The Coronavirus has given many us an opportunity to pause and think about life, our purpose, and even the right work life balance. What’s your perspective and has it changed over time?

Michaelia Parker | Cheeseboard enthusiast & experience creator

Honey Brie Mine has been able to attribute its success to a combination of key factors. Patiences has been a cornerstone of our journey allowing us to build a brand that resonates with clients and the cheeseboard community. Being a small business has been a deliberate choice, not only am I able to demonstrate business ownership as a parent to my young children, I am able to focus on curating unique cheeseboard and grazing experiences that go beyond the one-size-fits all approach of larger companies. Gatekeeping is not in our vocabulary. We thrive on collaborating and sharing knowledge with fellow small business owners. Networking and learning from others has been a pivotal role in our success. Read more>>

Seana Kofoed | actor, writer, and producer

For someone in my business, which is that of storytelling, both as an actor and as a writer/producer, I think we rarely, except perhaps the top 1% of us, think in terms of ‘success’. I suppose supporting myself as an actor would be considered ‘success’ but for me, success has always meant ‘am I finding joy and satisfaction in what I’m doing?’ So there has never, for me, been a ‘measure’ of success in terms of, say,’fame’ or ‘followers’ or accolades, or even financial riches. For me, ‘success’ is finding happiness in what I’m doing. Aside from my little family, which fuels so much of my happiness in life, on the work front I feel most ‘successful’ when I am bringing stories to life for the enjoyment of audiences, viewers, and other creatives on my team. Read more>>

Brisa Siegel | Classical California Host

The most important factor behind my success is the support I have in my life! I can’t believe how lucky I am sometimes for the family, friends, and colleagues that I have. All the credit goes to my people. Read more>>

Nicole Sartini | Psychotherapist, Entrepreneur & Public Speaker

We continue to keep mutual respect for ourselves and others as a guiding force in our business(es). We believe that there is power in getting to know who we are beneath the conditioning of the world and that honoring and developing that unique expression truly serves the whole. Noone can be the highest expression of us but us. Juniper and I opened an integrative mental health center because we wanted to create a space where people passionate about serving the mind, body and spirit of our community could be well supported in doing that as well as have the freedom to offer their clients services outside the box of traditional talk therapy. We believe that well-supported clinicians are better therapists for those seeking services. Read more>>

Angela Valentino | Makeup Artist

This is actually a question to me; been done often. This is a very significant question as far as I’m concerned. I am a make-up artist and like all jobs in the entertainment world they are very complex and above all it is very difficult to reach high levels, obviously I am referring to a career. I believe the most important factor behind my success: is me, if I have been successful and am succeeding the only person I have to thank is me. Behind these questions there is a much deeper discussion than a simple question. Achieving success is a long journey that a human being must take, risking everything, not only in an economic sense but also in a human sense, for example meeting the wrong people along the way who could put you off track and distract you from your goal. Read more>>

Vicky DePiore | Mother and Manager of Olivia DePiore,

OIivia, herself, is the most important factor. By being an award-winning advocate for inclusion who travels the world “putting herself out there”, she speaks and acts for millions of people worldwide who are not included in basic pieces of our world. Olivia is one of the most visible models in the world who has Down Syndrome. New York, Paris, London, Milan, Dubai and was just invited to Thailand for April of 2024! Olivia DePiore walks the runways all over the world, appears in magazines and editorial photoshoots to show the world that it’s OK to be different than the traditional look we see in these venues. Millions of people out in our world have monies to spend, but they don’t see themselves in the advertisements of all of these services or products, so they don’t think it’s “for their population”. But it is!!! Clothes, products, services, etc. are for all people. Read more>>

Juan Ismael Lopez | Singer/Rhythm

I have been making a lot of demo recordings in my room to show to my bandmates and now being shared on music streaming platforms. It has given us songs to play live and has made me grow as a musician to be able to produce and write music. Each of the band members is very talented and brings a lot of perspective when showing a song. When joining the band our drummer Henry Gross has all our band practice at his back house. Bands have to go through to find an affordable practice or to rent a practice to practice their set-in and having a place to practice at Henry’s house has been our biggest tool. Read more>>

George Kahn | Jazz pianist, composer and arranger

There are a couple of elements that have made up my success. 1) Perseverance and consistency: I send a monthly music newsletter, and I have sent it every month for about 20 years. And I continue to release new music, and keep things fresh – I am working on my 11th album now. Like the I-Ching says, “Perseverance will further.” 2) Not comparing myself to others. Back in 2000 I was at a party with Herbie Hancock . I went up to him and with great admiration I said, “I’d like to be like you!” He looked at me and said, “No, you don’t want to be like me, you want to be like YOU!”. Another brilliant nugget from Stanley Clark: When Stanley was asked how he defines “success”, he said, “If I have a project and I do it to the best of my ability, then I am a success.” It’s not a goal, it’s a process. Read more>>

Heather Young Chauncey Woods | Founders of So She Slays and Slay AF Creative Studio

The most important factor behind our success would definitely be our audience, and just remembering what it is that brought people to us in the first place. So She Slays was born out of a need for underrepresented voices to be heard and for people to feel like they are seen. We like to provide an unfiltered experience to life so that people know that they aren’t alone in whatever life throws at them. It’s also important that people know and are encouraged to go after the life they want to create for themselves. We like to provide funny, relatable, and inspirational messages on our social media platforms, podcast episodes, and on our editorial site to support everyone in our audience. You can think of us as your best friends or sisters who tell it to you like it is with love. Read more>>

Megan “Meme” Kelly | Licensed Cosmetologist, Beauty Educator, CEO of Silk Me Kids brand, Serial Entrepreneur

The most important factor behind the success of my brand is consistency. The ability to show up everyday is very important. Staying in the faces of your audience along with providing a solution to a problem will always provide success. Read more>>

Len May | CEO and Co-Founder of Endocanna Health, Inc.

The most important factor behind my success is resilience. I am an emigrant and had to overcome many obstacles in my life. From being homeless to making my first million at 30 and then restarting my life after a devastating divorce, I learned a few things about overcoming obstacles. The factors associated with resiliency are Adaptability, Persistence, and Perseverance. You must be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Success has a lot of ups and downs, and it is key to have the tenacity and determination to push through difficulties as they arise. Resilience involves learning from failures rather than being defeated by them. I am not sure what it means to be a cereal entrepreneur, but I know I have loved being in control ever since I was 12. Read more>>