Prologue

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“What do you like to do?”

Silence.

“All you do is work - you don’t even know what you like anymore, do you?”

That rhetorical question sparked a revelation - I was already burned out at twenty-three.

My post college plans were long derailed but I had a full time job, a part-time gig, and often a third venture in the mix. The drive was as strong as ever but there wasn’t any direction. Just momentum, and it showed.

I refer to twenty-three as my ‘lost year’, although I fell into what became my career not long after that conversation. I remembered what I love to do once I slowed down enough to think clearly because it’s always been the same.

I tell stories. They poured out as soon as I could speak and even faster when I learned to write.

I meet people and make connections, fleeting as well as catching but meaningful in either capacity.

I wander near and far. I flew for the first time when I was six months old and have been a rolling stone ever since.

I learn as much as I can. I heard once that “great leaders are great readers” and soaking in history at every turn proves this to be true.

I chase and carve out answers. My preschool teacher nicknamed me “Curious Colby” (long before the monkey was popular) and it was apt. I need to know every detail, angle, and option while reasoning out my next move.

I create, every day. I can’t paint or draw but I craft and compel with words and am learning to express that rush through other art forms.

Colby Elise Creative is a culmination of everything I love to do and be. A personal brand that encompasses my individuality in addition to who I am as a professional, it’s a way to chronicle my adventures in making a mark and finding fulfillment.

It’s how I’ve chosen to claim my own little corner of the world, and I’m glad to share it with you.