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

Ranen Chang | Culinary Stylist

Everyone says to niche down, to specialize in one area and excel in that. I see many people have day jobs that fund their passions, however they are just hobbies. For me, that does not seem fulfilling to reduce my passions into hobbies. I did not want to sacrifice something I love for the sake of the other. I feel that all my passions combine create who I am, So rather than niching down and specializing, I decided to combine my passions for food and fashion, exploring the intersectionality of the two. Read more>>

Simone Torres | Artist, Vocal Producer, Engineer & Community Builder

I had a mentor that told me that I had to pick one thing to do. That if I wanted to vocal produce, I had to stop singing. That people would not be able to view me as multiple things and that to do more than one, would dilute them all. While I can see where he was coming from and this is a typical piece of advice, I think that all of our brains work differently. Being multifaceted is not a bad thing! I think it’s a superpower. Read more>>

Karim Megji | restaurateur

One piece of conventional wisdom I disagree with is the idea that ‘the customer is always right.’ Hospitality is the number one goal in a restaurant, but at the same time there has to be a balance between you knowing what you do and guiding your customers through the proper experience. We rely on our customers feedback, but I think this mindset can sometimes undermine the expertise of the team. In a restaurant, we are here to create the best possible experience, but that doesn’t always mean saying ‘yes’ to every request or complaint. Read more>>

Patrick Adam Peña | Filmmaker & Cartoonist

I disagree with the idea that stories are limited to the three and five act structures of Eurocentric storytelling, such as the “Hero’s Journey.” Kurt Vonnegut’s story structure could be measured in the highs and lows of the character or story, which could be visualized like a graph. And the kishotenketsu story structure of China, Korea and Japan is an incredibly versatile four act structure that allows for twists, epilogues, subversions and commentary that most other story structures don’t allow for. There’s no one way to tell a story! Read more>>