Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Kirkland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Stephanie, 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?
Confidence is not something that comes naturally to me. I was rather quiet and shy growing up, mostly because I was worried about what others might think of me and I didn’t feel comfortable fully expressing myself. College really changed everything for me. I could start over, without anyone knowing anything about me, and I found a great group of people who really valued me for my innate personality and the things I loved. (It was in college when I really started writing and painting.) It continues to be a struggle (for me and for everybody, I think) to put yourself out there and to trust that what you authentically like and want will also be valued by others. Journaling has really helped with this—getting all of those self-doubting thoughts out on paper, so you can see them and debunk them. I also think, at some point, you just realize that confidence comes from doing hard things. You do things scared, and then afterwards you realize it wasn’t that bad after all.
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’m an artist and a writer. As an artist, I’m an abstract expressionist, which means that my work is rooted in emotion and the use of color to convey mood and experience. My paintings are all outdoor inspired and informed by the many miles I’ve hiked in remote places across the globe. I’m interested in nature as metaphor, and my paintings often explores themes of authenticity, imperfection, and finding beauty in challenge.
My latest collection of paintings, called “New Beginnings,” uses sunsets as a metaphor for deep personal transformation. I created these paintings during a really challenging season for me, and I love how much they embody overcoming challenge and finding beauty and opportunity in the hard times.
My writing is similarly expressive and rooted in honesty though in a different medium. I write mostly essays (though I’m also working on a novel) using storytelling and vivid prose to communicate deep, unexpected, and universal messages about life. Currently, I share my essays through Substack (stephaniekirkland.substack.com) and dream of publishing multiple books. My novel is character-driven and is about a young actress defying expectation and finding herself.
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?
Journaling, writing, and daring to dream differently are three things that have been most impactful for me. I started journaling daily in 2020, and it has helped so much with my clarity and mindset. I highly recommend the process for anyone. It really helps to get anxious thoughts and limiting beliefs out of your head and onto paper so you can overcome them!
Writing has always been my “zone of genius,” as Gay Hendricks would say. I used to spend hours writing papers and looking up words in the thesaurus as a middle schooler because I loved writing so much. I’ve found that the more I leverage that skill in any area of my life, the more successful I am. What are you good at? What do you love? What comes easiest to you? Steer into that, and you can’t not be successful.
Similarly, daring to dream differently has helped me tremendously. There’s so much advice out there about how to run a business or how to be an artist/creative. And while advice can be helpful, not everything is meant everyone. You have to give yourself permission to do things differently. Being different is where the magic is and where you’ll have the most fun.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I recently finished reading “10x Is Easier Than 2x” by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan, and it blew my mind. It talks about exponential growth as a product of going after Herculean goals and really refining and steering into your unique ability. It’s changed completely how I think about progress. So many business experts will tell you to break down goals and aim for incremental progress. This book says that incremental progress keeps you stuck—because you’re not challenging yourself to grow quickly enough. It’s a fantastic read about achieving the kind of success that few people dream of, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to prioritize long-term, aligned growth over short-term, quick wins. I can’t recommend it enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stephaniekirklandart.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/stephaniekirklandart
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniekirklandart
- Other: stephaniekirkland.substack.com
Image Credits
MKC Photography
