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

Zane Williams | Singer-songwriter and founding member of the band The Wilder Blue

I think it’s generally assumed that to be successful in music you have to have a manager, a booking agent, a record deal, and a big name producer. That you (or your label) have to spend a lot of money on social media ads, music videos, photo shoots, radio promotion, and traveling to gigs that don’t pay but offer a lot of “exposure”. Read more>>

Mary Lo | Designer & Multifaceted Creative

To be a successful fashion brand, you have to follow trends. It seems ironic, because the success of a clothing brand almost always depends on whether or not you’re able to create pieces for trends on par with a release. However, I’ve realized with my brand that the niche comes from the originality of prints and pieces – creating pieces that don’t yet exist and are not oversaturating the market. Read more>>

Stephanie Peebles Tavera | Author, Literary Historian, & Professor of English

One piece of advice that is often given to writers is that you should schedule time to write every single day – even if you can only squeeze thirty minutes into your busy schedule. But this advice doesn’t work for me for a couple reasons. On the one hand, I am a binge writer, which means that I can sit down and write for long periods of time. Read more>>

Malik Johnson | Singer-Songwriter, Producer, Actor, & Host

As an artist I fully disagree with the notion that I have to wait for the right time or opportunity to present itself for me to showcase my talents. Over the past 7 years of chasing my dreams as an actor, singer-songwriter, and producer I’ve learned that the timing will never be perfect and opportunities rarely present themselves, you have to create them. Read more>>