“Work hard with honesty. Never judge anybody.” These are words to live by for a life of happiness, earned success and to help further explore one’s passions such as travel, photography or other life pleasures. I heard this expression in a video about Don Julio González, the man behind the well-known Don Julio Tequila brand that he established in 1942, and I can’t get the messages out of my head. This video is inspiring and uplifting, but also very picturesque that it will make you want to visit Mexico and the agave fields. The clip (which you can watch below) was shared by Don Julio Tequila in honor of Dia de los Muertos and has me reflecting on what I’ve worked for that sets me apart: being a travel journalist and blogger. More below:

Don Julio González’s passion for tequila pushed him to improve on every aspect for the spirit, and it helped him build the now internationally known company from nothing – such as by working alone in the agave fields to playing all the different roles that comes with making tequila.

I can relate to his passions and having to work solo through what it took me to become (and what it continues to take me to be) a travel journalist and a blogger. To paint a picture of how hard work pays off, without trying to show off, I’m just getting back from a week traveling the West Coast on my first road trip from Seattle to San Francisco and a Halloween weekend in the sunny and beautiful Palm Springs – both of which I can wait to share my photos and experiences from. I started off my career as many others who work in or contribute to magazines today, by interning at various publications. From there I moved to freelancing for each publication after I wrapped up each internship, and then after I graduated I had four national digital and print publications I was freelancing for. It eventually snowballed as I would reach out or get connected to new editors as I continued to put out more and more content. The blog came along while I doing my last internship and in my final semester of grad school to help reflect what I do as a journalist and to also share more of my life passions and favorite moments. Two and half years in, all the continued long hours of writing, emailing, researching, photo editing, web page building, instagramming and so on are still enjoyable, and in the end I’m smiling every moment I get. What Don Julio González said for me means that if you work hard and are honest and don’t judge others, you’ll have a life you can be proud of, the ability to do more things you love, and surround yourself with people who enjoy your company.

But enough of that mushy stuff from me, check out the video above if you haven’t already to take a look at your own life and how your passion for something has also led to greatness — or how it can if you are still working for it.

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[Disclaimer: I worked with my friends at Tequila Don Julio to write this post, but of course all options are my own.]