The A+ Of Working Hard
The Ethics Of Giving A Sh*t.

Many young people now have an expectation that things should be handed to them. They have an entitlement issue. As if they’re entitled to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! Let’s be real, you’re not Trump’s kid and you’re not Hillary Duff where you can snap your fingers and what you want is served on a gold platter.
The understanding of hard work is something that is fleeing from today’s generation and will just get worse for future generations to come. I personally refuse to work with those who aren’t hard workers. Having hard work ethics says a lot about a person; much like a handshake when you first meet someone.
To me its simple; if you’re going to do a job, do it right. Any job you do; you must do it well. You’ll learn ten times more than the average person. Not because you figured out how to solve it, but because you figured all the reason of why its wrong. You learn Perspective and Approach; much like Benjamin Franklin when discovering the Light-bulb by putting a key on the end of a kite in a lightning storm. No wonder how he came up with a bright idea.
“You’re worth your weight in gold”

Since being at Framestore, it’s been a huge learning curve and a turning point in my life as a matte painter and compositor mainly because its the first gate into the Theme Park that is the VFX Industry. Your first job is one of the most important jobs you’ll ever do. Why… because how you do that job will determine to your employer and future employers if you’re worth the investment. As they say, “you’re worth your weight in gold.” Be that pot of gold that everyone wants to get.
The first time I ever learned hard work and the ethics to hard work was in 8–9th grade in Math class in Ethiopia. Before then I was a pain in the ass; my parents can attest to that and so can my Math teacher because I dated her daughter for a bit. A quick tip in life boys; be careful dating the daughter of a teacher. My Math teacher made our lives a living hell! She did it not because she was “evil” but because she was doing her job; being a teacher and a damn good one. Because of her, to this day I have the utmost respect for her and her family.
Our workload was huge; 50 math questions a night, a quiz every Friday, a test on each chapter and we did the ENTIRE math book of 35 chapters, an exam every 5 chapters, a final exam, and a quarterly exam. To top that off, tests were 75% of our grade. How was I to survive!
My friend; Abel and I failed every test but did okay on the homework. We both received a 5% score once for just writing our names on the test. We cried, and we bled for anything above a “D+”. We showed up early and were the last ones to leave class, and we took notes on everything. The worst part of it all was both of us were in a high school math class with the majority of the students being 6th graders who always had the “A+”. I sat next to a student who never did his homework yet got an “A+” on every test. We looked terrible! Finally; at the end of the year our final exam approached us. We studied hard for this! We hired a tutor, we redid our homework numerous times until it was time to take the test. Our final grades for the test were given the same day we got our report cards and we were frightened. She gave everyone their tests and report cards except the two of us and asked us to stay after class. After everyone left we were the only ones sitting there quietly. She gives us our exams. We open them. Its a “D+” for the both of us. We looked at each other and felt like we had fallen through 100 floors. She then hands us our report cards. Scared, and shaking we opened them slowly and we find that we have a “B-”. We paused, looked up and she said; “you two are the hardest working students I have ever had in a class, you failed, you got back up and you failed again. In life, you will have more of an advantage than anyone else who sits next to you. Not because you failed your exams, but because you knew how to fail, you knew how to work, and you knew how to work together for success. This is your reward for working your ass off.” I’m pretty sure my friend Abel and my math teacher both remember this vividly. This story is one of the biggest foundations I have in me as an artist and most importantly as a person.
Tips For Working Hard To Success

1: Find your vision and follow it
2: Never thins small, think big. You have to shoot for the stars.
3: Ignore the naysayers
4: Work your ass off. You never want to fail because you didn’t work hard enough.
5: Don’t just take, give something back.
A perfect example of a hard working leader is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Listen to his speech as he tells you his story and his five rules of success.
Everyone has a job to do, but taking those extra steps to work hard and make sure its done right; you’ll get that “A+” in no time. I guarantee that if you’re a freelancer; your clients will come to you more often. If you a student, solving problems gets easier, yet problems get more complex as life goes on. In basic terms its called “giving a shit.”
Stay Curious, Stay Humble.
