Forging Your Own Path with Sika Stanton (Ep 23)
Sika Stanton describes herself as a photographer turned filmmaker.
That’s the super simple version of this reinvention story.
On the podcast this week, we dig into complexity behind her two leaps:
What it took for Sika to leave a steady 9-to-5 and make her way as a successful freelancer.
And then, how she secured her spot at the incredibly competitive The American Film Institute Conservatory, where she’s now getting her MFA in cinematography.
A tiny percentage of professional DPs (directors of photography) and camera operators in the industry are Black women, and Sika is determined to join their numbers.
In this episode, you’ll learn...
How Sika and I connected and where she’s at in her career journey [2:28]
How Sika has reinvented herself and pivoted her career over the years [4:17]
Making the leap from employee to freelancer [6:19]
Sika’s first steps into the world of freelancing and how her work has changed since then [9:47]
Why Sika made the decision to pursue a graduate degree [13:27]
Using creative problem solving as you make your career leap [18:04]
How Sika forged her path in an industry with little representation for Black women [20:42]
Why it’s vital to have a vision for where you want to go in your career [26:38]
The personal growth Sika has experienced in her career leap [28:24]
What Sika wishes she’d known before she took her leap [31:05]
How to find support and take the first courageous step in your own career leap [34:14]
If you’re considering your own courageous career leap, be sure to tune into this episode.
About Sika Stanton
Sika Stanton is an African-American filmmaker from Portland, Oregon. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Cinematography at the American Film Institute Conservatory and holds a BA in Studio Art from Stanford University.
Connect with Sika
Standing at your own crossroads and ready to get clear on your direction? Apply for my Catalyst Coaching Program today!
Transcript of Episode 23: Forging Your Own Path with Sika Stanton
Sika Stanton:
Well, at some point, documentaries got old too. And I was like, I want to do things that aren't non-fiction. I want to do music videos and short films. And most, a lot of people are fans, of the movies and all the great TV that's coming out right now, and myself included. And I was just like, I want to be a part of that especially as there's more our shows for like Black women, that would be so fun to make those stories.
Lisa Hoashi:
Welcome to Leap Like Me. If you can't shake the feeling that you're not on the right path, if you feel called to change things up, but don't know how to begin. You're in the right place. I'm your host, Lisa Hoashi, and my specialty is coaching people at those crossroads moments in life when you feel called to take a new direction. Sometimes that means taking a leap. I want to share practical advice and inspiration for your leaps and how to keep going after your dreams in a challenging world. This season, we're talking all about career leaps. Come along for the conversation.
Speaker 3:
Sika Stanton describes herself as a photographer, turned filmmaker. That's the super simple version of this reinvention story. In our conversation today, we're going to dig into the complexity behind that story, what it took for Sika as an African-American woman who lived far from the LA entertainment world and lacked a precedent for the career path she wanted to take to get into the incredibly competitive American Film Institute, one of the best film schools in the world, to get her MFA in cinematography. Join me in today's episode to hear about the leaps that took Sika toward this dream about the creative problem solving and mindset she used to keep taking action and about the vision that keeps her going. A tiny percentage of professional cinematographers are Black women, and she's determined to join their numbers. Hello, Sika. And thank you for joining us. I'm so excited to have you here.
Sika Stanton:
Hello. Nice to see you again.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah. So for those who are listening or watching, I just want to say so Sika was one of my great friends in Portland when I lived there and she was there right up until the point that I left Portland to go on my sabbatical on my own journey. And so as a result, I moved to Spain afterwards and I kind of missed some parts of Sika's journey, but I have been watching along the way and have just been like really impressed to see it, so a mutual friend said that I had to bring Sika on for this season. And yeah, also we wanted to know that like actually at the moment... So the first year that I was coaching and the first year that Sika went freelance, we bartered, and she took my brand photographs and I did some coaching with her around her new freelance business. So you'll hear references to that in our story today. All right, Sika. So to kick us off, will you tell us where you are right now and kind of what you're up to in life?
Sika Stanton:
I am in Los Angeles, California, and I'm in my first year of graduate school at the American Film Institute Conservatory for... I'm studying cinematography.
Lisa Hoashi:
And can you give us just a little bit of an idea of what you're working on right now?
Sika Stanton:
That's about to get really crazy. In the first year program, we make four short films, and so I'm simultaneously working on number three and number four.
Lisa Hoashi:
And is it a group, like the group's making a film or are you individually kind of having to make a film?
Sika Stanton:
There's one that's like more my responsibility. The one that's on on celluloid, but the other three are group projects. Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
Awesome.
Sika Stanton:
It's like a six person team, so.
Lisa Hoashi:
Well, I feel honored that you've made time for this conversation, so thank you. All right, so this season is all about career leaps. And so I'm like how, if you were to say to someone, "I went from this to this." How would you fill in those blanks?
Sika Stanton:
I mean, I've made a lot of jumps. I feel like I've like reinvented myself every three years or something, so I went from working in marketing at a lens manufacturer to working in editorial at a magazine company to freelance as a filmmaker, to being in the union as a camera department person to now taking a break to get this graduate degree.
Lisa Hoashi:
And so when you started out your career, what did you kind of think the trajectory would be for you?
Sika Stanton:
Like after college or?
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah.
Sika Stanton:
I mean, I studied art, so I was like, I guess I could figure out how to be an artist, but also I need to make money. So I tried a lot of different things, and I knew like probably being an independent, just being an artist and having a gallery and selling my art wasn't what I was cut out to do, so I just tried a lot of different things
Lisa Hoashi:
And that your art was primarily photography, right? Or how would you describe it?
Sika Stanton:
Yeah, I was a photographer, but also actually the other thing I'd always done since I was little, because I had done one of those interviews for our school report, and I interviewed my uncle who was a freelance graphic designer and he was like the most successful person in our family. And so I was like, "I want to have my own business." Like I think that's good for me. I liked being my own boss and making my own life, making my own decisions. Somehow I was like, I need to figure out this art thing and having my own business and put those together.
Lisa Hoashi:
So those seeds were kind of already planted?
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
So I guess, for me just kind of observing your own story, it seemed like one of the biggest leaps that you made was from regular paid employment for the lens manufacturer then to like more of a like freelance job. So can you describe what that was like for you? What was kind of going on for work for you that kind of propelled you to take that leap?
Sika Stanton:
To leap to freelance? I think I was unhappy in a lot of ways. I was unhappy with the money I was making. I was unhappy... I felt stifled creatively. I didn't feel like there was an opportunity to move up in the companies I was working for. I could make lateral moves, but I was really hard to kind of move up the ladder management. And so looking back, I realized switching jobs and making more money are kind of go together. Usually you have to do that to get the other one. So I guess I've done that in my own way, because like the best thing about being freelance was is I could set my own rates, so I could decide how much money I wanted to make or not.
Lisa Hoashi:
And going into freelance, what was kind of the scariest part for you?
Sika Stanton:
The scariest part is the not knowing what's going to happen. It's like when you have an employer, it's you get a paycheck every two weeks. You know what time you have to show up when you can leave, what your days off are going to be. You have to ask permission for vacation. But freelance is like all that's all up in the air. Where's my paycheck going to come from? Are they going to keep coming? Am I going to, can I do this? That is the scariest part. And I feel like, so like when we did our work trade and I felt like the exercises that we did, really helped me like figure that out and not be afraid of that anymore. Because one: it was just really helpful to identify how much money I needed to be happy and two: how to get there.
Sika Stanton:
What are the steps if I was just to break it down more simply. Yeah. It was just so helpful to just take it from this like emotional thing of like, "I'm unhappy. I don't know how to change my life." To like, "Oh, it's very clear. These are the marks that I need to hit to design a life." And I think even just that idea that you can design your life became really clear from those conversations, that you can design work that supports you and supports your humanity too.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah. Oh man, I love hearing that because that was like my big aha, the first time I did coaching too, was I was just like, "Oh, there's a way that I could approach this so that I'm actually getting closer to where I want to go." And yeah, making some progress. So that's really awesome. And I remembered later that, like you said, "Hey, you know that number goal that I set for myself? I actually made it." I was so stoked because I didn't know after that if you were tracking it and how that was going. And so it was really awesome to hear.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. I mean, it didn't happen right away, but it happened pretty faster than I thought, like yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
Which is not always the case in business, so that's really awesome. Yeah.
Sika Stanton:
Totally. Yeah. I think that whole process was a big confidence builder for me. So yeah, it was the first time I felt like, oh, I have control over my trajectory.
Lisa Hoashi:
And Sika, what was your first offer when you went out? What were you planning on going out to offer people with your freelance business?
Sika Stanton:
I was offering videography. So part of what I was able to do is like... It was kind of this confluence of what was happening in technology and also my interests and what people wanted out of marketing. So there was a lot more stuff happening with video. The tools to make videos had become way more accessible and affordable, and then there was so many people just figuring out and putting what they were learning or how to do things on YouTube, so it was like I got free training basically to do what I was offering, which was storytelling and videography.
Lisa Hoashi:
And how did that start to change?
Sika Stanton:
You can only make so many me explainer video. You can only do a thing so many times before it gets boring and you want to try something new or up the ante or get more creative, so I felt like in the beginning that was a big part of my process was just learning how to do something new on every project. But at some point it was more repetitive and less new stuff. And so then I just kept trying to find ways to keep it interesting and realizing that my foundation in art and my interest in art could come back into this if I got to a certain level with my skills. And that's kind of where I am now is trying to get back to being a commercial artist basically.
Lisa Hoashi:
For me from the outside, it was like... You were making explainer videos as you call them. How could we tell people what those are essentially?
Sika Stanton:
So I was working at a lens manufacturer and I was making videos to sell the product, but also explain to people how to use them, like give them ideas for how they could be creative with the product. So some of it was just explaining how optics work and then this is how the functions of the lens work. And some of it was more like, these are examples of beautiful images you can make. So I would always try to build in something just for fun to keep it interesting. Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
And so then... So you started doing that freelance, right, so I was seeing some of your work of these short videos where you're telling about a company or about their product, right. And then all of a sudden you're like, "Oh yeah, I'm doing camera work for Netflix."
Sika Stanton:
Oh no. I mean, I wasn't the operator. No, no, no. I was the entry level. I was charging batteries and running cables for Netflix. So like it was not-
Lisa Hoashi:
I was really impressed,
Sika Stanton:
It was not glamorous at all. It was the most blue collar job I've ever... It's long days and very physical and you're out in the elements. But I was making documentaries. I forgot to say that. I was also making short docs at the same time as I was making explainer videos, and so that's more what I did when I went freelance. I discovered I was pretty good at weaving together a complex story that explained a social issue or a political issue. So I did a lot of work for like issues happening in Portland, like gentrification or the racist history of map-naming, just these things that were really important to me, but also were educational. Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
And so from that point, how did you get to going into the MFA program?
Sika Stanton:
Well, at some point, documentaries got old too, and I was like, I want to do music videos. I want to do things that aren't non-fiction. I want to do music video was in short films. A lot of people are fans right of the movies and all the great TV that's coming out right now, and myself included, and I was just like, I want to be a part of that especially as there's more shows for Black women, it's just like, that would be so fun to make those stories. So I really didn't want to get another degree because I feel like for the kind of work I'm doing, I didn't know if it would pay for itself. It was just the financial hurdle of graduate school had always been a deterrent for me.
Sika Stanton:
I just was like, I'm smart enough. I should be able to figure this out without more school, like look at all the things I've already taught myself how to do. I just need to get over this. How am I going to get over this hump? But also being on those big sets was really sobering because you could see who was getting the opportunities and who was in the room, and just like, "Oh, okay." This is a much bigger world. There's a lot of stuff I don't know and most of the people who know how to do the job I want didn't start here. They came from Los Angeles, had worked in much bigger markets and they've been doing it for a long time. So I tried... I learned about the American Film Institute when I was teaching myself how to make DSLR videos and just scouring the internet for anything.
Sika Stanton:
And reading cinematography magazines, a lot of my favorite cinematographers or successful female camera operators had been students here. So I had like looked it up and I'm like, "Let me check out this school." And it's insanely expensive. I was just like, "Yeah, there's no way." But they started this four day free workshop for women called the cinematography intensive and I applied to it and I didn't get in. But they posted the list of all the people who got in and I looked up all their websites and saw what they were doing. Because I was like, okay, I'm going to apply next year. What do I need to do in the meantime? Let me figure this out. And a lot of them were in the union. So I knew, I was like, okay, I should try that.
Sika Stanton:
And a lot of them, even though the application had said you don't need to show a film, a lot of them had many examples of narrative short films, not documentaries, not still photography, they were already doing it. So I was like, okay, they're not going to let me in if I can't show them that I'm already thinking in this way. And so I figured out how to go make a short film. That was one thing. And then I interviewed some alumni from Portland who gave me some good advice on what to focus on in the application and then I applied.
Lisa Hoashi:
And you got in.
Sika Stanton:
And I got in.
Sika Stanton:
I was just like, "Oh, okay. It's this is really real now. This is really going to happen." And it was cool. Because I was ready to leave Portland. I'd been there a long time. So this is my next reinvention, new city, new job.
Lisa Hoashi:
Well, I think you and I are alike in this idea of... So I also started out my career as a writer, thinking that I was going to somehow use this art for my career. Had gone to a really expensive private school for undergrad and was just kind of like, "Okay, based on what I can earn with this and what I just spent from my education, I don't want to do grad school because I'm not..." Like that same thing that return on investment felt like an obstacle to me. So I mean I'm super impressed, and I imagine it was really scary to bite off that kind of investment.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. It's super scary. But I mean again, back to the skills that I learned when we talked, it was like, "Okay, what am I scared of?" It's like interest on the... The actual loan, foreseeably, I could pay that off, but it's like the interest. So how am I going to get around that? That's why I launched that GoFundMe me. I was just like-
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah
Sika Stanton:
Anything I could do to knock this down. Anything I could do to just have less interest, this will be more possible.
Lisa Hoashi:
Well I... Okay, so I love this creative problem solving, Sika, and yes, this is totally my thing. Think about the thing you want and then how can you create a problem solve to get to it? Right.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
I mean, so the things I'm loving about your story is that one: your progression has been happening because you keep getting bored. And so you're like, what's next? What's next? What can I do next?
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. How can I spice this up?
Lisa Hoashi:
Exactly. And then, yeah, the creative problem solving. So will you tell us about the GoFundMe experience? What did you... First of all, how'd you get the idea? What did you do? And then what happened?
Sika Stanton:
I mean, that was wild to me because I just have never asked for help like that, and that was really uncomfortable, but I got the idea because it was just this idea. The idea of mutual aid, I think, has been around. But that idea just got really loud with all the things happening in the world, right. Between the social unrest and COVID and all these things. It just was people's like hospital bills, like just seeing all the ways people were able to show up for each other in that way. Just like crowdsourcing something that you need, like, oh, you don't have to do that just to get like recommendations for something you're looking for. And like I see people crowdsource information like that a lot, but this idea that you can crowdsource financial support, it's like, yeah, I had just seen it happening for so long. I was like, well, "If I'm going to try this, this is the time. I really need it." I mean the worst thing that's going to happen is nobody donates, so I might as well try.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah. Yeah. You can't lose. Yeah. So did it in 2021. Is that right?
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. Think in like June or July. Yeah. And because I'd worked in marketing, I understood social media and how to optimize posts and all this stuff. And so once it took off, I was just like, okay, this is the algorithm. I got to push the algorithm, like pump the algorithm and so I just like dropped... When I realized it was working, I'm like, I can't do anything else until it slows down, so I was just like on my phone like it was my job, re-posting, liking, commenting.
Lisa Hoashi:
Okay. So will you just tell us briefly what you included in your GoFundMe post?
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. I debated with people about how much I should say and what I should say, but I just ended up being like, well, I feel I need to explain why I'm asking for so much money. So I talked about, this is my dream. I tried to make it personal, authentic, and also reasonable and logical. So I talked about how this is my dream and I'm really going to go for it. I talked about why it's important to me, but also socially, there's just not that many Black women working as cinematographers, like for one, but also in the union the numbers are even worse, but I'm already in the union. I want to stay in the union. I just want to move up the ladder, so that seems pretty reasonable.
Lisa Hoashi:
And just so the numbers... I mean, I looked at them again before interview today and just... So you are part of a union, right? Okay. Can you tell us what that union is?
Sika Stanton:
It's called Local 600 or International Cinematographers Guilt Local 600. It's under Iatse, which is the bigger union for all the trades in filmmaking.
Lisa Hoashi:
And so you said out of more than 8,000 members?
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. I had found a statistic somewhere that there's 8,000 members in the union and then through social media and reading press about different films and stuff and seeing BTS I've kept a count and like I have a spreadsheet of all the Black women in camera.
Lisa Hoashi:
That's awesome.
Sika Stanton:
Well, yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
And what have you found Sika?
Sika Stanton:
I just get so excited every time I see one and also just like, I need to see them to know that I can do it. So I like to see what they're up to, and then there was like... I think now there's a... I found a couple more, but it's like basically there's two women working as DPs and-
Lisa Hoashi:
Director of photography, right?
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. Cinematographers, and then there's five union camera operators. And then there's more assistance, but I don't want to be an assistant forever. I want to move up. I mean, I'm happy to do that, but at some point I need to move up. So seven women out of
Lisa Hoashi:
8,000. Seven that are Black women out of 8,000 people.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. And it's like-
Lisa Hoashi:
And these are who you're keeping as your role models.
Sika Stanton:
Oh yeah. I mean, if I didn't see their pictures and... It's interesting, all the stuff that changed during the pandemic, because I never would've had time to putts around on Instagram that much, but being able to do that, I like... Like all these people, it was just like the sea parted, and all these people working in the industry just came out of the woodwork, so that was really cool to just be able to see what was going on in their lives, through Instagram mostly.
Lisa Hoashi:
So you started to get like this... Well, we have to go back to the GoFundMe then. So you included that statistic in your GoFundMe description.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. And also that there's no one who looks like me in the region I'm trying to work. There's no other Black women in my job description in Oregon where I was working, like at that level, doing the shows and the movies that come through town. Yeah, there's PAs, but there's nobody in departments. So it just was really sobering for me when I realized that, and also I got to testify to the legislature about that around some like funding that the film industry's trying to get. And just seeing the people's reactions to that, both positive and negative was, it was really in... It just was like, yeah, I'm there, so you're not going to stop me. I'm going to do this.
Lisa Hoashi:
And then what was the reaction to your GoFundMe?
Sika Stanton:
It went crazy because being on sets, I've made friends and those friends have friends, and those friends have friends all over the world. So my story was good enough that people cared enough to share it and donate to it. Which-
Lisa Hoashi:
And so I-
Sika Stanton:
I raised more than I thought I would faster than I thought I would. So it was like $1,500 or $1,800 in two days or something. Like I woke up-
Lisa Hoashi:
I looked it up. It was like $18,500 in two days.
Sika Stanton:
Oh right. $18,000. Sorry, not $1,800. Yeah. Like I went to bed and I woke up and was just like, oh, shit, this social media thing, GoFundMe thing really works.
Lisa Hoashi:
I get what all the buzz is about now.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. I was like, I don't know because it's hard. I'm like, oh, should someone else be doing this for me? But I was like, whatever, I don't have time. I just need to do it for myself. I was like worried about the optics of it and all this stuff. And I was like whatever. I just got to go for it.
Lisa Hoashi:
Well, it's incredibly brave. And like you said, if you're not used to reaching out for support or for help, yeah, it's so incredibly brave to do that. And it was amazing to see the support come out for you. I Loved it.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. It was really cool. And also I had one friend who encouraged me because I was going to maybe flake on it. And she was like, "No. What do you need? I'm going to help you. I'll be the first person to post or, I'll send it out to some people." So she helped me with that initial encouragement, but also just the first push.
Lisa Hoashi:
Accountability. Make sure you do it.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah, exactly. But also being really direct, like not just my social media, but she emailed people directly. What's that saying? It's just like closed mouths don't get fed, like you have to ask for what you want or speak what you need into existence.
Lisa Hoashi:
You did it.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
Well, so I'm curious, it sounds like you... Like the vision that you had with those... Like you being able to see those women, those seven Black women was enough of a vision for you to be like, "Okay, this is the thing I'm aspiring to." And I'm just curious, what have you noticed about the power of having something like that?
Sika Stanton:
Of seeing what I want to be basically?
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah, or just having this idea of here's where I want to go?
Sika Stanton:
The power of it I think is what you need to do. And what's wild is now I've met some of those women since I've gotten here. So it just becomes very real. I don't know. It becomes less of a dream and more just like reality. It's quite a trip right now.
Lisa Hoashi:
I know. I imagine your world has just become populated an amazing new set of people.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. And it's like, you never know when it's going to happen, and so you just have to keep putting yourself out there, like going... Just keep trying things until and see what sticks. I'm volunteering on my friends' sets, but then there's outside people volunteering and sometimes you don't connect with them, but sometimes you're like, "Oh my God, this is my new best friend." You just never know who you're going to meet or when you're going to meet them, and so I think the thing I'm learning is just to always be open and ready for that because it happens really fast here.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah. Well it sounds like such a creative environment.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah, and there's so many people who are all interested in what I'm interested in. It's just like it's in the water basically. Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
I'm curious to just think back to the Sika who is in the nine to five salary job. And thinking about like where you're at right now, like what do you feel like are some of the ways that you had to change or that you kind of got more confident and stronger along the way?
Sika Stanton:
I mean, I think that. I think just getting more confident and stronger like that. If you're going to go out on your own, you have to figure that out. Nobody's going to do it for you. The more confidence I have, the easier it is. It's easier to talk to people. It's easier to ask for the money than I need. It's easier to say, "Hey, I want to work on that project," or contribute an idea. So much of this is relationships and communication skills. I don't know if that answered the question.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah. It seems like you've been getting more comfortable with taking bigger risks as you go along the way.
Sika Stanton:
Well, right. Yeah it's like you take a little one and it works out and you're like, "Okay, like maybe I can do-"
Lisa Hoashi:
Well, and I think that's where the confidence comes from. It's like every time we do something that's kind of scary and that works out we're like, "Wait, okay. I can do this, so I can do it again. I can do it a little bit bigger next time."
Sika Stanton:
Right. Yeah, so sometimes it's a leap and sometimes it's like lighting a firecracker. It's like, "Is it going to blow up in my face?"
Lisa Hoashi:
Like, oh shit.
Sika Stanton:
No, it's going to... So yeah, no, I think starting with small risks and then bigger and bigger and bigger. The biggest ones were going freelance, and now I think this... Because those had the most financial consequences, but I also have the most to gain. I was never happier as when I became freelance and I got to set up my own office in an environment that I liked and work in my pajamas and take a nap when I felt like it and work until one in the morning if I felt like it or take a vacation for two a month if I felt like it. That freedom made me so happy.
Sika Stanton:
Hopefully that's what will happen again after this program is over. I will have more opportunities to do more intellectually fulfilling things and travel and just keep doing what I was doing before but bigger.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah, exactly. Pushing the envelope. You'll have even more skills and connections to push the envelope a little bit further.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
Well and tell the stories that really excite you right? Are really important to you.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. Yeah. And work with people who I'm excited about, because the collaboration part is so fun.
Lisa Hoashi:
Awesome. Well, so Sika, to wrap up, I want to ask you the three questions that I often end these interviews with, and so the first one is what do you wish you knew before you took your leap?
Sika Stanton:
Don't wait to have all the information or to be perfect at the job or have... Don't wait for things to be just right. Sometimes you just have to go for it.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah. All right. Next one. What was the most unexpected thing that came from your leap?
Sika Stanton:
I think what's happening right now. I thought that was going to be the end.
Lisa Hoashi:
You're kind of on another planet out right now, right? Is that kind of how it is right now, Sika?
Sika Stanton:
I'm on a space ship, yes. Wait, what? Wait, which leap? My freelance leap or my school leap?
Lisa Hoashi:
Either one, either one
Sika Stanton:
Most unexpected thing for this current leap was my GoFundMe and the people that I've met since I got here, and then for my first freelance leap, I think was just how happy I was.
Sika Stanton:
Also how much money I was able to make.
Lisa Hoashi:
Like that you really didn't need that paycheck job.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. Compared to what I was doing before. Yeah, that I could do it myself. Yeah.
Lisa Hoashi:
Yeah. And if you were to give some advice to someone who is thinking about doing something similar, what would you tell them?
Sika Stanton:
One: just go for it. Two: it's like have a big savings account.
Sika Stanton:
It's like, you can make better decisions for yourself when you're not scared or stressed out, right? So it's like, you don't have to say yes to everything, you have to say yes to what you really want. And it's easier to do that if you're not worried about how you're going to pay the rent for a little while until.
Lisa Hoashi:
So you have a little cushion, they create safety your net. Yeah.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. Until things start to snowball. So yeah, figure out how to create your own safety net.
Lisa Hoashi:
Awesome. Which you did. Yeah.
Sika Stanton:
Yeah. I'm glad I [inaudible]. That's the best kind of confidence.
Lisa Hoashi:
For sure. Well Sika, thank you so much for joining us. If people to follow your work or support your GoFundMe, how can they do that?
Sika Stanton:
Ooh, please. The easiest place is Instagram. My Instagram handle is SikaAfi, S-I-K-A-A-F-I, which is my middle name. It's not about school, and then there's a link to my GoFundMe on there. On my GoFundMe, there's a link to my website and my work.
Lisa Hoashi:
Awesome. We'll include those in the show notes so they've got all that.
Sika Stanton:
Okay.
Lisa Hoashi:
All right. Well thank you so much, Sika. It's been such a pleasure and I can't wait to continue to follow your work
Lisa Hoashi:
And to hear the stories that you want to tell.
Sika Stanton:
Me too. I can't wait to see them.
Lisa Hoashi:
Okay. Y'all that is a wrap. Everyone, I want you to keep an eye on Sika Stanton. Sika does not brag about herself, but the fact that she's at AFI is a big deal. I left this conversation incredibly touched by how Sika said that our coaching together had helped her form the mindset and the strategy for how she would keep upping the ante on her dreams. It was a surprise, a really joyful surprise. Something that naturally happens with my work is that I coach people, we create this space that is all for them and their growth, and I give them all that I've got, and then they go out and live their lives again. And I don't always hear back about how it impacted them, so when I do hear back, it's often the same thing as what Sika said. What we do is we take these dreams and desires that you have and help make them more concrete.
Lisa Hoashi:
My goal is to give practical tools so you continue to always be moving closer to those things in life and work that you have said and you know are the most important to you. If you'd like to hear about how we could do this for you, head on over to my website, LisaHoashi.com and book a free call with me. I'd love to have the conversation. As you heard today, having this mindset and these skills can help you take your life in an incredibly fulfilling and purposeful direction. That's a wrap for this episode. Thank you for listening and stay tuned for more.
Lisa Hoashi:
Thank you for listening to this episode of Leap Like Me. If you're enjoying the show and getting lots of value from it, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you don't miss any new episodes and leave us a five star review. Also, do you know anyone who's considering a career change who might appreciate the ideas and inspiration from the show? Please let them know about it. We want as many people as possible to benefit from these shows and know that if you do share it, you can always tag me at Lisa Hoashi on Instagram or LinkedIn. By the way, if you haven't already connected with me in those two places, I'm also sharing tons of good stuff there. Speaking of sharing, I want you to know about my new free change planner. This planner is for you if you'd like to make a significant change in life or work, but you're feeling kind of stuck.
Lisa Hoashi:
My change planner will help you get the clarity you need to take your next steps. Inside, I'll show you how to understand what you really want and why it's important, how to face your fears constructively so they don't hold you back, and this planner also has a scenario cruncher. I help you get all possible scenarios out of your head so you can find the right one for you. It's my favorite part, and having used it with many clients, I've seen how powerful it is. I know you're going to get many great insights out of this free planner so head on over to leaplikeme.com to get your copy. That's a wrap for this episode. Thanks for listening, for sharing this show and being part of this journey with me. Take good care.
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