When in Doubt, Drink the Kool-Aid: Wisdom from B-Boy and Social Entrepreneur Michael Huang

“If you ever find yourself worrying about or doubting your own abilities, decisions or path - just remember to drink the proverbial Kool-Aid. Most people who’ve achieved at the highest level believed in themselves to a delusional fault.”

“If you ever find yourself worrying about how others perceive you, that you may be doing it wrong, or worse, that you could be hurting others in that pursuit - just remember that humility takes care of all that. Others are great and you have your limitations, so treat them like gold and stay in your lane. We can all prosper together. ”

— Michael Huang (aka Mikeskee)

Michael Huang is a Seattle-based b-boy (breakdancer), community organizer, and entrepreneur. His experiences range from competing in and organizing international breaking competitions to marketing Fortune 100 brands. In 2011, Michael helped found a non-profit focused on mentoring at-risk youth through dance and the arts. More recently, he founded a digital marketing agency specializing in growing start-ups and small businesses.

Follow: @mikesteezie

Thanks to #ReignSupreme2015 , Street Dance is BACK at #Bumbershoot! Thank you to Mikeskee, Louisa Meng, Dalia Neyfeh, Justroc, Gabe Quitiquit for the hospitality and support you have shown Strife over the years. We are so proud of you guys and the HUGE success you were able to accomplish at Reign Supreme x Bumbershoot.

Don't Do It: Advice for Success from Painter/Muralist Hueman

“Don’t do it for the Instagram likes, don’t do it for the brownie points, do it because you literally can’t see yourself doing anything else.”

— Hueman

This is the file that was used for the Southern California @nyxcosmetics retail store murals! 💗💜💗 People have been asking for my advice lately on success and making a career out of art and getting access to certain opportunities, and it's humbling to even get asked these things when I know the struggle so so well. A few of the galleries that I've had the honor of showing with are the same folks that said "thanks but no thanks" to me for years. At almost 30 I might look young but I've spent the last 10+ years working my ass off and only now are people hearing about me. Making a living off of art is HARD work. If you want the short answer: Don't do it!!! But the real question to ask yourself is--would I still be creating even if I was broke? Would I still create even if there was no one there to see it? Don't do it for the Instagram likes, don't do it for the brownie points, do it because you literally can't see yourself doing anything else. Xo 🎨

A photo posted by Hueman (@hueman_) on Oct 2, 2015 at 2:28pm PDT

Hueman grew up drawing and painting in Northern California, and received her degree in Design | Media Arts from UCLA in 2008. Whether she is painting delicate visions on canvas, or crushing massive walls with a spray can, she often draws on the human condition to create freestyle mash-ups of the abstract and figurative, and the beautiful and grotesque. She is interested in creating ethereal motion and dimension on otherwise flat, two-dimensional surfaces. 

Hueman’s work can be seen on walls and in galleries worldwide. Her art has caught the attention of media outlets and publications such as CNN, the History Channel, Complex, Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, and last year graced the cover of LA Weekly’s 2014 People Issue. 

Where Do Creative Breakthroughs Come From? Ta-Nehisi Coates on the Writing Process

“I think breakthroughs come from putting an inordinate amount of pressure on yourself and seeing what you can take and hoping that you grow some new muscles. It’s not really that mystical, you know? Repeated practice over and over again and then suddenly, you become something that you had no idea you could really be.”

— Ta-Nehisi Coates, Writer

Watch the full clip featuring the acclaimed author via The Atlantic below.

Ta-Nehisi Coates on writing: "I always consider the entire process about failure, and I think that's the reason why more people don't write."

Posted by The Atlantic on Wednesday, August 5, 2015