ONE // MAY 2025
Evolving on Purpose by
Redefining Success: Doing Better Than Yesterday by
From Millionaire Martial Artist to Mentor of the Heart: My Evolution of Success by
The Moving Target of Success: Freedom in Service by
THE EVOLUTION OF SUCCESS
Erica Nash
Melanie Birky
Ruben Ramos
Caitlin Harrison
From the Founder
May your definition of success include the things that fuel your soul May you leave room for all the versions of you that need to be taken care of.
It’ s my hope that this issue of Riot Magazine inspires you to be courageous enough to define success for yourself and wherever you are in your life and business right now I hope you ’ re brave enough to remove whatever the world has told you success has to be because the truth is, there is no one definition There is no one destination There is no one criteria
You’ re a whole human and success gets to look like whatever you want it to
Here’ s to making our own rules ⚡
Erica Nash Founder, Riot Creative Studio
The evolution of success is realizing that growth doesn’t end. There’ s no moment where we cross the finish line and get to stay there forever. There’ s just the next step. The next stretch. The next invitation to trust, to risk, to lead
Reader, you ’ re not behind, you ’ re becoming
If you ’ re in the messy middle right now: Keep pushing through. Surround yourself with people who will speak life into you People who see your strength when you forget it People who remind you of who you are and who you're becoming.
What’ s changing in you matters even more than what’ s changing around you
It’ s your patience
Your capacity for risk.
Your tolerance for failure.
Your compassion for others
Your definition of success
It’ s deeper. Richer.
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You don’t need a perfect plan
You just need to take the next step with intention
Because growth will come either way.
But when you grow on purpose?
It changes the game.
Before + Becoming
Success doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, it unfolds through small, intentional shifts. Imagine yourself in “the before” and “the becoming” ... who do you see? You ten years ago vs today? You yesterday vs today? Maybe it’ s you today vs you tomorrow The results might surprise you
Redefining Success: DoingBetterThanYesterday
RUBEN RAMOS // RAMOS KNIVES
My name is Ruben Ramos and I am a maker of custom knives full time. My journey began before I graduated high school. My girlfriend, now my wife, has a dad who makes knives. He introduced me to knifemaking while we were dating Little did I know that this would determine the course of my life.
Like many start up businesses, mine started in a garage. I began with a few basic tools and expanded as extra money became available My first shop was roughly 200 sq ’ with bad lighting and no heating or cooling. It’ s not important where it begins, just begin! I believe people often get discouraged by thinking that they need the best of everything to start a business Mine started out as a hobby
During this time, I learned so much about my craft and about people and what they wanted/needed After 20 years of this type of learning, it was time!
I must admit that I had low expectations when I first began my full time knifemaking career I told myself that if I could sell one custom knife per month, I would consider it a success. Even with such a modest goal, I knew the importance of marketing myself and my product. However, one knife per month was not a realistic goal to make ends meet I threatened so many times to give up on my dream but instead, I persisted
The first year in business, I gave away more product than I sold To put a knife in the hands of people who could help spread the word, was one of my marketing strategies. In addition, I advertised in hunting magazines with good success. In the course of seeking ways to get my name and product outside of the small town I was living in, I eventually ended up being featured on several TV hunting shows It was after this, my third year of business, that things really started to soar.
2025 began my 16th year of doing what I love I have met so many wonderful people that I would not have met otherwise. I have shipped knives to every state in the US plus a dozen other countries throughout the world. I am an inventor as I have been awarded a patent for a knife As of today, If I stopped taking orders, It would take several years to get caught up. I surpassed my goal of ‘ one knife per month’ long ago but the marketing continues. Social media is frowned upon by many but it has been a great marketing tool for myself. You can find content about tips, how-to, and so much more on my Facebook, Instagram and YouTube under Ramos Knives I also have a website that you can visit @ www.RRKnives.com or www.RamosKnives.com
I used to see success as having many material things that would make others envious, but not any more Success is found in the small, everyday accomplishments. I don’t compare myself to others to determine whether or not I’ m successful I challenge myself to Be/Do better today than yesterday If I can say that I have SUCCESS!
“ I threatened so many times to give up on my dream but instead, I persisted. ”
FromMillionaireMartialArtisttoMentoroftheHeart: My EvolutionofSuccess
MELANIE BIRKY // COACHING WITH MELANIE
When I first dipped my toe into the world of entrepreneurship, success had a very clear definition: achievements, awards, assets. I was chasing the dream board and catching it, one goal at a time
Together with my husband, we built wildly successful martial arts schools
✅ We were running some of the largest and most awarded programs in the country.
✅ We were debt-free homeowners and millionaires before I turned 26.
✅ I was a five-time taekwondo world champion, a half-marathoner, and in peak physical shape
✅ We traveled the globe, crossing off bucket list adventures: skydiving, whitewater rafting, ziplining, snorkeling in Hawaii, and serving on mission trips across the world. On paper? I had it all In my soul? I was barely holding on.
Behind the polished exterior, my inner world was unraveling
I had built an empire but somewhere along the way, I’d handed over the keys to my own life The business became a machine and I was just a cog in it Despite amazing systems and a rockstar team, burnout became my normal. I didn’t know any other way to be.
Success, it turns out, doesn’t mean much if you ’ re sleepwalking through your own story.
Perfectionism and high-functioning anxiety ruled the show No matter what I achieved, it was never enough My identity had fused with my accomplishments I didn’t know who I was without them. I couldn’t even name what I liked or wanted anymore I felt numb Disconnected
And the shame? It was suffocating. I didn’t like the people around me Then I felt guilty for not liking them. Which sent me spiraling even deeper.
Even spiritually, I was struggling. I knew all the biblical truths God’ s promises, His peace, His rest. But I couldn’t feel them I prayed for change, but nothing shifted It felt like I was trapped in a performance loop I didn’t know how to exit
At first, I thought this was just the price of leadership. I believed I was living the “sacrificial” life of a high achiever. I thought no one would understand because this was what success was supposed to look like, right?
But I was wrong.
And it all came crashing down.
We faced a staff walkout My marriage was fraying I was completely depleted That’ s when I stopped trying to fix it all in my own strength and surrendered. God met me in my lowest moment, not with shame, but with invitation
I had to redefine everything.
What I thought was “ success ” was really just striving
What I thought was “driven” was actually desperate. What I thought was “discipline” was often just disconnection
This was my wake-up call. And the start of a brand-new definition of success.
Today, success feels entirely different.
It’ s not about how many things I can accomplish it' s about how free I feel while doing them. It’ s not about accolades it’ s about alignment
It’ s not about being everything to everyone it’ s about being fully myself.
Out of that messy, painful, beautiful journey, I created The Journey to Personal Freedom a coaching program designed to help women rebuild their internal foundation. It’ s not business strategy. It’ s soul rehab.
Because the truth is, you can ’t white-knuckle your way to peace. You can ’t out-hustle burnout. You can ’t perform your way to worthiness.
This work is different. It requires the things we ’ re taught to gloss over:
�� Forgiveness
�� Acceptance
�� Grace
�� Surrender
�� Trust
And let me tell you, it’ s the most courageous, counter-cultural work you ’ll ever do But on the other side?
✨ Peace
✨ Freedom
✨ Deep, soul-level joy
✨ Real connection and intimacy
✨ A sense of enoughness you can finally exhale into
If I could go back and tell my younger, fire-breathing, achievement-chasing self one thing, it would be this: "You don’t have to prove your worth You were already wildly valuable before you did a single thing "
So yes, success has evolved It had to
Because the version I was living might’ ve looked shiny from the outside but it was costing me everything that really mattered
Now, success looks like laughter in my home. Long walks without urgency
Knowing God, not just knowing about Him.
Holding my dreams with open hands And living from fullness not striving to fill the emptiness
Life can change Peace is possible. And success?
It’ s so much sweeter when your soul gets to come with you
Success is so much sweeter when your soul gets to come with you.
The Moving Target of Success: FreedominService
CAITLIN HARRISON // CAITLIN HARRISON CREATIVE
When I started my business in the fall of 2020, success looked like freedom I had just quit my job as a Creative Director at a magazine company, where I had spent the last five years growing professionally but slowly outgrowing the role The pandemic had shifted everything My son was one, and I was craving flexibility I wanted to create a work life that allowed me to show up for him and for myself in new ways
Freelancing wasn ’t new to me. I’d taken on side projects in between full-time roles for years But in the summer of 2020, I learned more about the world of online business owners and service providers who were building sustainable, fulfilling businesses on their own terms It was a spark I wanted that I wanted to be my own boss I wanted to work on creative projects I believed in, with clients I actually liked And I wanted to be able to go to my son ’ s preschool parade without asking anyone for permission.
Nearly five years later, that thread is still true I love the freedom I love the flexibility I love the autonomy of running my own business. But my definition of success has evolved. It used to be about being available. Now it’ s about being strategic with my time I want to serve my clients with deep intention, and also protect more space for myself. Not just physical space on my calendar, but mental space. Creative space. Emotional space.
Toward the end of 2024, I hit a ceiling I was pouring everything I had into every client project Branding, web design, strategy, and consulting all deeply custom, hands-on, and rooted in client transformation. But I could feel the strain I knew I couldn’t keep going at that pace if I wanted to grow, or frankly, if I wanted to enjoy my work
So I made a decision. I started restructuring. I decided that not every project had to be a masterpiece built from scratch I could offer support in other impactful ways, through more streamlined services and repeatable systems. I could save the fully custom experiences for a smaller number of clients each year. And the biggest mindset shift? I realized I didn’t have to do it all myself.
Letting go of the belief that I had to be the one doing every piece of the work to maintain quality was one of the hardest and most necessary steps I started slowly I brought in a few contractors, trusted collaborators I delegated tasks that weren ’t in my zone of genius. And almost immediately, I felt relief. I felt possibility. I felt growth.
What surprises me most about the version of success I’ m living now is how much more expansive it feels. I used to think that scaling meant doing more Now I see it’ s about doing less, better I’ m building a business that can support my clients deeply without draining me I’ m creating offers that solve real problems without requiring every
ounce of my energy. I’ m not just working for freedom anymore. I’ m working for ease, for alignment, and for sustainability.
If I could go back and tell my earlier business self one thing about success, it would be this: success comes from showing up Not perfectly Not at 100% every single day But showing up with consistency, clear communication, and a willingness to keep going. In the beginning, I struggled with this. I would hit a creative block and avoid telling the client. I’d disappear into the work or spin out trying to find the perfect solution before saying anything.
Now, I know better. Now, I know that simply saying, “Hey, I’ m stuck, ” or “This is taking longer than expected, ” or “Can we hop on a call to talk through this?” is not a failure It’ s part of doing the work Clients don’t expect perfection They expect partnership And in that, I’ ve found a whole new level of success: one rooted in trust, in follow-through, and in doing what I said I would do.
The evolution of success, for me, is a story of expansion. It started with the desire to be free. It became the drive to serve well. And now, it’ s about doing both in a way that feels good, not just looks good. It’ s about designing a business that works for me and for the people I care about serving And it’ s about remembering that every version of success along the way was valuable, even if it eventually changed.
Because that’ s the point Success isn’t a fixed destination It’ s a moving target And as we evolve, it gets to evolve with us.
Clients don’t expect perfection. They