We asked some folks we admire to share one piece of conventional advice they disagree with.

Bryana Kappadakunnel | Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist @consciousmommy

When it comes to parenting, the hot new conversation is around ‘scripts’. Online and in books, you’ll see hundreds of parenting educators and professionals giving scripts for parents to use in a variety of situations: tantrums, discipline issues, and more. Read more>>

Bam Alexander | Artist/Rapper and Writer

A lot of times in creative spaces, particularly related to music, you will hear people say to “fake it ‘til you make it.” The thought is that if I can walk around physically looking like I’ve reached success and carry the confidence of someone who is successful, ultimately that confidence in yourself can propel you to actual success. Read more>>

Ross Canter | business owner, baker & cookie enthusiast

“Have a business plan” Years ago (way, way before we ever started Cookie Good), I’d lost my job as a film executive and and toyed with the idea of opening a cookie shop. I had no idea how to go about it and heard about SCORES which was a place future ‘entrepreneurs’ could go to talk with and get advice from seasoned professionals. Read more>>

Camilla Tassi | Projection Designer, Producer, Musician.

I feel this advice is shifting a bit as years pass, but I like to challenge the idea that you should specialize in just one skill. In the arts it really helps to be – to quote a friend – ‘a jack of all trades and master of few’. What I do as a projection designer (and the reason I am working with professional groups across the country and abroad) is due to the fact that so much of this practice is about being sensitive to other elements in the room. Read more>>

Max GEMS Gonzales | Muralist and Graffiti Writer

As a muralist, you definitely have to be willing to compromise. Every artist is constantly told that they need to always charge what they’re worth and to not undervalue their art. Unfortunately, in cities where art is undervalued entirely, you will have trouble charging what you should a the beginning of your career. You will need to create a portfolio of murals in order to start getting commissioned to do murals. Read more>>

Kai Lun Qu | Oil Painter & Instructor

The conventional advice that I disagree with is practice makes perfect. It simply makes permanence. I believe that it is the quality of the process within your practice that will make or break the results. You can draw a portrait one thousand times but if the anatomy is off, then your portraiture will not magically become better. Read more>>