We recently connected with Mika Boorem and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Mika with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Work ethic is a developed muscle. Over the years I’ve worked hard to strengthen and build this muscle. It takes resilience to always maintain a strong work ethic. You must mentally and physically practice being disciplined. I take great joy in having a strong work ethic. There are a lot of very hardworking people in my family that I admire. My mother comes to mind, she was an extremely hard worker all of her life. She showed me the value of hard work at a very young age. She always took great pride in anything she put her mind to accomplishing. I try to honor her memory by showing up, getting things done to the best of my ability and putting in that extra hour whenever it’s needed. It’s great to have a fulfilled sense of accomplishment from a job well done. Early on I was taught that working hard was a positive trait. I started my career as an actress at the young age of seven. Throughout the years I’ve worked on developing myself and my work ethic. Ways you can develop your work ethic are to take pride in a job well done, really register and take in the fact that you worked hard…. and feel good in that. Hard work builds strength, character and integrity. Be proud that you showed up to accomplish something. You are moving towards goals and that’s great.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a filmmaker, actress and philanthropist. I love to spend quality time with family and friends. I enjoy cooking, working out and watching great films and TV shows. I have a production company, Penni Productions, we create content including film, television shows, and music videos. We also create campaigns for companies in promotion of their film, tv, brand, product or music videos. I’m especially proud of our mentorship program at Penni Productions where we help filmmakers get to the next level. We have a great collaborative team that is always building out the next exciting piece of creative content. I also am involved with a lot of non profits where I enjoy volunteering and fundraising.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Resilience: being strong, looking for the positive and focusing on growth
Problem Solving: learning resilience and being able to problem solve when things go wrong. Learning to problem solve in a way that is grounded and comes from a communicative and collaborative space is a great skill that will serve you well in a lot of areas of life not just business
Gratitude: being gracious and taking in all of the wonderful things in front of you and what a great opportunity each moment in life is to connect with others
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to simplify. Bring everything back down to the basics. Focus on gratitude. Focus on breath work. Conscious breathing and meditation can really bring you back to a more solid comfortable space. A nice long walk. A good book. A home cooked meal. Take a moment to soak in the sunshine. We’re all in this together.
Image Credits
Mika Boorem Robert Murphy Magic Dragon Productions Penni Productions
