We first learned about her through a fascinating episode of How I Built This, a stellar podcast featuring entrepreneurs who’ve made it really big (Instagram, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, Serena & Lily, and more). Tosi founded Milk Bar in 2008, instantly gaining an ardent following for her scrumptious cakes, pies, and truffles. Now, her private company is worth somewhere between $500 million – $1 billion.

Tosi is one of our favorite entrepreneurs not only because of her ultra-craveable sugar fixes, but also because she’s one of the world’s best examples of finding success by following your heart. And here’s the kicker: never once did she expect anything to be handed to her. She earned her fame. As a brand new pastry chef at a four-star restaurant, Tosi worked 90 hour weeks. “My first year was just about … not getting my butt kicked at some, if not every, point of the day. And that was when I started to see opportunity.” She speaks fondly of the days when she worked and slept in her “little cubby” in the bakery. It was years before she took a day off. 

But what we appreciate most about Tosi is her willingness to translate ambition into action: “I show up and I mean it.” Motivational quotations have their limits, but that particular one has staying power. Why? And how come McNeal Sams College Consulting, which has spent 21 years in the world of college applications and college admissions, is publishing a blog about a baker in Greenwich Village?

Seven words. Seven syllables. Want to be counted? Put in the work. You always have a choice. If you’re writing a paper, be scrupulous about your research; bring your draft to your teacher well in advance. At every sports practice, it’s up to you whether you want to push yourself; choose to do so. Proofread your college application to be sure you’re presenting your best self, then proofread it again. And as Tosi says, “When opportunity knocks, what are you going to say, ‘Mmmm… not today’? When it’s time to rise to the occasion, you rise.” 

You have what it takes, and we are here to support you. If you want to see results, show up and mean it.