MelAnn is the creative behind Life Souvenirs. She is a wife, mom, and passionate lifelong storyteller who has been writing poetry and short stories since she was old enough to write words that form a complete thought.
Kuel Life is thrilled to introduce MelAnn to our Kuel Life Community. She joins the roster of Thought Leaders this month and will be bringing to us her story telling gifts. We all have fascinating stories. We need to share them with others. There is a lot to learn from each other.
KUELLIFE: What type of business do you own/run?
“I realized that the only way I could do that in my new home base, was to become a consultant/freelancer.”
MelAnn – A Writer And A Storyteller:
MelAnn: I am a writer and storyteller. I specialize in capturing the stories that matter most & telling them in creative, meaningful ways that celebrate the person or moment being honored. My passion is teaching others to do this.
KUELLIFE: What prompted you or drove you to become an entrepreneur? When?
MelAnn: I worked for Apple 20+ years ago. The culture and complete joy it was to work there ruined me when it came to working for anyone else when I moved to be closer to my family. I realized that the only way I could do that in my new home base, was to become a consultant/freelancer.
I began doing the things I had the most business experience in; while it brought in the dollars, it didn’t bring me much joy. Eventually, I fell into something more in line with what I’m passionate about and is what ended up being the foundation of the brand I have now.
Shiny Object Syndrome:
KUELLIFE: What’s your biggest struggle?
MelAnn: My biggest struggle is coping with and navigating severe ADHD. I am a long-time sufferer of Shiny Object Syndrome. Not only does my ADHD brain want to chase all the things, it is delusional in thinking it can actually do – as in finish – all the things. This kind of lifestyle generates lots of self-inflicted guilt, shame, embarrassment, and second-guessing myself. Lots and lots of second-guessing myself.
KUELLIFE: What is your biggest fear as an entrepreneur? How do you work through it?
“If you’re lucky, you get to chase your dream, you find success..”
MelAnn: Ironically, my biggest fear is success; the kind of success I envision in the big dream for my life that I’ve had since I was young. I’ve identified two reasons for this.
You Learn:
The first reason is what’s next after that? Somewhere along the way, I have a distorted idea of life’s timeline. I have no idea where it comes from. Basically, you are born. You learn. You go live your life and do your thing. If you’re lucky, you get to chase your dream, you find success and achieve what you’re here in this life to do and then you die.
The second reason I fear success is because it requires me to come out from my hiding place. That ADHD thing I was talking about? Awareness of this naturally sends me into hiding.
My process is a matter of shifting my focus. Focusing on my wins. Giving myself a high five at the end of the day for every little thing I did accomplish that day. I know I always have one thing – making my bed. I didn’t succumb to road rage today, fed my pets, cooked a good meal for my family. Moreover, I saw a beautiful flower today.
MelAnn’s Senses:
I also anchor in with my senses. What did I see today? What did I smell? Touch? Hear? Taste? Our senses are proof we showed up! So, if I have an answer for these questions, I showed up today!
Then when all else fails, I have a dance party by myself and be silly and then claim the fact that I didn’t die nor did I kill anyone today in efforts to show up for my life and risk being seen, heard, touched,.. Well, you get the idea.
“Success is the journey – not a destination.”
If I show up for success in my personal life in ways most people don’t see; it gives me the confidence that carries over to show up to be seen and heard in my professional life.
Daily Assessment:
KUELLIFE: How do you measure your success?
MelAnn: Daily. I have a daily assessment. Did I:
- Show up for my life today?
- Smell, taste, touch, see, and hear today?
- Do more things in the “Want More of This” column than things that landed in the “I Want Less of This in my Life” column?
- Was I brave today?
- Love today?
- Did I laugh today?
- Did I celebrate someone today?
- Am I grateful today?
- Connect with something bigger than myself today (cause, God, etc)?
- Do something that mattered today?
- Take action today that got me closer to my goals and dreams than I was when I woke up this morning?
Weekly. Every week if I can find a story from my life that I want to remember a year from now, that is also success.
Success Is The Journey:
Success is the journey – not a destination. If I can answer yes to any of those assessment questions, then I am having success in my journey. Some days I might have more in that yes check box than others. But it never cancels out any of the success I’ve had to that point. That may not be enough for Success Magazine, but it is enough for me.
KUELLIFE: Finally, what advice would you give other women about taking an entrepreneurial path?
MelAnn: Don’t do it. (Ha!) But seriously, if you are weak then don’t take this path. You won’t survive it. But on the other hand, if you can survive this, you can survive anything. Don’t you at least owe it to yourself to try… no matter what I say? You’ll need some fistfuls of bravery and maybe even a dash of insanity. Yeah, you’ll be just fine!
“An entrepreneur is a Phoenix that rises out of the ashes..”
A Phoenix:
You want to dance like people you’ve seen in those Reels that go viral? You are in luck! Put on your dancing shoes because your dance card is full with partners like fear, self-doubts, burn-out, tears, frustration, disbelief, comparisonitis, and the most important one: That stunning woman in the mirror who in spite of all the things this journey throws at her, she keeps showing up for her spin on the dance floor.
Oh, and one last thing: I hope you’re not afraid of transformation. Any strength or confidence or delusion that you know who you are and know what you’re doing is likely to be completely deconstructed or outright obliterated, set on fire, and burned to ash. An entrepreneur is a Phoenix that rises out of the ashes from the death of everything she just thought she knew or had a grasp on that didn’t belong.
It’s a journey that has the ability to both shatter and build your strength, confidence, and often your own identity all at the same time. It’s worth it. All of it. Then, if you’re really lucky, you get to participate in interviews like this one and look back on your own journey and marvel while asking yourself, “What was I thinking?”
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