We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ari Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ari thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

“Lasting success isn’t attained easily” — I believe that wholeheartedly. Success is defined differently based upon who you ask; however, the feeling of accomplishment & happiness, I believe, is common to all. To me, success is attained by originality. With success comes legacy and legacies transcend through generations. As a creative, my outlet is constantly being bombarded with information to cloud my judgment & cause me to shy away from being different. It is in those moments where I find the key to success. Being different is something that’s been ingrained into me from childhood. My grandmother taught me to never follow the crowd & this has followed me through life.

I don’t aim to emulate another’s definition of success, I’ve simply curated my own. Being true to who I am as a creative has allowed and will continue to allow for me to enter rooms that God has ordained and for that, that feeling of accomplishment and happiness forever walks beside me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Ari Smith but I go by “Millennialmuze.” I’m a creative millennial who loves to curate memories & tell visual stories. I’m a creative first and a videographer second. I present the world with a new perspective and a different way of looking at things whether it be beauty, travel or telling someone’s story.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve always considered myself to be very resilient but it wasn’t until last year where I truly saw it. A brand had released a product & I felt inspired to go to the beach to shoot. Usually, I shoot in a controlled environment due to me shooting by myself and the equipment used; however, I’m never one to back down from a challenge. Clearly I decided to choose the windiest day! However, cold, a bit nervous & thrown off my game I still powered through the elements & what it had to offer. Tell me why the wind knocked my camera into the ocean??! I couldn’t believe it. Well, that was a wrap even though I wasn’t done. I took out my phone & finished. Thank God my SD Card wasn’t ruined! Would you know it’s one of my FAVORITE/BEST videos to date?? That was one crazy day but after that I realized I have enough strength to power through the craziest challenges.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a creative, especially in the social media space, I was taught by “experts” that I needed to hop on trends to be successful & follow a schedule they set for me. Chileee please. Please.

I’ll never forget one told me to simply give up because I was becoming frustrated with my creative journey. It was in that moment I remembered that this was MY journey NOT hers. I continued to embrace my definition of creativity & the fruits of my labor are beautiful to see. In a way I’m grateful for this person telling me this nonsense because it ignited a fire I never knew existed.

Contact Info:

• Website: aricreatedit.my.canva.site
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/millennialmuze/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/millennialmuze-llc/