With all the focus on success it’s easy to overlook the valuable lessons we can learn from the more difficult parts of our journey. Below, you’ll find some very interesting insights from some of the most fascinating members of the community.
Michael Bolger
Suffering channeled into music is the blues. I’m able to connect musically with my audiences because I can convey that emotion. The blues- when played with intent and meaning, can be a powerful source of emotionality in music. When played ‘mechanically,’ it can sound like smooth jazz… which I consider to be a disingenuous form of musical phrasing. Read more>>
$kooby D
I think the most important thing that being at my lowest has taught me that success doesn’t really intertwine with is connectivity to who you really are. You see money can take you anywhere you want to go except to your inner self, the true you. Read more>>
Apra Bhandari
It taught me how strong I am and that the power lies in me. I have a choice– I can choose to be a failure or I can choose to succeed. I can choose to be sad or I can choose to be happy. I dictate my emotions, my decisions and, eventually, my life. It has been a game changer for me. Read more>>
Drew Harwood
I believe success rewards the external, but it rarely asks you to confront your shadows. Suffering does, and because of that, it changes the soul in a way success never could. Suffering teaches you how to be human. Success teaches you how to be admired. Read more>>
Pascal Guyon
Suffering taught me lessons that success never could—chief among them, that in times of extreme pain, whether mental or physical, I’m more than ever the one responsible for being as granular as possible in my research to resolve the problem. This demands deep introspection and a detective-like mindset, which I now encourage others to embrace through activities that foster self-awareness. Read more>>
Gary Paller
That life is not easy for most of us, and just because some people are successful doesn’t mean their lives are better. We don’t really know what’s is going on with everybody else. We don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. It’s unlikely anyone is completely happy or satisfied or always a good person or never worries or never suffers. Read more>>
Michael DelVecchio
Suffering brought me back to my calling. Sometimes life pushes lessons on us so aggressively that we can’t ignore them. It’s essential to recognize when our current path has run its course and then take deliberate action to step onto a new road. Failure and suffering are life’s way of shaking us out of complacency. Read more>>
Amanda Rubin
I hate failing. It sucks. It hurts so much when you put in so much effort and don’t get the results that you want,. But I know I learn more from my failures than from my successes. You don’t realize how badly you can mess up until you do. Read more>>
El 🙂
I think the one thing that suffering has taught me that success never could was the value of the journey rather than the destination. Read more>>
Chisato Iimori
Suffering taught me gratitude and resilience. I’ve learned to appreciate even the small things — my work, the people around me, and my family. Even auditions are rare opportunities, and I’m always grateful to those who introduce me. Hardships gave me chances to grow that success never could, making me stronger and a better person. Read more>>
Richard Deere
Suffering taught me patience and perspective in a way success never could. When I finished school and felt ready to enter the VFX industry, I faced rejection after rejection. COVID had slowed everything down, Hollywood was hit with strikes, and even the most talented senior artists were struggling to find work. Read more>>
Laura Baggett
There have been many times living in LA, where I have decided ‘Okay that’s it i’m done.’ whether it was a bad break up, not booking the job, having my catalitic converter stolen multiple times, or even the fires this spring. But then I am reminded that I came here to make some thing to be a part of something and hopefully inspire others. Read more>>
Farzad Golpayegani
That’s a powerful question. I’d say it taught me resilience. Success is a great teacher for confidence, but it can make you rigid. It doesn’t prepare you for when things inevitably fall apart. Suffering, on the other hand, forces you to become flexible. It strips away the non-essentials and reveals the difference between simply worrying about a problem and actively solving it. Read more>>
Frank Nguyen
Suffering taught me that you can’t give up when things go wrong, you just have to adapt and keep finding a way forward. For example, during Anteater Sim Racing’s debut at the 24 Hours of Lemons endurance race at Buttonwillow in 2024, our Miata race car kept shutting down randomly on the track. Read more>>
Mona Bavar
Suffering has been my most honest teacher. Success can be intoxicating. It makes you feel seen, validated, and powerful, but it rarely asks you to look inward. Suffering does. When my family left Iran, when I struggled with belonging, when I carried debt that felt crushing, or when heartbreak hollowed me out, those were the moments that stripped me of pretense. Read more>>
Monika Demmler
Suffering teaches you that each of us has to carry their own baggage in their lives. No matter if you’re rich or poor. Everyone carries their baggage. Read more>>
Angie Shell
In the simplest of words or phrases, alchemy. Remembering that all of the best artists that have come before you have faced adversity, and almost all of them utilized this suffering to fuel their art and create through the ashes- so to speak. Read more>>
J Gordon
Suffering has honestly taught me much more than winning ever did! I know every detail of my business because of it! There were so many years where the things that I didn’t know how to do I outsourced. Read more>>
Djamel Bennecib
At 36, everything cracked for me. Suffering taught me lessons success never could — like how fragile I really was, and how much strength you discover only after losing the things you thought defined you. Success had given me confidence, but pain gave me clarity. It stripped away the noise and forced me to look at myself honestly. Read more>>
Gerry Doot
I feel like I had some serious imposter syndrome as a kid. I’ve always been a performer, playing in bands and doing theatre throughout high school and college. I never believed I was the best singer, drummer, dancer, actor, wasn’t tall or handsome enough. I love being in my 40’s because that I don’t give a shit about any of that anymore. Read more>>
