Where do you get your work ethic from?

We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic come from? Is it something we learn from our parents, or are we born with it? Do our friends, work environment or the city we reside in impact it? We asked some of the hardest working folks we know to share where they think they get their work ethic from.

Chakarra Johnson

I really love this question. My work ethic most definitely comes from my pops. He has always been the type to turn any situation around to work in his favor. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the best childhood growing up. Being a South Central native in the 70’s-90’s was also a CRAZY time in history. He made some mistakes that led him to being a felon. If anyone can remember, it was nearly impossible to get a job back in his days as a felon, unlike now where there are so many programs for people in this situation. This is where street hustling came into play to make ends meet. Not necessarily selling drugs or anything like that. My pops used to sell bootleg CD’s, DVD’s & custom T-Shirts. Read more>>

Aja Terwilliger-pigott

I grew up primarily with a single mom who had to provide for herself and I. She worked extremely hard and most often had 2 jobs until she went back to school at the age of 50 to get her Masters degree in Special Education. She didn’t make much money and her and my dad instilled in me that I would have to start working if I wanted certain things. I got a job at a concession stand when I was in middle school and I’ve been working ever since. When it came time to apply to college my parents let me know that I’d have to get scholarships and student aid which I did on my own. I’m now a licensed acupuncturist/ painter and continuing my education currently to get my doctorate degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I have my mom and dad to thank for instilling this work ethic in me. Read more>>

Marie-eva Volmar

My strong work ethic stems from a deep desire to break free from generational curses and become a catalyst for change in my family for future generations. I wasn’t born into privilege; I came into this world as an orphan in Haiti, never having known my Haitian parents, whom I was told were deceased. I grew up in an orphanage in Port-au-Prince before being adopted by a family of French Canadians, who also carried their own emotional scars. On top of that, throughout my schooling, I faced significant discrimination and bullying because of my skin color. This made me realize early on that nothing would be handed to me, and I would have to outwork everyone else to achieve success. Working hard is all I really know.  Read more>>

Chanel Rhodes

I owe my strong work ethic to my mother, who was raised by two hardworking parents. My grandparents, both from Texarkana, Arkansas, moved to Southern California and happened to meet each other there. Despite only having a 4th grade education, my grandfather, Virgil Lee Griffin, was industrious and went on to purchase 7 properties, including an 11-unit apartment. I have fond memories of spending time with my grandmother while my grandfather worked at the apartments. After his passing, my grandmother remained a strong and loving figure in our family, living independently well into her 80s.  Read more>>

Marco Perey

Work ethic is different for everyone. I think the reason I put an importance on it is because growing up, I’ve seen the most talented and smartest people let it go to waste because they weren’t willing to put in the work. And it stuck to me. I didn’t realize it then, but looking back, you realize that the people who reached certain levels in life weren’t the smartest or most talented; they just knew the importance of the work. The consistency. The mini goals you hit daily. They understand the importance of DOING. Read more>>

Denise Montero

I developed my work ethic from my parents, who both exemplified hard work and dedication. From a young age, they taught me the importance of working hard for what I want in life and studying diligently to reach my goals. My mom, in particular, was a strong role model—she constantly pushed herself to learn, grow, and work hard to earn promotions. Her perseverance and drive have always inspired me to do the same, motivating me to work tirelessly for my goals and never give up. Read more>>

Cristian “capi” Duran

Both of my parents migrated to this country in their early teens. I was born shortly after my moms 15th birthday, growing up with teen parents was hard in many different ways. But, the one thing I picked up on was how hard both my parents worked to provide for my sisters and I. From six day work weeks for my dad, who often came home around 6 or 7pm. To my mom making sure the house was running smoothly and cleaning strangers homes for extra money. I’ve always taken a lot of pride in my work ethic. Whether it was my first job at Coldstone creamery or my latest 5 year stint with Nike.  Read more>>

Bryce Cylar

I get my work ethic from my childhood and being an athlete. Growing up I had a lot of positive hardworking role models. My mom being one of them. So the best example was right in front of me. Not only would I see how hard she worked being a single mother raising two kids she instilled that in my brother and I. We had a chores list everyday. She made sure we got our school work done and to a certain standard. She did not believe in half-assing anything. She also made sure we were involved in sports. That’s where I developed my work ethic as well. Read more>>

Maddie James

My father taught me a valuable lesson when I was in my teens—and still today at age 68—I can vividly recall the conversation and lesson learned. I’d taken a summer job between my senior year of high school and freshman year in college, waiting tables in a local popular restaurant. On a Saturday night two weeks before I was to head to school, a thunderstorm swept through the community and tornado sirens were going off everywhere. The restaurant manager looked at me and said, “You’re in charge the rest of the shift. I’m going home to check on my family.” Read more>>

Claire Blaisdell

Definitely from watching my father work growing up! He was the most dedicated man I have ever met. He taught me to always go above and beyond, keep going until the job is done (even if you have to stay up all night), and to focus when you’re working on something really important. Read more>>

Cheryl Lisowski

At a young age my father encouraged me to work hard and save for college and my future. I knew I wanted to leave my small town in Pennsylvania and in order to do that I had to work for it, hard!  I was an artist and was training to be a metalsmith in Philadelphia. I put myself through college by working nights and weekends. I fell into the fast hard lifestyle of working in the service industry. I would work late nights and bicycle home with sometimes hundreds of dollars of loose bills in my pockets. I would avoid under passes in hopes no one with throw a stick in my tire to rob me and I would ride in circles around my block until there were no people around my front door so that I had enough time to jump off my bike, unlock the gate in front of my other locked door and bolt in. Read more>>

Jena Cumbo

Definitely got a strong work ethic from my mom, Marge Cumbo. She raised me and my brother while battling a bipolar disorder and later cancer. She always worked hard, was frugal, but very creative, resourceful and always stylish! Unfortunately, she passed away a long time ago. I think part of why I try so hard to pursue photography was because she never had a chance to pursue all the creative things she excelled at. She was really great at so many things, baking, embroidery, caligraphy. I think she would’ve been a great graphic designer if she didn’t pass before her time. Read more>>

Katherine Sprung

Definitely from my parents! They’re super hardworking and self motivated people, and I think I just inherited that and really saw it in action growing up. Both of my parents are self-starters. They grew up in environments where they really were in charge of pushing themselves and creating their own paths. They’ve had to work hard, and build opportunities for themselves. I’ve grown up witnessing this first hand, knowing that there are rarely “easy buttons”, and that if you want to do something, you typically have to put the work in. They wanted to be able to provide the support for me that they might not have exactly had, building encouragement, cheering me on, and supporting me in my ideas and projects that I’ve shown interest in persuing. Read more>>

Renée Nicholson

I grew up studying ballet, and soon was tracked into a professional training program. Ballet training is all about showing up daily and repeating steps over and over until they are muscle memory. You have to give yourself over to the process, as this technique becomes the foundation for artistry. I trained like this starting twice a week at age seven, to six days a week for six or more hours in my teen years. So, in many ways, work ethic was baked into me as I studied dance. Read more>>

Heather Chan

My work ethic comes from two main influences: growing up in Hong Kong under the guidance of traditional Chinese parents and my prior career in private equity. From a young age, it was ingrained in me to prioritize education and discipline. I remember looking out my window, seeing my friends playing outside, while I stayed in to focus on homework or sports. My parents set high standards, always modeling hard work and dedication in their careers, which inspired me to set similar expectations for myself. Read more>>

Daryl Dittmer

I didn’t know it then like I do now, but I grew up in the heart of the Midwest, the heart of the auto industry, and the heart of the “protestant work ethic.” My dad was a mechanic for one of the big three automakers, and he worked very hard. He was an hourly employee, raising three kids, and doing his best to take to take care of all of us to the best of his ability. He did that. I never knew what it was like to go hungry, but I did know what it was like to have powdered milk, as well as watch my mom wash plastic sandwich bags for reuse. I like to say we had all our needs taken care of, including food, clothing, and shelter, but not as many of our “wants.” Read more>>

Darryl Girard

As the oldest of three boys, I was introduced to work at an early age with many home chores. Fresh out of high school, I actually lived in my car (I even had a room-mate LOL) for a season. This taught me about survival skills. It was also around this time when someone gave me a cassette of motivational lectures from Zig Ziglar and Napolean Hill. Read more>>

Sayumi Ino

When I was 9 years old, I watched an audition show for the first time. At the time, it was a program called “ASAYAN,” where they held open auditions to discover future stars and professionals in various fields—singers, idols, actors, and even fighters. Read more>>

Raziah Roushan

I can confidently say that my work ethic is inspired by my mother. She has been a self-starter from graduating high school early, putting herself through college on scholarships, starting her own enterprise while being a single mother, then running our family’s underground engineering company that she evolved into renewable energy installation and advocacy toward the end its life cycle. It was easy to be inspired by her strength, perseverance and confidence. Read more>>

Dorothy Weiner

I have to credit my parents, who were immigrants and came to the U.S. after World War II with basically nothing. They worked hard, like most immigrants, to build a good life and opportunities for their children. Watching this, and also understanding it instinctively, I always wanted to work, even as an early high schooler. I guess my attitude was that I couldn’t afford not to work. So while I spent my professional life as an editor and travel writer for 30 years, when I retired from that, I continued to ‘work’ when I embraced my lifelong passion for art. Immediately after retirement, I sought out painting classes to enhance my college art training, and here I am six year later, widely exhibiting and selling a variety of paintings around the Boulder, Colorado area. Read more>>

Alycia Medina Virtual Assistant

Work ethic gave me stability. Whether that was in the home, as a child or in the workplace. When you have only yourself to rely on yet have clear goals to succeed, it is natural to hone in your skillset in order to reach those goals. Read more>>

Brad Namdar

I believe that my work ethic has grown, changed, and evolved as I’ve gotten older.
I was blessed to have had mentors, family members, and people who were/are important to me along the way of life that have helped shape my work ethic. Read more>>

Hannah Forest Briand

My work ethic stems from my mom. I vividly remember sitting at my desk as a kid, erasing only the part of the word I messed up. She would then insist I erase the whole word and write it again. Some might think it’s a little intense (it is), but it was about doing things right, no matter how small—not cutting corners, but ensuring the whole word was done correctly. Even if my child brain and not-yet-controlled emotions would get frustrated with that -cue the tears- looking back, I’m grateful for those lessons. Read more>>

Colleen Kelly

I definitely get my work ethic from the film industry. After college, I moved to Atlanta and wanted to be in the film industry. I remember emailing so many people and applying for every job until finally a commercial director said he’d hire me. But not for a film- for his personal halloween decorations. He asked me to build him a lifesize headless horseman to stick in front of his house. I had NO idea how to do that, but some googling and troubleshooting and a week later with hands tore up from the process haha I borrowed my landlords truck and delivered a lifesize headless horseman built out of “monster mud” and chicken wire. Read more>>

Stephanie Dawson, Ibclc

When asked where my work ethic comes from, I can trace it directly to my family’s history in small business ownership. I’m a third-generation entrepreneur. My father has owned his own woodworking business since I was a baby, and my grandfather was a poultry and berry farmer. Both of these men set powerful examples of what it means to work hard, persevere, and innovate. Read more>>

Mikaela Hunt

My dad began as a teacher and later became an entrepreneur, always balancing a side project or volunteering effort as part of his life. Now retired, he’s living near the beach in Georgia—a true aspiration! He grew up on a farm in Central Illinois, instilled with a work ethic and values that have proven to be some of the best foundations anyone could ask for. Although I only visited that farm as a child before my grandparents sold it, the lessons he exhibited from those years have become core to my values. Plant a seed, take care of it through planned work, and reap the rewards of a job well done. Read more>>

Andrew Nucatola

I spent years debating if I wanted to launch my podcast (Too Pop to Handle) or not. There’s a statistic that floats around the podcast world that says 70% of podcasts don’t make it past episode seven, and I told myself I refused to be part of the 7-episode club. If I was going to launch this thing, I was going to be fully committed to it and make sure I was giving it my all, and I’d have to attribute that to a fear of failing. Every time I thought I was ready to launch the show, I would talk myself out of it and convince myself nobody would listen. But how would I know that nobody would listen if I didn’t post my first episode?  Read more>>

Jorge Plazas

Work ethic is important and a big part of who I am and what impression I leave with my work and clients. As an immigrant, and coming to the US at the age of 10, I was old enough to see what my parents, aunts and uncle had to do to put food on the table, pay bills and works towards the goal of having a better life than the one we left back in Colombia. The grind, no days off, and focus in order to build a better day to day and give us, the younger generation, better opportunities and options for our future. I learned that good work, is reflection of who you are and what you can offer in my opinion, it can reflect your values and dedication/love for your craft. So developing a good work ethic, that allows one’s ideas, productivity and concepts to create, develop and make a project successful is key for me. Read more>>

Monica Marino

I think my work ethic comes from a combination of nature and nurture. My love for music has always been a part of me. I remember singing as a little girl, and it’s been a constant source of joy and motivation. Throughout college, I juggled two majors while working part-time. Those experiences instilled a strong work ethic in me. I’ve always been a ‘hustler,’ and that’s what inspired me to write ‘Gotta Grind’. My parents also always emphasized the importance of hard work and dedication. But it’s also something I’ve always felt within myself. Music is my passion, and I’m willing to put in the effort to make my dreams a reality. Read more>>

Amber Earl

I get my work ethic from my dad. He has always been a hustler, working without complaining and just getting it done with a great attitude. I used to always ask him if I could help him outside when he was doing yard work. My dad was always trying to lighten the mood and loves to work hard and then play hard. Read more>>

John Melby

I get my work ethic from a number of avenues, The main avenue is my competitive nature. This was developed from a young age. I always wanted to be the best athlete. Whether it was soccer, football, basketball, or golf, I didn’t like the idea of someone else thinking they were better than I was. It was always a healthy obsession with wanting to be great. This fueled me to practice, try a new approach, fail faster, and or just purely outwork my opponent’s. Read more>>

Jaclyn Wilson

My work ethic is rooted in my early life experiences and upbringing. I was taught the value of hard work and the importance of earning what I had. Nothing was ever handed to me without some form of “work” or chore, whether taking out the trash or other tasks, which helped instill a strong work ethic from a young age. At 16, I entered the “real world.” I began working in customer-facing roles, where I developed people skills, discipline, and a deeper understanding of the importance of hard work during my formative years.  Read more>>

Marianne Sifer

I have been teaching dance since I was 13 years old. We had a family run Dance Studio and I taught 6 days a week, 3-4 hours a day. Having to manage my time between school, homework, teaching, and taking dance classes, you learn quick how to make everything work. My father was in the Army so I learned how to be diligent, and organized. Growing up in a household of seven, there was always something that had to be done. Read more>>