Meet Faye Dooley

We were lucky to catch up with Faye Dooley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Faye, 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?

My resilience isn’t what you would find scrolling through Instagram right now. My resilience – is not polished. There are no cute buttons or wrap-ups. No hooks that will get you to think or reflect dearly on your journey with a wee glint in your eye. You will not find a classy prologue or “day in the life,” style video highlighting my journey as a creative. I am a feral, all-or-nothing, shoot-myself-to-the-moon kind of woman. I am powered by cold brew, the crashes of an ADHD meltdown, and a 3 AM sprint. My resilience comes from sheer tenacity, a deep well of grace, and the uncanny ability to dissociate to astronomical heights.

Secretly though, I am very jealous of those individuals who can ease their way into entrepreneurship with a pep in their step and the grit of the “American Dream.” I have not yet mastered that kind of marathon.

My story – could not be more opposite than that. I travel more like Peter Pan launching those 3 kids into the heavens and praying I will land somewhere softly. 

After being diagnosed with a host of medical ailments including OCD, CPTSD, and a wide assortment / sensational amount of psychological stickers, I had to very quickly become proud of my highs and lows that would deem me unstable or unruly. Or that I did not see my fellow peers having to navigate or tend to.

I had to cry, I had to scream, I had to allow my anger to pool itself into puddles of grief if need be, and most importantly, I had to become so GD committed to my inner peace, that no one could challenge the kind of voice that would advocate with me to the ends of the earth.

My resilience exists because I had to become ferociously Type A about how Type B I am. My process is intuitive and headstrong, I’ve gotten okay with being wrong, and my depth of gratitude and empathy for not only my work but community is so much more fulfilling now to know I have successfully been to hell and back many times.

My biggest piece of advice would be look for the signs, find your pillars, and develop such a niche sense of humor that any time something goes wrong, you watch it back in your head like a multi-cam sitcom.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I very much lean into the multi-hyphenate aspects of myself.

I grew up knowing I wanted to be a teacher / ice skater / and fashion designer by day and a pop star at night. I’ve been a talk show host, a novelist, a visual artist, a singer / songwriter, and a nonprofit executive – all before the age of 8.

Today, I am a Writer, Brand Strategist, and Creative Director with a background in neuro – somatics, de-popped pop culture, and cinematic advertising. I lead artists + creatives through integrative brand campaigns that create authentic and joyful online impact.

Whether that is taking all of those swirling ideas that find you on a drive home and helping you put pen to paper or uplifting your visual imagery through intentional story, my real and only goal in life is to make everyone feel so seen, heard, and celebrated at every step in their project’s development.

Most recently I have been more open about how I infuse spirituality + mediumship into my and my client’s daily practice and it’s been nice to have this moment of lifting the veil ( no pun intended ). Intuitive downloads + clairvoyance have been integral parts of my life for as long as I can remember and it’s something that has probably championed a lot of that resilience.

We need more cheerleaders in the creative field and true nervous system-based support systems. Bringing on individuals who have both the tangible skills of a craftsman and the metaphysical talents of multi-dimensional timelines is soooo exciting and captivating to me because utilizing modalities like mediumship and Human Design are fantastic ways to absolutely power through all of the self-help bullshit and hiccups we absorb daily.

It’s too much!

If you have a download or a creative burst! Run with it – it’s okay if it burns out because it will probably blow up into something better. One of the creative sprints I am currently finishing up is my first book, Pocket Bound, a small collection of reasons to cry, which centers around the loss of identity we feel while growing in and out of relationships no matter or sector of life. Be it career, initiate, familial, or spiritual. Lalala, lots of fancy words – probably could be described as sassy and sincere rage poetry.

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?

Honesty, Stupidity, Adaptability.

Be honest with your heart, your goals, and your creations. Be honest with your “current” limitations or set of cards. Be honestly gentle about your ability to achieve such goals. And be ridiculously jubilant, stupid, and confident about how easy they will be to accomplish. Oh yeah, and then pivot.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

My ideal client and collaborators are secret writers and screenwriters / directors, and dormant artists. I love people who have a rich visual language and imagery for a project but are just having a difficult time getting it off the ground. They come to the table hungry and ready to invest in themselves and understand that this is a collaborative process and while I’m here to hold your hand, your ideas are gold, and I want to make them happen.

In terms of the future, my goal is to one day have a film media + production company that is based on the female circadian rhythm cycle. I.E shorter set hours, therapists on site, breaks in the schedule that honors overstimulation and neurodivergent individuals, and a safe space for creatives. FWho – let’s be honest, ARE SOFTIES. We hustle because we had to – not because we have to anymore. The film industry and music industry are still very male-centric in terms of how it operate and don’t really set anyone up for actual success, only burnout and exploitation. So finding the right financiers, collaborators, and a good-hearted community for this would be a dream because I have lots of projects to pick up from that 8-year-old with a packed journal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fayedooley.com
• Instagram: mdoolz
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faye-dooley-602705160/
• Other: ShopMy: https://shopmy.us/mfaye
  Pocket Bound: https://www.fayedooley.com/pocket-bound
  Medium: https://medium.com/@marissafayedooley

Image Credits

First Picture: Elle Kenwood