What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?

Every industry has its myths—stories insiders repeat until they sound like truth. But behind the slogans and the spin are unspoken (and sometimes unnoticed) realities – we asked some of the wisest folks we know to share what lies they’ve noticed in their industries.

Starr Alexandria

That you have to hate your body, hate your food, and basically hate your life to get results. That extreme diets, endless cardio, and ‘no fun allowed’ is the only way. I call BS. The truth? You can have a strong, lean body and still enjoy wine nights, dessert, and living your life. Read more>>

Quinn Tempest

One of the biggest lies I see in the online business world is that success is a straight line… and if you just follow the right framework, hit the right revenue milestone, or work hard enough, you’ll “make it.” That narrative has been sold to entrepreneurs for years, and it leaves so many women feeling like failures when the reality of business looks far messier. Read more>>

Luke Watson

Well there are quite a few I could come up with but one I think about a lot is ‘art is for everybody’. It is not that that statement is a lie, I believe art is and should be for everyone, but much of the art world is built and designed to be inaccessible and alienating. Read more>>

Ryan Alarie

One of the biggest misconceptions in the seasoning industry is that you need heavy amounts of salt, sugar, or preservatives to make food taste good. In reality, true flavor comes from high-quality herbs and spices, not fillers. Read more>>

Chelsea Villela

There are two lies that I can think of off the top of my head. One is that the skin care industry is saturated. I’ve talked about this a lot before but when you have an Indy Beauty Brand, based on creativity and personal knowledge and esthetic, there is always room. Read more>>

Sky Black

That a banana taped to a wall is art. Subjectivity, combined with self centered egoism has steered some of the art world into a nonsense spiral where objectively well executed fine art are vague concepts. This is not the only industry suffering from this problem either in my opinion. Read more>>

Rhonda Jo and Shawn Royer

I feel like the music industry lies about age in this industry. If you haven’t “made it” by a certain age, you’ve missed your chance. But creativity doesn’t expire—and neither do dreams. We feel like we are now coming into my own and have something to offer like a fine wine. Read more>>