Do the Hustle with Don Kurz

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Your life can change in one play, one decision, or one diagnosis. When it does, the real question is whether you cling to the old story or build a better one with what’s left.

We sit down with Don Kurz, a former Johns Hopkins lacrosse champion turned Studio 54 hustle regular turned entrepreneur and creative agency leader, to unpack how reinvention actually works. Don shares what it feels like to lose an athletic future to a brutal knee injury, why the disco era became more than a party, and how dance helped him rebuild confidence and joy when he hit a low point. From there, we trace his path through a Columbia MBA, a decade in management consulting, and the leap into entrepreneurship that led to taking a company public on NASDAQ.

Along the way, we dig into practical leadership and healthy living lessons: how to develop focus when your attention is scattered, why team-based goals can be a powerful source of motivation, and how to stop wasting years chasing bitterness or “justice” that never restores what you lost. Don also explains why he wrote his book, Do the Hustle, as a lessons-driven story instead of a standard business memoir, and what he learned from an 18-month writing and editing grind.

If you’re searching for resilience, mindset coaching you can actually use, and a clear framework for navigating career pivots, setbacks, and personal change, this conversation delivers. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who’s rebuilding, and leave a review with the toughest reality you’re ready to accept and embrace.

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