Episode 21
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Welcome back to the Women in Writing podcast. This week I have Christy on my podcast and she's not only one of the fastest growing writers, but also the one who has like the most aesthetically pleasing account. You really have to check her out and listen to what she has to say, because there's so many nuggets of wisdom in this episode.
Hello and welcome to the wonderful Christy. Oh, thank you so much for having me today. I'm excited to be here. I'm so excited for our conversation. We had a little pre call and I think you're like one of the like fastest growing people in terms of like your success, I would say, like everything I see from you like online and like how [00:01:00] move forward.
So you started out as a kindergarten teacher and you had a couple of other jobs on the side before you started writing, right? Yes, that's correct. So it's a bit of a roller coaster to get here, but such is life. So I actually right out of college, I had started teaching kindergarten, I was actually helping develop a program at a private school that's local to me.
So we're building the curriculum from scratch and doing all sorts of amazing things starting up, which is really fun energy to be a part of. And then that's really cool that you got this like right out of school. Yes, which is I'm sure you've heard of this, when you think of elementary school teachers, it's such a long game.
So the turnover rate's not high. You have a lot of teachers that stay put for a long time. So I did hear how competitive it was, before you graduate oh, goodness, what's this going to look like? So it was one of those divine timing things. Very blessed. It was actually an email that came into my inbox like two months before I graduated that said that the school was hiring, and so I was like, okay, I'm gonna [00:02:00] apply and just see what happens.
And I went and met with the director and she was amazing. The school was so warm and like cozy. I just was so in love with it. And I got my heart set on it, of course and then everything, once I graduated it, it all worked out. I ended up working there. So yeah, I was very fortunate. I will say that.
It was a wonderful experience. That's so amazing. So what brought you into writing then? Because that's it sounds like it was your dream job, right? Yeah, it really was. It's funny, because I think as you evolve and grow as a person you develop new dreams, because we were talking about this a little bit when we first met, but it's like when you're 18 or whatever it is, and you're graduating high school, you only have the scope of what you've learned really up to your point in high school.
Your life experiences are really limited. And then also this notion of what you want to do next and, college is a big investment. That's the route you're going. And, then you're trying to decide your future. And it's like, what do I really know at this point in my life?
Be not a whole lot in retrospect. Pressure, I feel [00:03:00] like too, I remember that time where everyone is asking you like, Oh, what what do you want to be? And yes, some people have a really clear understanding, like of what they want to do. But I was also always the person, yes, I want to experience, like I want to experience different things and then decide.
And I was also the person that got really bored really quickly and, different jobs, like when I thought, okay. I learned everything I can learn here. Now I move forward, which is so fascinating. Cause I felt like I was the same way, like always bouncing around and that must just be a, I wonder if that's a creative mind thing, because I'm sure you with writing, you're very creative.
So you're always seeking new experiences. Especially the writers out there I'm sure can relate because that's a big part of creativity is like you have to experience new things you have to meet new people and be in new places and just to garner in that creative superpower right because it's like otherwise you're just sitting inside all day in the same place you get really stale fast.
I think it's like the Mark Twain saying where It says like if you if you always stay in one place and [00:04:00] you like never travel the world, like it's like reading a book, but only reading one page all like over and over again. And I think you're absolutely right because, I'm from like a really small village in Germany and a lot of people stayed there and nothing against that, but a lot of people like stayed there and they had they have like partners from the same village and they have kids there and the kids go to the same school that we went to and.
It's great in a way, and maybe they feel like really grounded, but it's, it would be too boring for me, like I couldn't have done that. Yeah, definitely. I know you definitely know when you've reached that point of, okay, that roundness or, You can almost feel like when the transition is coming or the transformation is coming, because it gets really uncomfortable.
Then you're like, okay, something's coming or or so I've started to tell myself, because it's easy when you feel that to get, you have to either lean into the fear or excitement. My coaches always say, she's there's a fine line between fear and excitement, and it's all in how you channel that. And that [00:05:00] stayed with me because I'm like, yeah, I used to be the type to lean into the fear more.
And now I try to lean more into the, wait, this is exciting. Something's on the horizon. Let's get excited about it. Let's seek new opportunities instead of fearing what's to crumble or what's to come. That's so cool. Thank you so much for sharing that. That's really, It's not a hundred percent new to me.
Like my coach, says it like that, like you have to find your own security and the insecurity of like rowing, but so it's like similar, but like fear and excitement that's a really good way to think about it because I also sometimes overthink things. And I'm if you only, obviously if you only think about the fear and everything that can go wrong, like that's what you face then too, right?
Yeah, absolutely. The mind is so powerful in how you perceive things. So yeah, that's a great point. I love that. But yeah to bring me back. So yeah, I was teaching kindergarten and obviously the income, I was single and I was living by myself, [00:06:00] so I had to generate more income.
So I started seeking out other job opportunities to supplement. And I took on four other jobs, . Wow. I didn't just have one. But I started teaching kickboxing classes and Muay Thai at local dojos around me. I started barista at a local coffee shop. The owner was actually my sister's roommate in college, so it was a woman owned.
It was a business downtown. It was a startup. It was really fun to be a part of that energy. And then I started working waitressing at a winery, which also was a woman owned local entrepreneurial startup. And I actually started tutoring, which my fourth grade teacher opened up downtown. So it's funny how it all, cause now I do a lot of writing for female entrepreneurs and women owned businesses and brands.
Which I actually didn't put together until I was on a podcast about a year or two ago. It's like that Steve Jobs quote where it's like you connect the dots looking back, not going forward. And I was like, wait a minute, I've been serving the same like niche [00:07:00] of women for a long time just in two different ways.
So I was like, I wasn't writing for them, but I was serving in another way, but always part of that energy of the entrepreneur. entrepreneur and the startup and the woman. So yeah, so it's funny, you had to be in it, you had to evolve yourself for that world to then really understand and then write about it, right?
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it really those experiences really helped to shape my writing career, just seeing what goes into it, seeing what's behind it. And each of those, Really taught me a lot when they I feel like I've extracted life lessons from each of them and building my business today, which is funny in terms of leadership.
So yeah. They each held their own merit for sure. Wow. That's amazing. So cool. And then, like, how did it go from there then? So yeah, so back to high school, so I actually always loved writing, even since I was a little girl. I remember like my teachers would be giving away textbooks, like language arts textbooks, and [00:08:00] I'd take them home for the summer.
I thought they were so fun. I was making books on construction paper. And I was, lined up my beanie babies and I pretended they were my class. So again, all these things manifest into adult life where I was teaching. But I always have that love of writing and I specifically remember in high school, I really loved my literature classes and writing and I just didn't know how you can make a career out of that other than teaching English.
So I almost went for secondary ed, I almost went to college to get a secondary ed degree to teach English literature, um, but then I got real with myself and I'm like, I don't think I'm suited to teach high school kids I'm very suited for the younger ones if I'm going to be a teacher. So I switched last minute and I went for elementary and special ed and I absolutely loved my time serving that.
It was a good move because I know high school just, no, I wouldn't have been able to serve it that way. But but yeah, I continued writing and in that time I actually really loved at [00:09:00] the dojos, at the women I was instructing through kickboxing, I saw this it was the first time I really saw how fitness could integrate both.
On and off the mat. Like it was so much more than any vanity aspect. It was like this holistic experience where I was watching them become so empowered in their personal lives from the work they were doing in the gym. Gaining the courage and the confidence to go after the race or the promotion or to, end a relationship they needed to and these things, and it just really inspired me to watch them grow and then also be going through my own growth.
So I started blogging. And my OG blog was called the passion warrior project. And I was just sharing like my own journey and like the empowerment for women and personal development and self care. And I was really doing it for my own, realizations. I was coming across and for my own. I opened up an online book club for the same reason.
And it, 500 women from across the world joined and it was like this fun space. So it was all going on at the same [00:10:00] time. And the blog ended up taking off. It like landed in over 20 countries. And I was like, wow, I didn't think anyone was reading this at all. I was like, so touched by it. And it opened up opportunity to start writing then for online magazines in the space of women's empowerment.
Success and entrepreneur, and I was talking a lot about resiliency and those articles were performing really well. And it was the messages that I was receiving from women, because as writing behind a screen, you really just don't think anyone's reading or feeling as inspired or moved, and you just don't know how your words are landing.
And to hear from them directly, how it was impacting their lives was so moving for me. I was like, wow, I'm really ready to take this in a bigger way. I just, I have no idea how I don't even know what to do next. But I'm going to keep doing the next thing that comes. And the next thing that came was a copywriting position at a women's empowerment company.
And I had never done copywriting before. I honestly had never heard of it. And I just [00:11:00] knew I could serve that particular niche that they were speaking to because that's what I was doing a lot with the magazines. So I had applied with, the very minimal portfolio I had, and I was like, I don't know if they're ever going to, reach out to me and who knows, but I'm going to try anyway.
So I applied and to my surprise, I did hear back and we got on a call and it went really well. And I was like, I want this so bad. So we did some trial. This was December of 19 2019. And we did some trial projects here and there. I was getting paid for them. And I was like, man, I really want to do this like full time.
I don't know if that's something, so we're going back and forth. And it was like three months at this point. So I was like, is this going to turn into anything? You have to hold the faith. And I was like, I just don't know. And it was a week before the pandemic that I received the internship.
I was like, Oh my gosh, like I was so excited. I was like, I want to do this. I was like, just, work with me. I have five jobs right now. Like how can they're like we'll work around it. I'm like, great. We had that in motion. And then what do you know, the next week, [00:12:00] everything shuts down because of the pandemic.
With kindergartners, obviously we were on zoom school for only about a half hour a day because the attention span We're not gonna get much more than that So it's just one of those divine timing things again, and so I got in touch with the company I was like, hey listen, you know all my other jobs had shut down obviously it's like this is the situation You know, this job was remote, regardless of the climate or not.
That was always the situation it was going to be. So I said, I can take this internship now full time, if that's something is, good for you. And they were like, yeah, let's do it. So we did the internship for two months which actually brought me It was remote. Okay. Amazing. Yeah, which is great.
Because that was going, that's actually remote was the way it was going to be, regardless of, Everything with Covid. So it just, couldn't have worked out better with everything that unraveled the way it did. . But yeah, like you said, divine timing. I was like, you can't when it's the next right step when doors almost effortlessly open, like the [00:13:00] path becomes so clear because I couldn't have, look at the world around, I was like, I couldn't have any say or control of any of that.
And it was just perfectly aligned because in my head I was all. Back in December, when I first applied, I was in my head I can't leave the kids mid year. What am I going to do with all my other jobs? What if I actually get this and all those things we do as humans, like we, we make it so hard.
And I didn't have to worry at all because the way it unraveled it, it all took care of itself. Unfortunately I have circumstances, but nevertheless it did unravel that way. So yeah, we signed the contracts in May. My kids graduated that week. We did a little parking lot graduation for them.
It was a nice little different close to the chapter of my life at that time. And I switched careers and never went back to any of that. I just started writing. And then in April I was contracting with that company, so I was able to still do some freelancing work on the side. So that's when I started Ghost Girl, which is the business I own today.
So it was a freelance writing boutique for women and female [00:14:00] entrepreneurs and brands. So I started doing that then, and now I have taken it full time. So I do that now. I did that full time and starting in July of 2020. Yeah. So inspiring. Like I said, like when I'm on your social media platforms, like that's the perfect example because, like I'm teaching to my women, like basically two different ways how to be successful and like the way that they're building, like basically.
on top of so it's basically building a foundation that they always have like writing projects. So they know how much money comes in. So it's like the stability thing. Like when you go from like a career where you get paid, every single month or every two weeks or whatever taking it into like that more.
What I call that's what you are like an expert in what you're doing. But I tell them too it's not hard it's difficult at the beginning when they start out, like to know what they want to do. Some people say Oh, I want to write about mental health or whatever. But like you said, like the path is so clear, as you [00:15:00] go and as you do the things and as you reflect and connect the dots and everything.
That's. So great. Absolutely. And it's you definitely start to feel called towards some things more than others. And you're, you start to figure that out. And I think that does come through your own shared passions and your life experiences. And even if you look back as far as your childhood, up through your teen years, up through your twenties you're going to see a through line.
It may be very subtle, but there's something that was always driving you or that you were passionate about that seemed to have manifested in their little ways. Which is. They're really cool and very comforting when you look back because you're like, oh, okay, I can't do this. So what about like imposter syndrome?
Was there any like imposter syndrome for you when you started or was it like for you because you said you never heard of copywriting before and it was like the same for me like when I really started but that's what I try to tell others as well like you don't always have to go have to have the XYZ certificate to get started.
Like it's, [00:16:00] you have to have that willingness to provide a good job and listen and have a good conversation. But like, how was that for you? Yeah, it's, yeah, imposter syndrome is one that I feel like never goes away. And speaking of mindset, how we were talking earlier, it's one of those things I just think it's how much you feed into it because when I was working all the jobs and like writing for magazines at the same time, I didn't have time to entertain imposter syndrome.
I was like, I have, a half hour to write in between these jobs right now and to get this over and publish. I was almost a little naïve in that because I think I Told you. I was like, I look back and I'm like, Oh, that was cringy. Like my writing wasn't as good as it is now. So I was polished.
It's, it was all the things that I could have beat myself up for. But at the time I was just moving on. And that's sometimes really beneficial if you don't have the time. Yes. Cause now that it's like once, oddly enough, once writing became my main career, my main center, like [00:17:00] everything revolves around it.
Now the imposter syndrome almost intensified. Because I don't know if I was just putting more pressure on it or it's or you also there's this notion too of like when you're in the industry and you actually start to learn more, you have more things to be hard on yourself about before when I didn't know anything, it was like, I didn't know enough to it's almost like ignorance is bliss sometimes.
And I would, I love to learn, but it's sometimes that makes it even harder because I'm like, Oh, You get a little bit too dialed into what you should quote, should be doing. And that's a quick way to put a creative chokehold on yourself. Because you really, if you're playing too much by the book, your creativity goes right out the window.
And so that's, that was in my experience. But I actually have a fortune cookie pinned up on my refrigerator over here. And it said it says the answer, the antidote to anxiety is action. And I apply that to imposter syndrome as well. So I'm like, as long as you keep moving, you just got to keep moving and you can't get stuck in it [00:18:00] for too long or else you're going to derail everything.
That's what I think too. Like the only kind of like ways through it, like through the anxiety, like it's easy to get stuck in it. Like one of my business coaches, like calls it like the fertile void or something like when you sometimes like in that in between time. And I had that like in fall last year when I started to, like I was successful as a coach, like I was successful as a writer, like everything worked out well.
And then, when I also found out I'm pregnant, like first trimester I think it was like, like the combination of hormones and like feeling Oh my God, like, how do I move forward? And do I have time for maternity leave? And like, how will it all be, everything came together, and I shut down for a while.
But now I'm more, again, in this creative energy I'm not sure like, why that sometimes happens. But I think we always have at least that's true for me. Like we always have to have, something that keeps us going because it's easy. To give up and tell ourselves, okay, this is too hard.
It's not for us, [00:19:00] like, why should I be calling myself, a copywriter ghostwriter? Why should, someone pay me instead of like other people or whatever, it's so easy to get lost in that. Oh, absolutely. It's so comforting to have these conversations like with you.
I like I so admire your work and everything you're doing. And you're like, so you're many steps ahead of me in this industry. So I'm just like. It's just so comforting to hear everyone at any stage still battles it because it's okay it is a normal part of being human. It's the brain trying to keep you safe.
It's your, we're wired that way. Anytime you expand your comfort zone, your brain tries to keep you safe or the illusion of safe. It really it's amazing when you. Dive into how that all works too. It's because it's psychologically like we're, it doesn't know the difference between a comfort zone and a bear chasing us.
Yeah, so trying to have grace for that too is okay, this is just being human. You'll get through it. It's not as scary as it looks or feels. And I think everyone has like different ways of how to cope with it. What I found [00:20:00] or what I find really comforting is like really, like you said, like a community, like talking to people and that's the beauty of like online, like I was just listening to something my like a lady recorded, like I'm in her Facebook group and she's from the US, but she moved to Costa Rica and she said I'm always alone, like in the jungle, like social media, I'm surrounded by people that are like my tribe now, because thinking back, when I was in high school, when you're just with, I don't want to call them small minded people, it's just everyone is maybe small minded at this age, because you just know, like you said, what's like in your high school or like in your little bubble or friends group and like family and then like you have to pick your tribe and you have to be inspired by other women or like other people who do the same and then yeah obviously what you also said about like working out and then finding you know if you're like Fit on a physical level and you can push through resistance, then you can also do it like in life and your [00:21:00] Koreans.
It's just crazy how it like expands to your like, and it applies for your whole, whole life. Absolutely. Actually, that reminds me, I was with a friend the other day and she was telling me about this book she had read. I wish I knew it to quote it correctly here, but she was saying inside the book, he was talking about how there was a, the study done.
Where they created these biospheres and they had trees going in them with the perfect ideal circumstances just to see how they would flourish. And every time the trees would reach a certain point they would topple over and they like could not figure out why because again they were getting like all the ideal circumstances.
And what happened was, do you know, do you have an idea? So what happened was in the biosphere, there was no wind and the wind creates the adversity and it helps the roots to grow deeper. But the roots weren't growing deeper because there was no wind and there was no resistance. So I was like, wow, what a beautiful depiction, right?
Cause we, we always want to, every time you like come up against adversity or, Anything like that. [00:22:00] We want to resist it so bad, or we want to get through it so much, but actually understanding that's creating kind of the beautiful contrast in life. Like we need it in a way. Yeah. It's so much more reassuring now.
And I'm like, wow, that's just nature. So that's so beautiful. I wouldn't have thought about that, but that's like a perfect kind of like example. Yeah. When when she told me that, my whole mind was like totally reset. 'cause I'm like, that changes the way I view adversity now so much. A hundred percent.
And like you said, like when you reflect back, like everyone has points in their life where things didn't go the kind of like ideal way and like bad things were like happening to us, now. I thought that too, like so many times in my life I wouldn't be where I am now. If, everything would've worked out perfect and like things would be just different.
So like these things Yeah. Had to happen to grow our roots deeper and then, make us really grow. Is that amazing? Yeah, I [00:23:00] love it. So I feel the same way because then the moments are like, oh, this is awful and I just wanna get through it and why did I have to go through this?
And then it all makes sense. So this is I'm not making any excuses. And so I, I love it because it's a, like an over here. It's like super comfortable, like moving you as you want to move. And then if you're spiritual, if you think of the universe or God That they had to make you so uncomfortable, obviously you wouldn't have moved like it.
It's almost like a divine intervention where they're moving you because you wouldn't have done it yourself. And that's usually in the form of some kind of adversity or, so now I'm just like, ah, Just enjoy it when it's here, even though it sucks. Yeah. you know it's moving you to the next right place.
Yeah. Wow. That's so inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing so much insight. Oh, yeah. Of course. I'm glad it served. Yeah. Because it blew my mind when I heard it. So I was like, I have to share this with everyone and anyone. That's really cool. What would be like one last kind of tip that you would give someone that kind of just starts out and they want to be writers and they're stuck [00:24:00] like in a nine to five or?
My tip would be to just start. I feel like it's so cliche, but it's so true because if you wait till you're out of the nine to five or until you have this certain amount of money or until you have a certain amount of following or until your writing is perfection, like it's just never going to come.
Like you have to just grow with it. And that's a beautiful part of writing is that it's actually intended to grow with. I found a lot of myself in writing, so I know anyone out there pursuing it, you will also find a lot about yourself in writing. And just get started, even if it's hitting publish to yourself and for a little bit get comfortable with the action of doing it.
Because yeah it's meant to be a lifelong journey and there's, yeah, it's never going to feel like you're there. It's just going to feel like the evolution. Yeah, exactly. Thank you so much. That's a great tip. Yeah, you have to start. And that's always the thing because we tell ourselves, okay, when I have reached this, then I do that.
And when I do [00:25:00] that, then I can do that. But then maybe like the moment never comes, right? Or it misses you. I don't think it will ever miss you. But yeah, you don't want to say, keep saying no to it. Just say yes and figure it out. You'll just scream louder at you until you listen to it.
Yes that's a fact. So always say yes when you feel the nudge and just go and you'll figure it all out. Thank you so much for that. I will pop your information below and everyone that can reach out and follow you, they should on different social media platforms. You are on Instagram, LinkedIn, are you doing TikTok as well, or?
No TikTok for me. I'm also on Facebook though. On Facebook. Yeah, exactly. Awesome. Thank you. So this is such a great conversation. I so appreciate you having me and I'm wishing all our listeners the best of luck on their own writing journeys. So exciting. Yeah, that won't be the last conversation. I have a good feeling.
Yeah, I hope not. Yeah. Thank you so much for [00:26:00] that. Thank you.
I hope you found all the nuggets of wisdom for yourself out of this episode and this podcast. You can always reach out to me and reach out to Christy. If you have any other questions and any feedback, I would be super pleased if you could let me know what are your key takeaways and what has this podcast done with your life and your writing career so far.
Thank you so much. Have a wonderful rest of your day.
Yeah.
