We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kevin McNulty. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kevin below.

Alright, Kevin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Do It Afraid
Success often demands that we move before we feel ready. I wasn’t the best guitarist. I wasn’t the most confident performer. But I said yes anyway — and that opened every door that followed. Sometimes, you just have to leap before you’re certain. Like the saying goes: Jump, and the net will appear.

Ask for Help
I wouldn’t have made it through that tour if I hadn’t had the courage to lean on someone else’s strength. My bandmate became my teacher. Mentorship, support, collaboration — these aren’t signs of weakness, they’re what allow you to grow faster. Don’t go it alone. Know your allies.

Stay in the Game
I failed multiple times before I ever got a call back. I lost talent shows. I was overlooked. But I stayed in the game — learning, pivoting, and staying ready for opportunity. In the end, persistence is a form of success — because it keeps you close enough to catch your break.

STORY:
I’ve always been a dreamer — as a teenager, I wanted to be a rock star, an entertainer, even a movie actor. I wasn’t dabbling in creativity — I believed that’s what I was made for.

So after graduating high school in 1977, I moved to the Nashville area — or close, anyway. Bowling Green, Kentucky. I set out to make it. But within 24 hours, I realized I wasn’t even in the parking lot of that dream. I didn’t have the skills, the know-how, or the means. I floundered. I failed miserably. I ended up homeless.

Eventually, I joined the Air Force in 1979 — working water and waste. My dreams of performing? Gone.

But then I learned about Tops In Blue — the Air Force’s elite touring entertainment group. They ran talent competitions to find performers. I started competing — first as a singer — and lost. Several times. But I couldn’t shake the hope.

When I was stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany, I finally got strategic. The vocal competition was stacked — but there weren’t many bands. So I built one. Funky, energetic, and focused on one thing: entertaining the judges.

We made it to the Worldwide Talent Competition — the final step before Tops In Blue selection. I was among the best of the best, but honestly, I had serious imposter syndome. I just didn’t feel like I was on the level needed. But I still auditioned for everything (ballet included), showed up everywhere, and gave it all I had.

I didn’t make the cut.

Then, a month or so later, I was working a midnight shift in Germany, I got a call:
“Airman McNulty? We lost our guitar player. Can you come?” I thought to myself “guitar player?!!! ME!!!

I considered myself a singer. I really wasn’t that good on guitar. I was a very talented rhythm strummer, but had no formal training. I was having this entire conversation inside and the later finally asked again, well!? I said yes. I may make a fool of myself, but I’m not going to say no.

They flew me to San Antonio. Within hours, I was on stage reading chord charts I couldn’t decipher. I was in deep over my head. Every time the director walked in, I physically shook — expecting to be dismissed…i.e., sent home.

A bandmate — the saxophonist — saw me struggling and said, “If you’re willing to put in the extra time, I’ll teach you.” He had a master’s in guitar. After 15-hour rehearsal days, we stayed later and drilled chords every night.

I survived. I toured the world: Japan, Korea, the Philippines, the U.S.

At our final banquet, the director said: “I had this man’s plane ticket sitting in my drawer. I just couldn’t give it to him. I’ve never seen anyone want it more.”

That moment defined me. And it changed my life in more ways than I ever imagined.

Aside from this tour being beyond my wildest dreams, I was called back to tour 3 more times. And! I also met the woman who would become my wife. Jane was a fellow Tops In Blue performer — a veteran in her own right. Nearly 40 years later, we’re still together. We were the first couple to ever be inducted into the Tops In Blue Hall of Fame — the Golden Roger award. While still in the Air Force, we even launched our own entertainment company, producing shows across the U.S. and overseas.

All of that happened because I said yes when I was afraid.
Because I showed up when I was underqualified.
Because I did it afraid.

That’s what I believe it takes to be successful.
You don’t need your passion to outweigh your fear — just to be slightly stronger. Strong enough to move. Strong enough to say yes. And then — show up, work harder, and refuse to quit.

Success isn’t reserved for the talented.
It’s earned by the committed.

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

I’m Kevin McNulty — a personal development coach, speaker, and author who has spent most of my adult life helping individuals and organizations navigate human dynamics, leadership, and change. But before all of that, I was a dreamer with stars in my eyes and no idea how to make those dreams real.

In my late teens, I chased a dream of becoming a rock star, actor, or performer. I moved to the Nashville area to make it big. Within 24 hours, I realized I wasn’t even in the parking lot. I floundered. Failed. Ended up homeless. And eventually joined the Air Force in 1979 out of pure necessity.

That “rock bottom” season turned out to be a turning point.

While serving, I auditioned repeatedly for Tops In Blue, the Air Force’s elite touring entertainment troupe. I was underqualified, scared, and constantly rejected — until I finally got the call. That story, which I now tell in my keynote called Do It Afraid, changed the entire trajectory of my life.

I served for 20 years in the Air Force and retired in 2000. Ironically, we ended up settling in the Nashville area — right where my early failures began — but this time, things were different. I returned as an entertainer of a different kind: a keynote speaker, leadership coach, and change consultant. I built a coaching and consulting practice from the ground up, helping clients turn transitions, challenges, and people problems into growth opportunities.

Over the years, I’ve worked with NASA, the U.S. military, Jack Daniel’s, and numerous companies and teams in the public and private sector. I specialize in culture change, leadership development, communication, conflict resolution, and personal transformation. My core offerings include coaching, training, consulting, keynote speaking, and soft skill frameworks I’ve developed and refined over time.

I also wrote the book The Gap Between Two Worlds, which offers a visual and practical model for navigating life and career transitions — whether personal, professional, or organizational.

One of my proudest accomplishments is that during my Tops In Blue tour, I met Jane — my best friend, fellow veteran, and the woman who became my wife. We were the first couple ever inducted into the Golden Roger Hall of Fame. While still in the Air Force, we launched an entertainment company together, producing shows across the U.S. and internationally.

What sets me apart? I don’t just teach leadership, transition, or growth — I’ve lived it. I’ve been at the bottom. I’ve had to pivot multiple times. I’ve rebuilt, adapted, and done it afraid more than once. And now I use all of that to help others move through their own “gap” and come out stronger on the other side.

If there’s one thing I want potential clients or collaborators to know, it’s this: I bring depth, authenticity, and practical tools to the table — not hype. My goal is always to help people grow where it really matters.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For years, I had this fixed picture in my mind of what “success” was supposed to look like. I was going to be a rock star literally. That was the dream. Music was my passion, and I had early wins that made it feel not only possible, but inevitable. But the truth is, the door just never fully opened. And the longer I held on, the more frustrated and disillusioned I became.

The lesson I had to unlearn? That success only counts if it looks the way I originally imagined it. I had to let go of that rigid vision in my head and the ego that came with it…in order to discover the purpose that was actually meant for me.

Ironically, after a 20-year career in the U.S. Air Force, my wife and I found ourselves back in Nashville…Music City where I continued as an “entertainer,” but in an entirely different way. I became a keynote speaker and built a leadership coaching practice. I didn’t stop performing; I just changed stages. I realized my life was still about moving people not with lyrics, but with stories, principles, and human connection. Jane started a music studio…and Chairwoman of Board of the Tennesssee Philharmonic Orchestra. We still both perform.

Sometimes the most powerful pivot isn’t a rejection of your dream, it’s a redirection toward the version that’s more aligned with who you’re really here to be.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Ha! No brainer. :) I met Jane, my wife and business partner, when we were both serving in the U.S. Air Force. We were stationed at different bases but both auditioned for a military entertainment troupe called Tops in Blue. It was a grueling, high-pressure competition. She was a singer and dancer. I was a keyboardist. We made the cut, traveled the world performing for troops, and somewhere in between rehearsals, flights, and late-night performances, we became something more.

Fast forward. We’ve been married coming up on 39 years now, raised a family, and after military retirement, we decided to build something together. Not just a life, but a complete collaborative life…she helps in my work and I in hers. We formed a partnership built on deep trust, shared values, and a mutual passion for helping others grow.

There is something really special about working with someone who sees your blind spots, speaks your language, and wants the best for you even when it is hard. We don’t always agree, and that is a good thing, but we challenge each other in all the right ways. Our business is not just a brand. It is a reflection of the relationship we’ve built over a lifetime. That is what makes it all work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.humadyn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinmcnultyspeaks/
• Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmcnultyspeaks/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Twitter: https://x.com/KevinSpeaks2u (not much to see here)
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KevinMcNultyTV
• Other: Here I was recently was a guest…telling my “Do It Afraid” (Tops in Blue) story: https://www.linkedin.com/events/kevinmcnultyonhoblive7358501445211484160/