The ability to work hard has always been underappreciated and devalued by various elements in society. In our experience, it’s crystal clear that having a strong work ethic and positive attitude towards working hard is highly predictive of success. Below, you’ll find highlights of our conversations around how one might go about developing or leveling up their work ethic.
Kate De Palma
My work ethic is something that I’ve been developing since I was young, and I credit my parents for all the support they gave me over the years. My parents were a constant source of encouragement, always believing in my potential and supporting my aspirations. Their unwavering faith in my abilities motivated me to strive for greatness in everything I pursued. Read more>>
Ana Chavez
My work ethic comes from my mother. As a young girl my parents had to work very hard to get me where we I today. I recall as a little girl going to work with my mother while on summer/winter school break and after school. I remember watching my mother clean the dirtiest of apartments while taking her time to leave each place she was in charge of in pristine conditions. She always reminded me to get an education so I wouldn’t Have to work as hard as her. I strongly feel that seeing my hardworking mother really inspired me to always work hard in everything I do. Read more>>
Michelle Powell
My work ethics come from my experience in seeing the results of not having good work ethics. Please allow me to paint a picture. Early in my career as a freelance translator, I would have assignments that were due on a certain date and at a certain time, and many times I would often miss the deadlines, not because I was so busy but because I was procrastinating. Upon realizing that I was not getting much work in that venue, I decided to have a little experiment with myself. I started respecting the deadlines and soon enough I was getting more and more work. Not only that but I made sure that I did my best on the translations and re-read my work to assure myself that I avoided common mistakes. I realized that by respecting the timing and quality of work, that I became a more valued worker. Since I had aspirations to one day have my own business, I realized that my work ethics needed to be top notch if I wanted to succeed in any business. I started training myself to do the necessary regardless of how I felt that day, and soon enough my work ethics got better and better. Read more>>
Leon Washington Jr.
I must say that I get my work ethic from my parents. All throughout my childhood, my mother was a teacher and my father was a welder. I can remember my parents going to work every Monday through Friday and my dad would even go to work some Saturdays to work overtime. I recall my first home in New Orleans, it was a triplex shotgun home and my parents and I lived in one of the 3 units. Then I recall my parents and I moving to our first single family home then after a few more years we moved again to an even nicer neighborhood. Just watching my parents work and make progress financially showed me that you can get the things you desire if you work for them. Being observant and not being satisfied gave me that hunger to want more and my wanting more led me to doing and achieving more. Read more>>
Joey Reed
My dad’s experience as an entrepreneur and owning skateboarding businesses has been a great inspiration for me to pursue my own path.
In any industry, learning from those around you is crucial, and it’s fantastic that Arman Izadi, who has managed Internet personalities like Logan Paul and Jake Paul, has played a significant role in shaping my knowledge and skills. Read more>>
Ashley Eskinde
My work ethic has always been instilled within me, When I worked a 9-5 I always went above and beyond and was very successful at any job I worked at so when it came to running my own business it wasn’t hard for me to stay consistent, dedicated and persistent within my own dreams. I actually use to promote my business at work! So even though I was dedicated to my job I had that same energy for my own. It’s important to put in the same work ethic in your business as you do working for someone else. Read more>>
LaRae Wilson
I have always been an over-achiever. In grade school I had to be the first one done with my assignment and I needed it to be an A+. It is just in me. I actually had my first job at 10 years old. A distant relative owned a bed and breakfast and I made the beds, polished the silverware and baked muffins. It was hard work, but the reward of of buying what I wanted at 10 years old, set me on my path. Read more>>
Jes Garner
I come from a very hard working family who taught me from a young age to work hard and put my best into what I do. My grandma was a single mom and owned several restaurants and beauty salons in Guatemala and in the United States. She traveled to the States and went through the proper forums to become a citizen. She worked so hard and I love getting to talk to her about what it’s like being a female owned business. She tells me that I remind her of herself and that is such an honor to me. Read more>>
Denise Santos
There is no other person who taught me more about work ethic than my Mom or as I call her, Mamí. As a child, I observed her persevere through challenges and hardships and all while being a single mother and not knowing the language. My mom, taught me to always look ahead and keep moving forward. That we, no matter where we came from, can achieve anything we set our mind to! Read more>>
Tabitha Lawhorn
I get my work ethic from my mom, growing up always seeing her working hard, achieving goals, and also having plenty of time for me was amazing….I admire her very much for that, so I try to mirror those ethics and apply them to my life now….it’s like she had super powers lol Read more>>
Zach Goodwin
From a very young age, I took the advice of “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” While I’m often described as a workaholic by my family and friends, there are very few things I’d rather do than to work on film sets. Those grueling 12 hour work days have consistently led me to the greatest experiences and collaborations of my life. I’d go as far to say that I feel like my true self when working, especially on a project of my own. Read more>>
Tray Williams
It’s a two way street to this question. I’ll start here far as entertainment industry goes. So, in 2015 living in Los Angeles, CA after acting for a few years I decided to star in and executive produce my first series entitled “Autographs”. It featured a few big names before they blew up including Woody McClain, J.J. Green, Eastside IVO and Qimmah Russo to name a few. The store almost immediately began to take off before viral was a thing. One big situation ruined the project that could have potentially helped changed my life many years ago. Aside, from that just overall I never forgot how I felt after draining my funds and time into that project. So, I vowed to never get that feeling again. Anything, I start no matter the circumstance I finish the task at hand. Read more>>
Aaron Davidson
My work ethic comes from my parents. My mother always pushed me to look up answers before I began asking people, which in turn helped me tremendously with my troubleshooting skills. My dad taught me how to work smart first, and then work hard. There’s nothing worse than busting your butt just to get on down the road and find out you’ve missed a step repeatedly, and now have to start over. Take your time, measure thrice, cut once… that sort of thing has paid off plenty in my career. Read more>>
Olivia Shaffer
I have always grown up in an Entrepreneur mindset. Seeing my family grow their company over the last 30+ years has given me a sense of the time, and energy needed to build your brand and business. I want to always provide a level of service to my clients that I would want to receive in return. So it is so important to me to always be attentive to my clients needs. The best way to describe it is my business is like a child; It must be nurtured and given a lot of attention. Read more>>
Pamela Jean
My parent’s raised me to work hard. As young kids, we always had chores to do in the house and the yard. We were expected to keep things in their place and keep them clean. I was babysitting all of the neighborhood kids at a very young age because everyone around us knew I was responsible. My very 1st job was working with my mom at an eye doctor. After learning a receptionist position at 15, she tossed me over to my dad at the lumber yard he worked at. I was 16 and learning a lot about a challenging industry. My father took me under his wing and taught me everything I needed to know so I wouldn’t be treated like an idiot at 16 years old, being a female, working in a mostly ‘man’s’ industry. Times obviously have changed over the past 3 decades, but it wasn’t common seeing a young girl working at the main counter of a lumber yard, filling contractor’s lumber orders. My parents taught me all of the basics that I needed in life to become a successful human, business owner and a great employee at the majority of the jobs I’ve held across the U.S. Thank you both for building the backbone of Pamela Jean Unlimited! Read more>>
Montez Fifer
I get my work ethic from my family. I’ve always seen my family work hard for what they have. They’ve always taught me to work for what I want since I was a child. I didn’t get rewarded for good grades, so for money, I had to cut grass or wash cars. Read more>>
Dr. Tian (Mike) Jin
My work ethic comes mainly from watching and learning from my parents. They gave up their lives and family in China to immigrate to the United States in order to give me better education and better life opportunities. We did not have much when we first moved here and they always worked so hard to provide me with everything I needed. I knew from a very young age that I needed to succeed and standout from my peers. I was also blessed with an amazing core group of friends that I am still very close with since middle school. We always competed with each other and supported each other throughout different stages of our lives. Read more>>
CHANDRA FOWLER
My work ethic came from both my mother and father. They are both hardworking individuals who paved a path for me and my siblings. My mother worked as a domestic from ages 11-18 and then enlisted in the Marine Corp. My father graduated from Xavier University, in New Orleans, LA as a pharmacist. They left New Orleans after his graduation and started a new life in Columbus, OH. Creating a life in a new place, and being creative on how to make money was essential. My mother had 2 small kids under 2, and convinced the apartment building owner to let her help manage the property. From there, she went into real estate. My father emphasized the importance for all of us to play a sport. We learned the importance of being part of a team early on and always doing your best. This is a sentiment that I try to incorporate in my own business. My studio is the product of collective support and teamwork. I could not have done it without love and energy from my community, and each and everyday I am devoted to showing up and doing my best. My parents have always known how to be a step ahead and use all of their gifts to make magic happen. My father’s father always believed it was so “important to not only have an education but also to be able to work with your hands.” Working hard and finding all the ways you are capable is so important. We all have gifts that we can use and maybe are still uncovering. It’s exciting to know there can be more we can discover within ourselves. Read more>>
The Reservoir
Our work ethic stems from our passion for delivering exceptional experiences to our clients. Through countless hours of setups, hosting, and teardowns, we have developed a strong level of dedication to our craft. We understand the value of hard work and the impact it can have on the growth of a business, as well as personal growth. That is why we go above and beyond for each event. As a female-owned mobile bar company, we value the transformative power of hard work and strive to inspire other women in business to achieve their dreams. Read more>>
Chelsea Porter
My work ethic came from my upbringing. I was raised to always give my best and that failure is not an option. You may not get it the first time, but you learn from the process and get better each and every time. Entrepreneurship is a lot of research along with trial and error. You have to learn what works for you. Every business and target audience is not the same. Read more>>
Ashley Albert
In my entire life, I’ve only had ONE, standard-issue, full-time job; when I was 19 and had just moved to New York, I worked for EMI records for a single, solitary month and every morning, I would be utterly befuddled that I was having to get up and go back to the exact same place and do the exact same thing over and over again. And I was truly TERRIBLE at the actual job—I had NO capacity for subordination. I was combative, defiant and also, never quite understood what I was supposed to be doing. Read more>>
Terrence McGarr
I got my work ethic from my dad. I watched my dad work for himself, all of my childhood, and after for many years. My dad was self-employed and I always believed in hard work. He believed that if you want to eat, you have to earn your living. He also believed that you have to stand out amongst others when working as a form to be irreplaceable. Read more>>
Audra Miller
I get a lot of my work ethic from my parents. They were both public school teachers and they always arrived at work early and left later than the other teachers because they cared so much about their students. My mother, outside of work, would go above and beyond to help with bake sales, community events, and volunteer projects. She has a hard time sitting still, she consistently needs a project to work on. They always would say, “many hands make little work” and would encourage my siblings and I to always help out anyone in need. Witnessing this growing up made me the type of person who could find the benefit in any type of project and made me constantly seeking new things to learn and explore. Read more>>
IZ316
My work ethic comes directly from my addiction to winning! I love the feeling of accomplishing things that I didn’t know that I could achieve. I Set a plan in my mind and work my butt off to achieve it, because i’m addicted to that feeling of winning, accomplishment, and continual goal achievement! Read more>>
Dr. Kevin Hartford
Growing up in New Orleans my first observation of work ethic was my mom, she was a registered nurse, my dad he was an industrial worker and from my Auntie Selena who took care of me while my mother was in college. At home it was clear you can’t be couch potatoes we had to complete our home and school tasks. My parents made it clear that we have responsibilities and there is no lee-way to that. I accepted that and learned how to enjoy my responsibilities. Read more>>
Xavier Mikell
My work ethic, is merely the result of the dedication I have, in establishing my own world. With each Idea I create, I further expand my creative scope. With each step I take in the work space, I further expand my knowledge and ability to shift life into the way I want it for myself. Both the idea of building an ideal life for myself, and executing a project, are one in the same for me. This love for the process, or “the journey” , I believe is what allows me to posses such an efficient work ethic. Read more>>
Sara Greetis
Growing up I started working in the food service industry at a young age. My father had a food service stand at a large fair in New York that I would work at every year, starting at the age of 13. The days were long and hard but my father instilled a lot of responsibility in each of his workers despite our young age which I think instilled a lot of confidence in me. He also taught me about financial management and responsibility when I was a teenager which helped me manage my income with my expenses, which is always helpful to understand as a business owner. Read more>>
Ryan McKee
My work ethic comes from my mom and dad. Both were hard workers, especially my mother who never stopped. They never let me quit things halfway through a season and was always expected to put in the effort. Read more>>
Kelton Higgins
The origins of my work ethic are definitely rooted in family. Both grandfathers were no nonsense hard workers, but one of them was what would today be considered extreme in his intensity. That working ethos followed down to my parents but the leap to me was indirect. I hated school work or anything that was overtly “work”. However when it came to passions I would spend all day working on them. As a kid it was fanatic bicycling followed by skateboarding. It is inconceivable how many times I thrown to the ground, cut, scraped, bused, battered, cut again, sun burnt and exhausted while learning to skateboard, but the thrill of learning new tricks kept pushing me. The same thing happened with martial arts and then dancing all night long in sweaty warehouses. Read more>>
Tranea Bucahanan
My worth ethic came from the fact that I want to grow my business and learn as much as I can to be successful. I love the fact that I can be great at my job and I’m eager to take on new and exciting challenges. The fact that I share my knowledge with others keeps me on my feet! I love making an impact and bringing value to my businesses. Read more>>
E.J. Bridges
One thing we pride ourselves on is going above and beyond for our customers. While it may be difficult to please everyone, we take strives to ensure that our customers are priority. Prior to this journey of entrepreneurship, I served as management in the retail industry and it was in that capacity I developed a passion for customer service. That same passion, I carried over into the development of MAZE Bartending Service, creating that baseline culture. Read more>>
Aney Leos
My mother moved to the States from Mexico when she was 16 years old and hasn’t stopped yet. As is the case with many immigrants my mother came here and started working like there was no tomorrow. The truth is for a lot of immigrants there might not be. Work ethic was how she thought she would make her mark; ultimately, she did with me. Read more>>
Jay Amor
I get my work ethic from some of my favorite artists. Drake, Ty Fontaine, Jaden Smith, The Weeknd, Rapta, Playboi Carti, and Brent Faiyez. I’ve seen what it looks like from a professional standpoint of how much blood, sweat, and tears to truly elevate in this industry. Of course, I don’t know them personally, but when you look at their catalog, as well as how long they’ve been doing this, you see that you need to have that self discipline, and dedication to thrive. Read more>>
Patrick Mahaney
I got my work ethic from my parents, who both had active careers in business and real estate (respectively). As children, my brother, sister, and me were responsible for weekly household and outdoor chores. We were compensated for our labor, but there always seemed to be going additional tasks that were added just when we were finishing our assignments for the week. As a result, I learned that I had to be able to manage additional work requests and carry that willingness today in my house-call veterinary practice. As I want to keep my patients healthy and my clients happy, I’m willing and able to handle additional work beyond what is initially requested. Read more>>
Tra Slaughter
I find it is crucial as a working artist to have a very strong work ethic. I’m on this journey virtually alone, and it is up to me to create and find ways to get the work I create out into the world. Of course, I have had help from galleries, collectors, friends and family, but if I weren’t constantly creating and growing as an artist, there would be nothing to help me with. I also find creating to be therapeutic and fulfilling so the constant action of creating brings me peace and purpose. I come from a family that always believed work was important for purpose as a person and I have carried that belief along with me on this journey and will continue to as I move through this life as an artist. Read more>>
Steven White
I got my work ethic from my parents. They always taught me to work hard and be respectful of others. Also the importance of being on time was something I learned when living in Japan. It is a sign of respect. Read more>>
