Hollywood Promises Success — What Does It Really Cost?

Welcome And Guest Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Young Nation, the Spirit of Gratitude podcast on the OneTech platform. Hello, friends. My name is Yorgesh Patel, and this podcast explores the themes of bullying self-awareness and the power of our inner spirit, including the silent battles we all face. Join me every week as I invite high-profile guests as we explore how adversity shapes us, how gratitude lifts us, and how we can all uncover the inner strength that we all have within ourselves. Join the conversation. I appreciate you listening in.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

And my next guest today is Yessi Sanchez, a Hollywood actress, film producer, and host of the No Maps Included podcast. Her creative journey began at the age of just three years old and has taken her into leading shows and projects, including working opposite Jonathan Franks of Star Trek Next Generation. For those that remember, he was number one. But this episode is going to hit different folks. This is where gratitude and essentially losing that faith in gratitude. In her early 20s, she trusted the universe, trusted her path, and believed that drive, community, and faith could carry her through the unknown territory of the entertainment industry. But somewhere along the way, Yessi had lost that faith. After years of performing and hustling and grinding, trying to survive the ups and downs of the industry, she reached a point where the dream was no longer sustainable, or she felt no longer sustainable. Today she joins us in a raw and vulnerable chapter, stepping away from acting, letting go of a dream that once guided her, and sharing whether she has lost, rediscovered, or is still rebuilding her spirit of gratitude. And this I'm very curious to know. Today's conversation, again, is about creativity, pivoting, and finding your North Star when there truly is no math included. With gratitude, welcome to the podcast, Yesse.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Thank you. It's uh it's always an honor and pleasure to uh have a diverse range of guests in terms of their age, profession, background, and culture represented on the podcast. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

No, thank you. And thank you for this introduction.

SPEAKER_03 2:13

Um, it is truly uh, I mean, I call my podcast No Map Included for a reason. There is truly no map. So thank you for highlighting that.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Absolutely. Just to play on words, which I like.

unknown 2:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Well, I'm curious, yes, yes to get started.

The Least Glamorous Hollywood Truth

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Hollywood can sound glamorous from the outside. What is the least glamorous part about chasing the dream that people never see or appreciate?

SPEAKER_03 2:37

That is a very good question. Um, I feel like coming to Hollywood, I also had this chapter in my life romanticized. Um, and the reality of it is that it is a lot of hard work, which I feel like I was prepared because people do tell you it is really hard. But at the same time, I didn't really want to believe it, or I thought it's gonna be different with me. Like my journey, my career will be different, and um, I'm gonna be the the exception because as you probably know, it's 1% who gets to that top. And um I always wanted all or nothing. And I always thought I'm gonna be the exception, I'm gonna be part of this 1% that is gonna reach the heights of heights, and the unglamorous part is just having to survive in this really expensive city with a lot of competition, which again, I was aware of people do talk about it, but then when you're in it, it's even harder than I thought. Um, how many people want to pursue this and how many people are taking it seriously or not seriously? And then yeah, it's it is a lot of hard work, it but mostly to survive and earn a living and keep going. And there are phases where like it ebbs and flows, and so it is um, yeah, it's it's just not sustainable for me the way I thought it was gonna be sustainable. And there have been books written about this, that it is always an ebb and flow, and sometimes you have a lot of green lights, and sometimes there are a lot of roadblocks, and I think that's mostly the inglamorous part of it.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Well, going back to what you earlier said, you wouldn't be able to, I would not even compete, but be have this career in Hollywood or in acting if it wasn't for that internal belief and conviction from the get-go. And I just happen to believe that that is a part of who you are. It's not going to change in terms of your next episode as you discover that that path. So, you know, congrats on you for knowing who you are and finding that conviction and belief because we all have been there where we want to be the best, right, at what we do and the amount of hard work sacrifice it takes, but also having a little bit of luck on your side to get those opportunities.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

Yeah, totally. And I do have to add, I feel like I've like you said before, I've always had that conviction. I always had that belief, but I I never really had to build that belief, I feel like, because I, like you said in the introduction, I did start performing really young. Um, I was three years old when I started with singing and dance lessons and performing. And I always knew where I wanted to go. I never questioned that. I always knew I wanted to move to LA. I always knew, okay, the next chapter. I just have to do plan B first because my parents insisted on doing plan B first. But after that, I'm definitely gonna move to LA. I'm gonna do like I'm gonna go to an acting school. I always knew exactly where I was going, and I didn't need to build up that belief, which I feel like is a blessing. And it's probably it speaks a lot to my upbringing and my parents and how they allowed me to um or always supported me to drive me to every single competition um that I had, every single performance that I had, and always encouraged me to believe in myself and what I can achieve in that um that the sky is the limit, and you can just you can do anything you want, basically, if you set your mind to it. And I still believe that somewhat, but I believe in my early 20s before moving out here, I definitely believed in it a little bit more, I would say.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

And for the audience, you grew up in Switzerland, correct?

SPEAKER_03 7:09

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. I should mention that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Does that change in terms of your belief system again, coming to the United States, or is it a univer is it universal?

SPEAKER_03 7:23

I feel like when you grow up in Switzerland, um I want to be careful in how a word is, but I feel like here in the US, it's definitely different as in like how people believe in themselves, and there is this that there is a a drive here in the US uh where people just go for it and they do believe it and they do get encouraging words for it, and nothing is too crazy. In Switzerland, it's a little different. I feel like people want to be safe, and I feel like for a reason, people want to have stability. Um, this was to everyone else, this was always just like a childhood dream, and I'm gonna grow up and I'm gonna realize that I want um more stability, which now I do, funny enough. Um, but I I am very grateful for all the experiences that I've had in this wild journey of acting and in Hollywood, and I would have never experienced any of that if I would have stayed in Switzerland. But yeah, definitely um people like to play it safe, and dreams are like it's nice to have, but like, okay, you gotta get back down to reality and actually do your work, like have your plan B. Like, like I was saying before, like fun and play is over. Exactly, yeah. And I'm I'm very grateful that I do have um that degree and that I was able to um work in like uh that I was able to be in the workforce and can gain those experiences and and things like that, um, because that is really important to have. Um so yeah, overall I'm grateful for all the experiences I had.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

That's amazing. Yeah, and again, as rightfully you should, um, you know, with the community support of friends and family that have encouraged you all these years. You mentioned in our pre-planning call, Yessi, that and at one point you believed in this concept called gratitude or this

When Faith In Gratitude Slips

SPEAKER_01 9:26

foundation, and then it started to wane. What happened?

SPEAKER_03 9:30

I feel like um let me think about that. I think what happened was that I started having uh some roadblocks that were really discouraging. I feel like coming to LA, moving here, it was no, it was not easy at all, but there it always worked out, you know. There was always, and like for example, I had to raise funds um to be able to afford my acting school here, and I put a lot of work into it, um, but I I did get everything, like I got a scholarship for my tuition, and I it did work out, even though the odds were against me, basically. And so that was a hurdle. I was able to get over it, you know, I was able to manage. There were always things where it felt like the universe is giving me a green light, and that was um not easy, but it worked out. And then the more I was working in this field, the more I was like doing auditions and just almost having like life just always kept looking the same. It was always audition, rejection. Oh, you get it, you get a role. Like it was always kind of the same. And also, I am very stubborn, and so I feel like I kept pushing and I kept going, and I was I like I said, I always knew what I wanted to do, and so that means I have to keep going because this is all I know, this is all I've ever wanted. I've come so far, so let's just keep pushing and pushing a little bit more, but then I feel like things did not work out the way I wanted. And prior to this, they have always worked out, and so I feel like I've lost a little bit. I not, I mean, I was I feel like I was always grateful for my experiences and I always had gratitude in me, but I did lose touch with my um my gut feeling. I lost touch with um that side of me.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

How do you reclaim it back? Because again, this is a really important conversation in today's society when there's a lot of uncertainty, you know, whether your profession is in acting or you know, you're working a blue-collar job or white-collar job, it doesn't matter. So I think there's a lot of uncertainty right now in in today's uh economy, in today's world. How what would be your guidance or advice, knowing that many people are just like you, they're trying, they're trying to find that North Star with that no map included. What do you say to them?

Learning To Live With Uncertainty

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Uh the more experiences I gain in this field, the more I feel like you need to get comfortable with uncertainty because nothing in life is certain. No matter if you have a stable job, things can happen and you can lose that job. And it's very unfortunate. And we're here, I've been hearing it all around, like in my with my friends who have a quote unquote stable job, but then they lose their job, and it's it keeps happening, especially in the last few years, where life happens and the your world doesn't look the same. But I think the trick is to know that nothing is ever certain, no matter what your vision is, and almost feeling comfortable, feeling lost. I don't know if that makes sense. Um, but that is what I've come to realize lately that having that trust in yourself and your abilities, and you're always doing everything that you can to do it to the best of your abilities, and that is enough, and that is okay. You don't have to have everything in your control, you can just trust, whether it is the universe or whatever you believe in.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Was that hard for you to do or to accept? That uh was it hard for you to to accept exactly or letting go?

SPEAKER_03 14:05

Yeah, I think letting go is a huge part of my development. Um and I think it is so important. I really love um a book called Letting Go by David Hawk. Um, I hope that was I hope that was right. Um, but he basically reiterates the same thing of um how letting go is so important. And I think it was hard to let go of my dreams, of my future, the future I have been so carefully dreaming about. I think that was really hard, but also getting really uncomfortable can be very beneficial to you and your life because you realize, hold on, like I can survive this, you know, it's I'm okay. And sometimes things turn out better than you ever expected. And I don't know if I'm there yet with like my acting journey. Um, but I definitely trust and trust in in my life that things are gonna be turning out okay. And even if I don't have that vision or that dream, or even if I'm not pursuing acting actively, I will have a happy life. Not always, no, not always necessarily, like you can't always be happy, I feel like, but content and fulfilled. I think fulfilled is a much better word than happy, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

I completely agree. Because you can be in a state of happiness, but that's temporary and it fluctuates. I think fulfillment is where it's part of that inner spark that we all have in ourselves. You know, it's it's whether you call it leading with the heart or having that's the way I would describe it for myself. I mean, a lot of what this podcast for me and what it represents is leading with the heart in terms of the shared experiences of these incredible guests like yourself that you know have a purpose in terms of helping someone at a stage perhaps that they're in, like yours. You know, it's just that hitting that right message at the right time, you know, outside their perhaps community of friends and family uh that can really hopefully get that inner spark in them to say, aha, I get it. So it just takes that one message from one guest, and I think you've you've probably identified

Letting Go And Choosing Fulfillment

SPEAKER_01 17:01

that with that word fulfillment. I love that. And I'm just there's just so many questions I wanted to ask, Jesse, but uh getting back to your acting, because I think that's still going to be a foundation for you to understand what that success in life looks like over time for you as you navigate this next chapter, is again, your career has taken you across cultures and countries and creative spaces. How has that shaped the way you approach characters and storytelling as an artist?

SPEAKER_03 17:31

I feel like having grace for the characters is really important for me. And getting to know different cultures, and especially here in LA, it's such a melting point of um diversity, and I love it. Um I think having an understanding for different people and where they come from and why they might choose something that you wouldn't. Like having that grace and that understanding is definitely something that taught me l living here in LA, but also living in Mexico for five years when I was uh small, we would always go back. My dad is Mexican. And growing up in Switzerland, I feel like being confronted with different um people from different cultures kind of forces you to build a certain understanding and have patience and and like I said before, grace for them and not judging people so hard for their beliefs, I think is really important. And so I am trying, I I try to take those factors into my um, well, everyday life, but especially acting. I wrote um uh proof of concept that I'm gonna develop into a feature film, and I am gonna, even though I I am stepping away from acting, I am gonna act in it because I've always intended to, and because I there I still hold a lot a lot of love for acting. And um, that film is about mental health and approaching a character with grace and non-judgment will help me fully get into that character, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

It does, and I think the word grace to me speaks to the energy you project onto the world.

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

It's true, right? I mean, whether you recall it grace or you know, leading with the heart, it's it's that kindness and empathy, understanding again, you are multicultured, right, in terms of your upbringing. And I think that also plays in a role in how you show up for yourself and for others.

SPEAKER_03 19:47

Yeah, especially in how we're we're how we're doing in our society nowadays. There is so much um the the world is kind of uh what with the word I'm I'm forgetting. But hopefully you're not gonna say it's going into hell in a handbasket, but uh no, but I feel like there is just not enough understanding between like people in different cultures. And um I understand sometimes like having a a different opinion can be a very can be something very very controversial, but I feel like what we as like as a society, not just in acting, but like as human beings should do is just like trying, at least trying to understand where everyone is coming from and why they might have a different opinion, you know. So I feel like I I take that really valuable lesson from acting and trying to understand different characters and maybe villains too, that I was playing. Like they always come from somewhere. I always I would write like a bio for for them and like invent like where how many siblings they had, what their upbringing was, and so on.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

How have you navigated that for yourself when you play these characters that are not representative of your personality or who you are? Is that difficult?

SPEAKER_03 21:10

What I learned in acting school was that every um every human being has a little part of that villain, or like no matter where you take those um those experiences from, like even if it is just a little like thought that you had, you have it in you somewhere. Like no one is fully hundred percent good, and no one is fully hundred percent bad. You can of course have a like you have an you can have an argument about that, of course, like that there are maybe certain human beings that don't have a shred of good, whatever it is, but it like as in general, like like an average human being has good and has bad. And so I feel like finding That within your life or your like different thoughts that you had or different feelings towards um experiences and so on can kind of trigger that. And I think it is, I mean, that's those are the characters that I used to love to play, like the the people who are kind of like crazy or villainous or who have an edge to them, because I feel like that is the most challenging kind of, but also it is just fun um to be able to be completely different from who you are.

SPEAKER_01 22:39

Well, and strangely enough, it goes back to that understanding. So, you know, you are probably, if I'm guessing correctly, interested in having that character be a part of you for a temporary period of time. So you could learn from that individual. Because, you know, again, I'm not an actor, I don't know the trade, but obviously a lot of it is getting under that person's character and personality to get the, you know, for you to represent that character on screen.

SPEAKER_03 23:08

And be truthful and authentic and something that almost every actor learns uh in their like wherever they learn, like they were wherever they train, wherever they practice, is to not judge, no matter who you're portraying, because you need to, like, if you have even a shred of judgment um inside of you, you can't authentically portray that person. And uh, what I think is beautiful to think of when you are acting or when you're when you are on stage thinking, oh, this person that you're portraying might be sitting in like the audience and might be watching you. So you need to do justice, you know, to that person. So I think that is a very beautiful approach.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

I have nothing to say because I haven't lived in your shoes to experience that, other than just, you know, some of the uh bad moments I've had where I've had to lay down an F-bomb, even though I represent this concept called the spirit of gratitude.

SPEAKER_03 24:13

Yeah, but like I said, no one is fully good and no one is fully bad.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Like you can have a bad day, and you can I think I I respectfully disagree because that's where I I view the world as people are inherently good, and everyone's trying to fight their own karmic past, and for us to become better today than when we were yesterday. Some people get it, and some people don't. But maybe that's just the optimism I have in humanity.

SPEAKER_03 24:43

But don't you think I know I know um you're asking the questions, but don't you think that um that puts a lot of pressure on you?

SPEAKER_01 24:52

No, it doesn't. In fact, I think I think it's liberating.

SPEAKER_03 24:54

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

Because I don't have to pretend who I'm not. Um, of course, I have to certainly, you know, speak respectfully to people. Um, but I guess it's just you know, the energy you project, I guess that's where it comes down to. It's uh, you know, if I'm gonna see the world in good and light, then you know, the universe will give me those experiences where I'm seeing good and light. For me, right? Certainly we're all different, and that's why this conversation has been really engaging for me, because I can certainly take elements of what you shared, and not to say that I question it, but it just adds to the experiences of how perhaps I see the world.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

And then going back to my original question about you know use losing this faith in gratitude, have you how have you rediscovered it, I should say, as you know, as you know, you've grown over the years. But does it look different? I I guess bottom, I guess the the the the right question uh to phrase is how does gratitude look different to you now than when you were younger?

Toxic Positivity And Small Gratitudes

SPEAKER_03 26:00

I think for me that I I really always wanted to be positive and optimistic, and I was to a certain extent, but I think to add to what I was asking before, it did add pressure to me to always have like this. Um I I call it, I mean, I feel like it is toxic positivity sometimes when you constantly feel like you need to force, I don't know, gratitude if you don't feel like it. I mean, what really got me back to feeling grateful is being grateful for like the small things, you know, writing down um being grateful for your gr uh for your being grateful for having a roof over your head, having such a good support system, and um running into a stranger and having a conversation with them, and then maybe never seeing them again. But like it's those like the there, those are little things that I had that I will always carry with myself, but I do feel like there was a turning point where I was constantly trying to force being positive. Um and I const like sometimes I feel like there is this pressure to always um see, to always see the good, or to always sometimes you just want to feel whatever is going on inside of your body, you know? And so two unexpected things happened, and that was really falling in love with wine and going to a place where I was just able to talk about wine and not about anything that had to do with acting or production, which was uh something that was unexpected. I mean, I always loved wine, but I didn't know how much I loved that, and so losing that job, and mind you, I feel like I was getting stepping away from acting for a few years, really, not really making it official, not really being in denial for a few years. Um, that was huge. And so finding a job like that where it was a great environment and I didn't have to talk about anything in the industry was kind of liberating, and then losing that was tougher than I thought. I'd never thought that I would be so, I mean, if I if because that was not my career goal, basically. Like wine was not where I wanted to go in my career. And so it was weird for me that that loss affected me so much, but it did. And I mean, that was really, really recent, but I feel like it has helped me come back to more spiritual thoughts, maybe also stepping away from acting and leaving that pressure behind to keep going. I think that relief probably may created like the capacity for me to think in such a way again and to find gratitude. So I feel like a huge lesson for me was being misaligned for so long with acting and being forced sometimes into some certain positions where you have a little bit of relief and you do find a way to find gratitude again. Um, so yeah, again, huge, huge um lesson for me is the misalignment that I had for years.

SPEAKER_01 29:43

Yeah, that's a lot of that's what you speak of is self-reflection and awareness. Again, knowing who you are, um, again, and still having that belief and conviction from when you were young to now. It there is that constant that I think in the next chapter you'll certainly be successful. I know that the citizens of Yog Nation, that's where I call my listeners, um, you know, we'll will uh in our spirit will support you. Final question though, yessi.

No Maps Included And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 30:11

Um, tell me about the pod the your podcast, no maps included, because I think that's certainly again relevant to the discussion about finding your path when there's no path to to follow.

SPEAKER_03 30:26

Yeah, so the reason why I wanted to create a podcast um in the first place was to explore what the emotional turmoil feels like when people are going through it, like when people are kind of in the mid-middle of either like a pivot or just their their path in their career, you know, like building a creative career. And the thing is, if you listen to really successful people, they will tell you, oh, this and this is how I got here. But you can't copy that path necessarily, it will not work out for you the same way, even if you follow all the exact steps. And so I was kind of sick of listening to people who are only successful. Like I want to hear about people who are in the thick of it. And so there are two parts of this podcast. One is me developing my um feature film, Stay Away, and being in the thick of that one too, and taking my audience with me on how on this journey of the ups and downs of filmmaking, because it sure is not easy. We all know it's not easy, but actually hearing from someone who is going through it, I think um can be helpful for either people who are in the film industry or uh in a creative path. Because I think also the pressure um to always have a success to post about is detrimental to your career because you then just keep following that dopamine hit, basically, and always want to post like always want to share something that is positive. I I don't think that is very helpful because life can be really hard and really messy. And the other part of this podcast is um to talk about um to talk to people about their pivots in life and their emotional turmoil, what what they're going through right now. So those are just two two things that I that I like to talk about.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Yeah, and and good luck to that, because I happen to listen to a few episodes as well. And you know, for me, what what stood out is having that trust and belief in yourself. I think that's where the nucleus is, and that'll never change in an individual. It's just as you mentioned, you go through these roadblocks that uh, but over that over time, those roadblocks, and I happen to believe that friction is a good thing. Because when you think of what wood is, right, sandpaper being friction, it helps smoothen that wood out. I mean, you look at how airplanes fly, right? There's there's uh there's drag and there's lift. So yeah, um, this has been wonderful, yessi. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, wisdom, and perspective. Again, for the citizens out there who see themselves in Yassi's journey about having this belief and conviction for the R from an early age, continuing to have that, even though life gives you these roadblocks, right? For lack of a better term, losing that faith. But how do you rediscover that uh that faith and gratitude? I think Yessi's a perfect example of how she's doing it in the thick of things. So, yes, see, good luck with everything uh from this point on forward. Um, I do hope you find fulfillment in uh in your career as you progress. And if there's anything that my myself or the citizens uh can do for you, let us know.

SPEAKER_02 34:01

Thank you so much for having me. It was really great talking to you.

SPEAKER_01 34:05

Pleasure was mine. Thank you again.