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.

Jamicka Lakeya: Author & Poet

The most difficult decision I had to make was saying no. I got so caught up in pleasing people and giving them what they wanted that I stopped making time for me and started to become off balance and couldn’t creative. Read more>>

Marie Cloud: Owner & Principal Designer of Indigo Pruitt Design Studio

Ha, feel like all I do is make decisions…white walls or greige walls. lol Well, early in this career, designers want to take on as many projects as possible to build their portfolio, and it was the same for me. But when I got to a place where that was no longer a need, I started to say no to certain projects; Read more>>

Gadrien “Manny” Williams: Owner/Lead Operator, Writer, and Director

One of my most difficult decisions pertaining to your question was the day I walked off of a set on a major production, great pay, great benefits all included… I was tired of the racism, and the unfair treatment given to black employees on set… Right then in there I had made my choice to start full time On my own dreams and honestly that was the best decision I could have made… I invested in me instead of giving all my time and talents to people who really didn’t care about me as a person. Read more>>