We recently connected with Joshua Friedman and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joshua , great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
I like this question because I haven’t thought about “taking a risk” as being categorized as a skillset before. To start, I believe choosing to dedicate your life to becoming an artist of any kind is a risk and the initial decision to take that leap derives from a soul’s innate longing for meaning. Having a passion and the will to chase a dream or master a craft is essential for both starting on the path to your goals, but also for maintaining a steady pace as your progress down that path. You will always have to find a way to keep your passion alive, it is your fuel.
This all being said, for me, when I set down the path of becoming a filmmaker, I knew there was no turning back. Twelve years and 25+ awards later with a feature film currently in post-production, I don’t really think I have a choice but to continue doing what I’m doing. I’m 34 years old with no experience in a corporate office and with nothing I can put on a resume that will put me above a starting entry level position at any other job. I’d have to seriously reassess what my life would look like if I decided to do something else with my time and livelihood. Thankfully, I love getting to create and I’m proud of my progress and I’m happy and lucky to get to do what I do – and this took years of hard work to achieve in which I had to surpass interviews where my face turned beat red, or I publicly fumbled on my words and go off script. Every day you learn, and you grow and at some point, the risk taking becomes a necessity versus a choice. It is a part of the job.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a filmmaker and I’m currently in post-production on a feature film that I’m very excited to share with the world. It’s titled, “The Queen’s Jewels” and it’s an action/adventure story about a young guy from a small town in Florida who finds himself debunking clues in search of a missing ship and it’s 300-year-old treasure, all the while being hunted down by a rich and ruthless art and antiquities collector and her henchmen.
It’s a really fun story that the whole family can enjoy. What I like about this being my first film I get the share with the world, is that it’s family-friendly and there are no references to religion, politics, or social issues. It’s universal and it reminds me of some of the movies I loved to watch when I was in my early teens. You’re going to love it!
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?
My three qualities are patience, humility, and resilience.
I think patience is important to bring up because it has been an essential practice for me. If I had gotten my way every time, I’d probably be working on movie number three, however the process of the conception of the script to selling the final product is tedious and time consuming. Every step is pivotal and deserves an appropriate amount of attention and manpower and with manpower comes collaboration. I would be an idiot to not listen to the experts I’m surrounding myself with. They are experts for a reason. Though with listening comes decision making and with every decision comes a process that will have to be meticulously followed with care and consideration. I’ve learned that if it comes to easy, something is off. When the right choice appears, you will know, and I’d recommend serving that path for as long as is necessary.
The second quality I wanted to speak on is humility. I’ve found that in the entertainment industry there are ranges of careers, personalities, and belief systems. Within all of those there is good and there is bad. Egos are not uncommon and false egos are even more common. As both business and creative input on my artistry, there is a fine line between standing up for what’s right for the project and deterring biased and sometimes awful ideas from outside perspectives. Believing in your opinion, your vision, and your own process is important, however just because I believe it, see it and experience it doesn’t mean that I’m always right. Some of the best leaders, in my opinion are those who trust and understand the voices and experiences of those around them. Writing, Directing and Producing a movie is a lot for one person and it can feel like the weight of the world is sometimes on your shoulders, and having an awareness of my colleagues’ beliefs and opinions has been monumental in finding the right choices for the project.
Lastly, I like resilience because it’s so important. I’m going to make a broad assumption and note that in any successful business, that business is successful because of their fortitude in rising above their failures. If I listened to every opinion about what is right for me and every critique, I’d probably be a very unhappy person. You cannot please everyone and you should not let the opinions of big personalities deter what you know to be right. Prove them wrong by living authentically to yourself and trust the right people. Without resilience, we wouldn’t have great things.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
What a beautiful question. Let me start by saying that I love my parents so much and they are the best people I know and so lucky, grateful, and proud of them. I hope anyone who reads this gets to meet them one day, because they are just the best, just know when they are glowing with pride talking about their baby boy making this film and when they try to feed you and you love every second of it, just know I’m sitting somewhere thinking to myself ‘I told you so.”
However, the answer to this question is pretty simple. They’ve supported my choices and have celebrated my talents throughout the entirely of my life. There is absolutely no way possible way that I would be able to do what I’m doing right now without their love and admiration for my work – even if that support includes me still texting my mom at 34 years of age to let her know I’m boarding a plane or calling my dad to talk me off a ledge when I’m self-diagnosing a headache.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thequeensjewelsmovie.com
- Instagram: @thequeensjewelsmovie @josh.friedman1990
Image Credits
Photos by: Ben Burton & Miranda McDonald
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