People often ask about the best decision, but we think it’s also very enlightening to learn about people’s most difficult decisions and the frameworks they used to think through those decisions.

Diego Gallarod: Music Artist & Creative

The most diffucult decision I’ve had to make is choosing to leave home to pursue music. and the reason it was maybe harder then normal is because I moved away maybe about a 6 months after my brother passed away suddenly, sorry to just throw that info in there like that haha but it was just challenging for me to walk up to my parents and sister and talk to them and tell them that I want to move away to chase a dream that just seems like a fairy tale. I maybe feel guilty like I left to soon because in the midst of all the emotions surrounding my family from my brother we all needed each other to just have our presence there and hug and just be close too you know? we lost someone really close and it was hard. This decision still sits with me, my brother passing away just sort of woke me up and made me TRULY realize and understand that tomorrow is not promised and life is really a blessing. Read more>>

Annie Hayes- Fiedler: Hair Artist, Color and Extension Specialist

The most difficult decision I ever had to make was leaving a salon that I saw a future with. In my eyes it was the place where all my dreams were a reality and everything I dreamt of as my ideal life/ home in the hair industry. I am grateful for the opportunity because I met some amazing people there ( 2 of which are still very dear friends) I got to work with and along side some of the industries most iconic and extremely talented artist. Some I look at today and am so wowed as i see them leaving a legendary mark out there. It was hard to accept, I was young and I had many years under my belt, especially for my age. I know how hard I worked and what my level of talent was, yet there was no room for me to grow. I needed to grow somewhere else, navigate my own dreams and stay true to myself as an artist and a person. Read more>>

T.K.S: Creator

The most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make was getting out of my own way. What I mean by that is, acknowledging that I was my biggest setback. It’s extremely difficult to be aware of the setbacks within yourself like fear, procrastination, self-doubt, laziness, and even lack of focus. The crazy part is that’s only the first half. The second half was even more difficult because that part required change. I had to lose friends, I had to become more organized, I had to work while everyone else played, I had to make the sacrifices and difficult decisions necessary for me to achieve my goals. Read more>>

Naomi Petit: Actress & Producer

Maybe dropping out of Acting School back in NYC and move to LA. I had quit my job at this time and it was the only income that was allowing me to pay for school and rent each month. I was bragging all year long to my classmates how I was going to move to Los Angeles for my second school year but in my head it was just sounding like “Yeah alright Naomi, you’re not going anywhere, you love NY too much and how can you even go about taking such a big risk, you don’t know anyone in LA, you’ve never been to LA”. Then, life events, the Universe, everything made me quit my job and not knowing what to do after, I told myself “Well, you want to be an actress, LA is the place to be for you!” – It does look like I’m talking to myself a lot! haha!The little money I had saved from splitting my bed/ rent with a good friend in NY, allowed me to do the complete move to the West Coast. Read mre>>

Phill Mycup: Artist, songwriter and Producer

One of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make was dropping out of college. I never had the best grades in High School but I knew I wanted to go to college to make my parents proud. But once I got there I realized that it wasn’t for me, I hated the system. So once I made the decision to leave and make music, I knew that I had to be successful. I owe to the people that believe in me, and I owe it to myself. Read more>>

Amanda Gunawan: Founding Principal and Architectural Designer

It was definitely deciding to stay in Los Angeles to build my career instead of take the easier and much more comfortable route of going back to Asia. My family is located in Southeast Asia and is involved in the Architecture and Development industry. The path was always for me to come to Los Angeles for college and then return to Asia to assist in the family business. After staying in Los Angeles for. a while, I felt like I had grown so much in such a short time span and part of it was because I was forced to, having come here on my own with no family or friends I had known from the before. There was so much more learning that I felt I had needed to do and so after graduation, I made the tough decision of deciding to work here and then start my own business thererafter. Read more>>

Vivian Ji: Background designer and painter

One of the most difficult decisions I had to make was walking down a career path of my own volition. I grew up doing a lot of things to please my family members—taking piano classes, juggling difficult STEM courses, participating in a school sport, and more. Almost everything that I did was to make my parents proud of me; validation was incredibly important to me. When it came down to deciding what I wanted to do in college, I knew that I couldn’t continue lying to my parents and pretend that I wanted to pursue a STEM career. Don’t get me wrong—I have immense respect for people who are in STEM. However, I couldn’t see myself doing those types of jobs and enjoying myself. I couldn’t and wouldn’t deny myself the opportunity to pursue something that I genuinely enjoyed and loved doing: art. Read more>>

Dina Samson: Restaurant Owner and Industry Advocate

When I decided to leave my career in finance, I took off my “golden handcuffs” with no safety net. That was the scariest time for me but funny enough it ended up being the best decision I ever made. Two years after that decision, I became an entrepreneur/business owner and opened my first restaurant with my now-husband Chef Steve Samson. Two years after that I was blessed with boy/girl twins. Two years after that we opened our second and third restaurants. Now I tell everyone who is at a crossroads and is scared to try something different, If you aren’t happy in your life, then you have nothing to lose to try something else.” Read more>>