We asked some of the brightest folks in the community to open up to us about the most important lesson their business or career has taught them. We’ve highlighted some of those responses below.

Justin Mawardi | Actor, Director, Writer

Being in the entertainment business, especially as an actor, you truly learn the lesson of “trusting the process”. When I first started my acting career, I knew getting rejected was part of the job, but at first it was extremely hard not to take it personally. The dry spells of not getting jobs really made me question if I was good enough, or if I was doing the right thing. Read more>>

Naseim Jabr | Founder & Chief Executive Officer

The most important lesson my business has taught me is that you’ll never truly know until you try, and you won’t learn until you fail. When laying the foundation of a company you often hear the importance of a complete business plan, market research, and marketing strategies. While all of these are important, from time to time they are overwhelming and may leave you stagnant. Many people get so caught up in perfecting these decks, market analysis, SWOTs, etc., that they never actually start. Read more>>

Dara Henry | Children’s Book Author & Educator

I’ve learned quite a bit on my path to traditional publication. Most importantly, I’ve discovered the importance of just going for it! The only way to achieve a goal is to jump right in and get started. In terms of writing, that means getting involved in the writing community, taking classes, meeting other authors, and most importantly, writing each day. The consistency helps me stay on track while continually working on my craft. This isn’t to say I’m always selling work, but I am always moving forward, learning, and growing, which is important when it comes to making progress in any business or career. Read more>>

Charles Freeman V | Fashion Designer

You can’t let failure define you! Whether it be you didn’t sell out like you expected to, or people didn’t respond to a project how you wish they did, that can’t stop you. My success has come from dealing with those emotions and instead of collapsing, you have to hit the drawing board again and ask yourself what was it that didn’t cause you to reach your desired outcome. While that will help you connect, it give yourself more clarity on what it is you have to do. Read more>>