We’ve been fortunate to connect with so many brilliant artists, business owners and leaders over the years and so we reached out to some of these talented folks to discuss what it takes to be successful.

Kristie Lammi

Success is multi-faceted and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. We all have different paths and talents, and success can have many meanings. This is why I don’t believe there’s one “thing” that will help you become successful. However, I do use a specific framework when working with my clients as a coach and energy healer in my business Soul-Aligned Success. I’ve found there are three main areas of focus that help my clients get results when it comes to achieving their goals and creating success. Read more>>

Josh Schiffman

A lot of it comes down to showing up again and again…and again. It’s trying, failing, learning, and growing until you get there. It’s waking up every day and reminding yourself of all the reasons you’ve gotta keep going. When you can lock in your reason why, you’ll always have a reason to keep going, and those reasons will be the motivation you’ll need to take those next steps. Read more>>

Taylor Geisinger

Oh boy.. I think it takes a little bit of obsession and a little bit of luck. For sure, It takes a lot of sacrifice. I guess it all depends on the individual’s perspective. For me, it took some growing up. I hated living paycheck to paycheck. I hated working jobs that brought me little to no joy. Most of all, I hated waking up early!! I am a night owl, so mornings are not for me. I knew I had to change something, and that was enough for me. I followed the ole fashioned saying, “Do what ya love, and you won’t have to work a day in your life.” It’s not exactly true. Read more>>

Nicole Bryd

Success is something subjective to the person and can vary within the stage they’re in. Before launching Rare Vision Photography full-time, I was a marketing director of local real estate company. Graduating with my bachelors in marketing and PR, my dream of success was becoming a marketing director one day. As I sat in that position, I realized my definition of success had changed to be a loving mother. Read more>>

Violeta Mileva

My grandma Violet told me this quote in Bulgaria when I was a little girl, which, later in my life I inked on my heart so i never forget… “Success is achieved by the one who has lived well, laughed often, and loved very much. They enjoyed trust and love from good people. They have filled their niche and achieved their mission. They left our world better than they found it.” Read more>>

Ian Johns

You have to leave your customers with a sense of increase. Unfortunately, there is a general expectation among many that getting headshots will be dreadful, so the bar is already set relatively low. So, to deliver a sense of increase, my goal is to guide my clients through an enjoyable session while capturing headshots that leave them feeling great. That’s the first place you start seeing success in this business. Read more>>

Myosha Porterie-Brown

Success is something you cannot attain without putting in the effort. In order to be successful, you have to put in hard work, be consistent, and most importantly always bet on yourself. Success is the mindset you must adopt to accomplish your goals and grow as a person. It always starts with where you are and where you see yourself because there’s a fine line that separates the two. Read more>>

Daysha Belford

My Name is Daysha Belford and I have my own business in which I customize bags and shoes. I feel in order to be successful you need to Be passionate about what you are doing. I feel like Your daily grind should be one of passion and fun. I also feel like you should always be consistent in whatever you do. I post my business daily. Read more>>

Mary Crogier

In order to be successful you have to have discipline, perseverance, and be able to prioritize. I found myself constantly wanting to give up. The sales weren’t coming in the way I had hoped. After years of creating and being in business I still had to work my 9-5. It was ok for many years. But after a while, I began to hate my job. I felt like I was wasting the time I could be creating and working for myself. Read more>>

Xochitl Carmona

To believe in yourself and not be afraid to fail. To take your failures and look at them more as experiences that you can learn from. Read more>>

Jermale Eddie

Google defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”. We believe that in order to achieve success, one must first define a goal, purpose or destination. Let it also be known that one may choose to have several different goals in mind. Once those definitions are in place, you can then create a road map, which will serve as a visual on how far along you are in the journey toward the destination. Read more>>

Matthew Muyaya

It takes diligence, confidence, determination and a bunch of will power to successful. When I started this project, I had been a W2 hourly worker for over 15 years. I had to muster up enough strength to leave what I had been so comfortable doing for so long. I knew I didnt want work for someone else for the rest of my life so I had to make a change. Read more>>

Chloe Corkran

Hmm, I think there are a few different components but my top two would be drive and passion. Passion is what pushes me to do more in my business. Passion is what got me to where I am. I love what I do, I love that I get to have a positive impact on people every day, nothing beats that feeling. In order to be successful I think you need to truly love what you do. Read more>>

Jerome Barkley Jr

I’ve learned over the years that success isn’t one linear achievement or obtaining a status. We often are showed images of individuals accomplishments and believe that their success are the measuring stick. To be successful, it takes a willingness to sacrifice a lot, have drive, a purpose and a level of discipline that can’t be broken. I believe it also takes a bit of selfishness while understanding what you are doing it for isn’t solely about you. It should impact your family, a community and put other people in position to win. Read more>>

Lauren Smith

In order to be successful you must first decide what that means to you. Success looks different to everyone. Avoid comparing yourself to others, everyone’s journey is different. Once you decide what your idea of success is, create a plan and set mini goals to help you get there without it seeming to overwhelming. No matter what your version of success is having motivation, self discipline, patience, and flexibility will be vital. Be confident and know you’ll succeed even in moments of doubt or when you have to reroute. The journey is long, but the obstacles you’ll go through are simply tests to get you to be the best version of yourself. Read more>>

Ashley Hurt

Your support system! Be it family, friends even your customers/clients! You cannot be successful without a support system. There is no way being an entrepreneur can be successfully done on your own! Read more>>

Angela Arnold

Being authentic truly drives success within the Tarot community. One of the things that I find that I do differently than some others is that I am my true self during readings – I don’t put on a show for entertainments sake. There have been many who sit with me that do so with a skeptical mindset. After we chat for a few minutes they tend to open their mind to what’s possible. At the end of these readings the most common comment I hear is “I had no idea it would be like this.” Those skeptics have usually sat down with others readers and did not have the best of experiences, so being true to myself and my communication style has helped open a new line of thought for skeptics. Read more>>

Roderick Jackson

The definition of success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. So success is like beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder. By saying that I mean it’s subjective, although what it takes to become successful is almost universal. Characteristics of a successful person are dedication, passion, persistence and self-discipline. Discipline is most important in success, even more than motivation. Motivation, creativity and inspiration are commonly thought to be the most important traits of a successful person. Read more>>

Chantel Robinson

I think it takes hard work and dedication. You can’t just dive in and think your going to get good positive results. You have to work for what you want , work for excellence. Push no matter what and be destined for what you stand for and in the end you will conquer all things possible. Read more>>

Jennifer Troy

I belive it takes determination, integrity and a strong desire to achieve your end goal. Working in the event industry can be tenuous; its an industry that relies on disposable income and at times, it makes it difficult to deliver the desired product on budget while still achieving profitability. Read more>>

Paris Scott

Great question! I think there are many perspectives on what successful means to each person first of all. I think the core of truly being successful is investing in yourself and measuring results. Being able to tell yourself when you have done a job well done but also being able to hold yourself accountable and work on the things that arent working for you – And thats so different for everyone and this stems on who you are as a person at the very core. This is beyond being a business owner. Being super transparent with yourself is where it’s at, really. Read more>>

Carolina Gonzalez

To be successful is to believe and be confident within yourself so you can achieve the goals you have planned out. Trusting the path you are in and knowing is going to get you where you want to be in life. Read more>>

Brandi Phillips

Success is a term a lot of people, including myself, admire. I think becoming a success story is: being disciplined (upgrading or improving your habits), consistency (doing something you love over and over to achieve the results you are seeking), reading or listening to podcasts (staying knowledgeable in your area of expertise), networking (keeping in contact with like-minded individuals who share the same dreams or goals as you) and even isolation (knowing when to keep yourself away from the crowd and tune in with yourself) Read more>>

JaTia Sills

Prayer , Consistency, Passion, Hardwork, and Dedication Read more>>

Wayne Williams

I think in order to become successful in business, one must able to remain flexible and teachable. When I started my career in personal training, I made the mistake of being unwilling to learn other skills. I found out very quickly that I was stunting my own growth career wise, and falling behind financially. Once, I began learning new skills, in and out of fitness, I started excelling. The lesson learned was never stop learning. Read more>>

Suvir Dhar

First, I think we all need to have a definition of what it means to be successful. Personally, my success is determined by the quality of relationships I have in my life. Each relationship is different and may even be situational. But, my responsibility is to play “my-part” in the relationship. I expect to be judged by my children about the type of father I was and am to them. I expect to be judged by my wife about the type of husband I was and am to her. I expect to be judged by my friends about the type of friend I am to them. So on and so forth. Read more>>

Raena Lannom

Success for me used to be about how much money I was making and how much “better” my work/art was than everyone else in my field. I’ve learned success to me is actually just happiness. I know I’ve succeeded when I feel like my most authentic self. I know now that I don’t want to be the “best” at what I do, I want to create simply because I am a creative being – we all are. I think to figure out what it takes to be “successful” you must first find what exactly that means to you. I feel successful when I’ve been truly seen and recognized for what I’ve put out into the world, no matter how “good” it may be, and that feeling of success starts with recognizing myself first. Read more>>

Stacey Gridley

I think there are a lot of factors that go into making someone successful. But perhaps at the top of the list would be that they have to have a strong sense of purpose. What is their “why”? It is so easy to get frustrated and want to give up. Especially when you’re new to the world of business. and entreprenuership. In order to be successful, one must be clear in their purpose and have a serious amount of grit. Entreprenuers experience endless amounts of falling and having to pick themselves back up. If you let yourself get discouraged and call it quits because it’s hard, you will not find success. Read more>>