We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic come from? Is it something we learn from our parents, or are we born with it? Do our friends, work environment or the city we reside in impact it? We asked some of the hardest working folks we know to share where they think they get their work ethic from.
A.J. Howse
Growing up, most time you have to learn the hard way. Trial and error have been my middle name but I thank my parents and siblings for the help and sometimes, tough times, along the way. It’s what made me who I am today. Read more>>
Jim Harper
I’m pretty sure, from my parents. I have legitimate guilt when I relax, and it’s something me and my therapist are working on. 🙂 I go from the moment I get up until I collapse, I rarely sit down to relax. It’s not really smart. I hung out in art school with some overachievers who pushed me to constantly create. While some people came in during the day, attended class, and made stuff casually, my group worked weekends and evenings; we lived at the studio. It was all about constant creation, and I think I still feel like I have to make something every day. Read more>>
ZIJIE ZHOU
I think my work ethic comes from the experiences I’ve had growing up and everyone I’ve met. Every single time I experienced myself whether it was praise or humiliation. This question has also made me reflect over and over again on whether or not the documentary projects I am currently working on are guided by honoring love, rather than turning the documentary into a violent machine to peer into the lives of one kind of other. Read more>>
haggai goudeau
Growing up wasn’t easy. Being in and out of the foster care system taught me resilience early on. But things changed when my cousins stepped up to adopt me. They showed me what real love and hard work looked like. My folks, they busted their tails to make ends meet. I saw that and soaked it up like a sponge. Read more>>
Ada Onuoha
In essence, my work ethic is a mosaic of my mother’s teachings, sacrifices, and unyielding spirit. Every strategic decision, every long night spent perfecting a project, and every moment of perseverance is a tribute to her and the work ethic she instilled in me. She taught me that true success comes not just from hard work, but from working smart, staying true to one’s values, and never losing sight of the bigger picture. Read more>>
Felicia Kiesel
I get my work ethic from my parents. They were teenagers when they had my brother and I yet they have stayed together and both graduated college and became successful. They encouraged us to get a job at a very young age and I started my first “company” at 12 years old. I mowed the local Dairy Queens lawn as well as neighbors. Read more>>
Nedra Flansburg
My Parents! We lived in upstate NY , hamlet of gray, in the Adirondack mountains. Our summer garden had everything you could imagine. My mom canned tomatoes, corn, rhubarb . We would go berry picking as a family , blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples. The cellar and freezer be stocked for winter! Read more>>
Dillon Salva
I was fortunate enough to be put in recreational sports at a very young age starting at the beginning of elementary school. My dad was always coaching my teams and my mom would help organize events and do the books for the games. Having that hands on support from both of them being at and involved with every single game meant a lot to me. Read more>>
A.J. Sullins
As a kid growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I grew up with very great mentors. My parents, uncles, and grand parents were all entrepreneurs. My Dad owned multiple Baskin Robbins locations and he had me scooping ice cream and serving customers when I was five years old. Read more>>
Ana Pejic
I have to admit that my work ethic took a long time to develop. Definitely, sports activities in my childhood helped me to get an impression of what discipline is. I started working quite early and had to combine both schooling and work, and at the time it seemed terrible, but I actually watched my mom who somehow managed to solve everything. Read more>>
The Neighbors
As a duo, surprisingly we found each other through our work ethic. We both come from self made backgrounds, hustle and bustle. Growing up giving out advertising flyers down the street, DJing lunch hour at school, selling 90s hip-hop mixtapes, corporate events… we’ve done all the things that gave us the tools to succeed. Read more>>
Amani Sams
I get my work ethic from my parents. My parents have always worked hard. Growing up, I witnessed my dad being an entrepreneur and constantly working on his business alongside my mom. To this day my dad rarely calls off work. Read more>>
Nathalie Williams
My work ethic is influenced by a combination of factors. Firstly, my grandmother played a significant role. Since I was young, she taught me the importance of putting in hard work to achieve your goals and reap the rewards. She consistently encouraged me to strive for excellence in academics, emphasizing that while a B was good, an A was within my capabilities. Read more>>
Richard Rossi
One of my acting teachers, the late Milton Katselas, used to tell us to be “artistic killers.” By that he meant, you “execute your vision, you finish what you start, you’re a professional. In the creative arts, there are many dilettantes who aspire to make films or write books, but for whatever reason they don’t finish their projects. Read more>>
Diego Navarro
My work ethic comes first hand from my parents who formed a person with values, morals and love; and God. Just the same way they got all the ethics and values from. Along my journey of becoming a chef. I was blessed with teachers and instructors with professional ethics, as well as bosses who taught me the value of doing what is always right and just. Read more>>
Darren Paltrowitz
I was not only blessed with being raised by people with excellent work ethic, but I also have had the blessing of being surrounded by smart, motivated people in a variety of settings for decades. Beyond all of that, I enjoy reading books and articles written by people who talk about productivity, happiness and fulfillment, just as I do listening to podcasts by people who are well-versed in getting things done. Read more>>
Dina Belenko
Eliezer Yudkowsky’s essay on procrastination (google Working hurts less than procrastinating, we fear the twinge of starting) has been a game-changer for me. Yudkowsky dives deep into the psychology behind our avoidance habits, explaining that it’s not the work itself we dread, but the initial decision to start that causes us discomfort. He pinpoints hyperbolic discounting—the tendency to prioritize immediate payoffs over future rewards—as a core issue. Read more>>
Mara Marini
From a very young age, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I vividly remember watching a Marilyn Monroe movie with my mom when I was just four years old. I was captivated and immediately wanted to know everything: who she was, how she got there, and how I could follow in her footsteps. When I discovered she was in Los Angeles, it became my singular focus. Read more>>
Miguel Trinidad
I get my work ethic for my father. My dad was a butcher so he got up at 3:30 in the morning to be at work by 4:30. He was off by 1:00 PM and then would go and work at a furniture store delivering furniture this is back in the 70s. It’s always been an inspiration to me in terms of his work ethic. He’s never been afraid of the long hours. Read more>>
Nicole Burton
My work ethic comes from wanting to make a great impression and just treating people the way I would want to be treated. When I’m given an assignment or task, it’s important for me to see it through, get it done accurately and within a timely matter. This is what I would expect from others, so I would not present anything less in the expectation for myself. Read more>>
Celeste Gomez
My work ethic came from my mom. She couldn’t work for a job due to her illness. So her main job and priority became us, her kids. Despite the struggles she went through, she always did what was best for us. Seeing her strong spirit really motivated me to fight for my dreams and build something for myself. Read more>>
Nicole Weldy
My work ethic is derived from listening to others’ experiences, seeing their aspiration to have their work seen, and redirecting what I have learned to strategically benefit my career path by continuing to have an active professional career. I achieve this through thoroughly planning my personal, academic, and professional life. Read more>>
Alex Morehouse Herman
I was raised by entrepreneurs; I quite honesty think that hard work and starting something from the ground up runs through my veins. My mom and stepdad have been realtors for 30+ years, have owned countless businesses and also have been a part of networking marketing for over a decade. Read more>>
Savannah Schuster
I’ve always attributed my strong work ethic to my parents. My mother pursued her studies while working throughout my childhood. I vividly remember her sitting at the computer in our living room, studying for hours on end, often continuing late into the night in her bed. Now an early childhood development specialist, her determination to improve herself and, by extension, our lives, has always inspired me and greatly influenced my work ethic. Read more>>
Laetitia Lee
My work ethic, it’s not just something I picked up along the way—it’s woven into the very fabric of who I am. As a little girl, born to two hardworking entrepreneurs on a quaint island in France. From the tender age of 10, I was elbow-deep in the hustle, helping my parents build their dreams from the ground up. Read more>>
Geneva and Brogan Costa
Both Geneva and Brogan have a strong, MidWest work ethic, but they came about in different ways. Geneva attributes her strong work ethic to growing up on a farm in rural Montana, being raised performing farm duties at a young age. From cleaning out grain bins, filling seed drills, feeding animals in inclement weather, to working summer fallow fields on a tractor as a teenager, these tasks instilled a strong, daily work ethic, as did watching and helping her art teacher mother who worked round-the-clock to educate every student in the district. Read more>>
Natalie King
My work ethic definitely comes from my parents. Growing up they each had two to three jobs for as long as I can remember. They both worked hard to provide for myself and for my two younger brothers. Those values were instilled in us through sports and academics while we were growing up and then in our careers as adults. Read more>>
Rose Garcia
I believe my strong work ethic came from being involved in team sports at a young age and throughout my adolescences. I strongly believe that instilled accountability, execution, and a desire to get things done effectively. I carry that into my daily even now as an adult. I feel that also contributed to overcoming hurdles in life, like beating cancer. Read more>>
Sage Buchalter
My work ethic is inspired by my mother. Even in her more mature years, she has trouble sitting still, has her hands in numerous projects and all-in-all lives an incredibly full life. In addition to the way I was raised, I am driven by my own ambition. I am hyper aware that I only have this one life to live and I want to enjoy it fully. Read more>>
Racquel McKenzie
I get my work ethic from my parents. They both had different end goals but their ways of approaching their goals really affected me growing up. My family and I are immigrants from Jamaica. My dad worked what one would call menial jobs here in the states. He worked hard until he opened his own business, a shipping company, in Chicago. Read more>>
Sara Grayson
My resilient work ethic stems back to what I witnessed from both my mom and dad since I was young. I believe watching my parents own and run small businesses for many years has been a significant factor in my desire to work hard growing my own business. Although our businesses are in completely different industries, they’ve taught me everything I need to know and more when it comes to overcoming everyday challenges as a business owner. Read more>>
Michele Wiles
I’m pretty sure I got my work ethic from my Dad. He created his own business called Wiles Construction about 50 years ago. As long as I can remember he would leave the house at 4am and would return around 3pm (sometimes on holidays). Both of my parents had a huge capacity and acceptance for the work I needed to put into my craft. To succeed in the world of ballet you need a strong support system. Read more>>
