Meet Joshua Danskin

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

Joshua, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I didn’t. That may seem a bit misleading, but confidence isn’t a thing you have, at least not in my case, it’s how you act. Those thoughts in the back of your head telling you that you aren’t good enough are always going to be there. You just have to pretend like they aren’t. If you fall victim to self doubt and stop yourself from being great, the only person you are letting down is you. Make things. Put them into the world. It doesn’t have to be good. If you like it then you will be happy with it. You will improve, and eventually it will be easier to block out your doubts.

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?

I started acting when I was really young. From 4-9 years old I was in community theatre. I loved it. Eventually we moved and I had to stop. I switched to competitive dance which I did until 18 years old. Wanting to get back into acting and specifically film, I looked into colleges. I toured a few places and nothing really clicked. Until I toured The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. It felt like home right away. I only applied to AMDA, and I got in. I actually didn’t apply to the film program because I didn’t know it was a thing, but my academic advisor told me about it when I got in and transferred me before the classes started. From there I met and worked with so many amazing people. I directed a short film about mental health. I’ve acted in multiple shorts. I’ve read audiobooks on audible. I make music even though it’s not released just yet. Maybe soon. I just love all things creative. I want to do everything. I have a YouTube channel where I post all my work. It’s just called Josh Danskin.

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?

Building fake confidence. Supporting yourself. And just do something.

All of these things go hand in hand. The confidence leads into the support and the support leads into doing something. Sometimes you won’t be lucky enough to have people around you to support you, so you need to do it yourself. It can be hard, so give yourself grace. The more you support yourself the more things you can do and the more confidence you can gain. Now onto the doing something bit. It means exactly what it sounds like. Literally do anything. Whether it’s writing something bad, or filming something bad, or making music that’s bad. Do anything that gets the creative juice flowing and don’t stop you will be unstoppable. Also the more you do it the less bad it will get. And the more confident you will get. Creativity is a viscous cycle of doubt, skill, and fear. You need to surpass it all and not care what other people might think.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

They supported me 100%. Anything I wanted to do they found a way to help me get there. I’m really lucky for that. They made me think I can do anything I set my mind to. And now, even if I falter, I can support myself in the same way they believe in me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Josh.danskin
• Youtube: Josh Danskin

Image Credits

Elijah Brown
Joshua Danskin
Brendon Nankoo
Lenix Thomas