Creating Your Path
Part three in a series about my journey from corporate to creative
When I talk about changing from a corporate to creative life, I’m often asked how it was possible.
Well, the short story is, I have always been creative.
I studied classical ballet from age 4, danced in and won a talent competition while in high school, and directed an African-American dance and drama troupe in college. I was nicknamed “baby Debbie Allen,” which was a supreme compliment.
I also started cooking when I was eight years old.
After spending my formative years watching my grandmother and other women in my family orchestrate meals to perfection, I wanted to learn everything. I watched, learned, practiced and used my senses to cook without measuring.
What I didn’t learn from my elders, I got from cookbooks and cooking magazines, and by the time I was 16 years old, my parents would give me a signed check (there were no debit cards, Apple or Apple pay back then), and I’d grocery shop for our family.
I loved cooking for anyone who would try my creations. When it was time for me to go to college, my parents sat me down to discuss my career choices and what would give me the best opportunities as an African-American woman.
You see, I’m the third generation in my family to be college-educated (most people my age or younger are the first), and that came with big responsibilities.
For my parents, dancing wasn’t a real career and cooking for people was a step in the wrong direction. At the time, there was no chef culture, or television shows featuring chefs.
Like them, I ultimately settled into a corporate career and quickly discovered big companies are not typically creative. In fact, they’re usually the opposite.
But, I was determined to be a creator (even though it wasn’t officially in any of my job descriptions), and throughout my career I found ways to incorporate my creativity into my corporate life.
In fact, many of the programs I created were the first of their kind at the companies for which I worked, and some are still running to this day.
As time moved on, I realized that my corporate career was no longer fulfilling me in the ways I needed.
I am lucky to be self-aware enough to have discovered early in my life my personal desire (need) for compassion and purpose. I’ve known from a young age that there is a calling on my life.
In order for me to fulfill the call and live with purpose to become my truest self, I had to follow “the call.”
There are three things I’ve always done well; write, tell stories and help people. All are in my DNA. I also believed God (or whatever higher power you believe in) gave me a lifetime of experiences, opportunities and connections to use and share for the greater good.
During the two years it took for me to exit my corporate career, I prepared for the next iteration of my life and career. Well, as best I could prepare.
When you step out to create your own economy, no amount of planning prepares you for the unexpected.
Since storytelling comes naturally to me, I decided to use that skill to elevate marginalized voices. There is still much progress to be made in creating stories reflective of a broader experience.
The success of shows like “Blackish” and “Ramy,” and movies like “Mudbound,” “Black Panther,” and “Crazy Rich Asians” demonstrate the need for diverse stories told by diverse voices.
While I liked movies such as “Hidden Figures,” “The Help” “Green Book,” and “Glory,” they are all stories about but not created by African-Americans. All have the racist “white savior” trope, which I find frustrating and tiresome.
So I decided to tell stories, starting with my own.
I wrote and performed a play about experiencing racism and finding my own identify. My play, “Reaction Time” follows my journey growing up Iowa when there were nearly no diversity, through my corporate career.
All of the companies where I worked were (and still are) a lot like Iowa. Most lack diversity above a certain level.
I’m also working on a feature length documentary about Harold Washington, Chicago’s first African-American mayor. Washington ran for Chicago mayor in 1983 as a long-shot candidate.
His campaign quickly became a crusade of an inspirational figure — a fearless and blunt populist who at the same time was a proud intellectual.
The documentary, which we plan to release next year, is historical and could not be more timely as politicians on the national stage continue to struggle with coalition-building, and as the city of Chicago continues to suffer from racial disparities.
I have several other creative projects in the works, but I think you get the point.
So, how should you prepare for your next move?
· Figure out what you love
· Discover what allows you to be your truest self
· Be vulnerable
· Share what you know, including the bad.
· Don’t confuse the journey with the destination
To Get Started:
· Practice your craft
· Schedule for practice
· Recognize you won’t generate the same income immediately
· Plan accordingly
I’m a firm believer that you make time for what you want to do. I have learned to put boundaries around my time in order to get things done and accomplish all of the things that excite me.
For me, hustle has no chill.
The other day as I was adding a new and tremendously important work project, a dear friend who is also highly driven gave me some perspective.
She said, “Sonya, substantive women do many things.”
