In this episode, I sit down with Sanya — a recent university graduate — to talk about what real life looks like after school.

And in keeping with Flashback Files’ theme of honesty and transparency, we left the “behind-the-scenes” conversation in the beginning. No polishing, no pretending. Just real people figuring it out.

Sanya opens up about:

• Starting university in the middle of COVID

• Feeling lost while everyone else “seemed” to have a plan

• Getting her first jobs in banking

• Feeling pressure to choose a career before she even knew what she liked

• Bombing interviews (and what she learned from that)

• Why networking never worked for her… until her mindset changed

• Landing a role at BMW, even when she doubted she belonged there

• Discovering fulfillment outside of her 9–5 through helping foster youth with financial literacy

This episode is for anyone who:

 feels behind

 doesn’t know what they want to do yet

 is burnt out from job applications

 thinks they need everything figured out by graduation

There’s no “perfect path” after school.

Sometimes you get lost. Sometimes you get lucky.

Sometimes the thing you didn’t plan for becomes the turning point.

Thanks for listening to Flashback Files — real stories, real lessons, no perfection required.

Part 2 of Ages 18–24 picks up at my first job in the career I went to school for — and the reality that it wasn’t what I imagined.

What looked like a dream job quickly turned into anxiety, performance warnings, embarrassment, and a hit to my confidence that followed me for years.

In this episode, I talk about:

• How it felt to land my “dream” internship

• The pressure of trying to look successful while secretly struggling

• Performance warnings, mistakes, and feeling like an imposter

• The leader whose treatment damaged my confidence — and what it taught me about the kind of leader I’d never become

• The moment I knew I had to leave

• Moving back home and rebuilding from scratch

• The power of warm introductions and how my network saved my career

This episode is for anyone who has ever:

 felt not good enough

 stayed in a job too long

 been scared to admit they were struggling

 worried about disappointing family or friends

I learned the hard way that failure isn’t the end — it’s the beginning of self-awareness.

Sometimes the wrong job teaches you more than the right one ever could.

Thanks for listening, and welcome to Part 2.

In this episode of Flashback Files, I cover the early years of adulthood — ages 18 to 24. This is Part 1, where life gets real for the first time: first full-time job, first taste of independence, and the pressure of trying to figure out who you are and what you’re doing with your life.

I talk about:

• Working as a full-time caretaker while my friends were still in high school

• Feeling out of place, insecure, and constantly compared to others

• The pride of doing real work, even when the job wasn’t glamorous

• Applying to college, moving away from home, and the culture shock that followed

• Working part-time while balancing school, money stress, friendships, and relationships

• Discovering fitness, routine, and the strength that comes from surviving tough days alone

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered:

“Am I behind? Am I doing enough? Why does everyone else seem further ahead?”

Ages 18–24 is where the world starts expecting you to have answers — even though none of us really do.

Thanks for listening, and welcome to Part 1.

In this episode of Flashback Files, I jump into ages 13 to 17 — the high school years. This was the chapter where insecurity, identity, friendship, and first relationships started shaping who I became.

I talk about:

• Leaving middle school confidence behind and starting over again

• Trying to be the person everyone else wanted instead of who I really was

• The pressure to fit in — through sports, friendships, and image

• My first long-term relationship and how jealousy, fear, and insecurity showed up

• The impact of socio-economic differences and why I felt “less than”

• How drama class and the school musical helped me find a piece of myself

This episode isn’t just about school, acne, dating, or sports — it’s about the moment many of us learn to hide parts of ourselves to get approval. And how long those habits can follow us into adulthood.

If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t belong, or you’ve changed yourself just to be accepted, you’ll relate to this one.

Flashback Files is about understanding the roots — the first experiences that built our confidence, self-esteem, fears, and strengths. When you understand where it started, you can change where it’s going.

Thanks for listening, and welcome back to the journey.

In this episode of Flashback Files, I go all the way back to ages 6 to 12 — before careers, before confidence, and before any of us had words to explain how we felt. These years shaped how I saw myself, how I tried to fit in, and how early patterns of insecurity and approval-seeking began.

I talk about:

• What it felt like to be mixed-race in spaces where I stood out

• Trying to fit in by being the “funny one”

• How anger, jealousy, and insecurity started way earlier than I realized

• The first moments that shaped how I handle pressure, friendships, and fear

• The roots of perfectionism and why I was so afraid of being wrong

Even if your childhood looked completely different than mine, this episode is about something almost everyone carries into adulthood without noticing: the stories we start telling ourselves about who we are and what we’re worth.

This isn’t about blaming parents or the past. It’s about understanding how much of our behavior today started long before we were “grown.”

The goal of this episode is simple:

 to help you feel less alone

 to help you recognize what shaped you

 and to help you move forward with more confidence and self-awareness

Thanks for listening, and welcome to Flashback Files.

Real stories. Real lessons. No perfection required.

Flashback Files Kick Off | Episode 1

Welcome to the very first episode of Flashback Files.

I’m Josh Green — and before we get into childhood stories, journal entries, first jobs, and leadership lessons, I want to tell you why this podcast exists.

A lot of young adults feel like they’re supposed to have everything figured out—who they are, what they want, where they’re going.

I didn’t.

And pretending I did only made life harder.

This podcast is about the real journey behind confidence, identity, and leadership. Not the Instagram version—the human one.

In this kickoff episode, I share:

• What Flashback Files is about

• Who it’s for

• Why my story might help you with yours

• What to expect in the coming episodes

If you’ve ever felt behind, insecure, overwhelmed, or unsure of your place in the world, you’re not alone.

You don’t need to be perfect to belong here.

Thanks for listening—and welcome to Flashback Files.