Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jill Saunders. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jill thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

I love this question! I have been blessed to have many acts of kindness in my life. There is one act of kindness that touches my heart in a really good way. My story is that I began to write empathy greeting cards when I was in a dark spot, and seeking some way to heal and make the world a little better. I have no training as a writer or as an artist, so this was all an experiment. I began to create greeting cards using hand-lettered fonts and type fonts. Believe me, I’ve made a lot of kind of ugly things. Here’s where the kind act comes in. I enjoy selling products at holiday markets, and I bring a box of different empathy cards to the markets. The kind act is when a person stops at the box, looks at all the cards, then says “this card is just perfect for ________”. I love it when my words are spot on for what someone wants to say to someone. It’s such an act of kindness when they acknowledge my writing and creativity. My mission is to touch people’s hearts in a really good way, so to know that my products will be given to someone is a huge act of kindness!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So, I started to really hone this creative act of coaching + creating when I was in a dark spot. I was a single mom, working in a really demanding corporate job, feeling unappreciated, and pretty exhausted from managing a house and raising my son. One night, I was feeling sad and empty, and wrote in my journal, “Dear God, please give me something fun to do to make the world a little better.” In the days and weeks that followed, I just felt this urge to keep writing about it all. Then one night, this burst out on the paper, I wrote “When she headed off in the direction of her dream, she forgot to tell anyone where she was going, then she realized it was a good thing, because no one could tell her not to go…” I loved it! It was like God was giving me a message to go – go in the direction of my dream – even though I had not idea where that was! From that experience, I began to write more, to hone in on the act of listening to the heart. Then, I began to create a coaching + retreat business. I have worked as a coach and facilitator in Fortune 250 companies, so I have some skills! I love to teach women this really important act of listening to what is really true for them. Bottom line, my craft is all about listening + paying attention to the heart. I’m all about silencing the noise to honor our truest expressions in a world that is filled with distractions, challenges, and many responsibilities. I love listening to people, and helping them to create a dream for themselves that fills their life with a little more love, joy, and possibility. I also love to create greeting cards and journals that capture the essence of this journey we are on.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I recently wrote a book, and it was being considered for publication by a publisher. However, I didn’t quite have enough of a social media following for the publisher to proceed with the project. This experience caused me to stop and think about the social media platforms, and how/if social media was of service to me, did I really want to pursue growing a social media following? So, the lesson I was unlearning was kind of an ego lesson – hoping to get a following. Here’s where I landed with it. Social media is part of our world. Instead of hoping for followers, I’m shifting my relationship with it to be a place to share kindness, love, authenticity, wisdom, care. If it feels good to share with these values, then do it! But if I get caught up in a game of feeling like I have to post something, then it’s working against my spirit of generous, creative sharing.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think what I love about my practice of creativity is getting an inspiration from “something bigger” that turns into a card a journal that can touch someone’s heart. in a really good way. I love sitting in the quiet of the morning. and feeling a nudge to write something unique. Or, in the busyness of the day or driving in the car, having a whisper of an inspiration. It fills me up with joy and possibility that these nudges want to be created through me to make the world a little kinder.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jilldianesaunders.com
• Instagram: @jilldianesaunders

Image Credits
All saying and images copyright of Jill Diane Saunders