We’re looking forward to introducing you to Keshia Langston. Check out our conversation below.
Keshia, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I thank God as soon as I open my eyes. I thank him for everything he has done for me and everything he continue to do for me. I ask him for a blessed and productive day. I then take my daughter and my nieces to school, tell them to have a good day and try their best. I then get ready for work.
That’s how the first 90 minutes of my day look like.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a self published author from Memphis, TN. Writing has been my passion since I was 13 years old. It’s always been something I knew I was good at and something I knew I always wanted to do. God made no mistakes when he blessed me with this gift of writing.
I LOVE writing and everything about it. I love being able to create these amazing stories, characters, outcomes, and such beautiful visuals readers can experience.
What makes my brand so interesting and unique is my love for writing. Everyday I am striving to be a better author and artist. I always go back to my first few novels studying and taking notes. I study the vocabulary I choose, the language, the character’s transitions, etc. I take notes of what I want to change, work on, and how to better my craft.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
The person in my life who taught me the most about work is most definitely my father. Growing up I watched him do everything a man supposed to do and beyond. Watching him love and treat my sisters as if they was his, it speaks volumes of the man he is. He loved and treated all of us equally although I was the only one that carried his dna and last name. I watched this man work doubles 3, sometimes 4 days a week.
He taught me the most about work when he got sick. I still watched this man go to dialysis 3 days out the week and work the other 2 days. I watched him have procedures one day and returned to work 2 days later as if nothing happened. I saw how physically draining dialysis was and what it was doing to his body. I witnessed him lose so much weight during the process. None of that stopped him from going to work, providing for his family, and still being right here for me whenever I needed anything. He taught me the definition of work and what it means to be a hard worker.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I started using my pain as my power when I dedicated myself to my craft. When I witnessed a reader expressed their testimony to me, in that moment I knew I used my power.
I had a reader to tell me she cried reading one of my books. She related so much to the story, the character, the trails and tribulations the character went through. In my mind, I thought I was creating something that’s fictional. I never imagined someone going through something I created.
Some of the things I write are my raw, true, and unfiltered feelings. Whenever I can’t express my emotions in the way I need to, I express it in my books. I can freely release everything and not feel ashamed to do so. When a reader can relate to my personal pain, that’s when I stop hiding my pain and using it as my power.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I am committed to my craft and achieving my goals. My goal this is year is to publish 4 books and to start producing a short film. I know it is not easy and it’s very time consuming. Although I work a full time job, I still find time to perfect my craft.
I am currently working on 4 books at one time. It may seem like a lot or like it could be difficult. It’s really not honestly. They are 4 completely different books, different characters, different stories, and different outcomes. It’s easy for me to jump between the 4. Every day I complete a chapter. Once I finish one chapter, I jump to the next book. I am determined to reach my goal this year.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I am doing what I am born to do by being able to write and create amazing books. Writing comes naturally to me without me really trying. I could have a dream or vision of a scene and I would create a story around that dream or vision.
It has been plenty of times where I have written something, rather it’s a scenario or a person. Years later, that same scenario or person I created comes true. It was very, unsettling in the beginning. It definitely frightened me a few times. After a while once it kept happening. that’s when I accepted the fact I was doing what I was born to do.
