Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rebecca Hu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Rebecca, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Definitely my first role models were my parents. I come from a working-class immigrant family. The life my parents gave us was built not through luck or privilege, but by hard work, perseverance and sacrifice. However, I would also say that one’s work ethic is not something you just “get,” it’s something you have to develop and honor. I owe it to myself not to waste this life in complacency, self-indulgence and apathy. I believe in destiny, but I also believe that we make our own destiny. So why wouldn’t I give it my all? The most successful people I know are also some of the hardest working people I know. And from them, I learned that to succeed and to keep succeeding, you have to constantly be working and improving. In Chinese, we have a saying — “If you’re not progressing, you’re regressing.” There is only one direction to go, and that’s forward.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m an Emmy-award winning filmmaker and creator. When I first started off in this career, my focus was just to survive, to make it to the next day. These days, I’m more about defining my own voice and forging my own path. After all these years learning the business side of my craft, I’m starting to learn how to put it all aside. There will always be people telling you what they think you should do, and what they think you can do. But the only person who can define me … is me. So, I have no intentions of staying “in my lane,” and I feel more unstoppable than ever.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
First thing I’d say, is a GOOD SUPPORT SYSTEM – this may not be a “quality” or “skill,” but I believe it’s an important “need” that we should never neglect. Having the right people, community, and/or environment in our daily lives is key to our mental health, which in turn supports everything we do in life. Similarly, avoid (if you can) the toxic people and environments in your life. We know we’re not supposed to fill our bodies with food that is bad for our health. But negativity, hate, stress, vacuity and ignorance are equally bad for our mental and emotional health – so why allow our lives to be filled with it?
Some people are blessed with a great support system in their lives – others have to seek it out. But the bottom line is you can cultivate this world for yourself. So find your community, find your happy place.
Secondly, HUMILITY – always accept that however much you think you know, you really know nothing. So be ready to learn, to fail, and then to learn and fail some more. You can’t succeed if you’re afraid to fail.
But also … AUDACITY! Don’t be afraid to dream, to push, to stand up even when fear is urging you to sit down. And choose to be an optimist! Yes, the world can sometimes drag you down – but you can choose to face it through a (fabulous) pair of rose-colored glasses – and maybe in the process, bring the world around to your view.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I always start by telling myself to chill out. Sometimes emotions can run high and intense in my profession, but I work in the world of make-believe, I’m not holding someone’s life in my hands (just fragile egos!). So I always remind myself to have some perspective.
Then I always remind myself that I have the power to say no. Saying “no” or “I can’t” shouldn’t be taken as a sign of failure — it’s me exercising my power and prioritizing myself. Knowing where my limit is, setting those boundaries, and allowing myself the grace to be human,I then burrow in my happy place and recharge.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-hu-0589638a
- Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1697543/
Image Credits
First Glance Film Festival Mo Summers
