We recently connected with Sara Ann Kelly and have shared our conversation below.
Sara Ann, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
A little over two years ago, I started my podcast, The Make Life Rich Movement. After being in the public relations industry for 13 years at the time, I was burnout and disenfranchised with helping capitalistic endeavors along and needed a change. The show centers around highlighting individuals making a difference in the world with their efforts, rather than detracting like so many focused on returns are these days. With three episodes a week, Tuesday and Thursday are interviews with my guests. I have interviewed SO MANY UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS that are truly and visibly making a change in the world, and it lights me up unlike anything else I have ever done in my life. On Sundays, I host a solo episode called the Sunday Strategy Sessions where I discuss a certain idea within the self growth, faith journey and entrepreneurial realms. I have roughly 283 episodes as I type this and could not be more proud of the stories, journeys and lives shared there. My Father, who passed away 6 years ago, would have LOVED this show and likely been a producer, lol. I am so happy to have a place where I can still continue on the deep conversations he and I would have, with others. Feels bittersweet and rather comforting.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I dove head first as a beginner into podcasting in 2023. With an entire career in public relations as experience, I began my show with the intention of making a difference by sharing incredible stories that remind us why we all do what we do with intent and love. The show feels like such a breath of fresh air to me because my guests and I only discuss REAL topics. No fluff here, ever. I pride myself on injecting the ‘when was the last time you thought about your mortality’ into a conversation with someone if they try talking to me about the weather. And the show has become an embodiment of the reality I faced immediately after losing my Father 6 years ago- the world we are forced to live in is VERY fake, and they WANT it that way. Life became very difficult to tolerate, especially in a huge city like Philadelphia, where I was living at the time of my Fathers passing. Shortly after, my husband and I packed up our 18 and 20 year lives in Philadelphia and moved back to my childhood home in Cape May, NJ. What followed was full of INTENSE inner child healing, emotional intelligence work, and reparenting I DID NOT anticipate facing in what was already an extremely grief-ridden time. Through the next two years, I worked diligently in navigating the day-to-day growth and changes coming at me, leading me to want to share what I was going through and learning in an effort to help others. I also wanted to speak to REAL people who had been through something in their life that led them to feel how off the world around us was. This was the birth moment of the Make Life Rich Movement. The incredible connections that I have made have been the absolute icing on the cake to what has been a true dream come true of a project. I also talk a lot about faith, namely, getting to know God. I did not grow up with religious teachings, although I learned from a VERY young age that someone set in a better position than us will dictate if my Father dies or lives (he was diagnosed with a rare cancer and given 30 days to live when I was 12…he lived for 27 more years but was very ill for most of it). Since his passing 6 years ago, I have been on a quest to get closer to him, the ultimate lessons of life, and the creator of it all, God. As a newbie on this journey, a lot of my Sunday Strategy Sessions have been me sharing what I am learning along the way. To be fair, though, every episode I have ever recorded had the presence of God in it, I was just giving Him another name- Universe, the Source, the Creator. I say this to caution someone who is not particularly inclined to listen to faith-based episodes to know that the nomenclature is for you to choose, but the information is all the same, and you are worthy of it, and the change and growth it brings. <3 My goal is to have MLRM be my full-time gig, complete with charitable organizations to make a further impact during and beyond the episodes.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Having helped entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes over the years, there isn’t enough time in the day to lay down all the tips and tricks I have amassed and witnessed throughout my career. I can however recommend my podcast as a resource, with over 283 episodes that all have practical and important information that will aid you on your business and personal growth journeys. I have interviewed the best of the best- from Fortune 500 winners to Oscar nominees, to Olympic Athletes, and MORE. One thing they all have in common? The goal of growing in their purpose 1% a day. And each and every episode will give you that and so much more.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Maybe not struggle, but I want to highlight one of the biggest ‘ahhaa’ moments for me in my business that happened almost 5 years ago and was the KEY to my growth. I had spent years trying to grow my business to no avail. I did all the things the experts say to do, and I just felt like I could barely keep afloat financially, despite doing so much ‘work’ every day. It took me realizing one day that my personal life and lack of growth were completely inhibiting my business in ways I had not ever considered before. And it led to burnout, frustration, fear, and self-sabotage, time and time again. In order for my business to thrive, my closets had to be swept clean. I had to do some inner healing work and reparenting to be able to establish the internal requirements to run a successful business with ease. We are shown by tycoons with teams in the 100s running their empires that if we can’t get it all done in a day, we aren’t properly using the same 24 hours that Beyonce has. I lived by this sentiment, nearly taken out by the hustle culture that I identified with lockstep throughout my career. It was the gift of giving myself the right to move at the pace that felt best for me that truly allowed me to begin shedding unhealthy work habits that were literally crippling my business and ruining my health and mental wellness. Once my healing journey began with my body and mind, my business began to follow suit. We cannot set aside personal growth with the intent of bidding more good fortune into our business for time ‘well spent’. We must grow both as a set of fraternal twins- both important, both connected.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.makeliferichmvmt.com
- Instagram: saraannkellypr, makeliferichmvmt
- Twitter: saraannkellypr
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@makeliferichmvmtpodcast
- Other: Newsletter: https://makeliferichmvmt.myflodesk.com/listennow
