We asked some very talented folks to talk to us about success and what it takes to be successful. We’ve shared their responses below.

Telle Kouture

To be successful, you must first have faith. Having faith will take you places that fear could never. Fear is definitely something that can hinder growth and I’ve seen it happen to people many times. You have to stay out of your own way. Believing & continuously manifesting great things is also highly important. Being passionate comes next. I personally feel that when you are passionate about your craft you will give it your all. Read more>>

Amelia Kevan

I often look around me noticing everyone else’s success. I notice their bravery, their strength but seem to lack seeing my own. I know that success isn’t easy, especially when you are climbing from the bottom. I know that success is a journey. I know that it is during the success journey where you figure out your capabilities, by pushing yourself past your limits to obtain success. Read more>>

Jessica Winters

Obviously it takes hard work and consistency but the fastest way to success is getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. If we never go outside of that natural comfort zone you create for yourself, and everybody has them whether you think you do or not, we never experience life any differently than our current situation. If you have a goal or a dream you aren’t currently reaching it’s because you are staying in your comfort zone. A goal or a dream is something you haven’t achieved yet and you never will by staying in the comfort zone. Continue pushing yourself and going for it. Read more>>

Kierra Wilson

First, I’ll say that I believe there is no universal definition of what success is. Success is measured on the individual’s goals and aspirations. What I do believe, is consistency is the key to being successful. It is often referred to as being disciplined, but becoming disciplined is the result of performing consistent behaviors over a course of time. Read more>>

Louida Martin

To be successful, you got to enjoy what you do, and have a passion for it. If you’re not passionate about it, you’re going to give up and fail. Also, you got to be consistent. Keep at it with your goal. Yes, you may fail, but pick yourself up, learn from it, and keep trying. There have been plenty of times that I have failed at blogging, but since I was passionate about it, and wanted to make it work for me, I stayed consistent with it. Read more>>

Yvette Tomassini

For me to be successful, you need to have that hunger and drive within yourself in order to succeed. Setting goals and working hard to achieve them is the greatest accomplishment you can do for your confidence and well being. I see success as being happy,healthy, and seeing my family thriving in thier endeavors. Read more>>

Cassandra ( Cassie) Herzog

Life is dumb. We are all products of two people who most likely got too drunk one night and bam- We are born, we learn basic skills, and then we are just expected to thrive and eventually become successful adults. It’s kind of fucked up, isn’t it? Being a business owner has taught me to form new definitions of success and what I think success is supposed to look like. When I was growing up, no one placed any importance on education or being successful. Most of the people in my hometown never left. They were born and raised and then they took over the family business which was most likely real estate in some shape or form. Read more>>

Jimmy Johnson

Consistency. Building a successful business takes consistency. Through your ups and downs, economic adjustments, environmental changes, different business model changes – just stay consistent, the only competition is yourself. Don’t allow others or the success of others to dictate your tempo – run your own race. Read more>>

Sarai Ramos

Success is not easily attained. However, one of the key habits of successful people is looking at obstacles and objections as a learning tool. I’ve learned along my journey that you really have to be completely honest with yourself and be willing to take moments of self reflection to help your growth.. I constantly ask myself how can I do this better? If I do it this way instead of that way does it make business sense? If I fail with Plan A what is my Plan B, because giving up is not an option. Read more>>

Jenna Hansen

FAILURE. Lots of Failures. Failing – it is the key to success. The more often and harder you fail the more quickly you will find success. Each failure is giving an opportunity to learn, valuable information and the next steps to move forward. If you are willing to fail, and instead of feeling shame about the failure, take the lessons learned and move forward then you are guaranteed to succeed. You will succeed as long as you keep going, keep trying, keep moving forward, keep failing. Read more>>

Tahira Christensen

It takes a strong work ethic and a whole lot of perseverance in order to be successful. Many of the skills needed for most jobs or professions can be learned and researched but if you aren’t hungry enough to go and seek it out, you won’t succeed. There will be many times throughout owning your business when you want to throw in the towel, it will seem too hard, it will seem never ending, the hours and stress will get to you in major ways. But you must have confidence in what you are building and where it is headed and the perseverance to keep on going. Read more>>

Justin Loretangeli

In the music journalism world, there are a lot of great writers. A lot of the artists you interview have been interviewed by dozens of outlets. To truly make your outlet stand out, for me, it’s all about the work you put in prior to the interview. I like to say that while I may not be the best writer or use the biggest words, but I pride myself on doing as much, if not more research into an artist as any outlet out there. I want to be able to ask artists questions that they may not be asked a lot, or ever, so I can offer a different perspective on each respective song, album or project. Read more>>

Nick Paranjape

First, you have to define success. Success means different things to different people. For me, success means making money. Not gonna lie. But it goes deeper than that. Success means feeling good about what you’re doing and making a difference in someone’s life through video storytelling. Sharing people’s stories has always been my passion. I love to see what makes people “go”, what motivates them, what obstacles they’ve overcome. Read more>>

Joseph Smolack

I think takes the ability to learn from your mistakes while being open to new information and feedback. Success comes at a cost, every genuine success story is filled with previous failures. It is how we respond to these failures that determines the outcome of any objective. I have learned that success requires a level of maturity, patience and humility. In previous times, my failure for any given ambition would decrease my motivation and create feelings of doubt and frustration. I would view the whole endeavour as a waste of time and energy and move onto an entirely different project. Read more>>

Anthony Cortes

I think confidence in yourself and your own brand is one of the most important requirements to be successful. Having that inner compass and gut feeling about the success of your company or product is so important when looking to be great at what you do. You must believe in yourself and what you have to offer before others will. Read more>>

Sarah Marie

I think it takes determination and consistency to form a pathway to success. In order to have success you have to want it and work for it. Setting goals is important and also adaptability. Read more>>

Whitley Simpson

What it takes to be successful in my opinion is your willingness to learn and grow. You cannot do things on your own! you will tire yourself out thinking you can handle every situation by yourself, you do not know every thing nor can you control every single aspect of your road to success. Also patience is a virtue! I had to learn this myself. You cannot rush success! Read more>>

Niyah Lawrence

I think being successful takes a lot of hard work and hustle. As I am learning this now to be successful myself I realize that I don’t have anyone to really hold my hand. It all depends on the motivation you can muster up for your self if you really want it bad enough! I also think having someone to be your support is a part of that as well and I’m very grateful to be surrounded by amazing supporters of my journey! Read more>>

Sue Lee

I think in order to be successful, you always have to be very driven, ambitious, and know what your goals are. Always have a plan of action, a backup plan, and be consistent in what you do. Read more>>

Camisha Lemons

I think that the definition of “what it means to be successful” varies; I’m sure that isn’t what most people would expect a business woman to say, but in my experience I find that success for each person depends on what they hold to be most important at their very core. As for me, my viewpoint of success and what it takes to be successful are embedded in the following: 1. Be committed – the path traveled might change but the goal should always remind the same. Read more>>

Kaylan Mary

The definition of success in the entertainment industry is very subjective. To me, success means a lot of things. Success isn’t JUST money or fame or millions of followers. Success is also working hard at something you love to put quality into the world. Success is using your gifts to inspire people. Success is building a name for yourself and creating a legacy through your art. Success is finding happiness through every step of of your journey. Read more>>

Joshua Covil

I think you have to recognize your success in order to be successful. I think that life can make success look out of body, not within our natural capacities or just intangible. But success is apart of our core being. It’s all around us happening as a result of our existence. I believe that making decisions from a successful place creates opportunities for more success. Read more>>

Sarah Fleming

When I think of success, I don’t think of the end results, the shine, the glamour, or the reward. When I think of success, I think of the risk, the grit, and the journey it takes to get there. Mastering your craft is a long process. You can’t just take one class, do one project, or sit with one mentor to become successful — you have to put in your time to make it to where you want to be. In that time that you’re working towards success, you are bound to see many small wins and loses, this is where your lessons lie. I believe that it takes a person who is ready to truly fall in love with the process and see the journey all the way through to be successful. Read more>>

Cody Doss

Everyone of course has different measures of what “success” means. For me, I feel successful when my actions are rooted in a few fundamentals. Following my intuition, checking myself in the process, and staying disciplined have proven to be huge ingredients for that feeling. Without following my internal compass, it’s easy to let others make decisions for you. If you don’t have a plan for yourself, others will. Without the discipline, it’s difficult to move through work at a pace that puts you in front of the game. Read more>>

Christi Porter

My definition of success is maintaining the perfect balance of work and play. As most Americans feel the weight of inflation, it’s now more important than ever to set yourself up for financial success. In my experience as a photographer and social media manager, I’ve learned that I value schedule flexibility and living life without the fears of financial stress… but how does one do that? Read more>>

Courtney Bohlman

It takes commitment to your dream and holding it loosely. It also takes time haha The journey of owning your own business is just that, a journey. You will hit many speed bumps, sharp turns, and dead stops as you travel along this glorious ride. However, if you keep your eyes centered on your dream and keep stepping every day, you will get there. Read more>>

Diana Allen

As a female tattoo artist and shop owner in a predominantly male based industry, the most important success objective is to keep yourself motivated to compete not only with the industry’s finest artists but also with yourself. Motivation to be better than yourself every day is so important. I am constantly driving to be better than I was yesterday. There is no time for jealousy of other artists and what they are accomplishing. Just because another shop is feeding doesn’t mean yours will starve. Read more>>

Rhonda Fisher

I believe success looks different for everyone. Success does not have to be a linear approach and over the years I have learned that my success is very fluid. My personal success is outlined and defined by the goals in which I set to achieve. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to be successful but there are certainly a few things inherit to my overall success. First, be committed and show up every single day. Second, never stop learning. Third, have an open mind and be willing to change your perspective. Fourth, learn from others by getting comfortable with standing on the shoulders of giants. Fifth, always lead from a place of integrity and everything else will fall into place. Read more>>

Megumi Pair

It sounds so cliché but I think to be successful in anything, you need to first and formost have a vision and a goal of where you and your business want to be, the determination and patience during the journey but most of all to not give up because things don’t usually go exactly as planned. Success definitely does not happen over night and and usually with many mistakes and bumps along the way, you find what works best for you and your business and keep improving and getting closer to the goal. Read more>>

Katlyn Hoyer

I know it sounds cliche but never give up. You are going to fail regardless of what you do. Take it as a lesson learned, take a step back and see what ways you can critique it to make it better. Read more>>

Markeon Edwards

In order to be successful, you have to have a magnitude of discipline in multiple areas. Being able to have self control over your future is the key to living a successful and balanced life, but success is measured in the eye of the beholder. Read more>>

Molly Rose English

Success means creating with passion and fulfillment while making a difference to the lives of others. Success to me means establishing connection with a community as a creator of consistent, high quality and delightful products that deliver Joy and happiness to the receiver. Read more>>

Tiffany Holmes

Success is what we try to achieve based on the goals we set forth for ourselves. There are so many moving parts to being successful. I believe in order to be successful not only in business, but life in general, it takes faith, patience, resilience, dedication, time, patience, hard-work and passion. To be successful means not being afraid of failing or facing any obstacle thrown your way. The setbacks we face and small fires we have to put out help us grow; it also lends itself to be a great testimony. Read more>>

Heather Fox

Knowing what your gifts and skill sets are and use them to your advantage. Being focused and self disciplined Understanding there maybe failures and that’s ok. You learn from it and move on. Finding and knowing your purpose Focus on your passion and the success or money will come later Having an abundance mindset Being around people who are successful and learn from them. Read more>>

Chef Way

What does it take to be successful? Well in my opinion it takes hard work, dedication, patience, thick skin, and a relentless attitude to be successful. There’s plenty of more things I could list but we would be here all day. How can you grow if you remain in a box ? You can’t be scared to take risk, you can’t let other people doubt weight on you, and most importantly failure can never be an ending you are ok with. You have to discard inferior thoughts, and understand that everyday is an opportunity to learn more about your profession. Never stop learning! Read more>>

Beck G

Success has both a heavy definition and duty. It occurred to me that success is personal & even subjective, so it is certain. I see it that if one can decide & define for themselves what success is then one can exert the output necessary to accomplish the required task(s) to earn and receive the according rewards. In my personal and professional life, I have an intentional two-pillar principle approach to acheive and measure success. Those are being consistent and building relationships. It serves me, my business, and those connected. Read more>>

Xanquila Mckinnon

Unwavering focus. We live in a society of distraction. An age of social media and never ending streaming services. You have to be willing to step away from it all for as long as it takes. Eliminate all distractions. Not only that, but you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone and feel uncomfortable for as long as it takes. Everybody wants success, whatever that may mean to them. Everybody wants wealth and financial freedom. But to be successful you can’t be like everybody. You can’t do what everybody else is doing. You must be willing to wake up before everyone else, or be willing to go to sleep later than everyone else. You must be willing to take the kind of risks that would terrify the average person. This is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary. Read more>>

Alexsa Dobbs

To be successful I honestly believe you have to be willing to take risk, keep learning & to make sacrifices. I notice that every successful person had to sacrifice something, (whether it’s time, hard work, or money) to get to where they are today! I also believe there should be additional motivating factors other than just money to be successful, which is why i recommend doing something that you love & enjoy! :) Read more>>

Thomas Fortenberry

This is a question I get asked a lot from colleagues, friends, and family. Whether or not you see yourself as successful, is how you perceive what success truly is. Is success running an profitable endeavor, having the business acumen to keep with the trends, or simply having a business that gets your creative juices flowing into something you love? And how do I define success? Success to me is something you personally have to define for yourself as no one else can tell you what success looks like. Read more>>

Kirk LaVecchia

Persistence, time and energy conquer all things. The biggest struggle anyone faces while starting a company is the dip. The dip is the post excitement of starting something new that is refreshing and filled with hope. Eventually you hit obstacle after obstacle which tends to seem insurmountable. This is where most people fail because they quit. It’s not due to a lack of talent or skill yet a lack of perseverance to push through the pain. That’s why it is critical to pick a company not for profits, money, fame, etc…yet to select a mission that serves its customers while being deeply fulfilling to the owner. Read more>>