How do you know when you should keep going versus when it makes sense to cut your losses and try something new? It’s a difficult decision most entrepreneurs and creatives have faced along their journey and so we asked some brilliant folks from the community to share their thoughts.

Marc Hogan | Business Analyst & Air Force Reservist

Growing up in Brooklyn we learned to have a resolve that does not allow us to give in. We all face challenges but it is the inner drive that keeps us going. There are good and bad days but we keep going. The biggest obstacle in life is yourself. It is important to overcome doubt and believe in what you are doing.Growing up in Brooklyn we learned to have a resolve that does not allow us to give in. We all face challenges but it is the inner drive that keeps us going. Read more>>

Minister Brandon Seymore

My Mom teaches me that giving up is not an option. Our brains are wired to give up easily, that’s normal. Wanting to give up is normal but it is not ok. It may seem as though you will never accomplish your goals or as if you will never amount to anything. You may feel like whatever you are striving for it taking too long or causing too much work and pain. Read More>>

Juhhad Leone | Hip-Hop Artist & Producer

I don’t ever think it’s an option to give up! not even in the cliché way. I think if something’s not working out it can be a chance to rebrand or reinvent the passion. Take a basketball player who came in the league as a high flyer but as they age the either adjust when the athleticism is gone or they fade away. it’s the same in any field adjust to fit in or fade out. life fades regardless and I refuse to fade before my time. Read more>>

Kendall Dorion | Chiropractor & Entrepreneur

I’ve never thought about. I’ve only ever thought to keep going, continue to elevate. This year, as a matter of fact my theme is “offense”. When I first opened my practice almost three years ago, I was doing a lot of “defense” thinking; how do I do this and that, it was all coming at me at one time. But I soon had a paradigm shift in the way I was thinking about my business. I started to look at it from the perspective of how to be in front of my business, and see things before they happen, understand what and why things are happening, and most importantly I had to remember to have fun! I began celebrating the small steps and progresses that were happening around Adjust Atlanta. I always had the consistency, which is huge in being an entrepreneur, I’d dare say that’s step one, but step two is definitely keeping your head up and only considering the big payoff of the “keep going” mentality. Read more>>

Kelsey Walsh | Actor, Creative, Podcast Host, Baker

Giving up does not exist in my vocabulary. It is not an option. I firmly believe there are only successes and lessons in life. I get the question all the time though. It either comes as “ How do you keep going?” Or “How long are you going to pursue film and acting?” And I get it. Six years ago I asked myself the same question. I asked, “How long am I going to give this? How will I know if I need to move on?” As I was asking myself this question I was giving a speech about my passion to a class. Everyone was really into it and there was a Q and A after. Someone looked at me and asked the same question I was avoiding answering for myself. “How long will you pursue film?” I hesitated. Then immediately someone across the room shouted back “Obviously until she doesn’t love it like this anymore.” I pointed to her and said, “Exactly!” Like I had some wisdom about my own fears and doubts. Read more>>

Antonio Curry | Environmental Inspector | Creator | Inspiring Philanthropist

The simple answer would be whether your service, product, or content is profitable or not. To dig deeper, giving up shouldn’t be an option, you are always one conversation, one social media post share, one customer, one viewer away from a break through. I started Own Your LegaSEE with the mentality of whether I have 1 million customers or zero, that I would continue and at the very leastdde have clothing to call my own designed by me. Read more>>

Wayne Smith Jr. | Writer, Director, Producer

Giving up isn’t an option. Through the trials and tough times character & Resilience is birthed. Sports is big for me so I like to relate a lot of things to that. The work you put in during the off-season allows you to shine. Some times you feel like giving up but coaches & trainers push you past that point to build that strength. From where I come from if I would’ve given up I wouldn’t be alive right now. Gotta fall in love with the journey and wait till it’s your time while continuing to put the work in day after day. Read more>>

Dr. SHADARIA Allison | Author, Speaker, Creative Business Guru.

Life-Purpose is an innate “knowing”. It’s intuitive and unyielding. Everyone seems tied to an emotion of wishing to quit as the battle thickens on the journey to purpose. However, when its purpose, something inside of you will move it along. Purpose won’t give up on you. This is how you will truly know that you are thriving in your intended field. You’ll know not to give up; because purpose won’t give up on you. Read more>>

Alexandria Richbourg | Artist | Singer | Songwriter

I don’t think you truly ever know if you should keep going or to give up. However, I think it’s never okay to give up. Sometimes you’ll be on one path and it’s not working out. Then you’ll have to readjust your plan or simply wait for what’s next. If that’s the case, allow yourself to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and take the steps you need to take to get back on track. There are times where I feel that I need to rest, so I’ll do that and pick up where I left off later. There are also many times where I feel like, “This is tough,” or, “Am I doing the right thing?” but I continue to have faith and follow my dream. When things start to get harder, that’s when you know you’re doing something right. Read more>>

Chelsea Necole | Entrepreneur

The first thing I’m going to say is NEVER give up. If anything take a break if you need too. Don’t push yourself to the point of discouragement causing you too give up on your dreams/goals. You’re going to have your good days and certainly your bad/frustrating days & on both days you’ll be okay. Read more>>

R Dotta | Rapper/Song Writer

If I were to ask your name you’d be able to tell me without hesitation because you’ve been called that since your birth, everyday. If I were to call you something else, you wouldn’t respond because it doesn’t resonate with you, It’s not meant for you. Any gift you have, that’s personal to you. No one had to tell you what your gift is, you know what it is more than you know your name. So don’t ever give up, but there may come a time you need to modify your approach. As a recording artist, there may be a time that I need to change strategy from being the artist in the spotlight, to being the co-writer, the producer, or the executive producer. Read more>>

Shenee Campbell | Owner of Masterpeace Essentials

Faith. Has anyone ever told you to, “Just have faith?”. My faith is what I depend on to let me know whether to keep going or to give up. I am the creator of my own reality. I am proud of myself and all I have accomplished so far, big or small. I free myself of all that no longer serves me in order to receive all that I need. According to Miriam-Webster, faith is complete trust in something or someone. Faith is not ignoring facts or evidence in spite or what a belief states. I have faith in not only my business, but myself as well. I understand that faith is not as easy as it sounds. Most people would think hard times would strengthen people’s faith, that they would rely even more on their beliefs. But that is not always the case. In times of great crises, people’s faith may disintegrate to an almost nonexistent state. It has no use anymore. Some describe faith as wishful thinking like a dream, but I like to describe it as a kind of manifestation. Read more>>

Sean McPartlan | Tour Guide & Travel Enthusiast

I made the difficult decision to essentially give up on my travel business, Talk to a Local, because of the pandemic. As international travel came to a screeching halt last year due to COVID, I had to take a step back and consider the long-term implications to the travel industry and whether I should stay the course and hope for a quick recovery of travel or pivot and explore new opportunities I decided to pivot the business and focus more on domestic travel, specifically Atlanta tourism, rather than international travel. I am excited to announce my newest entrepreneurial venture, ATL Tours, which offers historical walking tours of Downtown Atlanta. There is so much rich history in the buildings and stories of downtown and I am excited to share that history and my love of this city with visitors and locals alike. Read more>>

Chris Negron | Author of Middle Grade novels from HarperCollins

This is a really interesting thought process writers in particular go through. Each of us has a ton of story ideas popping off in our brains all the time. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t think of anther one! Sometimes when a new idea first jumps into my head, it seems certain I’ll be able to make a book out of it. Of course THIS idea is so good, so important, it MUST be written. But often you have to get past that initial thrill of a new idea and run it through its paces to be absolutely certain it’s a book before committing to spending months or years trying to turn it into one. Is this idea story shaped? Is there enough there beyond the initial high concept to make a full and complete story that will engage readers from start to finish? It’s unfortunately often the case that a story does not pass all the necessary tests. Sometimes it means we have to give up on it and move on to the next idea. This is an important skill a writer needs to develop – the ability to let things go if they aren’t working. This could be an entire book, maybe even one you’ve written thousands of words for, or it could be, within a certain story, a “darling” – some scene or witty line or even sometimes a whole character – that just isn’t working and has to be cut. Read more>>

Chloè Allen | Singer/Songwriter

While in high school I was diagnosed with vocal nodules. After countless months of trying to shrink them on my own through vocal rest and dieting they didn’t seem to want to go away, which made me question is singing truly for me. I would sing at countless events in my hometown but after that diagnoses I wasn’t sure on weather or not I would be able to continue on. After having surgery it took a couple months for me to get back to singing and I was afraid that I would get them again. I just knew In my heart that I had to push through although I was very discouraged because I couldn’t see my life with out singing. Read more>>

Daquesha Chever | Physician/Author/Entrepreneur/ Next Best life Coach/Executive Producer&Tv Host

If you take the time to listen to your own heart desires, it will guide you in the right direction. The decision to pursue or throw in the towel will never be an easy one. But,I truly believe you can never go wrong listening to your heart. I know from experience that I’ve made my best life goals and decisions when I’ve understood “my passionate why” in order to bring forth and release self clarity. Read more>>