We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Gaby Moreno | Independent Artist & Creative

I have two favorite quotes and they are both from movies. The first quote is from A Bronx Tale, which is “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever”. What this quote means to me is that everyone is born with a purpose, gift or talent whatever you want to call it and its up to you to make the most of it. To me it also means that to achieve your dream/s is one of the most important things in life and its sad when people waste their potential or don’t believe in themselves to see it through! Read more>>

Rachel Hengst | Retail Manager & Buyer

I always have to remind myself of the Bible verse from Matthew: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” It’s amazing to me how we, as humans, forget how powerful God is. He performs miracles every single day so it is pretty prideful of us to think He can’t handle our day to day problems. It’s a quick way to humble myself and also it relieves a lot of stress to know that God is in the details. Read more>>

John Moreno | Barber Mechanic

The idea for my business came up while working at the family business “Bakersfield Barber College.” It was there that the need for fixing barber chairs, clippers, and shears was an unavailable service and when someone did sharpen or fix chairs they didn’t do a great job. Almost immediately. When I got my barber license in 2012 I was working on our chairs and soon after wards I fixed friends and families chairs. It happened gradually but I went from cutting hair to fixing hydraulic barber chairs more than just cutting hair. Now my business is an all mobile one stop shop for chair repair, and shear and clipper sharpening. I travel all over California helping clients with their broken chairs and tools using my knowledge as a barber and my abilities as a repair man to help my clients get the best service they will need. Read more>>

Amberlee Colson | Actor, Writer & Producer

As of late, I’m been having fun with success being a series of check-in questions I ask myself regularly:

Am I making progress towards my goals?
Am I stepping out of my comfort zone at work?
Am I being vulnerable to those I deeply care about? Read more>>

Cynthia Diane Gipson | Mother and Advocate

I am the mother of a son, Christopher David Gipson who was a sickle cell warrior. Christopher succumbed to his disease on April 3, 2008. He had stroke at the age of 8 and a hemorrhagic stroke at age 21. As a parent of a child with a disability it is important for him to have faith, belief in God’s teaching, and realize that he is a child of God and as God’s creation he is good. Christopher’s disabilities included – sickle cell disease, moya-moya disease, aphasia, seizure disorder, learning disabilities, and physical disabilities. As a young child he was exposed to God’s teachings, he was told about his illness to his understanding, he was exposed to an educational, cultural, and moral lifestyle. He was the product of parents that instilled the importance of education, humility, creativity, risk-taking, loving self and others. These qualities were beneficial to him after he suffered a stroke at the age of eight that altered his life course. Read more>>

Lourdes Rotell | Graphic designer & Communicator

The saying “Entrepreneurship is a lonely road” is undoubtedly a commonly mentioned one.

I firmly believe that leading a solitary life as an entrepreneur is a choice. Read more>>

Kris Kosach | TV & Radio Host, Multi-Media Producer and Manager

My media heroes include innovators like Alan Lomax who canvased the American South and recorded very early bluesmen and folk stories in the Deep South. Or John Peele who broke musical artists like Pink Floyd and David Bowie. Teri Gross is a contemporary inspiration for her aptitude to speak with tastemakers on all manner of topics. Read more>>

Marina Sole | Oil Painter and Artist

I find success in small achievements such as finishing a task that I started, achieving weekly goals, and finding peace and maybe even mystery. Success can mean completing a series of paintings, or it can simply mean acknowledging that less is more. Behind my artist career lies a lot of mess, but small achievements, hard work, patience, curiosity, and non-conformism have been my mantras. Read more>>

Valerie Hansen | Travel Creator- Writer | Advisor and Fashion Influencer

That being a creator, blogger and influencer is a long road to success. It takes several years to build your brand and actually get paid for what you do! Read more>>

Hal Price | International Bestselling Author, Poet, Professional Photographer, Inspirational Speaker, Creator of Social, Emotional Learning Curricula for Schools

My evolution and development as an artist has been a 69-year process of experiencing life, and slowly gravitating toward what makes my heart smile. Read more>>

Riza Ayson | 9Round Kickboxing Owner & Trainer

The reason why I became an Entrepreneur was because I suffered from the work life balance working a corporate job in sales for Tribune Television. However, I didn’t realize that it was going to be HARDER to get the work life balance working for myself– if I didn’t have boundaries. Read more>>

Court Moves | Radio Host & Property Manager

My work life balance is always shifting, and doing exactly what a balance tries to do, balance. I am able to notice the changes/shifts usually when I notice my interests shift. I can be all in on work tasks because the work flow has lightened enough for me to start cleaning and reorganizing systems, which excites me. Then there are times, I’m struggling to open the car door with my arms full of yarn to crochet and create new projects. Thankfully I’ve learned to notice that when I start to feel restrictions or my flow stifled, I switch to either work or personal life, depending on what’s jammed at the moment. Read more>>