We recently connected with Kelly Swanson and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kelly, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I never planned on being where I am. My only goal was to get married and have kids. I was the shy picked-on kid, bullied, and retreated into myself and a world I created in my head. The stories I wrote charmed and inspired me. I literally changed my life by changing the story in my head. The stories tumbled out of my head and onto paper. Still just for me. Never thought anything would come of it. In the meantime – just find a job until you find a husband. No interest in a career. But in my spare time I danced inside these stories. They brought me incredible joy. My secret became my art, and somewhere along the way a desire to share it. Ended up in a writing class after college with a bunch of teachers who loved my story I had to read aloud (gulp) and asked me to come to their school as a “storyteller.” I had no idea that someone would actually pay you for that. So I did it. The art teacher at that school was a professional storyteller (who knew there was such a thing?) and invited me to the NC Storytellers Guild. And so began my journey into story, and finding people to actually pay me to do it. Over the years I have morphed from telling stories at schools and nursing homes, to being a comedian, to being a motivational speaker, to telling stories on cruise ships, a TV show, stages all over the world, and now into theaters! Over the years I learned how to make myself more marketable by figuring out how to teach people my art so that it would bring value to their business. I became a strategic storytelling coach, which has turned into private coaching, retreats, books, online programs, and now a course and a membership program. So I have the delightful job of being able to DO my art and TEACH it. And I built all of this by myself, on a shoe string budget, when others found me weird and said it would never work. This past summer I was inducted into the NSA Speakers Hall of Fame, and my new theater show (Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale – based on the book) is now being booked in theaters all over the US. The two biggest lessons I learned, were to be persistent, and trust that your weird idea is good enough for those who think it isn’t. The ones who tell you it can’t be done, will turn out to be the ones in line buying a ticket to watch it.
Kelly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, and cast member of The Fashion Hero television show airing on Amazon Prime. She is also author of Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale, The Land of If Only, The Story Formula, and The Gutsy Girls Pocket Guide to Public Speaking. She was a featured entertainer for Holland America Cruise Lines, keynote speaker for the International Toastmasters Convention, and has keynoted major conferences and corporate events from coast to coast. She just launched her one-woman show Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale in theaters and it is being booked all over the country. In July of 2022 she was inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame.
Kelly’s wacky wit and powerful stories have charmed hearts and tickled funny bones for over 18 years. In addition to her role as a funny motivational speaker, Kelly teaches people how she does it by sharing what she has learned about connecting and engaging to have more influence in business, through the use of one tool – strategic storytelling. Sharing her own powerful journey through story and the formula she discovered, you come to that magical place where the art of story meets the business of persuasion.
Ways to stay in touch:
Kelly Swanson
www.MotivationalSpeakerKellySwanson.com (SpeakerSite)
www.StoryImpactAcademy.com (Training,Coaching,Teaching)
www.WhoHijackedMyFairyTale.com (TheaterShow)
www.PridesHollow.buzzsprout.com (PridesHollowPodcast)
New! Just inducted into the NSA Speakers Hall of Fame!
Award-Winning Storyteller, Comedian, Motivational Speaker
Author of The Story Formula , Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale , The Affirmation Journal for Positive Thinking , and coming soon: The Persuasion Principle TM
Taking you to that magical place where the art of story meets the business of persuasion. Laughing the whole way.
Spend the year with me! Story Impact Academy is open for enrollment!!! www.StoryImpactAcademy.com
Want to hang out with online in my own Story Impact Clubhouse? It’s Free! Join me! www.StoryImpactNetwork.com
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Chub Rub Girl is my most popular story of resilience. It takes about ten minutes to tell if you want me to tell it in the interview, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s a story about wearing a pair of sequin pants to a networking event and looking like a fool – but choosing to own it anyway – and how it turned out to launch my theater career.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I have a twist answer to this question. I don’t believe it is society’s job to “get us” and help us make our art work. I believe it’s our job to help them “get” us -and to be masters at translating our value to their world. I don’t want someone to support my art because I asked or forced them to. I want them to support my art because they can’t help it – because they are fans of my work – because they WANT to support me.
However…….we do need help as artists, because most of us have no idea how to sell ourselves, market our work, showcase our work, get more work like it, or translate our value to the buyers. We also need help getting ourselves in front of people who like what we do. We have something amazing, and most of the world doesn’t know we’re here because it is “rigged” to support only a select few.
If I could wave a magic wand, I would help artists get their work in front of the masses in a way that translates the value. That is how society could support art.
When I first started trying to make a living out of my art, I thought I would just build it and they would come. Nope. Doesn’t work that. I had to learn how to bring them to me. I still haven’t figured it out. Even people who own other types of business have not figured that out!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://motivationalspeakerkellyswanson.com/bio-for-motivational-speaker/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelly_swanson_speaker/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotivationalSpeakerKellySwanson
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/motivationalspeaker1/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/motivationspkr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxJ-_s6URKYlK6bOv1DCqeA
- Other: Podcast: https://prideshollow.buzzsprout.com Story Social Network: https://story-impact-network.mn.co/feed Story Impact Academy: https://www.storyimpactacademy.com/
Image Credits
Sara Petty