Parents teach us many things including how to be a parent. We can learn from their mistakes, sure, but we can also learn a lot from the things they got right. We asked successful entrepreneurs and creatives to open up to us about their parents and what they felt their parents got right.

Megan Mccann

My father died of cancer when I was fourteen. Until very recently, I said I was fifteen. Fifteen sounds so much older than fourteen. Growing up, we were empowered to try new things and do new things. No “boundaries” were placed on what we could and could not do. My parents instilled in me, and my two younger brothers, confidence, and the belief we could achieve all we aspired to do; we needed to invest time, practice, and be committed to the work, and we could do it. Read more>>

Cecilionetti Torres

“A Legacy of Faith, Family, and Unconditional Love” My parents, **Cecilio and Esther Torres**, are both God-fearing, kind-hearted individuals. They believed in raising us in an environment that reflected what it means to have a healthy family dynamic. From an early age, they instilled in us the importance of faith, hard work, and dreaming big. They ensured that we understood one important truth: “There is no dream too big that we cannot achieve.” Read more>>

Aaron Taylor

I feel very fortunate to have had parents who never placed barriers in front of my creative pursuits. From a young age, I was drawn to theatre and music. Many parents view those interests as impractical, and I’ve seen friends feel guilty for wanting to pursue similar paths. My mom supported me wholeheartedly; she never dismissed my passions as silly or unimportant. This encouragement allowed me to explore my creativity without fear of judgment. Read more>>

Deana Mclean

My parents were very driven people who taught us the value of hard work will pay off. My father being and entrepreneur and mother standing behind him, along with her work values of being a great long time employee for a company. I have been shown that working hard shows people along with myself how far I can go. I started working at the age of 13 and was the first in my group of friends to buy a car and start to put money away at a early age. My parents helped me to strategize becoming an entrepreneur myself. Purchasing a tanning salon and bringing in Nails, Manicures, Pedicures & Massage Therapy to start my first business. Also, being the first Day Spa in Elk River. Starting at the early age of 24. I have taken all their wisdom and knowledge to the next levels and have never given up. Were there days I thought I might? Sure, but my parents would tell me we raised you to never give up? We need to keep going and find the next stepping stones to make it better and better. Both my parents have stood beside me through everything in life and more. So so blessed for them in my life. Read more>>

Kirsten Sadlier

I grew up in a very small town on Eastern Long Island, about two hours from NYC. If you ask my mom, she’d tell you I’ve always made my own path in life. I have such a pure memory of overhearing her talking to another parent at a Girl Scouts meeting when I was about 7. We were making a Christmas project, and while everyone else followed instructions, I reimagined mine completely. She said, “That’s just Kirsten. She sees things differently, does what she wants, and she’s never going to do what everyone else does—I love that about her.” Hearing that really stuck with me. Read more>>

Dominic Masiello

I’m really happy that this is one of the panel questions, because not only doesn’t give me an opportunity to share some insights, but also honor my parents. And my grandparents as well. My parents taught me many invaluable life lessons that I will always carry with me. The standout precept was simple, but powerful; the order of priority. ‘God, family, work’. When these are in the right order, there’s peace and blessing . When they’re out of order, you’re asking for trouble. Read more>>

Ron Proctor

I am the oldest of three and I am very fortunate to have been raised by people who show resilience, demonstrate a strong work ethic and care for their family and community. I think of my parents’ examples in these areas as I make my way through life. My parents were in high school when they started our family in the late 1970’s and I was an “oops.” While their parents had means and resources, my parents asked only for opportunities to work. They worked hard to feed our family and develop our position. My earliest memories include flashes of my Mom and her parents, managing the family’s grocery store in Ogden, Utah; visiting neighbors; and feeding the ducks and seagulls at the college duck pond–a school now known as Weber State University, my alma mater. Read more>>

Chris Dupont

When I told them I wanted to try to play guitar for my work, they both took it seriously. My dad in particular really showed up in lots of practical ways. When I was 17 years old I got really into heavier music. I was super into Blindside, Deftones, and the like. I auditioned for a pretty active band, and started playing really dodgy clubs, underground punk venues, and DIY spaces. You’d have a hundred kids packed into a place that was certainly a fire hazard, as 4 or 5 bands slammed through their sets back to back. And since I was young and relatively sheltered, my dad went to all those clubs. It probably killed his hearing, and he looked a little out of place in his button down shirt, surrounded by goth kids. But he knew it made me happy, so he spent a lot of late nights just witnessing and believing in me and watching me grow. I’m a third generation singer, but a first generation full time creative, and that silent support definitely set the stage for me to do what I do. Read more>>

Ed Nash

“My parents were always incredibly supportive, rarely discouraging me from any wild or ambitious adventure I pursued. I think the most valuable lesson they taught me was how to make my own decisions independently. They stood by the choices I made, which empowered me to trust my instincts. One of the greatest challenges we face in life is indecision and procrastination. While it can be tempting to defer tough decisions to others, only you hold all the information necessary to make the best choice for yourself.” Read more>>

Ann Zhao

I’m lucky my parents educated me openly and wisely when I look back right now. Each of my parents taught me different precious things. I appreciate my dad, who encouraged me to be a brave person; for example, when hiking, instead of some parents warning their children not to get close to the cliff, my dad always gives me a prize if I can approach the cliff, which might be a controversial way. Still, I greatly appreciate his way, which I believe I was affected subconsciously in my life. Because of his way, I chose to take challenging opportunities in many pivotal moments in my life. Another thing I appreciate from my dad is how he encouraged me to see things critically when I was young. It is the most important lesson I learned, significantly growing up in an environment full of collectivism. People are always afraid of being different or saying different things against authority. My father told me I should never believe anything without thinking when I was six. ‘Anyone could be wrong, whether the teachers, the government, or us”, he told me on my first day of primary school, which has helped me constantly make the right choices for my life.  Read more>>

Stephanie Shapiro

When I first learned that I had the opportunity to speak on my past and share some of my life experiences, I was absolutely thrilled (and still am!). My immediate thoughts evolved into, “but I have so much I want to share!” This was a good exercise for me; to sit with my thoughts and prioritize some of the most defining lessons I have acquired through my life experiences. I realized that even though I had what I consider a “difficult childhood,” my development still remains one of the most important parts of my life, and have defined the exact person I am today. I am blessed to be raising three young children along with my loving and supportive husband, and I still find myself to be learning new things about parenting all the time as well as learning new things about each of my children. I often have break-through moments when I imagine my parents doing that same thing for me when I was a child and feel thankful to them- for things that have literally never crossed my mind until then. A silly memory that comes to mind was when my daughters were 3 and 1 (and I was pregnant with my 3rd), and I took them to the Nebraska Zoo. It is a wonderful place with such unique experiences. At one point I was becoming so exhausted from pushing their stroller around the zoo- it had been something like 5 hours at that point!!! I instantly called my mom and said, “Mom, thanks for pushing me around in my stroller when I was little. I am just realizing how tiring that must have been for you, thank you,” and we both laughed. But it is true, parents really have it hard at times. It’s not like our kids come with instruction manuals… could you imagine? “Page 6 is on your individual child’s personality. Page 18 is how to get them to listen to you.” I’ve come to appreciate that it is a gift and privilege of this life that we have the opportunity and independence to raise our children as we like and see fit. Both the good and bad, if you let it, can be an opportunity of growth and development for both your child and you. Read more>>

Tara Hollies

My parents did a lot of things right. I am thankful for the loving and happy home they created for my brothers and me. I could write a full manuscript about the things they did right, how they positively impacted my personal and professional trajectory, but for sake of time, I’ll focus on one specific and vital belief they instilled in me from a young age–that I can be anything I want to be. My earliest memory of my parents empowering me with this simple yet poignant notion involves a dispute that I had with my brothers when I was in elementary school (I was probably no older than six). The details are a little fuzzy, but I remember playing in the basement of our house, arguing with my brothers about what imagined profession I had in our make-believe town. With my brothers’ penchant for arguing and my sassy and sometimes contrarian attitude, you can imagine how games often devolved into bickering (and eventually shouting) matches. I do not recall what job I insisted I would have, but one or both of my siblings rebuffed it. When my mom intervened, she stated, “Tara, you can be whatever you want to be.” She insisted that only I could decide what I would be. Even though the stakes in that instance were low, the truth of that assertion stuck with me. Thereafter, my parents regularly reminded each of us kids that we could choose to be whatever we wanted. Read more>>

Alex Lindelien

My mom became pregnant with me at the very young age of 15 and raised my younger brother and I all by herself. She faced a lot of battles and hardships on her own and it played a heavy hand on how she viewed the world. Two things she always preached to me from a very young age was 1) to ALWAYS treat everyone with kindness because you never know what people are going through in their personal life and 2) the importance of keeping an open and accepting mind. These values are something that have stuck with me all the way to adulthood and definitely had a key role in my business. Her lesson of being kind to everyone naturally made me an empath therefore I’ve always thrived in jobs that are customer service based. I have been a barista for the last 7 years because although I love coffee, the connections I’ve built with my customers are the reason I adore my job and look forward to heading into work every day. Thanks to the amazing relationships I had with so many of my regulars I had a huge built in support system. Therefore once my business launched a large handful of my coffee shop customers instantly became my business customers as well. Being in customer service also made the transition to working art shows a little less intimidating because 7+ hours of talking to shoppers was already the norm for me! Read more>>

Marlene Gonzalez

Leaving everything behind and not knowing any English, my parents immigrated to America for a better life. Being a first generation Mexican-American I have always felt pressure to succeed for my parents and not let them down after all they did for me. Growing up my parents pushed me to do well in school and be active in activities. They constantly reminded me that if I didn’t want to struggle like they did I had to graduate, go to college, and get a job. I felt like I was the door opener for my family and siblings and I had to be responsible to make these things happen so that’s exactly what I did. In middle school I was in band and played soccer, then in high school I continued soccer until my senior year. I went to my local community college and was in general courses for my first two years. I ended up becoming pregnant with my son so I had to wait about a year to start the dental assisting program I had been accepted into as a part of our schooling is taking x-rays which isn’t safe for pregnant women. I felt like a disappointment at first but my parents reminded me to look back over the years at all my accomplishments and where it got me. I graduated college as a Certified Dental Assistant the following year and have now been in the field since. My parents did right by pushing me to try things and go to college. I don’t believe I would be where I am today had they not raised me the way they did. When I was younger I hated how pushy they could be sometimes but now that I am an adult with my own child, I completely understand they wanted me to have a life and opportunities they weren’t able to get here. Read more>>

 

La Laura Paris

My parents supported my dream and believed in me, which gave me the confidence to pursue my goals. I think it’s crucial for parents to encourage their children to follow what makes them happy. Read more>>