a Northstar for tomorrow’s (inevitable) setbacks. It was thanks to connecting to my bigger vision for my life and business that I’ve been able to perform major strategic pivots with confidence and ease. In my opinion, allowing yourself to create a vision is foundational to sustained success. This is because it determines your strategies, makes your messaging compelling, and attracts aligned funders, collaborators, and clients.
2. Curiosity has been instrumental in creating career success and personal fulfillment. That is, if taking the tried-and-proven steps required to climb the proverbial corporate ladder leads to traditional success, getting curious about one’s joy and other’s mission will lead to personal fulfillment. For me, curiosity is an inside-out approach to life. To determine my business goals and the strategies required to get there, I tend to first get curious about my sources of joy and needs. For me, if my clients aren’t enjoying the ride, and if their needs aren’t being met along the way, we’re already failing. That doesn’t mean, the ride won’t be uncomfortable at times. It will be. Ultimately, leading with curiosity can help create actions you love taking toward your vision. I do so by asking questions, such as:
What does my body need to flourish? And is my business providing that space?
Where do I experience the most joy in business, and how can I have more of that?
What is most authentic to me, today? And are my business pursuits aligned with that?
3. Perseverance. Being in the online business world, I see a good amount of clickbait about how working 2 hours a day can lead to sustained wealth. That’s not true. No matter your definition of success, there’s going to be a road towards success that requires hard work. Freedom is earned. There are going to be long nights worked (still are), there will be sunny days spent on your laptop, and there will be loads of rejections on the path of success/fulfillment. What I try to make sure and urge fellow leaders to do is this: See if the actions you’re taking today create a path towards the life you want to live tomorrow. If they aren’t, you’re persevering simply for the sake of perseverance. If they do, perseverance is simply the result of having a clear vision and faith in that vision.
Beyond that, I truly try to live as if I’d die tomorrow and grow a company as if I’d live forever. That means that I focus on my health and joy every single day, especially as I’m putting in more hours than I did at my 9–5 to grow something impactful.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview about how ambitious young adults are redefining success. How would you define success?
My favorite question of all! Success to me is to be able to live the life I love, at a moment’s notice, independent of location and financial ties, and inspire others to do the same.
Notice, there are a few elements to this definition: it’s based on what I LOVE, meaning it encourages me to lead from joy. It’s fluid, meaning it encourages and allows for massive lifestyle changes, such as going from being a nomad to settling and back-and-forth. And it incorporates my most important values: travel, freedom, and impact.
What I’d love for readers to do is to take these elements and create their very own definition of success.
How do you incorporate social responsibility and sustainability into your definition of success?
Of course, on a personal level, I get to travel the way I do because I earn money in a strong currency and hold a very privileged passport. I don’t forget that when I volunteer at a Balinese orphanage, rescue cats in Albania, and contribute to schools in Thailand. If my presence doesn’t touch another life in a positive way, I know no way of feeling successful. On a business level, part of what success is, is accessibility: if you’re in the coaching industry, it won’t take long before you come across the ‘high-ticket’ offer hype. I have those, as well, however, this year is mostly dedicated to building out both free and low-fee offers to serve clients powerfully and regardless of financial means.
Speaking more globally, I strongly believe that the way we’ve done business and, by extension life, politics, and finances, no longer works. Spiritually, we’ve been driven by mind over heart, and force over love. It’s what’s gotten us here: An inequitable distribution of otherwise more than abundant resources in the world. We teach our kids to fight instead of love, and to protect instead of share. And we sacrifice our integrity and well-being to show off to our neighbors and colleagues. As a society, we’ve derailed ourselves.
I believe that (re-)defining success, individually and societally, from a place of love, connection, and joy, is pertinent to the survival of our species. We’ve got to teach one another to connect instead of segregate, to love instead of hate, to forgive instead of resent. True success, to me, is to lead from love. And what can shift within one individual, then 10, then 100, then one million, can also shift on a societal level.
Way of the Founder, then, is on a world-peace mission, leading individuals back onto the path of love and connection, one person at a time. In fact, all my content and work take an inside-out approach as I believe that there can be no business success without personal healing, re-connection, and forgiveness.
Can you describe a moment or decision that significantly redirected your path toward leadership?
I was always on the fast track in life, Overachiever par Excellence. It was no surprise to anyone when our board chair offered me a raise, promotion, and visa sponsorship all in one breath. It was going to open the door to a dream I’d had for a decade: to live, work, and love in Los Angeles.
Everyone one, then, including myself, was surprised when I decided to turn down the offer and bought a one-way ticket to Viet Nam instead.
People to this day will assume that I travel to run away from life. I can only laugh at that. Sure, if life could only be lived inside the office, I’m absolutely running away from that. But life is much more than that for me.
That decision paved the path to entrepreneurship for me. As a leader, founder, and coach, I think back upon this very decision often. In hindsight, the decision was the result of having re-defined success for myself and conjured up the courage to pave a life that would lead to that success. I stand in for that possibility every time I have the privilege of working with a coaching client.
What role do mentorship and community play in shaping your approach to leadership and success?
A huge one! I wouldn’t be where I am today without my mentors, coaches, and colleagues. Beyond that, what gets me out of bed every morning is the knowledge that the work I do matters and impacts how people grow their businesses and live their lives.
I’d say there are two kinds of mentors/coaches I have. There are those who have no clue about the industry I’m in, but they know ME and aren’t afraid to act as a mirror to where I’m shorting myself and where I’m in over my head. Then there are those who know and are ahead in the industry I’m in. They are able to set me up with the right resources, strategies, and connections. In my opinion, we all need both types of mentors. Ideally, what all coaches should have in common is that their only agenda is to see me live out my full potential.
And as for community, I think it’s a big element of both creating financial success in the business and actually feeling supported doing so. I strive to create community among my clients for that reason, and much prefer doing business from a collegial than from a competitive point of view.
In what ways do you think your generation’s view of success differs from previous generations?
I think in big part that depends on where you grew up. Even between West and East Germany, there are still big differences, and then again between Europe and the US and beyond that. With the birth of online businesses, I don’t believe we talk enough about intercultural differences when it comes to success, fulfillment, and leadership. Just because we all speak English doesn’t mean we speak the same language, but that’s a topic for another day.
The type of success I was taught, having been brought up by a mother who spent 30 years living in an oppressed part of Germany, unable to travel or even speak her mind openly, is that success equals stability. To strive for more than that was improper, and rich folk were all exploitative. Meanwhile, in the US, I’ve noticed a rather surface-level ambition towards show-off: success is to drive that nice car, have a corner office, and a maxed-out 401K.
In both instances, I’d say that my generation’s view of success differs from previous generations in that we strive for personal fulfillment and freedom beyond anything else. To us, stability no longer equals success if it comes at the expense of not feeling fulfilled, or not doing purposeful work. Similarly with the corner office. It means nothing if I can’t travel the world or, in other cases, see my kids grow up.
Right now, I see us all being in a transitional phase. There are Instagram entrepreneurs that, in fact, work their own hours, but still put on an inauthentic act in order to provide for their families. There’s nothing wrong with that, per se. I just believe that there is a shift occurring. We’re moving from success earned through sacrifice towards success created through authenticity.
What’s interesting to me is the idea that both massive financial success and deeply purpose-aligned work are, in fact, not mutually exclusive. There was a moment in time when it seemed as though we’d have to choose between ‘success’ and fulfillment. We’re now beginning to see new paths being paved by young leaders where success equals personal fulfillment equals purpose equals societal impact.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Ambitious Young Adults Are Redefining Success?”
A desire to redefine success and forge a fulfilling path towards it is what has led to my company’s name: Way of the Founder. It’s also the number one reason why leaders and founders approach me to become coaching clients. Finally, as a digital nomad at present, my days are filled with conversations about new ways of moving through life. Here’s what I’ve observed:
1 . Financial Success is no longer the endgame. That doesn’t mean that money isn’t a part of success. On the contrary: Money is becoming a means to an end. The end being contribution to societal shifts. We’re just now recognizing that time, and freedom of how to spend that time is just as crucial to feeling healthily fulfilled and being able to have a greater impact on your community, as money is.
2 . Success now means fulfillment, and no longer sacrifice. My and the next generation no longer accept having to sacrifice their health, time off, or values in the name of success. Make no mistake, perseverance and hard work, again, will always be part of the road to success. However, we’re not striving to integrate our own values into the life and legacy we’re building. In fact, I see personal values become a major fuel to young adults and their business ambitions. Back in orchestra fundraising, we’d take money from just about anyone who’d write a check. Conversely, I now coach my clients to make significant business decisions along their values, never against. This impacts business deals, client acquisition, messaging, and so much more.
3 . Young adults are now defining success through a sense of legacy and impact. The fact that we are seeing increasingly more solopreneurs emerging might lead us to believe that individualism has a chokehold on the Western mindset. I believe the opposite is true: over time, my and the next generation will come together as a force of love and impact. We’re having to go through a phase of separating us from the old, traditional paths to success that have led us, well, into a society that is wounded more than ever before. But I digress…
4 . For many, success now means to create freedom of choice (~location, working hours, investments, vision, project, etc.). See, one young leader might choose to work 9–5 even though they’re their own boss. However, they’ll know that they can change that routine if they want or must. Freedom of choice leads to healthy globalization of leadership, collaboration, and to diversity in business. Personally, this one is my core driver. Even back in the industry, I couldn’t wrap my head (or heart?) around having to choose to live in one and the same city simply for a job. Similarly, all of my clients are driven by the desire to have a choice, regardless of whether or not they’ll enact it.
5 . Finally, younger generations think of success, much like health, much more holistically: Success now speaks to one’s physical health, spiritual connection, and mental capabilities. In fact, success now begins to inquire about these. One of my mentors would say that if my definition of success doesn’t include the word ‘love’, I’d better get a better definition. Being Instagram famous and in the middle of a dispute with your mom isn’t success. Having body aches from working overtime to launch a new course isn’t success. Creating a business that serves YOUR needs, however, might be. Because you can take much better care of your community if you’re taken care of first.
By the way, although my answers are mostly centered around entrepreneurs, all of the above can be applied to an employer-employee relationship, granted both parties are willing to come together on the same page, create new agreements, and learn to communicate with compassion and loving kindness. Perhaps, if that was the case, the Western World wouldn’t have a hiring problem…
How do you navigate the challenges of innovation and change while staying true to your values and vision for success?
To me, innovation and change don’t represent a challenge, but an opportunity. As leaders, we get to respond to what’s present amongst our community and instill curiosity about new topics and values.
If you build a career or even business that is aligned with your purpose, values, and personal vision for success, navigating changes and new trends in the industry will simply be a part of your ever-evolving strategy, and mission to stay relevant.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be Way of the Founder. 🙂
There’s so much more that’s not yet public about Way of the Founder, but it is, in fact, a movement that invites people to forge their very own path through life, by way of community, connection, and leadership. Specifically, I’d create partnerships with colleges and orphanages, co-living communities, every single business conference, and fellow coaches and healers on a similar mission. Come join me.
How can our readers further follow you online?
I publish a new article on growing a location-independent business in a purpose-aligned way on the Way of the Founder blog every week. I also run a weekly newsletter that offers deeper insights into the road of success and path of a traveler, and I am active on Instagram. Stop by and say hi — I always love getting to know you!
Website: www.wayofthefounder.com / www.wayoftheofunder.com/blog
IG: @_wayofthefounder
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Aww, thank you, truly, for this platform and for bringing such a powerful topic to your readership. Take good care and best of luck with your Podcast — I love the topic!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold
Future Leaders: Dina-Marie Weineck Of ‘Way of the Founder’ On How Ambitious Young Adults Are… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.