The Origin Story
Before there was Health401k®.
Before People Change People™.
Before workshops, frameworks, or curricula…
There was a simple belief:
People grow when their curiosity is sparked, their next step is supported, and their environment makes progress feel possible.
In 2004, long before I had language for it, that belief became the seed of ignite. excite. empower., LLC – a grassroots idea built around three verbs that shaped my early life:
IGNITE curiosity
EXCITE action
EMPOWER people through tools, structure, and support
It wasn’t a company yet.
It wasn’t a “brand.”
It was a philosophy – a way I tried to move through the world after years of struggling forward, failing forward, and learning forward.
At the time, my motto was simple:
“Information is ubiquitous; undivided personal attention is not.”
And that’s still true.
In a world drowning in advice and content, what people really need is a human system of support.
The Evolution
As the years unfolded, the I.E.E. philosophy matured. It didn’t get louder – it got quieter, clearer, and deeper. And eventually, it became the foundation for two public-facing frameworks that now carry the bulk of our work:
1. Health401k® – The Application of the Philosophy
Health401k® takes the ethos of “ignite. excite. empower.” and translates it into a structured, long-term model of personal wellness.
We ignite clarity by helping people define what health and success mean to them.
We excite action through human connection, accountability, and environment design.
We empower sustainable growth by providing systems, tools, and support aligned with their definition.
Health401k is the applied, structured, scalable version of the original IEE philosophy – expanded across eight dimensions of well-being and refined into a framework organizations can adopt.
It is I.E.E.’s most powerful behavioral expression.
2. People Change People™ – The Human Core of the Philosophy
People Change People™ holds the emotional center of everything we do.
If Health401k is the structure, People Change People is the gravity – the force that pulls transformation forward.
It reflects the truth I’ve seen in every corner of my life and work:
People don’t change because of information.
They change because of people.
People Change People™ is the living social experiment, the reminder, and the invitation:
Your health, identity, and long-term success will always be shaped by the environments you are part of – and by the people who walk alongside you.
This is the heartbeat of the entire ecosystem.
IEE Today: The Quiet Architecture
If Health401k® and People Change People™ are the heavy lifters, then IGNITE. EXCITE. EMPOWER.® is the quiet architecture – the framework beneath the frameworks.
It no longer needs to be the face of the work.
It needs only to continue anchoring the philosophy behind it.
Today, IEE shows up quietly in:
- our workshops
- our teaching language
- the sequencing of our behavior-change models
- the way we support clients, communities, and organizations
Curiosity / Action / Empowerment
This is still the backbone.
IEE is the origin, the philosophy, and the through-line – the subtle structure that allows Health401k® and People Change People™ to exist with integrity and direction.
The Through-Line
Even as our work expands into schools, organizations, and communities, the original philosophy remains unchanged:
People grow best in environments designed for their success – environments that spark curiosity, support action, and provide the systems needed to sustain change.
Everything we build still traces back to the same foundation:
IGNITE. EXCITE. EMPOWER.®
Trademark Notice
IGNITE. EXCITE. EMPOWER.®is a registered trademark of ignite. excite. empower., LLC, used in connection with providing a publicly accessible website offering educational commentary, philosophy, and information in the field of personal development and long-term behavior change.