Meet Ronald Russell

We were lucky to catch up with Ronald Russell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ronald, 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?

I grew up without much money and started various jobs by around 12 years old. At 16, I started working at a restaurant and I was always considered the hardest worker. I worked at 3 different high end restaurants as a busser. Then, at 18, I began working as a cook. I became head cook within 6 months. After a year, I felt very overworked and quit. That’s when they offered for me to become a manager! But I had become a vegetarian by then and so I didn’t want to work with meat anymore.

The seed had been planted for a love of working with food, and 30 years later I opened a vegan restaurant with my business partner and we became a nationally known plant-based restaurant. The first year I worked about 100 hours per week, working as one of the cooks, dishwasher and manager 7 days per week.

I seem to be driven to achieve the best I am capable of in whatever endeavor I enter. My work ethic carried over to when I began my writing career 30 plus years ago. I went back to school at age 30 and I worked on the college newspaper. I became the Arts and Entertainment editor. I ended up winning 8 awards for my writing both from the school and the state. I’ve written articles for the Los Angeles Times, magazines, and written many screenplays. When I wrote my novel, “Don Carina,” I worked a minimum of 2 hours a day 7 days per week for 5 years–1.5 years to write the first draft and 3.5 years completing 63 edits! I kept striving to make it better until I was unable to make it any better. A publisher released it in 2012. Ultimately, to achieve anything of value I feel you need to develop a road map and good habits to get you there.

When you find a calling and you desire to create something special, it’s vital to map out habits and a work ethic that will put your create vision into motion. That is how I’ve written 8 screenplays, 2 novels, composed symphonies, I’ve had my art work displayed in museums and galleries, and started 3 successful businesses. You’ve got to start whatever journey you want to take, even if you’re not fully ready. And work everyday until it becomes a reality.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Currently, I working as a private chef. In 2025, I will be launching Fuel Foods, my line of powdered foods built to: Fuel your body, fuel your life.

In pre-production on my film “World of Beauty.” A guilt-ridden obsessive pianist fights the music establishment and neglects her loved-ones to become a rock star of classical music. She struggles to overcome shocking family secrets and a lust for the spotlight or risk being committed. Ultimately, she discovers that the applause doesn’t replace her need for love.

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?

Nothing is more powerful than persistence. I grew up with a learning disability, dyslexia, that was never diagnosed. I always struggled with English in school. Yet, I became a multiple award winning writer, including Amazon Breakout Novelist Finalist. Sometimes simple hard work gets you to where you want to go. You can hold unlimited talent but if you never apply yourself nothing will be achieved.

Also, we live in a wonderous time where you can learn anything online for free! For the first time in history, there is a level playing field when it comes to knowledge. What an incredible gift.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” was very important to my development. The way to make positive change in the world is through personal responsibility and focused effort. One individual’s efforts to making a difference can be enormously powerful. Don’t look to others for your sense of worth or to the government to bail you out. Be clear on your ethics and be true to those ideals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.RonaldRussell.com
• Instagram: @VeganChefRon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VeganChefRon