Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shauna Golden. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Shauna, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Finding your purpose is hard. It’s not something everyone accomplishes in their life, and there are some who find it at a very early age. I was honestly both. I know they contradict each other but let me explain. From a very young age, I discovered my passion for reading. I was immersed in these fictional worlds and fell in love with made up characters. I knew that I wanted to do something revolving around books. However, I found different passions along the way. I discovered my love of animals, my passion for music, my determination to start my own business. All of these together, I feel, have led me to find my purpose. But here’s the secret, I still feel like I’m searching for it. I have many purposes in this life and while I know a few of them, I’m always searching for more. I don’t believe that everyone only has one purpose, everyone has many. You just have to be willing to take the journey to find them.
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?
Right now I wear many different hats, but if you’re any form of artist you understand! I’m currently working at a vet hospital to assuage my love of animals and helping them. On the side I love to create bookmarks, I post videos on my YouTube page about all things book related, and I also run a blog on my website that discusses books as well. I’m also starting to get more into narrating audiobooks (so if you’re looking for someone to do some voice over work, feel free to reach out!). By the end of this year I would love to have acquired a trailer to start my mobile bookstore here in Orlando!
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?
Perseverance is probably the biggest quality I would attribute to my journey. There were days I wanted to give up and throw in the towel but I kept getting up everyday and pushing forward. It’s never easy but with the right mindset you can do anything. A skill I think that has also contributed to my growth would be confidence in myself. Now this is one that’s taken me a while to achieve and even then I still feel like I’m working on this everyday. Having confidence in yourself and in the skills you possess is difficult but such an important quality to have. The third quality for me would be following your heart, always. When you understand how to listen to your heart and follow what it’s telling you, it will never steer you wrong. There’s a fine balance you have to have with this of course. You need to be logical and still listen to your brain. However, when your heart is clearly screaming at you to do something or not do something, don’t be afraid to listen to it. That would be the biggest advice I would give anyone on their journey in life.
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?
I’m always looking to collaborate with others! Specifically, if you sell any products that are book related I’d love to feature it on my blog, YouTube page, Tik Tok, and/or Instagram. If you are another book influencer I’d love to collaborate on bookish content to create together or even starting an online book club. If you’re an author in need of a proofreader or audiobook narrator I also offer those services, just reach out!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shaunasbookjournal.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaunasbookjournal/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shauna-golden/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLKfuZ0OxFgIaIWqMuOZOXg
