To pivot or to persevere? Or more bluntly – to give up or to not to give up? This is a haunting question, a question that has ramifications far after an answer has been chosen and it’s also a question that almost everyone in our community has had to face at one time or another. How do you know when to give up and when to keep trying?

Clayton Borah | Resilience Coach for Leaders

I believe that we should be living our lives with purpose. We have a limited time we are alive, and we all must die, so we shouldn’t waste our time doing too many things that don’t add to our lives. Read more>>

Zanne Lucy Blu | Healer // Siwa Murti • Reiki • Holistic Nutrition

Truthfully, I want to give up a lot of the time. Life can be difficult and when things get hard, I think it’s easy to just want to throw in the towel. But that’s it – “I THINK!” The mind doesn’t like discomfort. But my heart, my gut, my innate wisdom… that’s what keeps me going. Read more>>

Alexa L. Borden Connor Cook | Composers for Film and TV

We both knew early on that we wanted to be film composers, and that has been a guiding light for our practices. We’ve both made countless steps both big and small towards our dream of scoring films, and honestly, having a dream and making any sort of progress to it can be just the thing to keep momentum going. Read more>>

Whitney Parker | Abstract Artist

This for me is all about passion. Do you still love what you do? Are you wanting to give up because it’s hard or because you are burnt out with doing the same thing for too long? I think one way to combat this is to find ways to continue to change and grow within your profession. For me, I am constantly trying to evolve my artwork and process. Keeping my style, but finding new elements to work with, new inspiration to pull from. While it is still challenging, I am passionate about what I do and feel a calling to create. Read more>>

Olivia Olfactory | Perfume Content Creator

I think it’s safe to say we all have moments of doubt that slip into our minds about our abilities, but giving up is simply not an option I’ve allowed myself. I don’t have to be in love with every video I make, but I have to be consistent. I constantly set new goals and voice them out loud to tell the universe and myself what I want. Read more>>

Jed Mitra | Apparel/Brand Designer

I think this is a very important question. Of course the initial answer should be to never give up. But a piece of advice i got early on that helped greatly in my career is this; direction is more important than speed. cause you can go nowhere FAST. I was a sports medicine major before switching over to design. I essential had to.. give that up. Read more>>

Jessica Munoz | Business Owner/ Creative Artist

Never give up on your dreams! As cheesy as it sounds, I believe I was born to be creative. This passion for DIY has been a part of me for so long. Little by little, I would play around with different mediums and was so obsessed with making themed decor. I started daydreaming about making things in college classes and later when I began working 9-5. Read more>>

Antonia Czinger | writer, director, actor, therapist, girl about town

I suppose it might be time to “give up” if “giving up” doesn’t feel like defeat but more like changing course. There is often a toxic view that is perpetuated in the entertainment industry that you should “never give up” with no understanding that your desires, goals, and aspirations may change with time. So you’ll want to check in with yourself—do you still want, what you thought you wanted, or do you want something else? Let desire be your guide, baby! Read more>>

Tsuyoshi Wu | Multimedia Support Consultant & Music Producer

Being a complete optimist, I define the term “giving up” as “putting an indefinite pause on achieving goals and dreams”. Read more>>

Cara Franson | Cara F. Franson | Artist & Letterpress Printer

general is a grounding in curiosity. As a designer and printer, the process is fluid and yet also rigid. There is a lot of preparation and conceptualization that takes places before the “brush hits the paper.”  Read more>>