#52: How Aunia Kahn Built Her Business Dealing With Chronic Illnesses

Building a successful business is hard, especially when you add rare health conditions and chronic illnesses to the equation.

Still, Aunia Kahn managed to adapt to her circumstances and make the most out of her situation by building a business following her creative passions.

Welcome to The Creator's Adventure where we interview creators from around the world, hearing their stories about growing a business.

Aunia Kahn is a multi-faceted creative entrepreneur and a globally awarded, collected, and exhibited figurative artist/photographer, published author, instructor, and inspirational speaker. She is also the owner of Rise Visible a full-service creative digital marketing agency and Create for Healing.

Her work as an artist has been in over 300+ exhibitions in over ten countries. She has also been a guest on podcasts like Entrepreneur on Fire, with 70 million downloads & 1 million monthly listens.

Learn more about Aunia: https://risevisible.com/



Transcript

Bryan McAnulty: Welcome to The Creator's Adventure, where we interview Creator's from around the world, hearing their stories about growing a business. Today's guest is gonna share with us how despite disability she runs her own creative agency is a course creator, and her work as an artist has been in over 300 exhibitions around the world.

We're gonna talk about how you can take the pieces of the things you enjoy to build the business that you want, even when all of your circumstances seem to be against you. Hey everyone. I'm Bryan McAnulty. I'm the founder of Heights Platform. Let's get into it.

Hey everyone. We're here today with Aunia Kahn. She is a multifaceted, creative entrepreneur and a globally awarded artist, photographer, published author, instructor, and inspirational. He is also the owner of Rise Visible, a full service creative digital marketing agency, and create for healing her work as an artist, has been in over 300 exhibitions in over 10 countries.

He has also been a guest on podcasts like Entrepreneur On Fire with 70 million downloads and 1 million monthly listeners. Aunia, welcome to the show.

Aunia Kahn: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

Bryan McAnulty: Yeah, sure. So my first question for you is, what would you say is the biggest thing that either you did or you are doing that has helped you achieve the freedom to do the things that you enjoy?

Aunia Kahn: I think the biggest thing that I have done is probably adapting. So for me, what I'm doing didn't come because of a passion or because of a desire. It came because I was forced into adapting. So years ago I had wanted to be a therapist. That was my big goal, like that's what I wanna do with my life, and things changed.

Extreme, extremely in a very short period of time with my health. A lot of things that happened, like the World Trade Center, just a lot came tumbling down at one period of my life and my goals and aspirations to become a therapist to kind of live a certain way, were shifted. and I had to come into the world differently and think, how can I adapt to this?

How can I adapt to the fact that there's no jobs available right now because of nine 11, the fact that my health is deteriorating and I don't have any answers, or I don't have any support. So I leaned into some of the things I already had known. As more of a hobby with the digital stuff such as, you know, digital marketing, web design and all of that.

And by being able to adapt, I mean, this is just kind of the inception of that story of adaption has been my life. The whole thing is really being able to adapt, being able to shift and pivot based on the things that I deal with that aren't, you know, commonplace for a lot of people.

Bryan McAnulty: Yeah, that's a great answer, I think and I think it's such an important skill to have too because the idea of adapting to things doesn't necessarily feel comfortable.

But sometimes it's the only choice and sometimes it's, that's the way forward that will allow you to succeed

Aunia Kahn: and. You don't have to like to adapt, right? Like that's the thing. You don't actually have to like it because it's not, it's adapting for a reason because you, you're mostly, often when you're adapting, you're being pushed into something or some door has closed or.

Something has shifted and you, you have to pivot and it's scary for people. It, it's very scary to be pushed into a corner or pushed into decisions that you don't want to make. But I've really learned over the years that being able to kind of come into acceptance with that adaption, like, okay, this is where it is.

There's really no choice. I can sit here and complain and whine about it and be bitter and upset, which is healthy to do sometimes, right? To actually feel those emotions of frustration. But then being able to, you know, I always say this, this quote, it's a Japanese proverb, it's fall down seven times, get a bait, and you can fall down.

You can be upset about it. You know, I'm not big into like, well just pick the bootstraps up and pretend it didn't happen. It's like, well, , understand that things have happened, feel those emotions and then use that, those, those negative or difficult emotions to empower you to figure out how you're gonna adapt and move into that space of, of different, or whatever it is for you.

We all go through this. I mean, as human beings, we all have to adapt. We, we just do, we all have to come into acceptance of a lot of different things. And choosing to adapt is probably one of the best ways to move through that.

Bryan McAnulty: Yeah, I like that. I think that's exactly the right way to think about it. All right, so today you're the owner of the Creative Agency, rise Visible, and you're a world renowned artist.

You run a learning program called Create for Healing. Can you tell us a little bit more about that journey as a creative entrepreneur and with what you're comfortable sharing, how you were able to start your business while dealing with disability? . Sure.

Aunia Kahn: So kind of like I had mentioned when nine 11 happened and I had to pivot, what I did is I had been already building websites.

I had already been doing some form of marketing, graphic design for friends and family, and it was, it was for fun. It wasn't actually for any sort of like money or business. And when I realized I wasn't able to really find work, I went and volunteered at the Red Cross in the early stages of nine 11, and then I started running outta money

So like, You know, I had to make a decision and and go, oh, I don't have any money and adapt and figure out what to do. And so I took a really large risk of taking the skills that I had, which were rudimentary. They were not great. And I contacted a handful of agencies locally at the time and I got an interview and.

Basically kind of like the eye roll, like, I don't know why you're here. Like, they looked at my portfolio, it wasn't good enough, you know, I knew that too, like I was aware, but I was just hoping, and then I decided I was just gonna do it on my own after being, you know, denied. I didn't stop. I just said, well, I'm gonna ask friends and family and people and anybody who knows.

And I went ahead and was able to. A small bit of clientele and I never looked to really build it as a way to make a living. It was really just a way to. supplement and do what I could to survive. There was no, like today I'm in a different mindset. It's very different, but back then it was really just a basis of survival and through being a digital person, I also got into art creation and photography as a way of self-expression, and I'm allergic to everything.

So I'm allergic to any sort of paint I'm allergic to. every kind of food. I mean, and at this time I didn't know I was allergic. I was just having, you know, extreme reactions and then ending up in the hospital. So my creative endeavors became very digital, which is interesting because, you know, back in 2005 when I started my art career, you know, digital people were like, you know, like you're a no-no.

Right? And now, you know, digital is a whole very, Thing where, you know, I was fighting to be taken seriously. Right. And now I've kind of moved into the traditional world again because of a diagnosis and my ability to touch physical mediums in the last two years. So I'm going the opposite way that everybody else is going.

you know, everybody's like doing digital and I'm like, oh, I've been doing digital for 20 years. I'm good. I'm gonna go. I now have a, you know, medication. I can, you know, I can touch paint now, which is great. But the art thing, you know, was again a survival. It was a way for me to express what I was going through.

Cause I went for, you know, 20. Of no diagnosis, no real medical support in and out of hospitals on a Feeding Tube formula. And it wasn't until 2018, I got one of my first Diagnosises and 2022, sorry, 2021 is when I got my big umbrella diagnosis. So the journey of my career as an artist, my journey as an, you know now an agency owner and also running Crate for Healing, which I'll touch on in a second, has always been.

survival mode. Really, it's just been like, I'm just existing. And then once I got my diagnosis, the big one in 2021, I'd always had this desire to create a platform to be able to teach artistic endeavors, writing painting, you know, those kinds of things in coupled with hard topic. Depression, chronic illness, narcissistic abuse mother issues, father issues, you know P T S D.

And because, you know, I finally had a big diagnosis, I finally had all the answers. Like everything was an aha moment for me. Like I finally felt centered enough to go, this all makes sense. And then getting the right medication in 2019 with that first diagnosis, which, you know, mitigated. Three to five allergic reactions a day to down to a couple a month, which was very life changing for me.

I decided to launch this platform cuz I felt stable enough to do so. And my background again, I wanted to be a therapist, you know, that's always been my dream of wanting to do that. I've gone in and outta school numerous times and then, Not go because I got too sick. And so this platform, you know, has, has about 500 students on it.

Now. We have, I think about 30 courses. Now I'm bringing in new instructors because I've, you know, I built the platform myself. So that's been helpful, like all of these things. Have kind of intertwined with each other, like being a, you know, somebody who understands code and web design. I was able to build my own platform and not use something like Teachable.

And then having a marketing background, I was able to, you know, create really great marketing material. And being a photographer, I can create really good images of, you know, you know, it's just like this thing. And then I realized this year it's like all the. I'm doing all kind of go together, but it's taken a long time to get there.

It's not like I knew that it's like it's been 20 years and now I'm sitting here going, oh, I can live into the that that care for wanting to be a therapist, but move myself away and not be emotionally invested in clients. Cuz I couldn't do that. I really couldn't. To doing something creative and fun and interesting, and then also having therapists coming and teaching on my platform, having a, you know, a digital marketing agency, building websites, which I love.

You know, I absolutely, you know, I've been doing it for 20, I love to build websites. I just, it's a weird thing. My partners just rules its eyes every time. He's like, why? I'm like, I don't know. I just love it. It's a creative thing. And then doing art, being able to continue to show in galleries. hustle to do that, and that was a long journey too, just being able to be seen and be understood.

But it's that adaptability, again, it's coming back to that early part of our conversation of being able to accept where I'm at and trying to figure out how I can navigate it. differently than everybody else. And I think people who go through things like, you know, being neuro divergent or having health problems are coming from a sense of trauma, have had to look at the world a lot differently.

And I think it's a superpower. I really do. I think, I think it can be used in a good way when somebody can get the right help, the right support, the right people around them that are gonna lift them up. .

Bryan McAnulty: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, there are a few things I wanna say about this, but that, that last thing that you said.

So my interview interview I did yesterday I was speaking with someone, he is a book coach and he is dyslexic. He didn't know it for, for most of his life in school. He just thought he was a horrible student and he found out eventually. and now he sees it as, as a superpower in the way that while it's hard for him to be, be writing out the words in a certain way, what he can do that others can't is seeing the, the meaning behind the words and, and understanding that and focusing on that in a deeper way that others might struggle to or really, really have to work out.

And so I thought that was interesting to hear, but I also wanna talk about how you mentioned all the, the different skills coming together. and I think every entrepreneur out there, everyone wants to be an overnight success, and it's difficult when you. are, are working at this one thing and doesn't, doesn't play out the way you hoped or it doesn't really do anything at all.

Mm-hmm. . But what I think is really nice to mention, and what I found true for myself as well, is something similar to what you're talking about, where the the traditional success part that wasn't the like, oh, I've, I've made it. I'm, I'm happy about this now. , it was the ability to, to know that I now have all these skills and I have this ability to put all these things together from all these different skills, just like you're talking about.

So I started as like a web design, graphic design agency. So the graphics, the design, the software, and, and putting that all together that that having those different abilities. That's what feels really cool. And that's, that's how, I guess, , that's what I, I like the most as far as feeling like I made it with something.

I don't know. I still have a lot to go, still room to grow, of course. But that's what I think is the most enjoyable part of it. And so if you're somebody listening to this and you're saying, okay, well I got good at this thing. It didn't really work out. I got good at this thing. It didn't really work out.

I encourage you to keep going because years from now when all of that can come together and you can really use all those skills to move forward with one thing that's when you'll be really happy that you. gain that experience.

Aunia Kahn: Absolutely. One of the things that I tell my clients when I work with them in marketing is,

You know, I have a lot of people that have this fear of like, well, you know, I don't, I'm not sure and, you know, maybe I shouldn't do that. And I'm like, I think one of the, the greatest things for people, kind of like what you're saying about yourself is keep trying because people won't even try, right?

Mm-hmm. , they'll be too afraid to try or they wanna plan too much. And I'm a calculated risk taker. I think because my life has flashed before my eyes so many times. I don't really have a lot of fear about taking certain types of. I mean, eating something that might kill me, different story, you know, deciding to, you know, try an endeavor of some sort.

That's something I would, I would do, and I try to tell, you know, my clients, the thing is, is when you go and you try something, the feedback, whether or not it's positive or negative. And of course that's, you know, it depends on how you look at it. You know, some people don't even look at feedback that's negative as negative.

They look at it as, oh, that's great information, but when you get told no or it doesn't work out, or it, it doesn't feel right, or you're not getting good enough at something. , all of that feedback actually helps you again, shift kind of how you are. And then the other thing is Ira Glass said, Is really beautiful thing.

There's this video on YouTube and maybe I can send you the link and you could share it. It's this amazing thing that talks about creatives having really great taste. Like we have really great taste. Like we can look at something and go like, that's great, but for us to reach that taste, to reach that echelon of what we think is good.

is a, a big gap. Mm-hmm. . And it takes a long time for us to get there. And, and when we don't get there, we're very frustrated with ourselves. We, we think we suck, but good taste doesn't come. And having that good taste means, you know, as people who are, for example, people who are not creative, may not have good taste.

Like I work with people who are not creative and they have bad taste. , you know, like, I'm like, no, you cannot put those two colors together. And that font is comic sense. We cannot use that. But in the creative community, , you have to say the majority of creative people that have these amazing imaginations and creativity goes from any, you know, any type of thing.

You could be a gardener and be creative. You could be a person that likes to, you know, remodel cars. I mean, creativity doesn't just limit itself to painting or writing. I mean, the, the creative mind is, you know, even creating, you know, interior design in your house as being creative. Is being able to recognize you'll get to that good taste, right?

You, you will, but it's for you to get there. It's not easy for you to listen to a, a guitar solo and go, that's. , that's amazing, right? Like that's just Mm. Like they just hit it. For you to get to that part, and for you to be that, it takes a long time, and that whole in between process, that gray area is extremely frustrating.

But the more that you step in, the more that you try, the more that you fail, the closer you're getting to that place. ,

Bryan McAnulty: definitely. Yeah. Yeah. I think creatives especially are their, everyone's their own worst critic. Right. And it's it, it's really a common theme for people to feel, to even make something and then feel uncomfortable about sharing it with the world.

But as you're talking about Yeah. Yeah. I mean, , you know, everyone struggles with it. The, I think . I think in general my kind of like thoughts on life are that imperfection and impermanence are very beautiful, but extremely difficult concepts for humans to deal with. Yeah. And so, yeah, but the important part is getting that feedback on it.

And, and if people don't like it there, there might be something you would learn about it from yourself that you wouldn't have learned if you didn't release. . And so by putting it out there, you can learn how to improve a lot better, even though it's uncomfortable. . Mm-hmm. .

Aunia Kahn: Yeah. Feedback is, feedback is important and we have to, as people learn to be able to kind of accept that feedback and not take it personal.

Right. Yeah. Social media has made that very difficult for people because they kind of force creative people into. continually sharing so that they can keep their audience right, like you have to keep producing to keep an audience. And that's difficult for people. Like it's exhausting to have to keep on creating.

But to be able to know that when you do put something out there that you're gonna get negative feedback, you do have to get a little bit of a thicker skin and recognize like, just cuz somebody doesn't like it, doesn't. that it sucks. You know, there's plenty of people who don't like a lot of things.

There's high end blue chip artists that people would be like, that's awful, right? Like it, it's an opinion, but being able to also be open to the fact of constructive criticism, meaning that somebody might say something and for you to open up and be willing to kind of let that come in to some extent when it's not hateful or mean or cruel or rude, where somebody might point something out and you're like, oh.

Your work gets better because you can only do so much in your own world, right? Like you, if you're not watching videos of other people, if you're not getting some type of feedback, you're completely locked into your own space. . You need outside interference. You need outside input to help you grow. I mean, even through the digital marketing and web design stuff, one of the things that I found very difficult over the years until now because things have shifted, is being a lone entrepreneur.

you know, there isn't people back then to bounce off what I was doing. There wasn't employees or colleagues to say, well, what do you think of this design? Or Would this color be better? Or, you know, this, what? What do you think of this website homepage? How do you feel about it? You're left with only your knowledge, which limits you in how you grow.

you know, so being able to be open to that constructive criticism and also push out anything that feels volatile, because of course there's a bunch of keyboard people on the keyboard, you know, vigilantes on the end that are gonna have something nasty to say to you if you put yourself out there and you're vulnerable.

But ignore that. It's, it's, it's nonsense. You know, people sit behind a computer and act like they're a big deal , you know, which is kind of funny, but. .

Bryan McAnulty: Yeah, definitely. Okay, so I wanna also go into a little bit more detail about the journey of how you mentioned that like you started out doing some projects for friends and family, and from there until where you're at now and hearing that you were only relatively recently actually diagnosed in figuring out what was going on with yourself.

First of all, I can only imagine not knowing for, for so long, but dealing with all of that. and what it must have given you to have finally felt like, now I know and understand, but so before this interview, like I looked at some of your sites and everything like that, and like. everything looks like really great.

It doesn't look like you just started with like really getting into it recently. So like where, where were you able to work on it along the way? Like was it, was it something that like really, like in the last year or two, like now you're getting way more clients, way more customers and doing way more, or.

Did you find a way to, to grow from there? Because I think there's a lot of people listening to this or watching this who are saying, you know, like, I'm an artist, or I have this other business too. I wanna figure out how this all fits together in my life. And like, they've taken it past the, the hobby or thing that they've tried, but now they want to get to where you're at.

and they want to figure out like, well, how long is it gonna take me? How, how much effort am I gonna have to put in? And, and what does that kind of look like?

Aunia Kahn: Well, here, here's the interesting thing. Through my illness, one of the things that I have that's not normal, and my partner will say that I'm a computer, he jokes and says like, you're a robot, is.

Can be laser focused on things. So even through illness and even through survival, there was always this ability to kind of compute and do, you know, there's things I'm still trying to research, even with my diagnosis with, you know, e d s, mast cell, you know, pots Dyson and all of it. And. Often in correlation with that is people who are autistic or have adhd and I, you know, I'm not formally diagnosed, but there's definitely, you know, the, the high percentage of people with eeds that have, you know, neurodivergent tendencies and neurological issues is exorbitant

So, and it all makes sense cuz the more that I research these things. But the point being is, I was actually talking about this last night with my partner. . I've had a lot of people that have neurodivergency or people that struggle with depression or anxiety or things like that will, it will impact them from being able to be a producer or be able to go after things.

And I. Haven't been that way my whole life. I've been a, a box checker offer. I've been somebody who needs some type of goal or I, I need to be getting there. And I think that's helped me along the way. I mean, I've been like that since I was a kid. And I do think, and I'm just gonna be extremely transparent, I do think that it was issues.

With how I grew up and the very, very difficult and challenging kind of volatile home environment I had, there was this always this need to kind of show up and prove that I was something. I am something because I couldn't do the somethings that everybody else could do. So there was that drive. . But you know, I've always been very project oriented.

I've always, I've been very lucky to be a good communicator and be able to kind of go out into the community, not really in public, but digitally, cuz I've, I've been digitally active in the world for 20 years, even before C O V I D. , I was wearing a mask, you know, before covid, I was already housebound.

These kinds of things had happened, and so again, that just drives that like, well, how can I do it differently? How can I connect? How can I, you know, make things happen? And then with that diagnosis, You know, in the last couple years, and especially having the big one just, you know, not that long ago, I'm still living in aha moments.

I mean, I spent time with my partner last night having an aha moment going. I had no idea that no one else lived like that. I didn't know, or I wore army boots in high school and I always loved them, but there was a part of me that wore them because they helped me stabilize my ankles. But I didn't know that.

I just thought I liked boots and I've always liked them. So there's a lot of aha moments, but having a knowing and understanding what's going on with you. Very powerful and people that are listening to this, if, if you are going through something and you don't have any answers and you don't have any support, it is extremely debilitating.

It's extremely lonely, you know, it's, it, it causes just. A ton of pain, not to be understood, not to be listened to, to be blown off. And then for that to shift. I still sometimes question if I'm really have the diagnosises. I have, I still do. Sometimes I'm like, Hmm. And I'm like, no. I know. Like I've had numerous doctors, everything lines up.

There's not, there's not anything that would lead me to believe that, except for being gaslit by the medical community and also having a lot of friends and family get sick and tired of hearing the issues or, you know, going, oh, I think it's this. And then it's not this. It's like the boy who cried wolf, or the girl who cried wolf.

So having that diagnosis, Has given me a sense of power. And if people are living in a place that they don't, it's very hard to have a sense of power. And it's also hard to wanna achieve. It's hard to wanna grow because you don't even have a sense of self. Right? Like, you don't even know what's going on.

And yeah, so it's, it's, it's really shifted how how I've looked at the world. I've also, and I think this is important to note, when you had asked, you know, is your success more about gaining more clients? Is your success, you know, what is that? And the success that I've had is being able to step out into the public and go and own what I am.

The success has come being on this podcast with you, you know, being on Entrepreneur, on Fire, being, you know, in my, my local magazine has been me being transparent, vulnerable, and willing to accept everything that I am, and I hid behind all of it. For years, I was a woman in tech. . I sometimes wouldn't, you know, share my name or I'd sign emails differently.

you know, like I would not always like call out that I was a woman and I definitely didn't call out that I had issues, you know, because of course people are gonna judge me. But I finally decided to just accept it. I am a disabled entrepreneur, and you know what? I'm owning that because if I don't own it, I'm lying to.

and I'm missing an opportunity to connect to other people who are dealing with that in the same way. And not everybody's gonna wanna step out. You know, not everybody is. I tried to start an organization locally for disabled business owners and when I tried to start the Oregon Disabled Business Owners Association locally, cause I thought, well, we could all bond together.

No one wanted to. Because no one wanted to be called out, which I get like, I, I get it. I spent 20 years not being called out , you know, like keeping it to myself. But I think the true essence of success comes when you are authentically you. It doesn't come from how many clients you. Excuse me. How many clients you have, how much money you're making, I mean, all those are metrics for success.

Of course they are. You know, we live in a society that's a capitalist society, and money matters and accolades matter, but you will gain success. You will gain everything you ever want if you're able to be completely authentic and not change yourself for anybody around you. And it's. Easy. It is. It is one of the hardest things in the world to be vulnerable, authentic, be willing to mess up, be willing to burp on camera, be willing to have your hair all messed up.

You know, just being authentic. And people love that. They do. They just love it. We love that we see someone. Fallen trip and get up and laugh, and we see people being authentic. It gives us the ability to realize that we're all human and we live in this digital world of success is, is a metric of how many followers you have and how many interviews you've done and this and that.

When truly the people that I look up to are. unapologetically authentic human beings. And that really is a measure of success. And that is where the jumping point has come for me, on top of the, you know, diagnosis, which helped me be that, you know?

Bryan McAnulty: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. I I love that. I'm glad you said that because I feel exactly the same way, and I, I think that to your point about others seeing.

if somebody sees somebody acting completely their authentic self it's, it's inspiring to that person in a way that, that they, they feel that they wanna do it, but it's so difficult, as you said. So yeah, being able to do that is, is truly great. And the only thing I could potentially add to, to any of that, cuz I think you said it also well, is that, , I think that everybody struggles with comparing themselves to others.

And no matter what you have going on in your, in your life, kind of good or bad there, there's always ways you can compare yourself and, and find something bad to, to look at in a negative way. Okay. But the, the way to really move forward is to just look at what you have and find how you can take what you have and use that to your advantage.

Mm-hmm. .

Aunia Kahn: Yeah. You're only, you have one life. And I do live from a place of, you know, almost dying repetitively. So for me, being here, I'm kind of shocked, right? Like every day is kind of a big deal for me. Like when I started seeing that I had gray hair, I'm, I was shocked that I had any, I was like, wow, okay, I've made it this far.

And I think coming from that, like you're, . It doesn't matter anybody else's journey. It doesn't matter everybody else's success. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters, but you and your moment in your time, and if you're enjoying what you're doing and you're. , you're enjoying it. That's, that is, that's the thing.

Be authentic and enjoy your life. There's too many people moving in the world trying to go towards this idealized successful, you know, like, I wanna be like this person. I wanna own this car. I wanna do this because you know what? I'll tell. As a person who's an artist who's been very successful in my career, you know, I've been in tons of magazines, tons of exhibition, all of that.

When it came to my diagnosis and I was able to move into playing with traditional medium, it brought me back to being a child again, because I didn't know how to use it, right? So I have a whole fan base of people on Facebook, almost a half a million people that are following me, and I'm starting over brand.

And I had a choice to hide it or not hide it. And I realized that my whole creative path was never to be a successful artist. I never cared. Like it wasn't really, it was really just like I needed something to go towards because I needed a goal and I'm sick. But when it came down to being in a healthier space, I learned that it wasn't.

The gallery shows it wasn't, it really was about being with it. And then I let everybody in on the journey of, of sucking royally because I was like, you know what? I suck. And that's okay. And the same reason why I started create for healing, cuz I never did creativity to get accolades. I never created, my creation was for, from survival.

And so if people kind of like you're saying, If people can just stop worrying about what other people think, and it's hard. I mean, we, we, you know, we're a group of human beings that are PAC mentality, and one thing that I learned that I thought was valuable is people always think like rejection. Like, why are you so bothered by rejection?

And why do we feel bad when we compare ourselves to others is because truly, In our bodies, when we are not a part of a community, when we're being rejected, when we're not feeling good enough, it's actually triggering survival in us because we need community. We need people, we need to be accepted to survive.

This is primal reactions, right? Totally primal. We, we want that. It's not just, sorry. I don't wanna say we want that, we don't want that. We, we need that. And being able to come back and, and go against those primal things and go. You know what? I am me and that is it. And if people don't like it, I don't care.

And there's gonna be people that are more successful than me. There's gonna be people that are not as successful in me. But if I wake up every day and I can just be pleased with myself that I'm just alive and I'm here, maybe everybody isn't looking at my heart thinking it's amazing, but did I go into my studio or go on my desk or whatever and do something that I enjoyed?

Does it have to be. Nope. It does not. It does not have to be good. Doesn't have to be a masterpiece. If you're doing it, you're doing it. People, there are people out there that are not creating. . There are people that are sitting around watching TV and doing nothing with their life. If you are able to create things and, and that's fine if you wanna do that.

I don't wanna be judgmental, you know, like if people wanna watch TV and that makes them happy and they're not really creative, well that's good for them. But people that are being creative, if you are able to be creative and you can produce something, even if it sucks, you are producing something and that is magic.

you are creating magic . I mean, it's, it's pretty remarkable, really.

Bryan McAnulty: Yeah, exactly. Awesome. All right, well I think I wanna leave it with that, cuz I, I think that's a, a great way to end the episode. Couple more things before we get going on the show. We'd like to ask all of our guests to ask the audience a question.

So if you could ask anything to our audience, something you want 'em to think about something you're just curious about, what would that. .

Aunia Kahn: I think I would probably ask the audience what kind of magic they wanna make. That's what I would ask the audience. Awesome. What kind of magic do you wanna make?

Bryan McAnulty: All right. Great. All right. And then before we get going, where else can people find you online? Sure.

Aunia Kahn: So you can find me at my website or any of the handles with my name, Aunia Kahn, a u n i a k a h n, not k h a n. There's no wrath of Khan. It's k a h n. And for our educational platform, it's Crate for Healing.

Same handle Crate for Healing Everywhere. And our web design and digital marketing agency is rise visible. And again, handles are all the same for all places. We're everywhere.

Bryan McAnulty: All right, Aunia, thanks so much for coming on the show.

Aunia Kahn: Thank you. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Bryan McAnulty: If you enjoyed this interview and won the chance to ask questions to our guests live, tune in on Tuesdays when new episodes premiere on the Heights Platform Facebook page.

To learn more about the show and get notified when new episodes release, check out The Creator's Adventure dot com. Until then, keep learning and I'll see you in the next episode.

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About the Host

Bryan McAnulty is the founder of Heights Platform: all-in-one online course creation software that allows creators to monetize their knowledge.

His entrepreneurial journey began in 2009, when he founded Velora, a digital product design studio, developing products and websites used by millions worldwide. Stemming from an early obsession with Legos and graphic design programs, Bryan is a designer, developer, musician, and truly a creator at heart. With a passion for discovery, Bryan has traveled to more than 30 countries and 100+ cities meeting creators along the way.

As the founder of Heights Platform, Bryan is in constant contact with creators from all over the world and has learned to recognize their unique needs and goals.

Creating a business from scratch as a solopreneur is not an easy task, and it can feel quite lonely without appropriate support and mentorship.

The show The Creator’s Adventure was born to address this need: to build an online community of creative minds and assist new entrepreneurs with strategies to create a successful online business from their passions.

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