When Life Collapses, Entrepreneurs Rebuild — Here’s How.

When I first met Dr. David Lipman, I expected to talk about performance and mindset. Instead, I found myself deeply moved. Within minutes, he was not talking about metrics or growth strategies but about pain, purpose and the kind of resilience that only comes from being broken open. His journey was not about building a business. It was about rebuilding a life.

That conversation stayed with me. Years earlier, I had been at the height of my career, leading teams and chasing deadlines, when everything changed. I was hit by a car while pregnant. In an instant, my body, my health and my identity came undone.

Soon after, I developed two autoimmune conditions and could barely care for myself, let alone my newborn. I went from high-performing executive to full-time patient and mother in survival mode. But that collapse created something unexpected: space. Space to slow down, to heal and to rediscover what truly mattered. That space became the foundation for the purpose-driven work I do today.

David’s story follows a similar arc, one that reveals universal lessons about entrepreneurship, perseverance and the art of starting again.

Lesson 1: Rejection is often the first invitation

When David was ten years old, his family moved to a new neighborhood where he was told he did not belong. For a sensitive kid eager to make friends, it was crushing. Then an older neighbor took him under his wing and introduced him to exercise, nutrition and routine.

Strength gave him confidence, and discipline gave him direction. It was the beginning of his transformation. Entrepreneurs often face a similar initiation. The world may not welcome your vision at first, but rejection can be the very friction that forges resilience.

Related: How to Master Resilience and Protect Your Mental Health

Lesson 2: Hidden injuries do not heal without attention

At fifteen, David was in a motorcycle accident that left him with a fractured neck, an injury he hid for years out of fear. The pain became part of his normal, something he learned to live with while pretending everything was fine. Only when a mentor noticed his limited movement did he finally seek help. That single act of awareness changed everything. His first chiropractic adjustment released years of tension and pain he had tried so hard to conceal. It was pain no one else could see but one that had quietly begun to control his life.

Many entrepreneurs carry invisible injuries of their own. We push through exhaustion, disappointment and fear, convincing ourselves it is simply part of the job. Yet what we ignore, we prolong. True growth often begins with the courage to look directly at what hurts and the willingness to heal it.

Lesson 3: Breaking tradition can be the most loyal act

David was expected to join his family’s business, a legacy that had provided stability for generations. But something in him wanted more, a deeper way to serve others. When he told his father he wanted to pursue a different path, he expected resistance. Instead, his father gave him a rare gift. He said, “If this is what you love, you will find more success and satisfaction here than anywhere else.” Sometimes, honoring where we come from means having the courage to evolve beyond it.

Lesson 4: Making space for what is next

There comes a point in every entrepreneur’s journey when the familiar begins to fall apart. Partners walk away. Opportunities dry up. Systems that once worked no longer do. In those moments, it is tempting to cling tighter, but often the breakdown is not punishment. It is preparation.

David faced this when insurance companies stopped covering much of his work. Overnight, his thriving practice was at risk. Around the same time, his father died suddenly, leaving him in grief and uncertainty.

He could have walked away, but instead, he dropped to his knees in prayer — a faith-filled moment that allowed him to reimagine what healing could look like. He rebuilt from purpose, not pressure and created something stronger than before.

I experienced the same truth in my own life. The accident and illness that halted my career were devastating, but they created the space for transformation. Forced to stop, I learned about recovery, Culinary Medicine (nutrition) and the science of healing. That process led me toward new work, new purpose, and a deeper understanding that success without health is not success at all.

Related: The Make-or-Break Factor Behind Real Business Success and the Legacy You Leave

Lesson 5: Energy is currency

After decades of practice, David discovered that every form of decline, whether in health, creativity, or leadership, can be traced to depleted energy. The same is true in business. When your energy drops, your decisions follow. Entrepreneurs spend years learning to manage capital but rarely learn how to manage capacity. Building routines, systems and recovery habits is not indulgence. It is an intelligent strategy. Protecting your energy is protecting your enterprise.

Lesson 6: Growth is an incline, not a straight line

David often says he lives on the incline. It means refusing to accept decline as inevitable, whether in age, business, or innovation. That mindset is what separates those who burn out from those who break through. I have learned the same in my own work. Resilience is not about avoiding failure. It is about creating upward momentum from it.

Entrepreneurship, at its core, is an act of faith. It tests your adaptability, your endurance and your ability to keep creating when the plan no longer makes sense. The path to purpose is rarely linear. It is shaped by recovery, reflection and the courage to begin again.

Whether you are rebuilding after loss, launching a new idea, or standing in the middle of uncertainty, remember this truth. Your power lies not in what you avoid but in what you transform. Sometimes what feels like an ending is only the beginning of something far greater than you imagined.

When I first met Dr. David Lipman, I expected to talk about performance and mindset. Instead, I found myself deeply moved. Within minutes, he was not talking about metrics or growth strategies but about pain, purpose and the kind of resilience that only comes from being broken open. His journey was not about building a business. It was about rebuilding a life.

That conversation stayed with me. Years earlier, I had been at the height of my career, leading teams and chasing deadlines, when everything changed. I was hit by a car while pregnant. In an instant, my body, my health and my identity came undone.