Joy Soto's Film Inspiration Came in the Start of Her Cancer Journey
Her first career dream was to become a dolphin trainer, and a few years after accomplishing that goal, she switched gears. Joy Soto’s next dream was to be a filmmaker, but in the first semester, just as she was getting started, she had an unwelcome surprise - a cancer diagnosis.
During episode of this podcast, with Rocky Connell, master baker, we agreed that whatever energy we put into something is the energy that comes out of it. We were referring to kneading dough and making bread, which makes a great analogy for everything else in life.
In Joy's case, she put her energy into documenting her cancer journey in a film. Just One Year: A Story of Triumph Over Cancer is the result of filming and documenting every step of that journey, from diagnosis to the final treatment. And it wasn't just her story, she involved others who were having similar experiences.
During our conversation, she spoke about a younger cancer victim who became a dear friend as they went through treatment together. That young girl wasn't successful in her battle, but her memory is the inspiration for a program Joy started, bringing young cancer victims to swim with dolphins.
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From her TEDx: Joy Clausen Soto is a cancer survivor, documentary filmmaker and public speaker. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 25 years, she was forced to drop out of film school. Joy survived and decided to film a documentary on her ordeal. The film has been viewed at film festivals and has won several awards. Her story has likewise been featured in many media organizations, including ABC, NBC, and KPBS.
Visit her website to learn more about her.
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Sarah Elkins loves to guide individuals and teams to improve communication, using storytelling as the foundation of her work. She is a Gallup certified Strengths coach and uses that tool to coach her clients to improve their communication in all relationships, and to find more satisfaction at work and at home.
Her book, Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will is available on bookshop.org (supporting independent booksellers), and on Amazon. The audiobook will be available in fall 2020.