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

Jamie, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I once heard a speech by ADMIRAL WILLIAM H. MCRAVEN titled “Make your Bed”.

If you haven’t read his speech, I would highly recommend it, as it is a daily reminder of what it takes, at least for me to be successful. Admiral McRaven says, “If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”

To be successful takes a lot of hard work, dedication and self-discipline. Becoming successful doesn’t happen overnight as you’ve heard. Put in the hard work, manage priorities and deadlines, take responsibility for your work and your actions, learn from successes or failures and show up for yourself and your clients.

At the end of the day, there is no one else to blame but me if I am not successful. There are great & amazing days, and there hard self-defeating days. You have to choose which mind set of the highs or lows will be the mindset that continues to guide your next day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello and nice to meet you!

I am Jamie Herring. I’m a daughter, sister, bestie to many, rockstar auntie, mama of two fur babies, wannabe golf pro, lover of fashion, good books and photography. Above all, I am an Interior Designer. I’m also the proud owner of H/D Collab : A fresh + fun full-service Interior Design Studio based in Tempe, yet serving all areas of the great sun state and beyond.

My design experience has dappled throughout commercial and residential design over the last nineteen years. I offer a distinct & unique set of talent & skills that result in a dynamic client offering to fulfil commercial needs & residential dreams. I find great joy in creating dream spaces and happy clients – that always ask for more.

My motto has never changed – it’s always about you and never me. Kind, Clear & Collaborative. I am uniquely set apart – because I listen. I create a style and aesthetic reflective of my client’s own personality and a space that fits their lifestyle. I am committed to a collaborative experience featuring client-focused design and clear communication.

Interior Design should never be a cookie cutter experience – what I do on a project is never repeated. Nor should it be – your design is you and no one else.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

My biggest lesson was I had to unlearn the understanding of the word, “No” and how to return that negative word into a more positive one.

Have you ever been told “No”?

No, I couldn’t do that. No, I couldn’t do this. Now, granted the word was appropriate at sometimes, for example, no you cannot stay out all night long, and no, you cannot drive until you’re old enough. Those were all “No’s” as a child I heard from my parents protecting and raising me.

But, have you ever heard; “No you won’t succeed? Why try when you’ll fail? No, you’re not smart enough? No, you’re not pretty enough. No, you’re not good enough. No, you’ll never make it.”

No. No. No.

There are so many times in my life I’ve been told No.

The biggest impact of the word “No” was when my college instructor failed me in my history of design course. Honestly, I might have deserved it. College was hard and I was tired. Between all my courses, living the “college” dream, over committing to everything, my sorority, my schoolwork, my job on campus, and just trying to figure out my own life – he failed me. He shared no sympathy for me. I remember the day when he failed me and said, “No, this Interior Design business is not for you”.

I was defeated. That was when the word finally sunk in. No – you cannot do anything right.

That’s when I said enough – and I was tired of hearing the word, No.

So, I retook his course, sat in the front row and set up a tape recorder and recorded his every word on the lecture for the semester. I got an A+. When I graduated with my Master’s Degree in Interior Design, he approached me and said, I told you “No”, because I knew you had it within you along to say “Yes”.

To this day – I still hear the word, “No” in certain circumstances. And that’s ok. It doesn’t reflect on me personally. We all have to say “No” sometimes. However, I’m so grateful for the experience of the “No” because it brought me to the equation of “Yes”. Yes! You are capable of anything you want to do and achieve!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

“A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what a ship is built for” – Author Unknown. When you stay put in one place, you stay safe. However, I knew early on in my life that I was always meant to set sail and see what else awaited beyond the horizon. My life “pivoted” when I moved to Arizona a year ago knowing my entire life in Washington. I needed a new life, a change in scenery, I needed my heart to smile again & be full – a new direction in my personal and professional life. And I have never looked back.

After leaving the Commercial Design world and having spent the last five years building my business in Washington, just like that, I was starting life over in Arizona and feeling a bit out of my comfort zone. Then I realized that’s what “I’m built for”. I was never out of my comfort zone, I was perfectly comfortable, I was just sailing in a new direction. Pivoting in a new direction is never a bad thing and shouldn’t be thought as one either. I’ve always said, if you’re a little bit scared, then it means you are moving in the right direction. Always pivot – it keeps life exciting and keeps it fun!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.herring-design.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hd_collab/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamie.herringdesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmherring/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/justjamie_marie

Image Credits
Photo Credits : Luke Gilliland https://www.lukegilliland.com Luke is Amazing!!!