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.

Chris Sarfin

It’s not about checking boxes. The industry has taught me that there is no formula to success and that the only success you can truly achieve is the one you bestow upon yourself. A person can be the most talented, hard-working, and intelligent person in the room and still get rejected. I’ve watched it happen many times. You can’t seek the validation of others because it will take away from you over time. And you need to make it your own. This industry should be about taking your authentic self and using filmmaking to project it out there. It’s a platform and like any platform you need to use it as a pedestal for who you truly are. Read More>>

Jay Espino

Gosh, the most important lesson I’ve learned chasing my dream is to stay consistent and keep your head up. There will always be people trying to put you down like I had to deal with for years but staying consistent and practicing everyday is what got me here today. You will lose a lot of people in your life on the way to the top but it’s just life removing all the dead weight that’s keeping you too grounded. Always remember, a friend to all is a friend to none. Read More>>

Abbey Letizia

The most important lesson I have learned so far in my career as a film editor is that no goal is too big to achieve. If you really want something and you work hard for it, there’s nothing that’s too big or out of the question. Keep pushing yourself and strive for great things, but always do what feels right for you. For me, my passion lies within narrative editing so I try to do as much of that as I can to fill up my creative cup. Read More>>

Fox Garza

The most important lesson my business and career has taught me has been flexibility. The market is ever-changing, the world I changing and the consumer is changing so you most find what there “need” is and work with the change not against it. Read More>>