Inspiring Conversations with MK Campbell of Queens of Moxie

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to MK Campbell

Hi MK, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
For more than a decade, I felt led to be an inspirational speaker. But, I was a single mom of two small children and an entrepreneur’s life wasn’t in my comfort zone. Then, on February 5, 2021, a man pulled directly in front of my car without looking. I couldn’t slow down, let alone stop.

I remember it all. I remember the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, realizing it wasn’t going to be a near miss. I remember the impact, the whoosh of the airbag deflating down my face, the world spinning and a blunt force to the top of my head. I spun around and felt the cold air rushing in where my window should have been and the horn blaring as I landed in the shoulder facing the wrong way.

On that evening, I incurred a traumatic brain injury (TBI), one that will impact me for the rest of my life.

As I sat in the ambulance, blood dripping down my cheeks from the front-to-back gash on the top of my head, I realized I was miserable. I didn’t like my job. We had moved five months earlier for that job and we hated the community. I also realized that as I had climbed the corporate ladder to the C-suite, I was doing less and less of the work I loved; connecting with others and telling their stories.

I have two degrees in journalism and I’d spent my career in strategic marketing and communications. I loved hearing others’ stories and telling them in an impactful way. I didn’t do that as a senior leader. In fact, I interacted very little with those outside of the leadership circle.

In that moment, as the paramedics hooked up monitors and started an IV, I knew without a doubt I needed to finally follow my passion and become an inspirational speaker.

It’s not been an easy road. I’ve had to acknowledge my new reality. It’s something I’m still coming to terms with. My working memory is in the 23rd percentile, three standard deviations below my verbal comprehension of 99th percentile. In other words, I can’t remember anything. My spatial relations is in the 55th percentile. And my processing speed is much slower than the energizer bunny I used to be.

It impacts me all day, every day. And while it’s frustrating, hard to really believe and impairs my everyday, it’s not what is most important.

My “brain vacation” has given me permission to help others in the ways I can be most impactful. Through speaking and training.

Here’s the funny thing, I knew I was running on a treadmill to nowhere. I knew I wasn’t fulfilled or energized by my career. I knew that I was feeling lost and overwhelmed. What I didn’t know was that many women, particularly those of us in midlife with empty nests, aging parents and unfulfilling careers, are all feeling the same things.

I started speaking and conducting training programs on how to “Reclaim Your Moxie.”

Moxie is that hutzpah, that sass, that spark that brings life and fulfillment to everything. It’s your sparkle.

I’ve created a six-step sizzle experience that includes everything from finding joy in the every day to creating your own personal mission statement. And I talk about it in my speeches and trainings, so others can reclaim their moxie WITHOUT a traumatic event.

And the feedback has been remarkable. My message resonates with others. It inspires them. It gives them hope.

I took my TBI and turned it into a way to bring joy, purpose and community to others through the Queens of Moxie!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A brain injury is an interesting and perplexing thing. No one can tell you how long it will take to heal. No one can tell you what you will regain. No one can predict how you will be impacted. You are left in this constant state of uncertainty, and for a former perfectionist, type-A person, that’s pretty darn hard.

For a long time, I thought I could return to life as it was before. In fact, I tried. And failed. I will never be an executive again. But, that’s OK. It’s not what I really wanted anyway.

But, it’s the everyday things that I find most challenging. I can’t remember things, even important things. I have a robust vocabulary, remember, I’m a writer. My words, simple words, are often beyond my grasp. I replace words with others that start with the same letter. Many times, I don’t know I’ve even done it. Remember, I’m a wordsmith. This is distressing. I can not multitask at all. Literally, one thing at a time. That’s it. If I’m cutting up vegetables, don’t ask me a question. And I can not drive with others in the car. It’s too distracting.

And then there’s the energy, or lack there of. I used to go so fast and do so much. Now, my brain literally shuts down every afternoon. I have to take a nap. And it’s a 90-minute nap. You can pretty much set your watch to it. I’ve been told it’s because I’m working my brain so hard, trying to do the things I used to do. My brain is literally fatigued and the only way it can heal is to rest. My neurologist compared it to going to the gym and overworking your muscles. They need a break to heal. That’s my brain. Just about every day. And the fatigue isn’t a normal tired. It is an all-consuming, no choice, I have to take a nap fatigue.

I live with headaches of about a 3-5 on the pain scale each day. Some days, it’s an 8. I try to ignore them because they could be debilitating if I allowed them to be. PT helps and I’m grateful for that option.

By far the most difficult part is the grieving process. I’m still in the throws of it. I think I can do things and then I realize I can’t. I went from being an executive to being on disability and the disconnect is striking. My counselor calls it cognitive dissonance; that gap between what I think I can do and what I actually can do, and the stress and frustration it brings. I find myself solidly in denial many days. My mind is literally playing tricks on me and I don’t know how to stop it.

So, I focus on doing one solid thing per day and celebrating what I can do. I focus on my joys. I focus on my friends. I find time to paint, walk on the beach and enjoy friends because I know I have been given a gift; life. I could have died, but I didn’t. I am here, active and healthy, ready to help others find joy, purpose and community – it’s what I do!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Queens of Moxie?
To help me heal and give me the space to help others, my dad started Queens of Moxie. I am the Chief Inspiration Officer. Queens of Moxie is all about helping others, particularly women, reclaim their Moxie, their passion!

I’m a former TEDx speaker, adjunct lecturer of public speaking at NC State and Public Information Officer. I have been interviewed by the media more times than I can count and I love inspiring others through the written and spoken word.

Becoming an inspirational speaker was a natural step from my work in strategic marketing and communications. But even better, it allows me to take my traumatic experience and help others.

My two keynote addresses are:
Reclaim Your Moxie: Crush Burnout with Joy, Purpose and Community
Executive to Disabled: Support Your Team Members with Invisible Disabilities

I enjoy the excitement and energy of being a keynote speaker. I also love the intimacy and “ah-ha” moments of training others. And, finally, I love to work one-on-one with others to help them figure out their calling and take steps to realize their dreams.

Queens of Moxie offers:
Keynote Speaking
Trainings
Online Course
One-on-one Coaching

I’ve come to realize my superpowers are connecting with others and creating space for individuals to feel safe and heard. Plus, I’m super energetic and positive! My life’s mission is to help others reclaim their moxie and find joy, purpose and community without a traumatic event!

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I was raised in a very risk-adverse home. I have always pushed the envelope and risk-taking is something I have pushed more than perhaps my family is comfortable with! That said, I’m not very risky.

I love adventuresome things and I’ve done many things others would think is a bit extreme: skydiving, white water rafting in class 7 rapids, hang gliding, 4-wheeling, surfing, swimming with sea turtles and zip lining.

I’ve taken big adventures when logic said it wasn’t wise. About 10 years ago, I was laid off in a merger. I had two weeks where my kids were with their dad and no where to go. It had been incredibly stressful and I needed a break. A friend introduced me to a woman who had just moved back to the States. She had a home in Tuscany and she invited me to stay there for free.

My parents were very concerned. I was going to a foreign country, alone and didn’t speak the language. My dad sent me a long email asking if I’d registered with the embassy and gotten travel insurance, among other things. My mom told me I should be looking for a job, not spending money.

I went. It was amazing and I had one of the most empowering and beautiful experiences of my life. And, I got a job right when I returned.

Life has a way of working out.

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore” ~ Andre Gide

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.queensofmoxie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queensofmoxie_speaking/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueensofMoxie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=queens+of+moxie