We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melanie Hicks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Melanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I have worked on to date is my memoir, Incongruent; Travel, Trauma, Transformation. I wrote my first book at ten years old. Over a summer vacation, in multi-colored marker, I crafted a story of a mine tragedy and the haunting of a town. While I heeded the risk aversion of my parents and did not pursue writing as a career, I knew in my heart that my calling was through words.

In my memoir, I use the ink to tell my story of healing in hopes it will help others see they are not alone. I tell my story of service and impact in hopes others will be called to serve. I tell my story of adventure in hopes it will inspire others to adventure. I tell my story of embracing dharma and working each day to be the fullest version of myself in hopes others will do the same.

This is my calling, to write and hope it helps someone along the way.

Melanie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an adventure seeking, social impact advocate dedicated to helping others overcome fear and live their dharma. I have had the privilege to lead or participate in service projects around the world and dedicates her life to creating impact on her own or amplifying the impact of others every single day.

I have been blessed to have a career rich in experiences. Along with being an author and ghostwriter, I currently serve as the Chief Programs Officer for the Warrior-Scholar Project as well as the Founder and Editor in Chief of Inked Elephant Publishing House.

In 2009 I founded a boutique consulting firm, InPursuit, to assist organizations navigate the future of education and work for increased retention, productivity, and revenue. As an experienced education, nonprofit and workplace expert, I developed a custom 3E Method of Change© that I have been blessed to speak about in interviews and publications in more than two dozen magazines and websites including Forbes.com, Marie Claire, Authority Magazine, See Beyond Magazine, The District, and Doctor’s Life Magazine.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The most impactful book I have ever read was The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope. In this work, he uses the stories of others to illustrate our journey to find our true life’s purpose, often referred to as dharma. I read this book three times before it really hit home for me. But in that third reading, everything changed.

While not using this term, his stories illustrate how many of us are dharma-adjacent. We construct careers that are overlapping or close to the path we are destined to be on, but just a bit off. And until we align ourselves with that true path, we can never really be happy.

When I founded InPursuit, it was a chapter where I needed to grow as an entrepreneur. It was inspiration to learn, to stretch and to hone my consultant skills. But a decade later, I realized it was also not quite my dharma sweet spot. That is when I began working on the next chapter, and realized all those skills were simply building the toolkit so my real purpose could be fulfilled.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Writing can be a lonely activity, fraught with silent vulnerability and piles of self doubt. My memoir Incongruent, had been a dream in my mind for a decade and a pile of ill-conceived notes for a few years more. The most difficult part was simply beginning to write. Forcing myself into a disciplined regiment of daily grind until I had what is often called the Sh$%#y First Draft. Then it was time to share. Attending my first writers conference, I proudly put my work on display and was promptly put in my place. Their words stung, their red lines looked like a bloody battle on my manuscript. I went home and cried. I laid the manuscript aside for a full month to gather my writers breath again. But then, I picked it back up and suddenly their comments made sense. They were right. They made my work better. They made me better. Incongruent got a second birth and it was beautiful.

It is ok to be hurt when life knocks you down. Its ok to take time and space to let the scars heal. But if you know in your heart this is your path, then look for the lessons. Do not let the sting tarnish the final product. Keep going. It will be worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.melaniehicks.org
• Instagram: @inpursuitmelsue
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelanieSueHicks
• Linkedin: Melanie Sue Hicks, PhD
• Twitter: @inpursuitmelsue
• Other: https://linktr.ee/MelanieSueHicks

Image Credits
Jeff Bark Bea Photos Jessie Stehlik