Meet susan johnston

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Susan Johnston. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Susan 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?
Assess. Seems I have done this since I was a child. My Dad and Mom were divorced, so my Dad took me to work. I was curious. So i listened and watched to what was going on and the effects thereof. I was also put to work to keep me busy and “out of trouble”. Great skills were learned during this time.

I also got to ask questions and even if I didn’t understand the answer, seeds were planted so when the opportunity came up, I had a keen understanding .

I remember being in Junior High School and running the front of his Fish Restaurant. A woman came in and asked if there was a specific ingredient in our batter mix as she was allergic to is. Instead of just asking my dad that question, I also asked, what happens if someone doesn’t answer truthfully even if that answer is, “don’t know”. He told me someone could die and if you don’t know absolutely in all areas of the business in the building, you say, sorry – we cannot say 100% that ingredient is not in our restaurant.

It was important, we were new and needed business and orders in order to survive. But i learned the value of relationships, listening, caring and understanding in that one simple interaction. There were many more.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My life’s experiences have always shown me the importance of story. In how it shapes who we are and who we become. Both as individuals and as a society. This can be from the choice of the stories our elders pass down to us or the stories we choose to engage with, write, share, repeat.

Many facets of my experiences helped in this aspect which led to New Media Film Festival®, a story and technology company that honors stories worth telling in all media, all ages and all cultures since 2009. I have been fortunate enough for the last two years to share experiences in articles via Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/author/susan-johnston/

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Boundaries are good.
Saying no is OK .
Say less.

I know, I would never had said these early on in my career. I would build a mountain if someone asked me to and would share my ideas freely. Now I understand that other people may have an agenda that does not match mine. That is not a good fit for either of us so I implement boundaries (offer options to be more win/win). Also, I discovered that not all paying jobs/clients are worth the time, money, energy (physical and/or mental). So i learned to discern better.
Even though this last one is still hard for me to do, say less My experience is valuable – in essence i am saving someone the learning curve of life by sharing this. I listen more and say less, this way the person can figure it out on their own while they are processing via our conversation.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We are looking for the storytellers, the thought leaders, the innovators in these areas: Animation, Art, AI, AR, 5D, EI, Digital Comic, Documentary, Drone, Faith-Family, Feature, Gaming, Metaverse, Mixed Reality, Mobile-Tablet, Music Only , Music Video, New Media, NFT, Pilot, Podcast, Script, Agents & production companies accepting pitches, Short, STEAM, Student, Socially Responsible, Trailer, TV, VR-360, Web Series

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Jerry Deal (lower left) Voices (lower right) Susan Johnston all others.

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