Meet Richard Sandoval

We recently connected with Richard Sandoval and have shared our conversation below.

Richard, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from the God of my understanding. My higher power is an energy that encompasses all things living. By doing my best to find the humility to accept that and to look, listen, and learn from that open-minded point of view I’m left with curiosity and wonder. These feelings in pursuit of my path fill me with optimism and hope. As I approach any of life’s challenges, I am able to adapt and overcome, to let go and let God. It is fulfilling to think I am included in God’s great plan, and to trust in God and know that the greater good will come from my efforts this way.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I work with youth 14 to 25 years old here in Northeast Los Angeles. It’s surreal because I didn’t grow up here, but I see the same faces from growing up facing similar challenges. Now that I have survived the bad decisions that low self-esteem and self-worth caused me to make, I am able to encourage them to know their self-worth and hopefully develop the self-esteem to make better decisions. I stay grounded in the fact that I am just one voice, it is their struggle that they are going through, but maybe I can offer the consistent support necessary to turn the tide in how they feel about themselves. I do my best to model this behavior constantly so that when things become challenging, they see those good decisions as an answer to their dilemmas.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Intelligence, perseverance, and hope. I am blessed to be born with an intelligent mind. I suffered from low self-esteem and that took from my ability to make good use of my intelligence. God blessed me with the perseverance to survive all of the bad decisions that came from allowing that low self-esteem to affect me. Hope has to be my greatest gift, it has manifested itself in the weirdest of ways, but regardless of how negative my thinking became, I always strived for a win, I consider that hope against all odds, even in knowing that my bad decisions were the cause.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. This was such an impactful read, I love habit 4, seek first to understand then to be understood. I have always struggled to consider the opinions of others. I have OCD and my thought process just naturally overrides what I’m hearing. I have suffered at being good in relationships because of this. As I apply it more and more in my life, my life becomes more manageable, as a recovering addict manageability is everything in my life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: daone8804
• Facebook: Richard Sandoval

Image Credits

Me at the aquarium in Union Station, Me and Father Greg Boyle, Me and Deputy Mayor Karen Lane, Me with my boss, sister, friend, and mentor Tina Padilla, and David Nugyen from the Mayor’s office of Community Safety, Me and my sister, boss, friend, and mentor Tina Padilla, and Mayor Karen Bass.