This week on Dear Sunny, I share a captivating conversation with Carly Gilleland. Carly is an inspiring storyteller and founder of The Good Vibe Media as well as a mother, daughter, sister, and community builder just to name a few of her titles. After graduating from CSU Long Beach in 2011 with a degree in Film and Media Studies and Minors in Marketing and Journalism, Carly knew she wanted to build a business telling stories that inspire -  but her own story wasn’t full of sunshine and positivity upon graduating. Since then, she’s spent years doing the inner work required to break down patterns, get uncomfortable and reach a new level of self-awareness that’s empowered her to make positive changes in her own life and many others.

Carly and I discuss:

• Carly’s experiences growing up as the oldest child and the first grandchild in her family and how these early roles shaped her perspective on responsibility and leadership
• Having a sibling with special needs and how it guided her journey into storytelling and film making at a young age, making her first documentary at the age of 15
• Family dynamics and challenges: Carly discusses her family dynamics, being a child of divorce and the the impact of her dad's suicide
• How family tragedy gave her an increased sense of awareness on mental health and empathy for others
• Becoming a mother, young and unexpectedly: Carly shares her experience of getting pregnant with her daughter during her last semester of college at the age of 22 and the unique challenges and opportunities that were presented
• Breaking patterns: the significance of accountability and having uncomfortable conversations with people who would challenge her and other tools that fostered her personal growth.

Storytelling through video has been a passion of Carly’s since the first video she produced in high school about her special needs sister. Seeing the impact the video had on her classmates gave her the drive to create a career telling stories that motivate, inspire and shed light on different perspectives. This is the foundation of her video production agency she started in 2016, the good vibe media. In the last decade, she and her team have produced high quality video for over 500 clients in a variety of industries. In 2021, her team set a goal to raise $100k in 60 days to start the build out of their dream studios. They surpassed their goal in July 2021, and officially opened the doors to the good vibe studios May 2022. More info can be found here: thegoodvibestudios.com & thegoodvibemedia.com

Connect with Carly: 

https://thegoodvibemedia.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thegoodvibemedia

https://www.instagram.com/carlygilleland/

Want to share your story of personal growth, healing, and turning your pain into power? Send an email to [email protected]

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