Meet Joey McIntosh

We were lucky to catch up with Joey McIntosh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Joey, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

My self-esteem & confidence is rooted in my wild journey from Los Angeles, CA to Richmond, VA. Unfortunately, I was forced to leave my hometown of L.A. very early in adulthood due to a series of circumstances that left me having to figure out how to survive on my own. Through a lot of prayer, perseverance, and a couple choice people I had in my life at the time; I was able to support myself and find my footing in a strange, new city on the opposite end of the country. Over time, I realized that if I could be resourceful enough to rebuild my life after being removed from what was once familiar, then I could do just about anything I set my mind to.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

All my life, I’ve been an artist. I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember, so, my main focus when I’m not in “family man” mode is illustrating and storytelling.

I believe I’ve stepped into a pivotal chapter of my life where a lot of my creative aspirations have been backed with a do-or-die mentality. I’ve spent the majority of my 20s trying to survive and provide for my family and now I’m getting back into what fuels my passions & gets me excited.

I’m currently working on a slice-of-life/sci-fi webcomic that’s been brewing in my mind for almost 15 years. It’s a short-story called “Tapestry” and bits of the first chapter is being uploaded weekly to Webtoons’ online platform. The plot of the story has matured over the years as I’ve reconnected with my faith & spirituality so I feel like it’s a small reflection of my own journey and confidence as well.

I’m super proud of what it’s turned into and my biggest hope is that it inspires my readers as the story unfolds. This is just the beginning, though, I have a few more stories to tell!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I was raised in a religious household throughout adolescence until something changed in me during highschool and I took a hard left turn down the path of agnosticism. The basic notion of just asking “why” to certain religious doctrines charted the course for me to embark on some major soul-searching to find answers & esoteric truths.

I feel like this has greatly influenced my thirst to improve all aspects of my life, especially my art. I think that quest for knowledge opened the door for me to pray more intently and practice more critical thinking…I’d encourage any creative individual to do some inner work to seek knowledge, pray and connect more to their faith, and practice critical thinking in an effort to understand themselves, the world around them & how they can use their gifts to influence it.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Time.

That’s my biggest hurdle…choosing how to spend the 24 hours I’ve been given each day. Prioritizing what gets the bulk of my efforts changes constantly especially within the dynamics of running a household with your spouse and raising little humans.

Sometimes, I don’t get to work on “Tapestry” when I want to or for as long as I want to just because the dynamic calls for me to shift to something else.

And I’m learning that that’s okay. What’s more important is being able to adapt and rearrange to what’s needed at that time…which is another challenge as well because I’m a stubborn Taurus and we tend to operate best with a consistent routine, so deviating and being flexible can be out of my comfort-zone at times!

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