It’s interesting how life progresses. And really, it’s entirely up to you on how it goes. Not anyone else. You. I’ve had hundreds of set backs, bad times, bad events happen in my life; but guess what? That is no more, or less, than you or anyone else. Simply different. I was born, grew up, and figured things out just as everyone else does only with different good and bad situations. My mother did the best she knew how to do, just like everyone elses parents do. Are you catching the pattern here?

All children are born without any previous experience, knowledge of the world, or how to do anything. But guess what? They figured it out. And the more effort put in to figuring out life, the more opportunities for you to learn more will arise.

Upon the passing away of my mother at age 8, me and my two sisters became grateful for one gift. My grandmother and grandfather. These two individuals are hands down the biggest reason of my success today. These two taught me how to figure situations out. If I had a challenge, they gave me options; not an answer. If I wanted to learn something, they gave me suggestions on how to go about it; they didn’t do it for me or hand me the book of answers. And with that, they didn’t tell me no or try to talk me out of it; they simply supported me.  

How valuable is that?

What would it mean to you to pursue any dream (or task, relationship, passion, talent, craft, lifestyle and the list could continue forever) you had, without the overpowering influence of another individual to sway your decision? How valuable is that?

It’s been a pleasure of mine to work alongside the Paul Mitchell family of companies, whether it be Paul Mitchell Schools, John Paul Mitchell Systems, or Lunatic Fringe Salons. That being said, I’ve been provided a handful of opportunites. I mean really, a HUGE handful. I’ve been given the opportunity to become a salon hairdresser, educator, financial aid leader, artistic team leader, assistant, cutting specialist, texture specialist, make up artist, salon owner, contributer to curriculum development, marketing developer, session stylist, platform artist, business owner, hair industry contributer, and the list can continue. This overwhelming list could cause stress to most, so how do you sort through it? By figuring it out. What are you willing to learn? Nobody gave me these positions, I asked for them. And because I was able to figure out how to learn things, without the physical aid of another individual walking me through every step, I was able to create new positions for myself.

I get endless amounts of emails, facebook messages (social media promotion is very important these days, FYI), and verbal questions stating, “I want to do what you do.” I used to give many responses like, “I didn’t miss much school”, “I watched many educational DVDs”, “I worked seven days a week”, “I worked on mannequin heads a lot”, blah blah blah. Which yes, those did contribute to success. But they are only physical tasks that took place. WHY and HOW would be a more beneficial question. What was your thought process and approach would be more beneficial. Why? Because I have big dreams! How? Because I figured it out and took the initiative to surround myself with the right people, educational workshops, tools, and worked on my technical ability. NOT because someone made me work seven days a week. NOT because I was given a thousand mannequin heads and  the premonition of future success in hairdressing. And NOT because someone said staying in school is cool. 

I wanted to accomplish something and I did because I was able to figure out what I needed to do, who I needed to talk to, and learn what was needed to create what I wanted to. Not because I was given the exact steps to success, and every individual to talk to, and book of everything I needed to learn.

I would like to stress that I did not do this alone. There are many great contributers to my success. Shawn Trujillo, Angie Katsanevas, Bekah Nash, Janae Johnson, Jake Garn, Paula Dahlberg, Jenner Feroah, the Lunatic Fringe Artistic Team, Dave Holland, Andrew Carruthers, Teri Edmunds, my family, friends. It is these people that have pushed me forward, however, without my wanting to do what was needed to surround myself with these individuals, they would not have been able to create the opportunites I have enjoyed.

 Success is a product of self motivation that is supported by other individuals.

You can not be successful alone. It must be elevated by other individuals. It is only internal motivation that will connect you to the right individuals who support your goals that you create and pursue. Guide yourself forward.

With your successes in mind,

Steven