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

Alright, Patsy 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’ll never forget the way friends and colleagues showed up for me during a life-altering period of time filled with significant change and massive grief. I was caring for my dad whose health was declining 300 miles away from my home and business and I had to support a client with a three-day live event we’d been working toward for months. Upon returning to town for the event, friends showed up in droves offering to support me with everything from set-up to breakdown, and all the moving parts in between. I still get emotional thinking about it— as there is no way I would have been able to pull off the experience without their love and generosity of time.

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

I graduated from college with a degree in Public Relations and started on the path in a traditional corporate setting as a Marketing Coordinator. A winding road lead me to spend about a decade in and out of corporate settings in marketing-communications-branding-related roles, back to school to earn a secondary degree in graphics, multimedia, and web design, and launch a blog centered around the theme of celebration. I went on to spend a number of years as a freelance brand development consultant, earned a certificate in transformational life coaching along the way, followed by a run at business ownership supporting purpose-driven entrepreneurs with brand storytelling, event strategy, and content development to reach the people they most desired to serve while making a more meaningful impact on the world. More recently, I acquired licensure to perform weddings. I have been having so much fun– and finding so much meaning– weaving my strengths of story gathering and storytelling to support couples in capturing and sharing their unique stories with those they choose to celebrate nuptials with. 

Along that meandering path, I continued to invest in intentional self-discovery and cultivating a relationship with Source. I’ve come to believe that when we understand who we are, and what makes us uniquely us, we can own our innate worth and take aligned action to create an experience (and life) that is true to us — one of joy, meaning, and fulfillment. 

Today, I’m on a mission to help others identify, celebrate, and live fully into the expression of who they are. When we can see the truth of who we are and own the significance of our stories without the weight we often unconsciously attach to them, we can find momentum toward the experiences we desire to create. 

My offerings include intuitively guided Soul-to-Soul sessions, Brand Therapy, and Celebrant services.

Through all of my work, I see people and help people be seen: 

Soul-to-Soul sessions are designed to help individuals gain clarity, create discernment, and align their energy. During our time together, clients receive healing and guidance from their Soul and anyone in Spirit who would like to step forward to emphasize the message that their Higher Self would like their human self to know. 

We live in a society where output is measured and celebrated, and we “do, do, do,” often in response to external forces. Anyone can take action, but if the action doesn’t match up with our personal values and the direction of our inner life force, we’re often left feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. I believe cultivating a relationship with our Soul is the pathway toward accessing true potential and living a more peaceful, fulfilling life. 

This point of view also guides the work I do with Brand Therapy clients. Together, we uncover, analyze, and develop the brand’s identity, values, and communication style to create a stronger connection with its target audience. The goal of brand therapy is to develop a deep understanding of a brand’s essence– its inner life force– the people behind the brand, and how they desire to work, then use that knowledge to strategically develop marketing and messaging that will resonate with its target audience. Through brand therapy, a brand can identify what makes it unique and appealing, and use that information to build a stronger, more authentic relationship with its audience. 

As a Celebrant, I work with couples to gather the stories of their individual lives, how they came together, fell in love, and intend to build a life in sacred partnership. Then, together, we work to craft a personalized, sentimental, and memorable ceremony that represents who they are as a couple and celebrates their commitment to one another in a way that feels authentic to them.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When my life and business unraveled after all that change all at once, I turned my focus from helping business owners elevate and celebrate their brands through live events, workshops, and retreats to supporting business owners with online brand storytelling. Helping individuals and organizations see themselves clearly and reorient their perspective to see the value in what got them to where they are, is what supports them in writing the story of where they want to go. 

Looking back on it now, that unexpected pivot was just the medicine I needed at the time. It’s hard to see ourselves, and even harder to celebrate ourselves– especially when that sense of self-identity gets rocked. This can happen when all we’ve known and created is crumbling, or 

when we find ourselves outgrowing the systems and structures we put in place to get us where we are. We so easily forget that the only constant is change. We’re continuously evolving as individuals, and in business, so learning to pause and evaluate– and dare I suggest, celebrate– what got us to each pivotal moment, will only support us in making the necessary changes that will aid our growth. 

The stories we tell the world matter. The brand stories we share can build brand awareness, foster emotional connections with our customers— and differentiate us in a competitive marketplace. But, I would argue, the stories that we tell ourselves, about ourselves and our

experiences, are even more important. The stories we tell ourselves can influence our self-perception and self-esteem. The more loving and understanding we can be towards ourselves, the more positive shifts we’ll see in our self-perception and self-esteem, and in turn, in the relationships, we have with others– be they personal or professional. 

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

In 2014, I launched a blog called And Celebrate to inspire people to find something to celebrate every day— beyond life’s traditional milestones and “happy moments.” Shortly after it launched, I recognized that purpose-driven entrepreneurs could use a partner in brand building, event strategy, and content development to reach the people they most desired to serve while making a more meaningful impact on the world. During that season, the essence of the mission remained, but the form temporarily changed while I channeled it into a business supporting business owners to grow their brands through live event experiences. 

Then, life delivered some surprises: the sudden death of a hometown friend, a terminal cancer diagnosis followed by caregiving of my, now, late father, aaand the uncoupling of a 7-year marriage— all within the same year. During that tender time, I found myself returning to the original mission and message of And Celebrate: it is possible to find something to celebrate every day. For the first time in my own life, I was invited to put this philosophy, outlook, and way of being to the ultimate test: 

This living mantra not only guided me through the muck, but enabled me to do so with grace and compassion and so much love. Embodying the mission reminded me to look for beauty in the pain, to find moments of levity in the density, and to appreciate simplicity through the complexity. 

All of that change, all at once, cracked me w-i-d-e open and invited me to re-evaluate everything. Outward expression took a backseat as I entered a phase of deep healing and reflection. As I put words to paper, a philosophy emerged which you can find here: https://www.andcelebrate.com/philosophy. 

I’ve come to understand that resilience is not only about bouncing back from difficult experiences, but taking those difficult experiences and looking at them as an opportunity for growth and transformation. Connecting with a higher power, intuition, and all-that-is supports us in building that resilience muscle, all the way down to the neurological and biochemical level. My resilience journey has been so profound, that it has deeply influenced the way I work with people today. Not only am I helping people see themselves and be seen in the world, but I am supporting them in connecting to and strengthening their own resilience muscles along the way. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.patsykenney.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patsykenney/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/patsykenney
• Other: www.andcelebrate.com