How Beyoncé Inspired Attorney to Leave 9-5 and Tap Into Inner Creative
It’s not every day you hear that a person quits their career as an attorney to pursue a career as a creative entrepreneur. For Kiara Imani Williams, she used a viral opportunity from Beyoncé to exit her 9-5 and utilize her additional creative projects. Now Kiara has launched with two other partners LikeU Cards, a Black-owned and created card game that aims to combat cancel culture, one deck at a time!
Kiara, as I read your story I am in awe that you decided to walk away from a successful law career to follow your heart. Speak a bit about that?
I believe that life is too short not to go after what you want. I didn’t want to climb the corporate ladder only to get to the top and realize I was on top of a building I wanted nothing to do with. So I got off the ladder. The scariest part of leaving was deciding to leave. I dreaded telling people in fear of how they’d react. I walked away from a great salary and a great title, but I felt like God was calling me to something different. Once I left, I felt like a huge burden I didn’t even realize I was carrying was lifted. I felt free.
As a creative, you are now inspiring many to leave a lasting legacy. What was the inspiration behind creating such an impactful game?
It’s extremely important to me that everything I create has a purpose that’s bigger than me. I created LikeU Cards with my co-founders, Michael Henderson and Brian Taylor, because we wanted to create a fun way for people to create meaningful connections. I think a lot of people go through life with other people, but they're not actually talking about anything real or vulnerable. We don’t share our fears, or insecurities, or desires. Our game gives people permission to really get to know other people, and allows people to see others through the lens of their humanity instead of their labels.
Whether you agree or not, you are indeed an influencer. As an influencer, what does it mean to be a champion for good?
It’s so funny you say that. I don’t see myself as an influencer. But I am very mindful of what I choose to share. I’m not perfect by any means, but I try my best to filter everything I say and do through my values - emotional honesty, vulnerability, integrity, kindness, inclusion, play. There’s a lot of vice in the world, and to the extent that I can avoid it, I don’t want to be a part of that.
You are also set to add author to your list of black excellence. Talk to our PYNK audience about your upcoming book, Therapy Isn't Just For White People. What was the inspiration in addition to what is your hope for anyone who picks up your book?
In the black community, there’s often a negative stigma attached to therapy and other mental health care practices. We were taught to be strong, and to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders without complaint. As someone who has always struggled with anxiety, I want to change that. Therapy Isn’t Just For White People is a memoir detailing my journey to understand the racial trauma experienced by many Black people in America and the underlying effect it has on Black mental health.
How has therapy personally affected your life for the better?
I tried therapy for the first time in my late twenties at the suggestion of a good friend. I was skeptical. I didn’t know then that going to therapy would be a life changing experience. Therapy helped me deconstruct what I’d been taught about the world and rebuild my own personal worldview. As kids, we’re taught how to see and interact with the world, but as adults, we have the opportunity to decide for ourselves. Going to therapy has helped me find peace and better manage my anxiety.
What is your advice for young women who are looking to add a creative element in their current flow of work?
I believe God has given all of us the ability to create. It’s what makes us most like God. Creativity is a muscle. The more you use it, the easier it gets. You don’t have to overthink it. Let it flow. Let the garden grow wild. The most important part is getting it out of your body and into the world. Then you can go back and prune and perfect whatever it is you’ve created.
