One of the most important lessons we learned is that our lives and our businesses will teach us along the way.  We don’t need to know everything on day one because the challenges we face on day will likely be ones we are already equipped to handle.  As we overcome challenges we get better and better and as the challenges increase in difficulty so too does our ability to tackle them.

We asked members of the community that we admire to share important lessons their business or career has taught them and have shared some of those responses below.

Hallam George | Musician

I am a songwriter, guitar player, producer, and teacher that likes to dabble in everything he can touch. Growing up I played saxophones and clarinet in concert and jazz band, and I’ve been fronting my own rock bands since age fourteen. Having started down that path from a pretty young age, by high school I knew that music was what I wanted to do with my life. Read more>>

Jiaxing Yang | Digital Artist & 3D Animator

Born and raised in Chengdu, China, a city where people are laid-back, I have always been an artist, spending my childhood filling sketchbooks with hundreds of drawings. I entered and won art contests, and had my first televised art exhibition as a teenager, and eventually, this passion led me to pursue intensive studies in the animation industry. Read more>>

A.R. Swanson | Fitness Coach, Group Fitness Instructor, Artist, Producer, Motivator

I’m a proud Brooklyn born native! Growing up in NYC will definitely shape and mold you into being ready, staying adaptive and having tough skin. Through it all, I credit my parents for helping to shape the man I am today. I was raised to respect myself first before expecting others to give me that same respect. Everything you desire and allow starts with “YOU”. Read more>>

Christie Lucas-Lambridis | Singer and Creative Producer

I was born and raised in Brisbane/Meanjin, a small-ish city on the east coast of Australia. My upbringing was stereotypical in some ways; those Australian viral videos are relatively accurate because I encountered many snakes and spiders inside and outside the house. In other ways, my childhood was non-linear and colourful. Read more>>

Cara J. Stevens | Writer, Editor & Book Coach

I was born and raised in New York. I always pictured staying there forever. I didn’t visit Los Angeles until I was 22. I used to joke that I didn’t believe it existed until I saw it for myself. Even then, I never thought I’d end up living here. Read more>>

elizabeth blanchard | Creative director for SATARA Wellness, fairy dust sprinkler on life, yoga teacher and intense lover of my family!

I am from Portland, Oregon now living in Los Angeles, California. I love the Pacific Northwest but I love sunshine more, My mom always said I had a lot of that Portuguese-Hawaiian DNA from my dad! When I was young our family was hit with some pretty hard circumstances. Even though it was the worst time of my life, now as an adult, I can look back and see how it’s molded me into the strong person I am today. Read more>>

Jett Jansen Fernandez | Writer, Director, producer & Stuntman

I was born and raised in Miami Florida to Cuban immigrants who fled communism in the 80s. My father’s mother worked at a little movie theater in Cuba called El Cine teatro Aida. She would sneak him in to watch films all the time and it became a big part of his life. later when I was born in Miami Florida, he shared his love of movies with me, and I was raised on classic cinema. Read more>>

Shelley Lok | Entrepreneur & Producer

I’m from Shanghai, China, and graduated from the Multimedia department at Northumbria University. After graduating, I interned for a while and then went to Japan, as I wasn’t ready to start working yet. Upon returning to China, I began working at major advertising companies, including Google China. During that time, I felt a bit lost and unsure if that was the life I wanted. Read more>>