We were lucky to catch up with Shanequa Moultrie recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shanequa , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I keep my creativity alive by watching the world around me. Most of my work comes from real life experiences and emotions whether it’s mine, people I may know, or know of. There’s always a reaction to something. Whatever I come up with I think to myself “how would a person respond to this” and it comes naturally. There’s a lot to life and there’s always a story to tell whether it’s through writing a book, photography, music, painting, acting, etc.
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?
As a creative, I have my hands in many different things. I fell in love with writing and creating storylines as a child. Being creative was once my hidden talent. I broke out of my shell in 2018. I felt like the world needed to see my talent. I wrote books based on drama, family issues, erotica, crime, and so much more. I self published my very first book in 2019 entitled, “Secrets”. Secrets is the start of my 3 part series. I later released a children’s book with my daughter entitled, “My Natural is Beautiful”. My latest book is entitled, “Soul Ties With A Married Man.” I’ve help several others with writing and publishing their books as well.
My purpose is to help others through my work. Listening to people express how my books have helped them to get through their personal problems or even giving those who have also sat on their talents to break through their shell.
I’ve always been drawn to art. I also create and sell book covers. I enjoy playing around with the camera both photography and video. I really want to get into film one day. That’s my ultimate goal. To be able to write, produce, and direct my vision. No matter what I decide to do in life, creating has always been magnetic for me. That’s how I knew this is where I belong. This is what I’m supposed to be doing. I have so many ideas lined up for the future, but I’m trying to discipline myself now to focus on one thing at a time. My mind is always on go and I get overly excited when I come up with a new idea.
In 2021, I created a Facebook group called A Boss Mom. This group was created to encourage, inspire, and uplift other moms around the world. I felt like this platform was needed and I created the space for other moms to come together and share resources, spread positivity, and to simply help the next mom out. I actually have plans for this group and a bigger vision for it. I just have to get the right people to collaborate with because I can’t do it all by myself. But this space has truly been a blessing to many and I don’t want it to end.
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?
The most important skill that I had to learn was to be able to speak up in front of a crowd. I would get nervous or shy away from speaking to people I didn’t know. Public speaking in college helped me out with that tremendously! If you lack communication, I suggest that be your FIRST skill to master.
I honestly feel that being creative comes naturally. Either you have it or you don’t. But if you are a creative just know that we don’t know it all. There’s always room for growth. Take a class, go on YouTube, use google, ask someone who is more knowledgeable than you are in a certain area. You have to create that space for growth. The minute you think you know it all will be the second you stop growing.
Patience! With patience comes greatness. I believe quality over quantity. We all get excited and want to share what we’ve been working on behind the scenes. I always say people will always remember the negative before the positive. Take your time and put out your best work. Work on it, sit it to the side for awhile, then come back to it. Get feedback from someone you trust. You are your only competition. You don’t have to rush greatness.
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?
Yes, I am looking for people to collaborate with. I’m looking for people who can be an asset. Their ambition and energy for success has to match mine. People I can learn from and people who can learn from me. We must balance each other out. Sharing ideas and working with others can be a bit tricky because you don’t want anyone running off with your ideas so being trustworthy is a MUST! I love what I do. It doesn’t feel like a job and I would want these people to be just as excited as I am.
Contact Info:
- Website: ShanequaMoultrie.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/authorshanequa
- Facebook: Facebook.com/AuthorShanequaMoultrie
- Other: www.amazon.com/stores/Shanequa-Moultrie
