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.

Grace Collison | Entrepreneur & Photographer

If you knew me personally, you would know I am determined. I have grit. I never give up. When I want something, I do everything in my power to make it happen. I believe determination is the key to success. The harder I work, the more results I get. There have been situations where I don’t think something will work out, or someone tells me no. Maybe I don’t have enough money. I do everything in my power to prove people wrong and show I can succeed no matter what life throws my way. Determination Is key. You have to want something bad enough if you want to succeed. I once heard of a story that has stuck with me. I don’t remember where I heard it from. But I heard if you want something bad enough, you have to act like you can’t breathe without it. You need oxygen to breathe. So if you want something bad enough, you have to act the same way. You have to work as hard as you want to breathe. Read more>>

Sara Yusupov | Fashion Designer & Accountant

The most important factor is keeping up with your business. It’s very easy to get side-tracked and focus on other priorities. But even taking one step in the right direction can change everything for the better. Life can get chaotic, but you must remember your path. Whenever it seems difficult to keep moving forward, you must remember why you started and that will motivate you to continue pushing forward! Read more>>

CeCe Noyen | Health & Fitness Coach

The number one habit that truly and I mean, truly, allowed me to be successful was failing forward. I never knew what the exact calculation or set of steps was going to be in order to make me a successful health and fitness coach. I just knew that it was what I whole heartedly wanted to do and knew that no matter how many failures I would face, I was going to make it happen. I took failure as redirection and every no was one step closer to the biggest yes of my life. Read more>>

Jear Keokham | Director of Operations & Creative Strategy

What habits do you feel helped you succeed? The beauty about identifying habits that lead to success is that there is a hyperbolic amount of case studies available in the world. You can do some basic research to get an idea of what notable CEOs, public figures, or world leaders do. What I have learned through time is that a one-size-fits-all shortlist of habits is not realistically scalable or universal. In other words, my list of habits may look different than others who are in a similar position as I am in life. We all need to curate a list of habits that work well for our personality, that accelerates progress to meet our goals, that play to our strengths, and that challenge us to develop our weaknesses. Read more>>