Building Blocks of Success: Work Ethic

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.

Aby Rao

My work ethics are deeply rooted in a blend of personal traits and experiences. I’d say I possess a type A personality, but without the competitiveness and hostility often associated with it. For me, success isn’t about outdoing others; rather, it’s about the satisfaction of completing a project to the best of my ability. Read more>>

Prisila Vazquez-Nava

My work ethic and need for success definitely stems from my parents. They are Mexican immigrants who came to the United States in pursue of the American Dream. From a young age, their sacrifices for the sake of my brother and I’s housing, sustenance, and education were made apparent.  Read more>>

Jessica Martinez Castillo

My work ethic was learned from my dad, From a young age I understood and learned that my dad wanted the best for us and he sacrificed everything for his family. He learned a trade from scratch and made it into a career. My father is the hardest working man I know. He will never say no to a challenge, and will always find a way to get the job done. Read more>>

Olivia Bradshaw

My work ethic? Well, I owe it all to my dad, Brent Bradshaw. He’s the man who ran our family business, which my grandfather started back in the 60’s. I remember tagging along with him on Saturdays, taking calls, chatting with customers – you name it. Watching him, I learned a valuable lesson: putting others first, whether it’s employees, customers, or the business itself, is what really counts. Read more>>

Tracy Thalo

My work ethic is hugely inspired by my mother. She was one of the first female UPS drivers as well as a Mary Kay rep during my early childhood. Watching her work both jobs with joy and a heart for helping others impacted how I wanted to show up in the world as a grown-up someday. I applied the same attitude to every job I’ve been fortunate to have, and I take pride in whatever I do. Read more>>

Lindsey Gira

I’m sure my work ethic comes first from my parents, who both worked full time or more my entire childhood. My mom is a nurse and my dad managed a gas station/convenient store growing up. I saw that work was always important to both of them, not as a sign of status or because they were super career-driven, but because they were providing for their family and that’s something to be proud of. Read more>> 

Cristina Lynch

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have parents who embody the values of hard work and perseverance. While they didn’t pressure me excessively to achieve top grades during my childhood, they consistently encouraged me to give my best effort in all that I pursued. My mother, an entrepreneur in the fashion world, approaches every project with so much dedication, striving for perfection—something I’ve long admired. Read more>>

Alonzo Humphrey

My mom taught me. She showed me how to draw at a young age, and how to put my art together. I watched her draw a lot with a dedication to her craft. She taught me to be resilient and she is my main inspiration. Now I draw with a strong dedication, completing 5-10 pieces a day in my studio. Read more>>

Leslie Chapus

My work ethic has been shaped by my upbringing, experiences, and the mentorship I’ve received from Charles, my husband and business partner. Throughout my career, I’ve faced various challenges that have required resilience, determination, and perseverance. These experiences have reinforced the importance of hard work, integrity, and a strong sense of responsibility in achieving success. Read more>>

Shabnam Ghazizadeh

I think a combination of my childhood, being an athlete growing up, and focusing on long term goals have been really instrumental. My parents are both brilliant engineers so I was always encouraged to pursue engineering growing up. Even though I had goals to become the first physician in our family, I followed their advice and studied Biomedical Engineering in college at UC Irvine.  Read more>>

Tatiana Toruno

My strong work ethic is deeply rooted in the values instilled in me by my parents. Growing up, I was fortunate to be raised by parents who demonstrated nothing but exceptional dedication and responsibility in their work. From a young age, I witnessed their tireless work ethic and unwavering commitment to their responsibilities, whether it was in their professional careers or their personal endeavors.  Read more>>

Tim Beisiegel

The easy answer is to say my mother. But there is so much to that answer, and it deserves an explanation. My mother has two children, my older brother and I. When she married my natural father, she had only my brother. She was unaware that my father would become an abusive alcoholic. She stuck with him, moving in and out of the home until I was nearly six years of age because she wanted us to have a father figure. Read more>>

Mary Bateman-Mercado

My work ethic stems from my family. Growing up my parents never differentiated ‘girl jobs’ and ‘boy jobs’. There were five children in our family. I was the oldest. We lived on acreage and always had a few horses, a couple of beef cattle, chickens and of course cats and dogs that all needed to be cared for. Read more>>

Peri El

At the age of 7, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and before finding it out I thought I was just stupid because I could not spell my last name. I didn’t know how to read or write until the age of 8. The biggest lesson I was taught from then on was that “I was just as smart as everyone else just had to work twice as hard”. Read more>>

Bridget Murray

When I got my first job in this business, I was a PA in the office of a lower-budget TV show. My mom’s cousin (and one of my favorite individuals) Paula was a Production Coordinator in Atlanta, and introduced me to the Coordinator there. Despite my clear ability to make a life working my way up through the office, she knew I really wanted to be an actor. But she got me this job. Read more>>

Maria Vecchiolli

After graduating high school I worked with a job coach who helped me develop my skills and learn the importance of staying focused and helping others who need it. Since I started farming, watching my plants grow and thrive has motivated me to work hard to provide good produce to my customers. Read more>>

Markus Rosa

I believe my work ethic came from a few different factors in my life. For one, I believe my competitive nature has continuously pushed me to want to do more and be better. My friends, or support system share this same competitive nature and we all push each other to the limit and as a result I’ve grown tremendously as a content creator and boxing trainer. Read more>>

Paula Meridan

My parents (WW II generation). Hard working, humble, successful but not arrogant. Always sharing what they had and doing it quietly. Doing what they could without hiring outside because it was good exercise and good for their health (for example: cutting the lawn, plowing the snow, raking the leaves, tending to the garden). Very conscious of spending money wisely and generously on others more than themselves. Read more>>

SILVIA MATOS

La historia de Translingerie es mi historia, la historia de Silvia Matos. Desde muy pequeña soñaba con ser una princesa y en mis apuntes del cole solo había bocetos de cuerpos de mujer con sus prendas femeninas. Read more>>

Kevin Carrington

I derived my work ethic from a combination of my parents, my uncle, and quite honestly myself. While I believe environment and influences play a big role in shaping us, nothing is more impactful than an individuals decision to do and/or be better. Read more>>

Unkle Play

i would believe i get my work ethic from being surrounded by the people that i love, playing beats, vibing out, & genuinely feeling the music. At one point in time, i felt i needed a muse to begin my writing process, but nowadays, i just play the beat & let it flow. Once the pen hits the pad, if the vibe is right a hook, a couple verses, a few songs can be done within the hour.  Read more>>

Backwood Brad

I would say martial arts helped install a lot of self discipline and self confidence into me at a young age especially with being bullied until 6th grade. These are 2 great pieces of my foundation I’m grateful for and for sure is part of the work ethic I have today. Read more>>

Ruben Jigga” Pinto-Castillo”

My ethic is a habit formed from my experiences and I make sure that my habit is always used around the work field. Read more>>

Mackinley James

Growing up, each member of my family was an artist and entrepreneur in their own right. A true group of renaissance folks, it was never a question of IF something could be done; but rather, what was the best plan of action to making it happen. The generations of women in my family that came before me have greatly inspired me and my work. Read more>>

Tamarind Free Jones

I get my work ethic from the inspiration and example of my teachers and great people who I was blessed to know and live around and grow up learning from. I am forever grateful for the direct instruction from them over so many years, and how that instruction and guidance still lives with me, shining a light in the darkness. Read more>>

Samantha Wott

I would say I got my work ethic at a young age. Growing up on a dairy farm then joining the Marine Corps, both called for full dedication and self. Now being self employed is a whole other beast in itself. Time does not always equal money when self employed. Finding a balance between work and life proved to be a learning curve.  Read more>>

Lisa King

My parents were both extremely hard working and instilled this in me from a very young age. I was definitely raised with an attitude that one could accomplish anything they wanted if they worked hard and persevered towards their goals. I definitely always believed this to be true. I knew nothing was going to be handed to me. I was always willing to work towards whatever goal was on the horizon for me! Read more>>

Richard Deere

To have a good work ethic, I believe you need to be an empathetic person, put yourself on other people’s shoes and lead your day from that perspective. Everything will flow as best as it can when everyone around you is in a good mood. And that certainly starts with you. My mom is my greatest example on everything I do in life. Since I was little, she had a great ethic for everything she did. She was hard working and very friendly.  Read more>>

Trevor Dickerson

Throughout my 15-year marketing career, I’ve worked with countless individuals, small businesses, and enterprise companies across the industry spectrum. My overarching goal is always to serve as an extension of each entity’s marketing team – no matter how big or small – to bring new ideas and ways of thinking to the table and help each reach their goals. Read more>>

Amy Flores

I definitely get my work ethic from my parents. My dad was in education as a principal so it was always instilled in us to do good in anything we do, be consistent and to not quit. My mom was a stay at home mom but her work ethic was about doing chores, getting our homework done, helping each other as much as we could. Read more>>

Zac Retz

Growing up my family had very little money. I remember money being a constant stress in the house. Both parents worked minimum wage jobs. I learned the value of working for what you need or want at a very young age. Anything that I wanted, I had to find a way to make some money and buy it.  Read more>>

Niki Gulley

My parents were excellent role models as hard workers. My dad who who is completely blind ran an organization for the mentally handicapped, and even with his disability supported our family. I’ve always approached my art career the same way as when I used to have a real “job.” After breakfast, I take care of the business side and the computer work first and then my reward when I finish those tasks is to head into the studio to “play.” Read more>>

Leah Feuer

In utero? I think I was born a hard worker. I come from a family of small business owners, factory workers, and labor camp survivors. Production is in my blood, for better and for worse. I spent the first decades of my life honing an intense work ethic in competitive school and work environments, and the last decade trying to unlearn it. Now I use it intentionally, when it serves me, rather than as a survival mechanism or default behavior. Read more>>

Stephanie Munoz

Fundamentally, my work ethic is a reflection of how I was raised. My parents taught me that in life you should never sit around expecting things to just fall on your lap. You need to put in effort, work hard and be consistent.I observed their work ethic, their ambition, discipline and consistency and admired the outcome of that practice.  Read more>>

Without realizing, my work ethic was being developed from a very young age while I was still in elementary school. My parents always instilled in us that education comes first. Both of my parents were teachers at the time and they set very high expectations for us. Growing up, I found myself setting those expectations for myself and holding myself accountable for the results of my hard work. Read more>>

Jasmin Waters

I inherited my strong work ethic from my mother. As a single parent, she managed to provide me with everything I needed growing up. Later in life, my husband has been my biggest motivator. Watching him work tirelessly towards his goals pushes me to keep striving for success too. Moreover, my children inspire me to stay focused and dedicated. I work hard for their sake, but also for my own personal fulfillment. Read more>>