Today we’d like to introduce you to Isa Adney.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Isa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My first book was published in 2012, but I didn’t think of myself as a writer, then. Crazy, but true. I didn’t realize I was a writer until I was compelled to write my second book, and then start my blog CreativeTeacup.com. I didn’t really know I was a writer until I couldn’t stop writing. I changed my career direction and started dedicating everything I had to writing. I fell in love with interviewing artists and sharing their stories as a way to inspire others to keep going, keep creating. I’m currently working on my second book, The Little Book of Big Dreams, where I interviewed 120 people about a dream come true, and I interview inspiring creators as the Storyteller for ConvertKit.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle along the way was taking myself seriously as a writer. I’d learned from all the artists I interviewed that the most important thing you could do was start creating the art you want to make – to not wait for anyone else to hire you or give you permission. I did that. I started my own blog and started interviewing the kind of people I wanted to interview, like Oscar-winning songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez. You’ll be surprised at what can happen when you start taking yourself seriously as an artist and creator and start asking for things and creating things before you feel like you’re “ready.” You are.
I’d love to say I just started taking myself seriously all on my own, but that’s not how it worked. I read dozens of books that helped and what helped most is encouragement from my closest friends. When you surround yourself with friends and artists who take you seriously, then it’s contagious. Eventually, I started believing in myself and my own sense of power… but not without a lot of help from my friends. (One of my favorite books that inspired confidence? Brave Not Perfect by Reshma Saujani.)
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I specialize in writing inspiring stories, especially interviewing and profiling professional artists to inspire other creatives to keep going.
I’m most proud of my features on CreativeTeacup.com.
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I think one of the biggest barriers is untangling the mess of self-doubt in our heads – having to deal with all this baggage that isn’t our fault, that we don’t deserve, that we were born into. This stuff is “in our heads” but it’s not FROM our heads. It’s from the environment. But for some, it seeps in and crushes our ability to believe in what we are capable of. It’s the women who manage to untangle and throw away that mess (or who have somehow managed to never let it in) who become trailblazers and help so many others recognize injustice, take the weight and blame off themselves, and move forward, finally feeling their worth.
I LOVED the James Baldwin quote Billy Porter shared at the Emmy’s this year: “It took many years of vomiting up all the filth that I had been taught about myself, and halfway believed before I could walk around this Earth-like I had the right to be here.”
Contact Info:
- Website: creativeteacup.com
- Email: isa@isaadney.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaadney/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/isaadney
- Other: isaadney.com
Image Credit:
Headshots: Ashley McCormick Photography
Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
