Watch this TED Talk from American philosopher and author David Kelly as he explores the relationship between creativity and the confidence that is needed to create. How can you apply these lessons to your life? 

Skills

Build your creative confidence.

Do you suffer from feelings of inadequacy and distrust your abilities? Do you ever feel like you aren't prepared to do the work or don't deserve your success? Learn ways to fight this! 

Career

Learn how to fight against imposter syndrome.

Get started with these general tips and start working on your own documentary film idea about you or a topic that interests you. 

Day to Day

Make your own documentary film.

Producers

Plan and coordinate various aspects of radio, television, stage, or motion picture production, such as selecting script, coordinating writing, directing and editing, and arranging financing.

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

First Interest High-Point

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Second Interest High-Point

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Third Interest High-Point

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Actors, Producers, and Directors

Producers and Directors

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers

Coordinate the activities of writers, directors, managers, and other personnel throughout the production process.

Monitor postproduction processes to ensure accurate completion of details.

Perform management activities, such as budgeting, scheduling, planning, and marketing.

Determine production size, content, and budget, establishing details such as production schedules and management policies.

Compose and edit scripts or provide screenwriters with story outlines from which scripts can be written.

Conduct meetings with staff to discuss production progress and to ensure production objectives are attained.

Resolve personnel problems that arise during the production process by acting as liaisons between dissenting parties when necessary.

Produce shows for special occasions, such as holidays or testimonials.

Write and submit proposals to bid on contracts for projects.

Hire directors, principal cast members, and key production staff members.

Select plays, scripts, books, or ideas to be produced.

Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.

Perform administrative duties, such as preparing operational reports, distributing rehearsal call sheets and script copies, and arranging for rehearsal quarters.

Obtain and distribute costumes, props, music, and studio equipment needed to complete productions.

Negotiate contracts with artistic personnel, often in accordance with collective bargaining agreements.

Maintain knowledge of minimum wages and working conditions established by unions or associations of actors and technicians.

Plan and coordinate the production of musical recordings, selecting music and directing performers.

Negotiate with parties, including independent producers and the distributors and broadcasters who will be handling completed productions.

Develop marketing plans for finished products, collaborating with sales associates to supervise product distribution.

Determine and direct the content of radio programming.

Obtain rights to scripts or to such items as existing video footage.

Write and edit news stories from information collected by reporters and other sources.

Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.

Electronic news gathering ENG cameras

Laptop computers

Newsroom digital audio workstations

Personal computers

Tablet computers

Teleprompters

Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Systems Adobe ActionScript

Adobe Systems Adobe AfterEffects

Adobe Systems Adobe Audition

Adobe Systems Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Systems Adobe Creative Suite

Adobe Systems Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Systems Adobe Flash

Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Systems Adobe InDesign

Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop

AP ENPS

Apple Final Cut Pro

Avid Technology Media Composer

Blogging software

Cascading style sheets CSS

Content management systems CMS

Drupal

Email software

Extensible markup language XML

Facebook

Google AdWords

Google Analytics

Grass Valley EDIUS

Hypertext markup language HTML

Instagram

JavaScript

LinkedIn

Live streaming software

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft Visio

Microsoft Word

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

Twitter

WideOrbit

YouTube

I never went to film school or had any formal training. I got into filmmaking by accident in my 30s and had to learn everything from scratch. I would compare myself to others and feel like I was never good enough.  

Filmmaker/Activist

<p>Next stop is Washington, DC where the UK team interviews Frederick Gregory, Deputy Administrator for NASA. While in DC, the team has the opportunity to meet Dr. Andrew Steele, an astrobiologist who is proving the possibility of life on Mars. The team heads to Kentucky to interview journalist turned filmmaker Sonja Devries.</p>

Washington, D.C.

[MUSIC] >> What we're trying to do is to ask people throughout their interviews, kind of give us an idea of kind of what you've done throughout your life and what position you were in when you were our age. And now, how you've come into the place where you are today? And so in that way, the lessons that you've learned along the way, you can sort of pass on to us three, but also kind of like our generation as whole. >> So when did you get into filmmaking? >> I didn't get into filmmaking until I was almost 30 and it was kind of accidental. I was working as a freelance journalist and I had been doing a bunch of articles on Cuba and these people, actually from a Cuban MGO approached me and asked me if I would be willing to do this film. And I was like, but I'm not a filmmaker, I don't know anything about filmmaking and they were like well neither do we. [LAUGH] And so we just formed this team of people who knew nothing about filmmaking and somehow we made a film, but it clicked. I mean, it clicked so immediately. >> So I mean, you had no idea that you were ever gonna go into filmmaking? >> No, I hadn't planned on it. Hadn't planned it at all. Never went to film school or anything like that. There were many points at which I just was like, what am I doing? [LAUGH] I don't know what I'm doing here. Filmmaking to me had seemed like there were those filmmakers over there and they were somehow, I don't know, almost on a pedestal like some people can do this filmmaking stuff, but I had never I never thought about doing it myself until then and >> So what was that like looking up at all these filmmakers? >> It was very exciting, cuz I mean, as soon as we started shooting and like talking to people, it was just such an exciting process to me. But it was really intimidating, cuz I hadn't had any schooling in it. >> That was a confidence issue surely. >> Sure. Definitely, I think it was a larger personal issue- >> Yeah. >> Of just not feeling like it was gonna be good enough. Not feeling like it was the real thing. >> See like why I wanted to ask you is that is cuz that's the way I always feel with music. I never feel it's quite good enough or it's the real thing and even though I've done it for a very long time, I always think there's a huge number of people that's always gonna be there. That's how I receive it, so I wanted to ask you. >> Yeah, I definitely. I mean, that's exactly what it was and I rarely feel that way anymore, which is great. I don't know I've kind of stopped comparing myself to other filmmakers. It was really about my own work and that helps a lot. [LAUGH] >> Yeah. >> I'm gonna do my work and I'm gonna try to learn from other people's work, but I'm not gonna compare it, cCuz we each have what we bring to our work. I mean, it is really unique and it's important. And most of the time, I'm able to keep that perspective. >> Have you got any questions for us? >> Yeah. What have you all learned? [LAUGH] >> I think from this one particularly, I've just learned about confidence and it's good to hear that you felt like you weren't good enough. Which is a weird thing to say, but it is because it's like, oh, God, she felt it too. 

Interview

That was a confidence issue, surely. >> Sure. I definitely think it was a larger personal issue- >> Yeah. >> Of just not feeling like it was gonna be good enough, not feeling like it was the real thing, you know. >> You see, why I wanted to ask you is because that's how I always feel with music. I never feel it's quite good enough or it's the real thing. >> Yeah. >> And even though I've done it for a very long time I always thing there's a huge number of people that's always gonna be better. But like, that's how I always feel, so I wanted to ask you. >> Yeah, I definitely, I mean that's exactly what it was. And I rarely feel that way anymore, which is great. I don't know, I've kind of stopped comparing myself to other filmmakers. It was really about my own work, and that helps a lot. [LAUGH] >> Yeah. >> I'm gonna do my work and I'm gonna try and learn from other people's work. But I'm not gonna compare it, cuz we each have what we bring to our work, and that's really, you know. I mean, it is really unique, and it's important. And most of the time I'm able to keep that perspective. 

Confidence

Stop Comparing Myself

[MUSIC] But what we're trying to do is just ask people throughout the interviews, kind of like give us an idea of kind of what you've done throughout your life and what position you were in when you were our age. And now how you've come into the place where you are today. And so in that way the lessons that you've learned along the way. You can sorta pass on to us as three, but also kinda our generation as a whole. So when did you get into filmmaking? >> I didn't get into filmmaking until I was almost 30 and it was kinda accidental. I was working as a freelance journalist and I had been doing a bunch of articles on Cuba and these Cubans from a Cuban NGO approached me and asked me if I'd be willing to do this film. And I was like, I'm not a film maker, I don't know anything about film making, and they were like, well neither do we. And so we just formed this team of people who knew nothing about film making and somehow we made a film. But it clicked. I mean it clicked so immediately. >> So when you, you hadn't had no idea that you were ever gonna go into film making. >> No, hadn't planned on it. Hadn't planned it all, never went to film school or anything like that. There were many points at which I was just like, what am I doing? You know? I don't know what I'm doing here. Filmmaking to me had seemed like there were those filmmakers over there, you know, and they were somehow, I don't know, almost on a pedestal. Like, some people can do this filmmaking stuff but I never I never thought about doing it myself until then. >> So what was that like? Looking up at all these filmmakers? >> It's very exciting cuz I mean, as soon as we started shooting and talking to people, it was just such an exciting process to me. But it was really intimidating cuz I hadn't had any schooling in it. 

Sonja DeVries

Filmmaker/Activist

Videos

Sonja DeVries

Milestones

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Film

Non-Profit Organizations

Upholding a Cause and Belief

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Myself:

Challenges I Overcame

Imposter Syndrome