We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Van Heeckeren. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Hi Jennifer , thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
Honestly, my optimism has changed over the years and I find it comes from knowing more of who I really am: faulted, ridiculous and willing to keep going, even if it means switching gears.
The best way I’ve learned, is to break everything down into manageable steps instead of thinking of everything as one big whole.
Something that’s also been helpful for me, is to just own my bad days and give myself the permission when I don’t feel good to fully embrace it. Ironically this helps me keep going. I used to “power through” and convince myself it’s better to do it this way and my optimism would drop. The week or weeks would continue and now I’ve trained myself to a full day or two of basically feeling terrible and then get back on.
I start small and go from there. I also like to reach out to people or other creatives where we’ve established accountability for each other.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a multi-hyphenate in the entertainment industry.
I am an actor, writer and creator. I co-founded ‘New Park Productions’ with 8 time Emmy winner Angela Harrer in 2019 and currently live, laugh, love between Europe and LA. My biggest passions are comedy and showcasing strong female stories.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I’m going to say tenacity. It’s the first thing that comes to mind.
You have to face ALL the industry has to offer you with some sort of stubbornness of tenacity to get to your personal breakthroughs. What fulfils you? What makes you, YOU and drive through that. Also, let’s be real. At the end of the day, entertainment is forever. It’s ageless and limitless, so making your own pathway I believe, is the only way it actually works.
“Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you.”
The lesson that keeps coming up right now, is that no one said it would be easy.
Secondly, networking. Gross, inevitable networking. Having great PR. Always searching, connecting and plain old hustling. Meet people, go to class, do a course that helps you grow, maybe it’s business? Maybe it’s story telling? Either way, just showing up everywhere you want to progress.
Lastly, I’d say a good quality is kindness. Don’t be a jerk and people will continue to hire you. Who knew? I’m not saying to not speak up or not fight for inequality but to promote good intentions and have a sense of team effort. There is no project I’ve ever been in or created that was ever truly solo. We need so many people involved to make a project come to life and being professional and kind goes a long way!
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Well, I’m adopted.
By my aunt, technically and I wouldn’t be here without her.
She’s incredibly creative and my biggest fan. Her impact on me and my brother has made us who we are. She is practical, loving and very funny. I grew up mostly in Asia and Australia. It’s a long story, but what she has gifted me is her legacy of honesty.
I’ve always known I was adopted and everything is out in the open. The best relationships I have, are the ones where I show up sincerely and it’s helped me throughout my life, not just personally but also professionally.
“Being creative is being vulnerable.“
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/jennifervanheeckeren
- Instagram: @jenvanheeckeren
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4268556/
Image Credits
Joshua Lambert
