“I want to be a famous actress.” “I want to write a best-selling book.” “I want to be an inventor.”
These are all things I know I’ve said over the course of my life, especially as a child. Cue the excitement at my first high school theater audition, the many hours spent making Microsoft Word my best friend, and walking to the public library, bringing home armfuls of books and a hopeful spirit.
Where did that go? I never got a part with more than ten lines in a school play, despite the rush I felt while on stage. I never wrote a full manuscript, abandoning my novels after fifty or even just two pages. I returned most of the books after three weeks of merely skimming a quarter of them.
I lost my drive to succeed. I lost sight of the magnitude of my goals. Most of all, I lost hope in myself.
For me, my writing is an experiment in renewing that hope, of reaching for the proverbial stars. People have tried to dissuade me, told me that it’s too big of a feat, too crazy of an idea, but I’m not letting those thoughts get to me. Not this time.
Norman Vincent Peale, a minister and author, says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Perhaps I'm a little nontraditional. Maybe no one has ever done anything like this before. But so what?
“There’s always a first time,” religious leader Jeffrey R. Holland urges. “With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet.”
It is hard to keep up motivation when the people around you do little to nothing to help you achieve your dreams. Sometimes even trusted friends and family may work against you. This is when you need a reminder that yes, other people have done it. There are people out there, just like you and me, who went for their dreams and made them REAL.
Kylee Ann Maughan is one of those people. She lives her dream every day. Kylee was three years ahead of me in high school. Her family eventually moved into my church congregation, where I became fast friends with her younger sister. In high school, I remember Kylee as happy, social, always involved, and always smiling.
Fast forward four years, and now she is married with two kids, and is the founder and head photographer of Kylee Ann Photography. Her business, centered in Cache Valley, Utah, specializes in a “photo journalistic style of shooting” and capturing real life stories. Her photography’s Facebook page has almost 6,000 likes! People book sessions with her months and months in advance.
But why? She wasn’t a “photographer” in high school. I interviewed her to find out how she managed to achieve such success in just a few short years.
In response to, “How did you fight doubts and anxiety when embarking on your photography journey?” Kylee said that although she had always loved photography, she didn’t get her first camera until college. And even then, it was a present from Luke, her then-fiancé, who sold his X-box in order to buy it for her. It was his steady belief in her that gave her the courage to get started.
She put herself out there for the world to criticize, despite lack of experience. Eventually, her business blossomed through the people she met, and her passion grew, too.
“Every session is different because every person is different,” Kylee says. She has had the opportunity to photograph people in many trials, which helped her to realize the WHY behind her photography. The Passion Project is a free photo session that Kylee shoots for people going through exceptionally hard trials, like Amber, a woman who underwent chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
“That is why this job is important. People can look back on memories and see the good things . . . the emotion.” Despite the pain and fear associated with cancer, Amber later told Kylee that that photo session was one of the best days she had ever had.
When it comes to living a virtuous lifestyle, Kylee believes that being kind and honest is of the utmost importance, especially for a woman in business. “People come to me because I’m nice and I try to be genuine. Some people don’t succeed as much because they’re focusing on the wrong thing.”
For example, recently a woman came back to Kylee for her family’s session, despite having previously cancelled. Originally, the woman decided to go with a cheaper photographer because Kylee Ann was too expensive. Kylee wanted to know why she came back.
“Because the money is worth it. When I’m with you, you never gossip about anyone. You always say positive things about other photographers.”
Regarding the topic, Kylee says, “I am really supportive of other people’s businesses.” She doesn’t try to hide secrets from other photographers. In fact, she recently started an offshoot blog featuring free photography tips. In her mind, it is how she pays back the many people who helped her to nurture her talent.
She loves being able to return the favor. “People realize what kind of person you are from those actions. Being virtuous is definitely something you can see.”
From Kylee, I learned that if you have an idea, you should go for it. Just do it.
Trust the nights when the excitement pulses through your veins like a steam train. Trust the goosebumps that shiver up your arms when you sit in the audience of a ballroom dance competition. Trust how your heart beats hard when you walk past the art store on your way home.
Who knows? God could very well be the person who planted the desire in you. You could do a world of good if you pursued your dreams. “Your playing small does nothing to serve the world.”
Blessings will come when you put yourself on the line for your goals, even if it’s the most frightening thing you’ve ever experienced. Kylee’s best advice for aspiring business owners is to hold on to those people who encourage and push you to do better, to create, because “even just one person can push you past the negative.”
If you’re looking for that one person, you’ve found her. I believe in you. I believe in myself. I believe in talents. I believe that God gives us desires that push us to accomplish His purposes here on Earth. “Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
