Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daniel Knudsen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Daniel, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
No matter how much we might try to avoid the reality of life, sooner or later we realize that it is not easy to be human. Facing some very difficult challenges early on as a young child helped prepare me for the challenges I face today. I think one of the biggest things that has helped me become more resilient is realizing that; though the pain is real – the amount of suffering is a choice that I play a major role in. Once we realize that we play a role in our own suffering, we can play a role in our own healing. Directing our focus towards thankfulness and gratitude is one of the best ways to change the way we see the world around us. This has really helped me with the trials that I face. When the negative energy comes knocking, don’t lean into it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Working in film and media has been an interesting journey. Over the years I have had the chance to direct several feature films for large platforms. Some of them include: Dinosaur Cove, Courageous Love, Christmas Coupon, and Creed of Gold. I also had the opportunity to star alongside former Superman actor Dean Cain in the movie Skydog. My goal in life is to make the world a better place by communicating stories that help us overcome our fears and bestow hope to those around us. This is my bold journey and I am eternally thankful for all those who have supported me along the way.
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?
I would say the three most important qualities to work in an industry like the entertainment industry would be these qualities; grit, humor and celebration. These qualities may seem like an odd combination, but I think all three are necessary.
The first one is grit. What I mean by grit is the determination to face difficult challenges and develop the followthrough to get through them. Without grit, it is very difficult to make forward progress in life. My mom really taught me the importance of followthrough from a young age. No matter how great your dreams are, they won’t happen unless you carefully direct your focus to achieve them. Most people give up way too soon, or they do not have the courage to do hard things to begin with. Grit is the tough journey where we press forward in spite of the obstacles we face.
The second quality I would see as vitally important is humor. In fact, you need humor to fuel your grit. Willpower alone will eventually fade away if you are not having fun. Humor chooses to find the fun in any given situation. If one can do that, they can overcome almost any obstacle they face.
Lastly celebration is a key factor in focusing your mental energy. Life will throw us curve balls, we need to celebrate the good moments extra hard to help us through the difficult moments. People who celebrate their lives are unconsciously wiring their internal mental circuitry to see the positive. This is an essential practice for successful living.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
In high school my parents made me join a speech and debate club. This was not something I had any interest in doing. Though I pushed back against the idea, I guess you could say that I lost the debate with my parents. Looking back, I am glad they encouraged me to do this. That class ended up being the most important thing I did in high school and it has helped me in almost all other areas in my life. I had two really big take aways from that experience. The first thing I learned was the importance of logic in the structure of an argument. The second thing I learned was that no matter how correct your position may be, it doesn’t count if you lose the person you are trying to communicate with. You will never win an argument if you don’t also win the individual you are trying to persuade.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.danielknudsen.com
- Instagram: danielknudsenDK
- Facebook: danielknudsenDK
- Linkedin: danielknudsenDK
- Twitter: danielknudsenDK
- Youtube: danielknudsenDK
Image Credits
All images copyright Crystal Creek Media, LLC
