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.

Adam Olalde

Success requires listening, taking calculated risks, and staying adaptable. Xtreme Xperience began when I noticed customers wanted to drive high-end cars without the financial burden of ownership. By listening to their needs and pivoting my business model, I filled a unique gap in the market. It also requires listening to your people. Learning from smarter racecar drivers and track owners on how to build a safe and exhilarating program (for novices!). Embracing uncertainty and learning from trial and error were also key; when we expanded nationally, we had to create a model that worked year-round in diverse locations. Success isn’t about knowing everything upfront—it’s about staying curious, focused, and persistent. Experiment, fail, learn, repeat. Read more>>

Michael Lammers

What it takes to be successful has been answered a thousand different ways; I think the only requirement is a general or loose goal and a sacrifice. What do I want to do, and what am I willing to give up to get there? Good people help, too A bit over two years ago, I wanted to make more money–a common goal for a lot of people. I had just been hired as a barista at a coffee shop. I was making $10/hr plus tips; just enough to cover my rent and expenses, nothing left over at the end of the month. Clocking in on time, showing up to cover shifts, doing the tasks others didn’t want to, working shifts others didn’t sign up was the sacrifice. Displaying my love and knowledge for coffee, and my charismatic people skills came easy. A few small raises came, and on my one-year review I was promoted to the manager. I made a little more money and was “successful”. But what did I *really* give up? Not a whole lot, and my success was measure the same. Read more>>

Michele Paddleford

Success can show up in a lot of different areas of our lives – from career milestones and personal relationships to community involvement and financial well-being. I firmly believe that, to achieve true success, we need to look beyond just our individual accomplishments. There’s no “I” in success; it’s all about listening to others, recognizing what really matters, and appreciating diverse perspectives. Read more>>

Eszter Polyák

I believe success requires a combination of resilience, passion, adaptability, and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. It’s about constantly learning, taking risks, and staying true to your vision, even when the path gets challenging. One story that shaped my view on success goes back to when I was 17, living in Key West with my brother. It was there I met a drag queen(Sushi) who taught me how to sew. At the time, it was an unexpected and unconventional start to my journey, but it became a defining moment for me. That experience taught me that inspiration and mentorship can come from the most surprising places, and that embracing those opportunities can lead to incredible growth. Read more>>

Alyssa Lomeli

Success isn’t about being the most talented; it’s about showing up with determination, discipline, and persistence. If you can build those habits in one area of your life, you’ll find they carry over into new challenges. For me, balancing a full-time teaching career while growing a drone photography business has been a learning curve, but focusing on progress and constant improvement has helped me move forward. Early on, I spent hours learning to fly drones and honing my photography and editing skills. What many people don’t realize is how much goes on behind the scenes when running a business—beyond capturing photos, there’s building a website, creating social media content, and figuring out how to market effectively. You don’t need to be the best photographer to succeed—you need to put in the work, learn from your mistakes, and stay committed to getting better. The only real competition is with yourself. That’s my recipe for success. Read more>>

Shantel Nicole

It takes a made-up mind, grit, determination, intentionality, consistency, and risk-taking. Stories: The passing of my father and starting my travel business with a complete stranger from social media. Both were life-changing. Read more>>

Brandon Rembert

I believe that there are a ton of factors that make someone reach success, but the main 3 that I think are the most impactful when it comes to reaching success are consistency, persistence, and work ethic. Consistency is key to be successful in any day. Consistency is showing up and doing something repeatedly no matter how you feel. Consistency is a high value trait and any employer would love an employee who’s consistent. Persistence goes along with consistency in my opinion. Persistence is the tenacity to keep going even when you want to stop. Having the quality of persistence is good when completing long term projects or chasing after something that has delayed gratification. Persistent people keep showing up when impersistent people do not. Lastly, work ethic is another important trait to success. I feel like people underestimate the power of just working hard. Working hard and going the extra mile is a way to separate yourself from the competition. I firmly believe that hard work is a key ingredient to reaching success. Read more>>

Ahlem Kechrid

Being successful means achieving many small goals or small victories each time. At La Cosette, we keep high standards and a great love of what we do! Those two points are essential in order to be successful. Loving what you do allow us to show up every day ready to go with the biggest smile and having high standards allow us to maintain a strong work ethic on the day to day activities.  Those values coupled with our multicultural background gives us that authenticity in what we do! Read more>>

Michele Penman

Success requires alot of hard work and sacrifice. Starting/running a business means you might miss out on hanging out with friends, enjoying days off or getting sleep, but the rewards of being your own boss is worth every moment. The feeling of accomplishment and purpose is incredible. Read more>>

Carmen Carroll

It’s community over competition. In order to be successful, you have to be surrounded by people who inspire you, challenge you, and genuinely want to see you win. Success thrives in an environment where collaboration, support, and shared growth take precedence over comparison and rivalry. Good Works, my social media agency, is only as strong as the team behind it. Early on, I learned that to grow the mission of creating safe and engaging online communities, I had to start by building my own community. One of the most exciting steps in that journey was launching our internship program, which invites creatives to join, grow, and learn the realities of agency work while contributing their unique perspectives to our mission. Read more>>

Mario Lanzarotti

To me, success is about living in alignment with your deepest desires and values while being in service to something greater than yourself or your personal ambitions. It’s not just about achieving financial milestones or gaining recognition—though those can be part of the journey—but about living in a way that feels deeply fulfilling and meaningful. Success, at its core, is about helping others while staying true to who you are. The traditional view of success often focuses solely on personal gain—wealth, status, or accolades. While those can be byproducts of success, they are not the essence of it. A person can achieve everything society deems “successful” yet feel empty if their achievements aren’t aligned with their inner values and purpose. Read more>>

Aura Lillian

I believe success is rooted in your core self and how you perceive yourself and the world around you. When you choose to move from an authentic place of dedication and love for yourself, you take full accountability; you show up for yourself, you honor the commitments you’ve made to yourself first and foremost – which builds inner trust, setting an internal foundation of integrity that runs so deep within yourself that you know you’re going to succeed no matter what. When you’ve done the work, your attitude is loving and compassionate, it becomes a magnetic energy. Having your mindset so deeply rooted in success, there are no other options. You will win the games, you will collect the deposits, you will book the clients, and you will thrive as bigger challenges arise. Bigger challenges, bigger rewards, bigger opportunities. There’s no ceiling, which is the exciting part about it, there’s no limit on how far we can go, or how far we will continue to grow internally, which will always shine from the inside out, seeping into every aspect of our lives and our businesses. Abundance begins within. This is too key to sleep on. Read more>>

Elena Pulido Presa

The first and most important thing is to believe in yourself. Then, you need to create a plan and get organized to do it. Being self-employed has pros and cons. The biggest advantage is that you can manage your time, decide when to have vacations and, if your business is online, you can work wherever you want. But the biggest disadvantage is that you have to set your schedule, your work hours and learn to be productive. You have to work every day even if you don’t feel like it. There have been many times that I have procrastinated or made excuses to take the day off or do something I thought more important than starting my work schedule. I have only started to be successful when I have planned my day to day and had my goal clear. Read more>>

Ashley Ingram

What it takes to be successful. Success starts with knowing who you would like to be in life and where you see yourself in the next 5 years. What will it take to meet your goal? Building success and a profitable name for yourself takes discipline and determination. Most importantly, being okay with making others uncomfortable to get where you are trying to go. However, success starts with making up your mind that you will let absolutely NOTHING stand in the way of your calling and end goals because you are here to make a difference in the world, people need what you have to offer. If you are willing to put the work in and follow the most high which comes with listening to your inner self, and your intuition then you can pretty much get things done. Always write down a plan to bring your vision to reality. Even on the days when you don’t feel like showing up you have to push yourself and put in the effort. Prioritize quality and commitment in everything you do. Read more>>

Hugo Mejia Guerra

Success often stems from a combination of passion, persistence, adaptability, and the ability to connect with others, Success in art often requires consistent practice, experimenting with techniques, and finding your unique voice. I remember one of my first commissions, I was hired to paint a Roll gate, the ones with the weir surface ( not smooth) I tried my best but the client was not liking the artwork and to be honest, yes it was not so good, he end up telling me to stop painting and fired me, in good terms, I accepted the failure but that didn’t stopped me, I went back to my apartment and started painting my own walls, now after almost 6 years later I can look back and see how my style and my craft has evolved and how my work has taken me to travel all over U.S. painting murals. Read more>>

Deanna Day

Being successful starts with how you define success and whether that definition truly resonates with you. When you’re genuinely motivated by your version of success, what remains is approaching it with discipline and excitement – things that are within your control. For a long time, I measured success by having a stable, well-paying job, and that felt right. But as I grew, I realized my definition of success had evolved beyond external markers like money and prestige. I now define success as doing work that excites and challenges me, within spaces and communities I care about. This change led me to leave my corporate job and build my own business, giving me more control over both my work and who I serve. Now, I provide design and art services to local small businesses and non-profits, bringing a human touch to their brands, offerings, and events. Read more>>

Amanda Thomas

May I measure my success not by what I can count, but by the peace that I feel. This above sentiment is an affirming idea that I’ve found true for my beliefs around success. Success is a deeply personal concept, and over the years, I’ve come to define it in ways that resonate with my heart rather than external markers. For me, success is not measured by numbers—whether it’s revenue, client rosters, or social media followers. Instead, it’s about alignment, impact, and, most importantly, the peace I feel at the end of the day. Read more>>

Whitney Singleton

Success, to me, is about defining what it looks like for you, working towards achieving that success, and being your own biggest cheerleader. Success is about believing in yourself, even when your goals might seem ambitious—or even delusional—to others. Success isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept; it can look very different depending on the industry you’re in and the values you have. For me, staying true to myself and setting personal goals has been the foundation of my journey. Read more>>

Jesslyn Mccartney

Everybody has their own definition of success. For me, success means doing everything in my power to improve my life, move towards my goals, and being gentle with myself and others on my way. I believe there is never an endpoint where I’ll say to myself, “Okay, I’ve made it! I’m successful!” Viewing myself as successful means I need to be patient with myself – celebrating my wins, reflecting on my failures, and treating my life as a never-ending project. A work in progress.  I think that’s what I love so much about being an artist. We’re able to make things that make us feel connected with our purpose. When I look back on all the photos I’ve taken throughout my life, memories that mean so much to me, I feel successful in that regard. I’m able to contribute something to this unruly and mysterious world. Little things that make sense to me, that feel connected to me. I believe that’s my idea of what success means.  Read more>>

Courtney Gray

I love this question, because it applies to every area of our lives. The greatest skill a person can learn to get what they want in life is to be able to feel and process negative emotion. If you are going to grow in any way, you will have to be willing to do something new, and probably fail in your attempting to do this new thing. When we fail, we open ourselves up to feeling negative emotions. Insecurity, doubt, fear, it is all part of the process of growth. And attempting to not feel any of these emotions is what keep people stuck living the same life over and over. Read more>>

 

 

 

Jazzie Dash

To be successful in a career you have to align yourself with what you truly want. Many fall into the trap of making someone else’s dream a reality and sacrificing their own. Make mistakes early and learn from them fast. I remember my very first gig as a Production Assistant. I sat my awesome bosses down and told them I got a gig that I could not pass up and they graciously gave me a personal day during my work week. The job was a local mattress commercial. I was with the Director and DP and we flew out to Pennsylvania on a personal plane and I totally tanked. I was too timid to take initiative and had to be told what to do, and I remember coming home feeling so discouraged knowing I could have done better. But here is the key, failure is there to teach you. Learn and keep moving. Read more>>

Jiangwei Zhou

Success isn’t built overnight. It’s a result of consistent effort across these five pillars. When you align your knowledge, relationships, vision, execution, and adaptability, you don’t just close deals—you build an empire. 1. Knowledge: The Foundation of Credibility “You can’t sell what you don’t understand.” Knowledge isn’t just about knowing property details—it’s about becoming an authority in your field. 2. Relationships: The Currency of Real Estate Read more>>

Mingyi Gan

To me, success is a combination of analytical thinking, confidence, and perseverance. It’s about having the ability to deeply reflect on my decisions and understand the factors influencing them while also trusting my instincts and pushing forward, even when the outcome is uncertain. Success is not a fixed destination but an evolving process where the journey itself holds as much value as the achievements along the way. Read more>>

Robert Radi

This question reminds me of what my mentor used to say about success: Success has many parents, and failure is an orphan! I always got a chuckle out of it. However, the question is more about what success is. To address the omnipresent question of what it takes to be successful, first, we must embrace the fact that success is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Each individual, organization, or community should clarify what success looks like in their respective contexts. This clarity is a compass, ensuring that efforts align with vision and values. Read more>>

Melanie Sudduth

Success is the result of intentional effort. While everyone’s path is unique, there are key principles that can guide you toward achieving your version of success. Many of us face that little voice in our head that says, “You’re not good enough” or “You don’t belong here.” This is imposter syndrome, and it can be one of the biggest roadblocks to success. To overcome it, you should acknowledge it and take action anyway! Success also requires clarity of vision. Dream big, but create a roadmap to turn those dreams into reality. Furthermore, to achieve success, you must be willing to invest—whether it’s time, money, or both. Read more>>

Selina Ward

Success is deeply personal and cannot be measured by someone else’s standards. Its about defining your own goals based on where you are and where you want to go, then taking deliberate and realistic steps to achieve them. Using others’ achievements as motivation rather than a benchmark is a healthy approach because it keeps the focus on personal growth rather than comparison. Read more>>

Daegan Jacobs

I believe anyone can say they want to be successful. However it takes action. Being successful to me means fulfilling whatever goals you have and achieving them to the best of your ability, this includes not cutting corners to get to your goal faster. Whenever I have a goal I want to achieve, I make sure to have a clear understanding and outline of how I can complete this goal. Often times, breaking the goal down to digestible bites helps tremendously. I also believe that hard work and consistency is definitely a key aspect to success. I like to remind myself often to not be extreme about how to accomplish my goals, as long as I’m making an effort everyday, thats all that matters. I also believe that you need to have the ability to adapt. Life has so many unexpected bumps and to me being able to pivot around hard times or problems really makes you strong. Read more>>

Chelsea Dicicco

Being in the writing industry is no easy feat. Writers are faced with rejection upon rejection. Not to mention the roadblocks and the waiting. Everything takes time. From writing the first draft to the revision process, querying for agents, finding your right agent match, and finally sending that project out on submission and waiting for another “yes” from a publisher. In such a competitive and notoriously slow-moving line of work, staying positive is crucial. Read more>>

Mia Barnett

I feel like the thought of success is somewhat harsh and can make you scared of being anything else or going outside that box. Growing up I thought success meant leaving your mark on the world, being a name people recognize. I was a very competitive, goal-oriented, and a bit too self-aware for my age only-child who not only wanted to be the next Picasso (minus the misogyny) but also a superstar. I have learned to lower my expectations since then. I realized that crippling anxiety with a heavy dose of “too much pressure” is a bit much to deal with year after year at the age of 12. I’ve found solace in that success should only be measured by you, and only you. To be “successful,” it simply takes knowing what you want and being confident enough in yourself to go further. It’s always something to strive for but not to focus on. Read more>>

Jolea Brown

I think success is a combination of standing behind your work, embracing constant learning, and building meaningful connections with others. It’s not enough to simply be good at what you do; true success comes from taking ownership of your work, continually improving, and staying open to new experiences and ideas. Read more>>

Brittany Wisniewski

Success can be defined in many ways, but some key elements often contribute to achieving it, regardless of the specific goals. The first key element is perseverance. The ability to push through challenges & setbacks is vital. Many successful individuals have faced significant obstacles but continued to work toward their goals. The second key element is adaptability because the world is constantly changing. Being open to new ideas & willing to adapt one’s strategies can lead to success, particularly in rapidly evolving fields. The last key element is networking & relationships, by building a network of supportive relationships can provide resources, advice, and opportunities that can open doors to success. Read more>>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May Riddle

Don’t stop learning. You have to continue learning new trends especially in my industry. Also be patient and learn to listen and communicate. Read more>>