But that success seemed a world away one soul-searching night 15 years ago.

Allie’s six-year-old trade show business had just experienced dismal failure. That night, she collapsed in her office, her chest tight with breath-robbing fear. At age 24, she was $100,000 in debt and lost. And the internal voices of negativity shouted to her, “You’re a failure. You’re never going to amount to anything.”

Allie shared her inspirational journey from the depths of despair to the heights of business and personal fulfillment recently on the Van Talks stage.

With the help of her parents, Allie dusted herself off from her business fall. Something her father told her that night would become a life mantra for her: “Your life is not ending. It’s just beginning. Failure is just part of the journey.”

That advice led her to take over an event-management business, pay off her debts and fund her software startup. Still, there were nagging doubts about her core value as a person. She equated achievement with personal worth. It was full of “shoulds.”

But Allie has learned to “flip the script.”

“Our voices set the intention of our world. Our words create our reality every day. We speak ourselves into existence.”

Allie leaves her audience with a lesson she first learned from her parents and that now forms her core belief:

“I challenge you to get out of the world of ‘should’; to welcome that failure in, to experience it, to truly feel it. But not be defined by it. Take every opportunity to flip that failure script. That obstacle in front of you is just a part of your beautiful journey.”

Watch the video to hear Allie's full VanTalks presentation.

 VanTalks is a growing ecosystem of local thought leaders who stand on the leading edge of community and global transformation.VanTalks is a local version of the international phenomenon called TED Talks.