Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Josiah Sanchez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Josiah, 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.
Confidence and self-esteem were nothing short of foreign to me for many years. I was a heavily medicated kid for my ADHD-having been put on them at a very young age. Said medication silenced me, for whenever I was off of it, every emotion I had lacked regulation. So everything I felt was what I would consider greatly enhanced than the average individual. I learned very early on to shut up and do what I was supposed to, despite my mind and body wanting to do a million different things that actually interested me. The only time I was “normal” was when I was immersed in where my attention was intensely grasped. At that point, my hyper-fixation would have minutes and hours blend together. My mind was stimulated just enough to put me where I felt the most free. Over the years, after cutting out all of the medication cold-turkey, I learned that for my own sanity, if I feel the desire to explore something, I had to explore it and find out what the outcome could be for myself. Whether that was a job, a hobby, a creative outlet, or anything related, I had to try it.
Bouncing from industry to industry, in 2021, I found myself as an online psychotherapist specializing in NLP, MBSR and behavioral management. Which was a weird full circle considering the life I grew up around. Years leading to this, as I first began to navigate myself without the medication, I became immensely self aware of my thoughts and emotions. I wrote thousands of notes in my phone over the years to help me physically be able to read what was going on in my mind and my body. It helped me through understanding who I was at my core, making the career choice at the time very suitable.
But what I learned very early on in that endeavor was that confidence came from the proof of being who you say you are, not who you proclaim yourself to be. If I were to look myself in the mirror and tell myself I was a certain type of person, the mind will go searching for evidence of said proclamation. So in order to become confident in any area, you have to be able to either show yourself you can and follow through, or already have the proof of what was shouted at the reflection in said mirror. Either are possible, its all based on your actions.
My confidence was falsely spoken about for years. And when I finally picked up a camera, which was the one interest I seemed to attach to the easiest, everything I had gone through and experienced leading up to it showed me I was more than capable of making something of this. I just had to try and see for myself, which brings me to right now.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Who I am at my core is a curious and playful soul that loves to create things that can bring the same emotions out of others I come across. Growing up feeling so shut out, dismissed, and unseen, my goal with my life’s work is to allow people to be seen. To allow them to feel the things they might have been searching for, or to be given permission to explore and experience.
My production company, Storytold Cinema, was created to immerse any and everyone who watch the films I create to feel something real, feel okay to feel that thing, or to go out and be proud of a story they are writing every moment their eyes open in the morning and see the sun. I aim to mesh everything i’ve learned over the many different lives it feels i’ve lived up until now to showcase a motion picture that STAYS with people longer than the duration of the film. I want people to ponder, i want people to feel curious, i want people to feel triumph, i want people to feel…well, seen.
I picked up a professional camera for the first time almost 2 years ago(Sony a7r5) and purchased my first cinema camera(Sony FX3) about a year and a half ago. Since then every waking second has been to not only create to the best of my knowledge at that given time, but to always seek the next piece of information that can better improve my work.
As of right now, I just finalized the script to my official Directorial Debut for my short film “Tears of a Circus’. The name itself as not been shared publicly yet but that is in the deep stages of pre-production as of right now. Looking to begin filming in August and begin my first film festival run.
This story is rooted within true and honest moments of my life over the years with a fictional story overlayed on it that I, myself is starring in alongside my Co-Writer and Co-Star Bryan Fernandez. Him and I have been on countless meetings piecing together this story and we believe its going to hit hearts, minds and souls is more ways than one.
Beyond grateful for that as of right now. Aside from that, I’ve directed, filmed , and starred in my own narrative documentary series of my journey since picking up the camera and taking all of this stuff seriously. That is on my Instagram and soon to be on Youtube within the next couple weeks.
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?
I am going to couple these up in 3 separate categories; Self Awareness & Comprehension, Curiosity & Confidence, and finally, Humility & Ego.
And ill start with this; I know plenty of people who are surface level aware of who they are and what they do, but lack the comprehension to understand what to do with it. If you are aware that you lack in certain areas that effect the life you want for yourself, seek the opposite of what you are doing and run with that. I use to tell clients when i was a psychotherapist that you find what you want by recognizing what you “don’t” and work backwards, If you recognize what you don’t want, what’s the opposite? Whatever that thing is, what are the necessary things that have to happen to do that?
We as people are not dumb by any means, but are often stubborn and ignorant. You don’t have to wait until things crash in front of you to make a change.
Moving on to curiosity and confidence; as i mentioned earlier, your confidence is built from evidence and proof of what you exclaim. You can say all you want but the internal misalignment of not being that never leaves. You know where you are and you know where you aren’t. So be honest, be curious, ask questions, and seek routes towards becoming who you want. There are no such things as dumb questions, only ignorant silence. Ask, search, reach out, and explore. If you know who you want to be, than becoming that only means detaching from what you currently find familiar and working backwards. We all know how to become who we want, we just arent ready to let go of the chaos that we often find entertaining.
And lastly; humility and ego. Likely the hardest ones to balance, but I will keep this one short as I just recently wrote something I found profound that i shared anywhere I could: “I know a lot about a little, a little about everything, and everything about nothing.”
We all have our strengths. Recognize and be proud of them. However, have the humility to know that your strengths start and stop there. you know what you know and you don’t what you don’t.
Now, at the same time, have just enough ego to stand on what you know you excel in. Your strengths are someone else’s weaknesses. And there is the beginning of your confidence. However, your weaknesses could very well be someone else’s strengths.
Now, before anyone who reads this says anything, you ARE good at something, you just focus on what you aren’t.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I will be completely transparent with this answer as I feel anyone else who has ADHD like me can deeply relate. My biggest obstacle is actually a result of my greatest strength; Hyper-Fixation.
When i’m interested in something as much as I am with film making, I can neglect of the beautiful things outside of the editing room, the set, or the lens. “Work” for me in this space doesn’t feel like it at all so I never feel the desire to stop. Which has resulted in missing sleep, missing meals, neglecting my wellbeing, and missing out on moments that create memories that aren’t repeated twice.
We hear a lot of people talking about being obsessed with something but no one ever really understands obsession until your in it. And although extreme, its like a drug or alcohol obsession. You are willing to do anything necessary to get done what you need, even if that means pushing aside other more important aspects of life. Obsession isn’t cute, its not beautiful, and its not romantic. And the kicker is, just like the other categories, I don’t feel or see anything wrong with it.
However, I turned 27 a week ago. And my best friend of over a decade mentioned to me how much i’ve missed out on the “fun” moments that simply provide moments to remember and be grateful for, not just work related achievements. So although still a work in progress, as someone who wants to build a company that lives on far after i’m gone, during that, I want to build a family, I want to experience the moments that last forever, I want the memories that will always give me nostalgia and joy to know that I was present for those moments.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @storytoldcinema (client work) & @josiahsperspectives (personal projects)
- Youtube: Josiah Sanchez- StorytoldCinema
- Other: Tiktok: @thejosiahsanchez
Image Credits
Trey Cooper. He is Responsible for the two photos i provided of me while holding my camera.
