There are so many factors that can play a role in determining our results, performance and ultimately our success, but some factors matter more than others. We asked folks what they felt was the most important factor driving their success.

Haze Amaze | Drummer, Mentor, Entrepreneur, Social Influencer

My spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ is what I believe to be the most important factor behind my successes. Being a Christian, Behind the success of my brand I would say consistency & persistence both play a major role in the success of my brand. Not only in my brand but my life success as well. Read more>>

Jennifer Cristofaro | Realtor, Non-Profit Co-Founder, Family Empowerment Advocate

I was an entrepreneur for a long time trying to make a name for myself and build wealth. I launched so many businesses and eventually each one failed, although I never gave up. I was resilient. I compared myself to a sand-filled, clown-faced punching bag. Every time I got knocked down, I’d pop right back up. That’s the way of a dreamer. You can’t keep us down. We learn from every venture and move on to the next with more wisdom and experience. Read more>>

Maya Halko | Illlustrator and Musician

For the things that I love, which are music and art, the most important thing behind them is the support system of family and friends that I have. Finding ways to stay connected to art that I care about keeps me grounded and guides me to make my own! People are doing such cool things. Something I learned from a few friends is that there are a lot of fun ways to decorate. What works for me is having ‘soup walls’- consisting of a lot of my friend’s art, trinkets, business cards, notes, letters, a poster guide to Yoshi’s Island, CD cover art inserts, just a jumble of things close together. They can be loosely color coded. (These are all the soup ingredients.) Making a space comfortable and homey is one step in feeling inspired and surrounding myself with art when I can. Read more>>

Eileen McDowell and Laura Kaspar | The Kaspar Twins – Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists

The most important factor behind our success is two-fold; having unadulterated passion and belief. Our passion for helping others remove the subconscious wiring holding them back from achieving their goals through clinical hypnotherapy is the driving force. This forward passion-driven motion is our locomotive and the coal fueling the vehicle is belief. We believe that we can’t fail because we have such a powerful tool that we provide. Through clinical hypnotherapy, we are changing lives in the most extraordinary ways. This is our purpose. Read more>>

Kimily Jiang | Fashion Designer and Stylist

I believe that dedication is crucial. I could spend five months designing and producing fashion gowns for the Glacier collection with little sleep. I am willing to use maximum effort to achieve the best outcome, regardless of how challenging it may be. Once, the top photography team approached me and wanted to photograph my clothes line. We spent more than a week deliberating on where to shoot and which model would be best suited for the job. I decided to do the shoot on a beach with black sand, where the terrain is steep and a half-mile hike is required. Read more>>

Silvia Dionicio | Actor, Immigrant, Activist

I think the most important factor in the success of my career has been having a clear idea of what my purpose is. This might change with time, as I grow and as I my career grows. But at the moment my purpose is to represent immigrants, the queer community, and just the folks that society sees as underdogs. For me personally, an actor, understanding that me and my art are a vessel for representation, is what has pushed me to take risks, to seek something bigger and to truly reach peoples hearts and minds. Read more>>

Edgar Esteves | Director / Entrepreneur

Authenticity — growing up in a spanish household it’s always about family. So I decided to run my company the same way. Educating my family members and fériense about the business and allowing them to find their passion within my own. My ability to collaborate with anyone — when I was coming up I didn’t have the luxury of saying “no” to jobs or being “selective” on the projects I wanted to do. I took on everything — the good, the bad and the ugly. Those experiences thought be how to working with all different types of people, clients and companies. Leave no money on the table! Read more>>

Chris Johnson | Luxury Realtor and Team Leader

Authenticity. We decided to be ourselves no matter what falls in our path each day. In an industry of hard-core sales based hugely on image, we have chosen to “buck real estate cliche”. To start, we have focused on video and digital marketing heavily for years. We don’t want to be the realtor who points out a kitchen in a walk-thru video so we do it a bit differently. Each house deserves special treatment. We create a story about the home, our kids write our scripts, and we create an experience that must be watched. Read more>>

Pamela K. Kinney | Published Author

By sticking to the genres that are related or close to each other. That’s horror, fantasy, science fiction, and nonfiction books connected to the paranormal. Even when I wrote under the pseudonym of Sapphire Phelan for romance, it was still paranormal, fantasy and science fiction. I don’t think one should confuse readers they are beginning to get, by suddenly writing a western historical as an example, unless you are adding vampires or aliens. Be consistent in what you write–find out what you like to write about. And give it time–no one writer suddenly became an overnight success. And write well. Read more>>

Thea Pauley | Business Owner & Environmentalist

Our transparency has brought us the most success. When it comes to zero waste stores, I think the most common question is, how do we source our products to create zero waste. We have created quality relationships with local brands that allow us to close the loop, creating no waste. We purchase anything from 5 gallons to 55 gallons of hand soap, laundry soap, and dish soap, and when we sell out, we refill the drum with the companies, this is what we call a closed loop. This is just one example of our transparency and authenticity to our cause. Read more>>

Alexsandra Mitchell | Manager of Education and Public Program

I would say the most important factors behind my success are resilience and fortitude. I’m a huge planner both professionally and personally. I’m always thinking ahead about my next steps, goals, plans, and ideas. But what happens when these plans don’t work out? What happens when there’s a challenge that’s out of control or a major loss? In those character-building moments, I lean into both my resilience and sense of fortitude to keep going. Success for me hasn’t been built around what happens when everything goes right. It’s been built around what happens when I am able to believe in myself and forge a new path. Read more>>