We asked some of the city’s rising stars about why they think they have been so successful and we’ve shared their responses below.

Rebecca Lowrey | Director & Vocal Coach

Organization. I cannot work in or around clutter. I keep my living and work spaces neat and tidy. Unlike most pianists, I can’t stand it when my piano is covered in books or equipment. To-do lists are my lifeline. There is nothing more satisfying than crossing items off a list – be it pen/paper – or clicking a digital checkbox. Creation. I am constantly creating opportunities – for myself – and colleagues/clients. When you are not landing the jobs or work you desire – create it. Some closed doors have definitely led me to create projects that have been more fun and rewarding than the gig I was aiming for in the first place. Tenacity. Defined as “persistent determination”. There isn’t much that is able to stop me from meeting or exceeding my goals. If you are truly passionate about your art – your product – your coaching or classes – nothing will stand in your way. I wake up ever morning seeking ways I can transfer this enthusiasm to clients and customers. Read more>>

Brooke Sahni | Writer

For a long time, I had a really hard time allowing my writing be “messy” on the page—I agonized over a single paragraph for far too long. I’ve gotten better at writing very messy first drafts, which has been an invaluable part of the writing process. I write a first draft, that’s almost incoherent, just to get the ideas down, then go back and make it cleaner—it usually takes four rounds of this process before I will even show it to anyone, then I start revising based on the feedback that I resonate with. Read more>>

Amber Royer | Author and Creative Writing Coach

I look at writing as a job, like any other. Which means setting a schedule and sticking to it. That’s really eighty percent of writing a book — just showing up with a plan (I’m an extensive outliner) and a word count goal for every writing day. I back up my work frequently, and I keep all the files in an organized fashion. I’m also a writing coach, and I’ve helped people deal with cobbling together novels they’ve written part in long-hand, parts in a notes program and parts on a computer. It’s so much easier to have a document that is formatted correctly and all in one piece from the beginning. I also have a spreadsheet for submitting articles and short work, so that I know what I’ve submitted where and how long ago. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget if you’ve sent a short story to a particular editor. I also make time to refill the creative well, which for me means listening to music, reading, watching films (especially documentaries) and spending time in nature. Creative impulses have to come from somewhere, and you never know what will inspire you. Read more>>

Jimmy Hendrixxx | Artist/Engineer

The habit I feel that helps me the most is natural loving anything dealing with music. Listening to it, making it, editing, recording, I just naturally love music I use it for every thing. This makes it easy to put in as much work and practice I need to put in. Read more>>

Carine Rice | Program Director & Actress

Perseverance. I think it is important in life to keep pushing for the things you believe in, regardless of what stands in your way. You cannot take no for an answer, you must continue to persevere and fight for the ideas and beliefs you believe in and I think building perseverance up as one of my habits has made me a stronger and more effective leader. I am also a huge believer in the power of multitasking. The fact of life is nothing ever happens just one isolated incident at a time – things come at you fast and they don’t care if you have something else on your plate. Learning to multitask and prioritize has helped me immensely in both my personal life and my professional life. As the Program Director at Junior Players, I run programming for over 15,000 North Texas youth annually while also hiring and staffing over 100 qualified teaching artists and helping out with Junior Players’ events and productions. In addition to multi-tasking daily at Junior Players, I also am currently signed with the Kim Dawson Agency, own and run my own photography studio, Carine Odette Photography, and am mother to two wonderful boys. Read more>>