We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bridget Soden Mills a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Bridget, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I owe my initial spark of confidence to my parents. My mother was an elementary school teacher, and my father was an entrepreneur, both these chosen professions require a great deal of self-confidence in my opinion. Having an initial spark of confidence shown to you at an early age is a gift, but what you as an individual choose to do with that gift is where it gets real. Being an entrepreneur or a teacher is probably one of the most challenging directions in life, but also the most rewarding. I believe the sense of reward gained from accomplishing something challenging builds self-confidence and nurtures self-esteem. Pushing yourself on a daily or weekly basis to be the best version of yourself is something that not everyone does but should. This particular quote really guides me: “Train your mind to see the good in everything. Positivity is a choice, and the happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.”
When you think you can do something and try your best, you don’t always succeed. We must stay focused on the positive and learn from the failure. After all, isn’t this how we all learned to walk or ride a bike? Failure is essential in life because it makes the rewards of pushing ourselves even sweeter. Embrace success by understanding that failure is part of the journey—true failure only happens when you stop trying.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a strategic creative partner + brand strategist + creative problem solver. In other words, I work in marketing, focusing on aligning messages and visuals to resonate effectively with the target audience.
I know that’s a mouthful… there is an art to this process, and I do mean process. Branding and marketing at a strategic level can’t be solved with a Canva template alone; remember, Canva is a tool, not the strategy to address the challenge. I love problem solving, which is what first drew me to choose graphic design as a major in college 30 years ago. It was a way to use my creativity every day and get paid. Putting colors, fonts, photos, and headlines together to create beautiful marketing pieces is just part of the job. Researching and understanding the client, their products or services, and the audience they currently engage with or aim to reach is another crucial aspect.
Reaching people where they are with the right visuals and messages when they are available to receive it is an art and typically takes a team of highly skilled individuals to make it happen.
At this stage in my career, I’ve earned the privilege of working with those I enjoy and choosing to partner with individuals who are passionate about what they do and understand the power of their WHY.
In my current role as founder of Creative Vortex I serve as a Fractional Chief Creative Officer for small-medium sized businesses, nonprofit organizations, business/organization leaders and entrepreneurs.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Critical thinking: Ability to analyze complex situations, evaluate options, and make informed decisions.
Strong work ethic: Consistently demonstrating dedication, responsibility, and a high level of effort in all tasks.
Resilience and adaptability: Capacity to bounce back from setbacks and adjust to changing circumstances with a positive attitude.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
In my opinion, leaning into your strengths and finding success there helps with the confidence needed to invest and work on the areas where you are less strong. Being well-rounded is a huge benefit in life and I believe we should all strive to be better humans each day.
When one is well-rounded and leans into one’s strengths, I believe that individual has a greater chance of reaching the highest levels of success. They will be able to more easily learn from failures, simplify the complicated, and be able to pivot when needed… hence not getting stuck and continuing to move forward day after day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://creative-vortex.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativevortex/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativevortexdesign
- Linkedin: https://www.instagram.com/creativevortex/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetsoden/
Image Credits
Marcy Browe Photography
https://marcybrowe.com/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
