Marissa Lauren

By Marissa Lauren, Founder of Blueprinted
September 3, 2025

For too long, I lived with an invisible wall between business and life. As a pastor’s wife and mother of ten, my days were split: family, farm, and ministry on one side; bidding on construction jobs and managing properties on the other. Business was a machine—cold, calculated, and separate from the heartbeats of my personal world. It kept me tethered to my husband’s shadow, my own dreams buried under duty. But eight years ago, a divorce that shattered my family also broke that wall. Through the pain, I found a truth: business and life are not separate. They are one, a unified force for redemption, ethical growth, and unleashing visions that soar beyond ourselves.

That crucible of divorce wasn’t just loss—it was liberation. Stepping out of my ex-husband’s shadow, I faced a world of division, where punitive mindsets and disconnection tore at the fabric of family and community. I could have stayed in that bitterness, but I chose a different path. “The fight isn’t against people or systems,” I realized. “It’s against division and adversarial mindsets that keep us from connecting and collaborating.” This insight fueled my transformation and birthed Legacy Building & Development LLC, my Pacific Northwest construction company focused on sustainable projects and community impact. More than that, it ignited my mission to help others unleash ideas and visions bigger than themselves—dreams that don’t just build businesses but reshape lives and communities.

My journey taught me that ethical business is about more than profit—it’s about redemption through collaboration. During my divorce, I faced scarcity and rejection, but I also saw opportunities to rebuild differently. A property I owned, once a potential burden, could become a revenue stream for the winter ski season if approached with partnership over isolation. I told a loved one, “The only thing I can do is live my own life fully and as well as possible,” focusing on creation over resentment. That mindset shift turned my business into a platform for empowerment, not just for me but for others. I began helping clients—entrepreneurs, nonprofits, dreamers—unleash their boldest ideas, from launching coffee shops to scaling community programs, by aligning their visions with ethical, actionable strategies.

Unleashing visions bigger than ourselves means rejecting punitive thinking. Too often, we see setbacks—lost contracts, fractured partnerships, or personal failures—as punishments to endure. But what if they’re invitations to build together? Ethical business replaces zero-sum games with mutual upliftment: transparent deals, fair financing, and investments in people over profit margins. It’s about saying, “I’ve accumulated resources—what good are they if I can’t help others?” as I reflected in a recent heartfelt conversation. It’s about guiding a nonprofit to secure grants for youth programs or helping a small business owner turn a passion project into a sustainable venture. These acts redeem our pain by fostering unity and purpose.

Through my Blueprinted framework—Inspire (spark hope in broken places), Dream (envision bold, world-changing ideas), Build (create sustainable foundations), and Align (ensure visions stay true)—I’ve seen this unity transform lives. My divorce gave me the courage to build a company that reflects my values: love over perfection, growth over greed, community over isolation. But it’s not just my story. When I help a client dream beyond their fears—whether it’s a trades training program or a tech startup—I see their eyes light up with possibility. Their vision becomes a beacon, pulling others toward a shared purpose. Every contract, every project, every coaching session is a chance to redeem division by building bridges.

If you’re trapped in a mindset where business feels separate from life—where your hustle is disconnected from your heart—I challenge you to tear down that wall. Your work is a canvas for redemption, a platform to unleash visions that outgrow you. Stop seeing competitors as enemies or failures as final. Start building ethically: offer a hand to a struggling entrepreneur, share resources with a dreamer, or align your business with a cause bigger than profit. My journey from a shattered family to a thriving entrepreneur and vision-unleasher taught me that when we unify business and life, we don’t just succeed—we redeem, we restore, we inspire greatness in others.

What’s one vision bigger than yourself that you’re ready to unleash? Subscribe and let’s build it together.

Stay Blueprinted,
Marissa Lauren

(Note: This post is part of the “Fractured Bonds to Business Breakthroughs” series, sharing my journey to inspire yours. Subscribe for more.)