We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shannon Kenney. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shannon below.
Hi Shannon , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
It’s funny – I’ve never considered myself resilient until recently, and now I hear myself described by others as resilient frequently. I was dealing with a mystery illness for over 2 years until I finally got diagnosed with Lyme Disease and a few other conditions about a year ago. The diagnosis helped my peace of mind, but I wasn’t prepared for how hard and taxing (both physically and mentally) the healing process would be.
I’ve had to make many changes in my life that made me feel like I’m moving backward. Recently, I’ve been able to shift my mindset, prioritize my healing, and work hard every day to get better, which takes a lot of resilience (and patience). Healing isn’t linear, and it took me a long time to accept that!
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 founded Layne Studios to showcase my abilities as a content creator. I focus on lifestyle content and enable brands to expand their communities by creating relatable content and showcasing their products or services.
Layne Studios was actually born from my diagnosis. It took being knocked down a little to look at my life and ask myself what I have always wanted to do that I haven’t done and, more importantly, why I was waiting to start.
I have a couple of areas I’m working to expand. The first is selling film prints. I have so many rolls of negatives and old prints that I would love to start selling once I sift through them! My favorite pieces of work I have in my place are film prints I have purchased from my friends. I also hope to soon expand into additional creative avenues such as creative direction and working on professional photo shoots in different capacities (creative direction, modeling, etc.)
Fun fact: I chose the name Layne after Layne Staley from Alice In Chains, who has always been one of my favorite singers and someone I draw a lot of inspiration from.
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?
1. Being able to ask for help. I’ve always been bad at this. You don’t have to know how to do everything right away! I’ve learned to lean on those around me. I have so many talented friends who all have different skills, and it’s amazing how much more quickly you can achieve your goals with support. 2. Patience. This is a great quality to have in life in general, but it takes a lot of patience when it comes to starting your own business or following your passion. You’ll most likely feel confused, lost, or have imposter syndrome, but I’ve found that most of this subsides with time and patience.
3. Willingness to pivot. This goes hand in hand with patience, but sometimes things don’t go as you envisioned. Staying open-minded and working with where things take you will benefit you in the long-run
The best advice I have is to work with those around you and find like-minded people who are able to understand and support what you’re working on. It will make the process a lot easier.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents have been more supportive than I could have ever hoped for, and I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for them 1. supporting my vision and 2. supporting me through this health journey. Unfortunately, I had to move back home as I could not take care of myself, and their patience has been inspiring. They’ve worked incredibly hard to get to where they are and inspire me daily to do the same. I can’t think of a proper way to thank them for all they’ve done for me.
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