Hourglass Media's New Direction and Purpose
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
EP4 of The Wholeheartedly Podcast revealed something I am currently struggling with: purpose and change.
Lately, my mind has been a lot like a Jackson Pollock painting: messy and hard to follow with splattered thoughts.
I am wholly different than who I was when I first started my career. As a 20-something PR practitioner, my focus remained heavily on my career. I would live and die by deadlines, daily ambitions, what others said and thought, and the past and future. I never really delved into how I felt in the present moment, so much so that I lived on gallons of coffee and very little food. I did A LOT of unhealthy and harmful behaviors to myself.
Now, I still have dreams, of course. They just look vastly different than they used to look. Now, I don’t have tunnel vision. It’s more like a kaleidoscope that blends all my pillars of contentment and purpose into one Technicolor experience. I aim to take care of myself and really listen to my body when it tells me to drink more water (several kidney stones will make you think twice about not consuming as much water). I drink up to two cups of coffee per day. I can talk myself down during panic attacks, and even depressive episode doesn’t land me in bed for days like it used to. I value the work I do, probably even more so than before. I know time is precious, and I don’t take on projects or clients that conflict with my purpose.
In short, my life’s mission is still to “live what I love despite fear.” I am more holistic in my thinking and doing, which results in focusing on the following: spirituality, my marriage, my son/motherhood, writing, my career, my company, lifelong learning, legacy building (self and others). These facets, as well as others, feed into my journey toward self-actualization, self-worth, and self-acceptance.
I don’t want to fool you and make it seem like I haven’t struggled. I have struggled a lot over the years, and these past couple of months are no exception. I have been questioning my purpose and my career. It has been an existential crisis of self, and I am still not back on track. Time, introspection, insight outside of myself, and effort will tell the tale. I am working really hard to take each day as it comes, but I know one thing is certain: I still am and want to be a storyteller.
I just don’t want my career to look the same way it has for the last 13 years.
Realizing that is scary. It’s an internal crisis of the highest order, especially for someone like me, who has it “all figured out.” It’s hard to undo what you have been doing, to knock down the beautiful structure you constructed out of blood, sweat, tears, love, vision, and so much more. I know, deep in my heart (and even in the logical parts of my mind), that I have to pivot in my career.
It comes with its own grief cycle, and I’m working toward acceptance. While I love professionally communicating, I feel like I have hit a wall — or a ceiling even — with my PR career. I still love certain parts of the job, but I realize now that it was meant for the Kaylin of another time and headspace. For example, a lot of PR work (at least what I was taught in college and early in my career) involves handing off items on silver platter to people. I have made others look good, have done all of the background work, have pulled overtime hours, have exhausted my creative abilities… and the return hasn’t been what I have expected. I worked hard, but it wasn’t toward my purpose. It was to earn money, forge relationships, and other KPIs, which are all essential. Did it make me happy? It used to. Does it make me happy now? Not especially.
I didn’t wake up one morning and think, “Let’s completely rework my entire career.” In many ways, it has been brewing since I started Hourglass Media seven years ago. When I first started my company, I sought external validation. This often looked like seeking “mentors’” approval, listening to what others said I was good at (even if I didn’t want to offer it as a service), taking on work just for the sake of achievement, and burning the midnight oil because I thought that is what others wanted me to do. Essentially, my unhealthy thoughts and behaviors extended to my company in the forms of perfectionism, people-pleasing, lack of boundaries, overwhelm, questioning my self-worth, and more.
In short, it became exhausting! While I have been incredibly successful at a young age and appreciate my journey, I recently realized that my pace is not sustainable. In addition to being Hourglass Media’s CEO, I am also a mom and wife, two roles I love deeper than anything. When I was in my 20s, I couldn’t anticipate those life changes and how they would nudge me outside of my comfort zone. But, here we are, at this crossroads. It’s scary, exhilarating, and still forming before my eyes.
What does this mean for Hourglass Media? I plan to take on more writing projects — to get back to basics and build from there. I will take on more of a strategist role and less of a tactician. What does that even mean, you ask? I will emphasize PR/communications research and planning while empowering others to take on the mantle of implementing the research/evaluation and planning. I’ll blend branding, psychology, sociology, and more through a new lens. I even plan to become more qualified from a mental health/wellness standpoint. I realized while working on my own mental health that I have a passion to help others in their own journeys, too. The Wholeheartedly Podcast and more services/products will expand those efforts.
The new era of Hourglass Media may look different to you. You may like it, you may not. The point is, I am not going to please everyone all the time. The working relationship has to be mutually beneficial, which is a core tenet of effective communication. Often, as business owners, we take on work that doesn’t resonate with us for the sake of financial gain or other reasons. I’ve discovered that it’s a real struggle to work on projects that I am not passionate about, especially as someone who craves purpose-driven work.
Change sparks growth, and it’s leading me to an evolved purpose. Change is inevitable, frightening, and exciting. Stay tuned. I’m excited for the future in ways I haven’t been in a few years. Thanks for being there in the past, and I hope you remain in the present and future.
-Kaylin R. Staten, APR, MPRCA
Kaylin R. Staten, APR, MPRCA, is an award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner and writer based in Huntington, WV, with nearly 20 years of professional communications experience. As CEO and founder of Hourglass Media, she uses her compassionate spirit and expertise to delve into the heart of clients’ stories. She is a wife, mom, mental health advocate, and Leia Organa aficionado. Connect with Kaylin on LinkedIn.