Do you believe everyone has a calling Sheila?
Sheila Houlahan, Actor, Singer, Producer and Writer: Wow what a question to start with! I
love it. Why ease into this thing? I actually do. I don't think I always did but I do believe
that people have a calling and I do believe let me rephrase that a bit what I believe is that
every single person has something that they are a genius at I really believe that geniusness is
not something that's like reserved for an elite few I think that having having some skill or some
knowledge base or what have you that you are a genius at is just a byproduct of the diversity
in all peoples and so I would say that a calling is an intersection between your zone of Genius
as it were and ultimately what kind of Legacy or what kind of good you want to leave with the world
so that's how I would define a calling and I do believe it I really do I think it took me many
years to get to the point where I believed it as strongly as I do now I know I have a calling and I
strongly believe everybody does truly well your parents wanted you to go into sort of the math
and sciences no actually my I really lucked out with my folks they they've always been supportive
I think to the point where there were times where I debated quitting the arts and they were like no
you're not gonna quit like don't don't because that's something that you're
gonna regret so I got my start actually in music and started basically working
quasi professionally from age six on and so there were times in school where it's like I want to do
what all the other kids are doing it's high school and they were like no you're gonna
stick the course so they were always supportive I'm very lucky in that regard there was never a
expectation of going to stem or doctor, lawyer, engineer for the Indian side of the family it
was never a part of my life what are some of the ways that someone will have their voice silenced
or their dreams silenced oh man same thing I think
that's a really interesting question I really do I mean we're gonna get
into some deep philosophies of mine but I really do feel that
we're going to go on a tangent it's gonna make sense I think there are two types of capitalism
I think there's a capitalism that is centered around abundance that is centered around everybody
can eat and Society does better when everybody is contributing together their gifts to make society
better and then there's the capitalism that we're used to seeing which is you only make
money and you only get ahead and you only achieve your dreams by squashing the people around you
so I think ultimately you find folks who are in those two different camps and there are a
lot of people running around especially in early education in college in these places where they're
being exposed to young people you find a lot of bitter folks who say like forget your dreams
give up on them now I also teach on the side it's something that I just I really like teaching and I
really like mentoring it's something that's really fun for me being able to give back and I have
never once told a student no this is not something you can do or don't have this dream because I am
not a fortune teller and I can't see into the future and say you will succeed or you will not
succeed all I can do is help nurture what they feel their calling is and then it's up to a lot
of things that are not in my control nor in their control as to whether it happens but I do believe
that if you're able to nurture somebody's voice and and not put on any of your own ego BS onto the
individual if you're able to really nurture them then they have the best chance at having their
dreams come true so I think to answer that so many factors that we think are helpful silence voices
and then of course if you're a woman if you're a person of color if you're if you're anything that
is not straight white male which I do believe that straight white males have this problem too I think
I think all different demographics of people have different ways that they're silenced from
sort of their cultural groups as it were there's different silencing methods but I think at the end
of the day it's like folks are silenced because someone told them it was in their best interest
but generally they're told it's in their best interest because somebody is assuming
they know best but really life Is random life is completely random the only two things that
are guaranteed are death and taxes so it's not any of our jobs to dictate whether or
not someone's dreams are possible I think as mentors as teachers as creatives all we can
do is lay the groundwork for somebody to dream what fears do you have about being an artist
fears do I have
I have a lot of fears I really do
it's funny I named I just made my own production company and it's called fool pictures and people
were like why is it called fool pictures and I said honestly because there's there's two reasons
plays into this I promise one is I used to believe that I didn't know what I was doing and therefore
I was a fool and it was like well I don't know what I'm doing but thank you for trusting me with
your time and your baby like let's try to make it happen over time I realized that it wasn't that I
didn't know what I was doing it's that other people inherently did not trust me because 'm
a young woman so how on earth could I have this knowledge already and I realized that that image
of the fool was their perception of me so when I think about how that ties into my own fears
all I want to do is tell stories that matter and tell stories that uplift people's people whose
voices have been silenced I want to highlight content from all genres that make a positive
impact by getting folks to think differently about people that they don't understand necessarily and
my greatest fear is that for some reason something will come and obstruct that from happening
but at the end of the day I think if you really are committed to to telling a story then no matter
what obstacle you face at some point you're going to tell it you can't promise that millions and
millions of people are going to see it but there is always a way to tell that story so I think
there are a lot of fears but if I really think about it they're all kind of ego based and
at the end of the day I think it's just about going out and doing what you came here to do
going forth and being like okay I have to tell this story which means there is no option for
failure which is a relief because then it turns into a well I'm going to tell the story no matter
what therefore everything else from here on out is bonus it's just like a different mindset shift
do you think it's our job to change people's minds or just to make content for the people
that have gravitate toward it that's interesting I like that you said job because I don't know
that it's necessarily our job I would say it's my job that's how I feel but I could
never put that on another on another filmmaker like I know what kind of content speaks to me
as a producer I know it excites me and what stories I want ultimately to help get told
but I don't think it's I could never put that on somebody else I couldn't I know there are folks
who are like I just want to make an action movie that goes boom boom and that's great
and I will probably watch that movie and be like this is fun I but I will say when
2020 happened and we all went into lockdown what did everybody do they turned on the TV
they opened up a book so historically when the world is in chaos we turn to art and I think
that we as a people still degrade the Arts and are still like that's not a real job you should be a
lawyer why aren't you doing business school well but this is a job that people find essential this
is something that helped keep people's sanity throughout all of 2020 especially when folks
were like living alone for months and months they turning to Art turning to different kind of story
based mediums is something that makes you feel a connection to humanity as a whole so I would say
it's not necessarily our job it's our opportunity you don't have to do it I love vanity content as
much as the next guy sometimes I want to sit down and be like that was fun and I it was mindless and
I had a great time but for me I feel that I have the opportunity to be able to change people's
minds with the stories that I make and tell and so for me that feels like a responsibility.