I have the great pleasure of introducing you to the newest member of the Do What You Love family. Rachel is a hugely talented creative writer who will be taking on the role of Senior Editor here at DWYL HQ. We could not be happier that she has chosen to join us and look forward to watching her flourish.
So, who is Rachel? We asked her to delve deep and give you a little insight into why a simple question can provide such profound answers. – Mr K
Do What You Love’s new Senior Editor – Rachel Kempton
Who am I? Wow, what a question. Surely we all know who we are? I certainly thought I did until a few months ago when I started writing my Real Wild Bio.
When I was a girl I had it all figured out: I knew exactly what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. By the age of 30 I said I’d have been to university; travelled; trained as a journalist; written for newspapers; edited a glossy lifestyle magazine; married my Mr Right; and started a family. As I quickly discovered, creating the life I dreamed of would challenge me, push me out of my comfort zone, send me on some wild adventures and make me face fears I never even knew I had. And it was worth it. By the age of 34 (yes, four years later than planned but who’s counting?!) I’d achieved everything I’d set out to do. So what next?It’s that question that made completing my Real Wild Bio such an interesting and enlightening experience. As I started working through it, I realised that up to now I’d focussed so hard on what I wanted to achieve in my first 30 years or so, that I hadn’t given much thought, if any, to how I’d like the rest of my life to look.
I had to do some serious soul searching because aside from staying happily married to my husband Mike forever, and giving our baby Zack all the love in the world, I didn’t really know what I wanted. It was time to delve deep and get to know the real me.
Revisiting the past – experiences, people, hobbies, lessons, and life-changing moments – inspired me to think about my interests, what’s important to me and what motivates me. I found myself questioning everything, especially how I’d come to be stuck on the treadmill of life, being defined by my roles as a wife, mum and writer, working longer than 9-5 hours, feeling drained because of my two-hour daily commute, and spending very little time doing anything that I loved. Was this really the life I’d dreamed of all those years ago? And more importantly, is it what I dream of now?
Seeing myself and my life from a new perspective was a real eye-opener. It was time to re-ignite my passions, break free from the life I’d outgrown and start dreaming again, like I used to. As I thought about what I’d do if I was free to do anything, the lightbulb moments kept flashing. As I scribbled down all the things that I’d like to achieve this year, next year, and in the next 10, 20, 30 and 40+ years too it was like my soul was speaking to me – and for the first time in a long time I was listening.
Within weeks of deciding that I needed to make some big changes in order to create the best life for the person I am today, I’d accepted an exciting new job with Do What You Love. I’ve only been in my role a few weeks and already I feel that my life has taken on a whole new purpose and meaning. This is just the beginning for me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
As George Bernard Shaw said: “Life’s not about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself’” so here’s me, Rachel Kempton, DWYL’s newest recruit and my own unique masterpiece in the making…
Rachel is a devoted wife and mum, a creative writer and a hippie at heart. Spiritual and intuitive, she is motivated by peace, love and people who find the courage to be free. She says: “I believe that true happiness comes when we listen to ourselves, live in the present moment and do what feels right.”
Rachel is passionate about beautiful things, from breathtaking views, inspirational art and soul touching quotes to flowers, fabrics and furniture. She can lose hours shopping for cool antiques, making vintage-inspired accessories and putting her own shabby chic style stamp on her home.
When she’s not enjoying time with family and friends, making scrapbooks or baking (and eating!) cakes, she can be found in her studio working hard, practising yoga or planning her next adventure abroad.
“Having my son, Zack, made me realise that if I’m going to encourage him to chase his wildest dreams I better fully go after mine. Joining Do What You Love is the next exciting step towards creating the life I imagine. It’s amazing how magic happens when you follow your dreams and trust in the universe. Now I’m free to work around my family and I get to interview the most inspirational people, write to my heart’s content, and best of all, help people realise their dreams.”
