Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jimel Atkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jimel , 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?
Growing up in America after leaving Jamaica at the age of six, showed me what could happen in your life versus what I was exposed to. Jamaica is very laid-back as a country so my early childhood years made me feel very free… It wasn’t until I started playing sports in high school on a serious level that I felt this ability to create my future. I wish I had understood it earlier in regards to how work ethic can change your life so I feel compelled to make up for lost time. I also have been raised primarily by women through most of my upbringing. My grandmother and my mother have shown me through the stories and their actions how much work it took just to get us a better opportunity on a day-to-day basis which inspires me a lot.
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?
My primary medium as an artist is acting. I’ve been inspired throughout my upbringing after being exposed to movie theaters when I was younger and constantly wanting to be one of those special few on the silver screen. I spent the last couple of years working on HBO Winning Time as the character Jamaal Wilkes. We always joke in the family about having no connections in any industry, and no roots. This means when I came to Los Angeles to pursue the career I realized some of the lessons you can only learn through going through the business. This inspired me to create Only Where To Eat, the documentary series on food culture in LA, to give me another creative avenue when things are outside of my control. I’ve been very proud of the result in the first year on YouTube, amassing a sizable subscriber base and having over 400,000 views on a project that is touching international audiences in the UK, Canada, and the Phillippines. The docu-series has sparked my interest in filmmaking versus just collaborating with a writer or director from the actor’s perspective. A project out of your mind and seeing it visually play out is a really powerful feeling.
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?
Three areas that come to mind are understanding what it means to be consistent, learning what patients is, and having a sound mental health foundation. Being consistent is something that I’m sure many struggle with. It’s very easy to apply yourself for a couple of days and then lose momentum. A couple of days then become a couple of weeks of you not doing what you started out doing in terms of your goals. I’ve learned that it’s through the everyday approach that you become better over time. The goal is to stack days consecutively. This plays into being patient because when you compare yourself artistically or allow yourself to become envious of others, who are your same age or younger. It can make your shift and compel you to justify why you don’t do something based on how you are feeling. I’ve learned that’s the trap. Lastly, mental health is understanding the importance of managing stress, meditation, and unlearning triggers. Triggers keep you trapped in a certain mental framework. Very hard to see the other side when your mind and body do not allow you to.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
One of the books that have stuck with me the longest and I probably read the most is The War for Art by Steven Pressfield. Steven has a way of navigating the story of others, and explaining what resistance means has been something that I return to time and time again. A few of his quotes from that book that stand out are,
“The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.”
“Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.”
“The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: nobleknows
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@onlywheretoeat
Image Credits
Only Where To Eat
