Meet Brandy Ange

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

Brandy , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I think resilience is a hard one character trait, one you develop out of necessity. I had a difficult childhood and ended up moving out on my own at fifteen. You get your act together and learn how to get by because that’s what is needed to survive. Thriving is even harder. After a fraught childhood cut short, I knew I wanted to create a different kind of life for myself, that there had to be something healthier, safer, and happier- but I would have to create it and make it happen. Creating anything you’re not familiar with takes trial and error, but I knew that if I just kept trying and didn’t give up, it would be worth that effort and those failed attempts, someday.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I started my author journey in fantasy/supernatural thrillers. I started writing my Kingdom Come Series while I was in college and really still processing in the thick of PTSD. I still love fantasy, and have plans for some dark fairytales, some gothic horror, and even an epic adult fantasy series that will be something between Tolkien and Game of Thrones. But lately I have been really leaning into the non-fiction side of my career. I have an autoimmune disease and some other chronic illnesses that we haven’t been able to diagnose yet. The health journey has been a gruelling eleven years with still not having all the answers. I know I’m not the only one going through the frustrations that come with having passion and ideas and motivation, but being without the energy, mental focus, or physical capabilities to pursue them at the pace I want to. So I’m focusing on creating more sustainable rhythms. I love business and helping other authors develop their strategies, and I’ve had great conversations with others with chronic illness, so I want to focus more on those people. I’ve started writing a new book about learning to thrive with chronic illness. I’m looking to expand my Conspire Conference (a virtual strategic business planning conference for authors I host every January) into some more free resources by starting a podcast. And I’ve also been designing a Strategic Business Planner for authors that gamifies goal setting and strategy to make the business side of authorship feel just as fun and creative as the writing side of the career. Man that sounds like a lot! And maybe a little scattered, but in my heart it’s not really. I think when I boil it down, I’m just an author who doesn’t shy away from the darker, grittier parts of life. I believe that books can help us process the harder truths about our difficult circumstances, and be company in a place in life where we may feel isolated and alone. My mission as an author has always been to sit with readers in those darker places, and to offer them solace and hope.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Ooof. I think it starts with getting clear on where you are, and being honest about your current circumstances, your strengths, your weaknesses, your opportunities and your threats. In business we call it a SWOT analysis, but I think it is just as useful in your personal life. I think that sense of self awareness is critical if you’re looking for things to change, or there’s a goal you want to accomplish. I mean, if you’re looking at a map of the world because there’s some place you want to go, you first need to know where you are now as your starting point. So we will call that self awareness. Second, I would say the ability to be ruthlessly strategic. Being able to look at the big picture, and make the tough calls about what all needs to happen or get done in order to grow, improve, and see that change or goal come to fruition. But it isn’t only about naming those changes, it’s about eliminating everything that doesn’t serve you or the plan, and being able to focus on determining what you need to do to actually make that happen, and then the drive to do it. There are a lot of people out there who are dreamers, but they never actually take action. So the third thing I would say is not just day dreaming and planning, but having the gumption to get up and actually start taking the steps to make things happen. For me, a big part of that meant releasing perfectionism. Like I said, you have to eliminate the things that don’t serve you. In my case, that want to do everything just right holds me back, so I’ve had to embrace the fact that sometimes, and for certain things, done is good enough. So I think for those getting started I would say be honest about who you are, where you are, and what you want. Then be practical and strategic about how to get from where you are, to what you want. Its simple, but it isn’t easy.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

I don’t know if it is as simple as choosing between whether to go all in on your strengths or try to strengthen your weaknesses. If life has taught me anything, it’s not to be a binary thinker. It seldom ever comes down to option A or option B. A lot of people get stuck there. Most of the time there is an infinite number of options or scenarios. You may need to be creative and really tap into your brain to get the ideas to flow, but that is the beauty of freeing ourselves up to think that way; it liberates us from the bondage of “this or that”. That being said, I think it is wise to take full advantage of your strengths, and where possible, to make them even stronger. This is kind of like, our safety zone. This is where we can make a living or a name for ourselves etc. But we shouldn’t neglect our weaknesses, that would be folly. I think it is crucial to be self aware. I would actually recommend writing your weaknesses down when you discover them, or when they are pointed out to you. The weaknesses that threaten your relationships, do something about them. Weaknesses that threaten or inhibit your professional development: I would say develop the ones you could reasonably turn into (if not strengths) capability. The ones that you can’t, or don’t see as worth the time investment it would take, I would recommend figuring out how to outsource, or put contingency plans in place to make sure those weaknesses don’t turn into threats that can harm. On the flip side, if you happen to have a strength that is a common weakness for other people, then bam! You have a business. If you have a quality or characteristic that is hard to come by, bam! You fill your niche in your community. To understand both our strengths and our weaknesses is to know how we fit into the world, and how we affect it, for good or bad. That understanding gives us agency and control to make intentional change, rather than accidental. I guess to use myself as an example, I really LOVE business, maybe even more than writing books. That puts me in a position to help authors who love writing books, but don’t enjoy or understand business strategy- maybe their brains just don’t work that way. I also have mental, physical, and energetic limitations due to chronic illness. I have to be conscious of this, so I have a ton of contingency plans in place around my timelines and setting expectations, as well as what I allow to stay on my plate versus what I can either get rid of all together or outsource. The two of these together place me in a very specific niche in my market and my community. I can empathize, as well as offer advice and guidance. I could say the same about growing up the way I did, I definitely had threats to contend with, but those are what made me resilient, resourceful, stubbornly driven, and nearly unshakable. Going through those brutal years, puts me in a unique position to work with and pour into at risk teens who many may have a heart for, but I can relate to on a level that builds trust and hope because they know I really get what they’re going through, I’ve been there. I am living proof that they can create a different kind of life for themselves. Our past selves shaped our current self, which will shape our future self. It’s a messy and sometimes difficult process, but again it comes back to me having that strategic brain. I want to plot my own character arc to become someone far greater by the end of my story, than its dark beginning would have ever foreshadowed. I love books, but our real life stories, now those can have the greatest plot twists!

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CLeigh Photography, Jo Elliott

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