They say life isn’t about the things that happen to you, but about the decisions you make. There’s a ton of coverage about the best decisions people have made, but not nearly enough conversation about the tough decisions.  We asked folks we admire to tell us about the most difficult decision they’ve ever had to make and have shared some of those responses below.

Aaron Bryan | Singer-Songwriter

One of my habits has been surrounding myself with people that not only believe in my vision, but 100% support it as well. I know I have fans all over the world and country, but my circle of friends are the greatest fans I could’ve asked for, they always ask if I’ve written any new songs, how my music is doing, listen to song ideas and they never say “if” I’m famous, but when. They’re the first people I share new song ideas with, tell new opportunities about and they’re always just as excited as I am. Another habit is constantly raising the bar for myself in terms of artistry, I’m very proud of the 12 songs I’ve written for my worktape album “Southern Comfort”, but my next album will be better than that. I placed a lot of pressure on myself to write the best 12 songs I could, so now the pressure is just much more intense but I’m taking my time with it now. Read more>>

Kendra Myers | Small Batch Food Preserver

We’re in the middle of a world wide health pandemic. The hardest decision I’ve ever had to make is to keep my business open. Everywhere around me small business are closing their doors. It is heartbreaking to watch especially knowing what goes into owning and operating a small business. I am very lucky that I run my business from home. My sales have drastically dropped and all of my big festivals & shows have been cancelled. I am staying afloat by offering porch pickups and vending at the farmer’s market a couple of times a month. I have much less overhead than the average business and that has really helped me in this pandemic. I wouldn’t say my business is thriving at the moment; it is in survival mode. Read more>>

Blanca Hernandez | Language Teaching Tools Designer

We all can agree that such qualifications and characteristics as business acumen, persistence, and resilience, are important to succeed in all endeavors. However, I consider flexibility to be even more important. People go to school to pursue a career. Yet, many opt for something totally different after obtaining a college degree in a chosen field. Most manage to be quite successful in their new pursuit. I started with the goal of becoming an electrical engineer. That degree helped me to set up my first company in the microelectronics industry. Circumstances developed that required flexibility and compelled me to pursue other options. One of these was to become a language analyst in the FBI. In turn, this experience elicited my desire to teach languages and produce products to teach them. Outcomes of this endeavor are the creation of personalized hand puppets, charade card games, and books, all for the purpose of teaching English or Spanish. Read more>>

Zane Tabari | Filmmaker

I would say it’s been difficult to pursue independent film making in general. It’s like pushing a bolder up a hill in roller skates. There’s so much to be done. Everyone in your family has a stake in it, so everyone is along for the ride. Good or bad. I’ve had to make decisions that allow me to create that otherwise might now be looked at as smart economic decisions. Bottom line though, I feel a calling to this and look at it as a responsibility. Read more>>