While the phrase “America First” has been a recent rallying cry in modern politics and framed as a new approach to U.S. policy, the reality is that this is how we’ve always operated as a country—both domestically and internationally. You can change the rhetoric, but you can’t change the underlying truth: the United States engages with the world in a way that ultimately serve its national interests. It always has and probably always will.

I’ve found striking parallels between language learning and master a musical instrument. Both share a fascinating interplay between technical foundations and practical application, between theory and performance, between solo practice and collaborative expression. And both, often require the involvement of others - a band, if you will - to really soar.

In a world that seeks validation and that treats career milestones as a checklist for “success” or “innovation,” creatives should be vigilant in understanding that success is truly a journey, one built on successful steps, habits, and practices.

If you’re waiting to hear back from a job interview, sales prospect, or a potential date, remember that you can still make progress. Ambitious goals, especially world-changing ones, require both patience and persistence.

Someone recently asked me how I felt about people reacting with, “It’s not my responsibility to teach white people about racism.” This was specifically about the context in the work that I do since I, in fact, do a lot of education around race and identity. And, I’ve had many challenging conversations around identity…

I realized that many artists (and entrepreneurs) focus a lot on taking off: how to build a critical mass for support, launching a new product/album, trying to get attention via social media and/or the press, and so on. In fact, when you look at the long list of consultant services, they’re all focus on growth, expansion, and scaling up. But very few, if any, ever talk about landing from those big moments.

While I love the idea of having more symbols and tokens, the greater battle is to change the systems and culture that have made these women and their communities invisible. We shouldn’t have to rely on minted coins or printed paper to learn about history.