We recently connected with Keylonda Wheeler and have shared our conversation below.
Keylonda, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
My optimism truly stems from my faith in God and my community! My mama can be quoted jokingly saying that I make people feel like they can get to the moon on a paper plate. The more people I have met and rooms I’ve entered, I realized that we are all just human. So, that means that there’s no one that’s any better than you or me. God did not create us to be fearful or to operate on our own. There is something so empowering about being interdependent– with God and a few good people, you can do just about anything! This became more apparent to me when I stepped out on faith to write and self-publish my first book. I didn’t have anyone in my close circle who had done such a thing. God placed it on my heart to write a book teaching children about purpose and being an ally for the disabled community but I didn’t know the first thing about how to accomplish it. What I learned in the process was that while self-publishing was a viable option for me, I wasn’t going to actually accomplish it alone. I had to slowly detach from feelings of imposter syndrome and keep my “recovering perfectionist” self from sabotaging my new dream. Over time I learned that even our unshared thoughts and silent prayers can come true so long as we keep a positive mindset and ensure we grasp and live in a way that acknowledges that there is life and death in our tongue. Language is so powerful as one of my former professors would say, that you could write yourself in and out of love. I stopped allowing myself to think poorly of me and speak negatively of me- and it changed everything! Even when I thought I had made a “mistake” by making my book live for purchase before my planned launch, I turned it around by seeking the support of my community to be my launch team. They purchased so many copies and left early reviews that it wound up being a number one new release by the time of my actual launch date. If I had wasted my time beating myself up about one “wrong” click, I would have possibly missed an opportunity to see just how good things could be! Optimism is KEY.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
By day, I am a related services manager. I started my career as a speech therapist and desired more leadership opportunities in what some might consider early in my journey. What is most special about my job now is that I get to help great therapy happen for other speech therapists and have expanded into managing occupational therapists and school psychologists in the educational setting. Before, I was somewhat limited with only having an impact on my own caseload of students and now I get to do that for multiple caseloads. I have the privilege to operate in my gift of encouraging others on a daily basis! This role allows me the work-life balance I desire which is how I carved out time to develop a brand as a children’s author. Language and literacy go hand-in-hand and I get a chance to have my passion align with my profession! My book series and self-publishing coaching services are centered around producing more literature that highlights those groups that have been pushed to the margins in the past. There’s nothing that brings me more fulfillment professionally than the light in someone shining brighter because they feel seen and represented because of an idea I brought to life. I never imagined having my books in libraries, subscription boxes or seeing my characters on other products. The latest collaboration that literally brought me tears of joy is the launch of gift wrapping paper with two of my characters! There are more products to come with the paperie that I have partnered with that we’ll announce on social media in the coming months.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Being confident in my strengths, willing to take risks and accepting of help were most impactful on my journey. During the pandemic closures, I took as many free master classes and webinars as I could. One takeaway from all of those for me was that I had certain God-given, natural gifts. There were skills I would be complimented about across multiple settings and it was time that I stopped brushing it off and realizing I had something as unique as my fingerprint to offer the world. As I became increasingly more confident (and I still work on this), I was more willing to take risks than I was to sit in the same mundane routines. Once I was confident in what I could offer and willing to move outside of my comfort zone, then I was able to effectively collaborate with others and gain help in my inexperienced areas. Accepting help is challenging but once you realize how freeing it is to stop pretending like you know everything and can do it all on your own, you never want to go back!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m always open to collaboration! I want to connect with those who share the same values and are committed to making the world more accessible and equitable. This could be educators, parents and caregivers with young children, content creators, business owners, activists and even other authors. A quick email or message on social media is the best way to reach me!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.keylondawrites.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/keylondawrites
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/keylondawrites
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/keylondawrites
