The character arc of Marie Forleo
Born 7 December 1975 and raised in New Jersey. Between then and now sit a finance degree earned at the top of her class, a job on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor she chose to leave, years of bartending and teaching while she found her path, the founding of Marie Forleo International, the MarieTV show, the B-School course built from 2010, and the 2019 number one bestseller Everything Is Figureoutable. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Marie Forleo?
She left the safe career and figured it out.
She grew up in New Jersey and graduated at the top of her class from Seton Hall University in 1997 with a degree in finance. The straight road led to a job on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and within a short time she walked away from it. There was no clear plan waiting on the other side, only a strong sense that the safe answer was not hers. That leap, taken young and without a net, is where her line turns.
What followed was not a shortcut. She bartended, taught fitness and dance classes, and started a small email newsletter while she worked out what she was for. She trained as a life coach, published her first book in 2008, and in 2009 founded Marie Forleo International and began MarieTV, a weekly show answering real questions from real people. The years that looked like drifting were, in the drawing of it, the years she was quietly building the audience and the voice the rest would stand on.
From 2010 she built B-School, an online course that teaches people to grow a business of their own, and over the years her show carried long conversations with many of the people she most admired. In September 2019 she published Everything Is Figureoutable, which reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list and carried a single belief she credits to her mother: that with enough resourcefulness, almost anything can be worked out. Her line is worth reading because the safe career was the thing she left, and the belief she now hands out is the one that carried her.
The moments
Marie Forleo's timeline.
The 1970s
Born in New Jersey
Milestone. Born on 7 December 1975 and raised in New Jersey.
The 1990s
Graduated as valedictorian
Milestone. She finished at the top of her class at Seton Hall University with a degree in finance.
Left the trading floor
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She took a job on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor and then walked away from it, with no plan for what came next.
Stay in finance, or leave
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: leave the safe career, taken, or stay on the trading floor. Within a decade she had founded her own company, begun MarieTV and started building B-School.
The 2000s
Bartending while finding her path
Milestone. She bartended and taught fitness and dance classes while she started a small newsletter and worked out what she was for.
Life coaching begins
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She trained as a life coach and began building a practice, the first shape of the teacher she became.
First book published
Milestone. Her first book reached print and put her ideas in front of a wider readership.
MarieTV begins
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She founded Marie Forleo International and launched MarieTV, a weekly show answering real questions from real people.
The 2010s
B-School begins
Milestone, and it changed everything. She built B-School, an online course teaching people to grow a business of their own, which became the centre of her work.
Coach one, or teach many
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: build a course for many, taken, or keep coaching one at a time. B-School became the centre of her work and reached students across the world.
Conversations with her heroes
Milestone. Over these years her show carried long interviews with many of the writers, founders and teachers she most admired.
Named a thought leader
Milestone. Oprah Winfrey introduced her at SuperSoul Sessions as a thought leader for the next generation.
Everything Is Figureoutable
Milestone, and it changed everything. Her book reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list, built around a single belief her mother taught her.
The line reaches today still building and still teaching, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it set moving is already out in the open: the members of her audience who started something of their own, and every reader who decided that whatever they faced was figureoutable.
In her words
Quotes by Marie Forleo
Everything is figureoutable.
Clarity comes from engagement, not thought.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
Hers turns on a leap she took with no plan and built on for decades. Yours has turning points too, and drawing them takes about three minutes.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Marie Forleo.
- marieforleo.com, About and Press and Media pages.
- Marie Forleo, Everything Is Figureoutable, Portfolio, September 2019, a number one New York Times bestseller.
- Marie Forleo, Make Every Man Want You, McGraw-Hill, 2008.
- MarieTV and The Marie Forleo Podcast, marieforleo.com.
- Everything Is Figureoutable, Portfolio, 2019.
- Marie Forleo, MarieTV, marieforleo.com.