Interview: Sherilyn Carter
Introducing Sherilyn Carter an absolute ray of sunshine who loves an adventure. Sharing her extraordinary ventures from being offered a job as a NFL cheerleader, travelling the world and building Travel Addict UK community to coaching women in her two passions content and confidence with her brand The Confidence Cake. Check out her story she will definitely give you another buzz for life.
Describe yourself in 3 words?
Vibrant, ambitious and positive.
Tell us and our readers more about yourself and your journey into being the Sherilyn Carter you are today?
I guess the one-thing I can pin-point to most of my journey to is the fear of regret. I have this strong urge to know what the outcome is of anything that I'm interested in pursuing. I never want to look back and wonder what could have happened, so I do everything in my power to see things through to the end. This might be why I have lived quite a colourful life and have crammed so much in! (Cycling to Paris, Skydiving over The Palm in Dubai, climbing Mount Fuji, getting a job offer as an NFL cheerleader, living on a banana farm in Australia for four months, working on cruise ships, playing a Disney princess...there's quite a list)
It’s no secret travel is a big passion of yours, when did this love come about and what has it been like leading your own community Travel Addicts UK?
It's actually been so refreshing. The community grew quite naturally after I'd returned home from a year in Australia. I missed that sense of community and shared-experiences that you have through meeting other travellers. Not all my friends back home could understand why I'd wake up before sunrise to slide down a waterfall in the middle of nowhere! But I knew (from experience) that there were people out there who would LOVE to talk about it. So it started with friends, then friends of friends and before I knew it, people that none of us knew started to join the group. The past year has been difficult for everyone, but it's so nice to talk about missing travel in a safe space that people understand how travel is a huge part of our identity.
What inspired you to start the Confidence Cake and why is this brand important?
This brand is quite literally an extension of me. I've been working freelance as a content creator for over a year now and before that I used social media as a place to build communities, empower people and sprinkle a bit of light into the world. The Confidence Cake is a combination of both of those passions. I've spent a long time helping other brands with their message and hiding behind the scenes, which I realised is totally NOT me. I was designed to work alongside people on their dreams and that's where I thrive. The Confidence Cake is all about digging deep to release your inner Queen of Confidence and tackling the overwhelming world of social media with ease. I believe in using the power of social media to spread knowledge and positive vibes whilst looking after your wellbeing and learning to set boundaries with technology. If there's one thing we need to work on, it's this, which is why I'm so passionate about this brand.
When it comes to confidence and social media, what would say are some of the biggest lessons you have learnt so far?
So much! But probably the biggest lesson is to trust myself and what I stand for. So many of us look to what influencers or celebrities are doing online and think that's what we need to do. It's not true. You just need to be yourself, however messy and imperfect that may feel, that's what people need. Some of my highest performing content has happened as a result of me being a hot mess. We need more reality and less filters. Huge lesson for me.
With the last year being very different for us all, what are some top tips you have for travel, confidence and community building to help us navigate and win?
My top tip for travel going forward is prepare, prepare, prepare. With the pandemic, I'm sure it will take us a while to find our feet. I was lucky enough to travel between each lockdown last year (I know, crazy!) and each time, there was a stumbling block, whether that was having enough sanitiser, having a spare mask, having enough phone battery for virtual tickets, typing in the wrong code for my PCR test. If travelling before was a preparation game, it's gone to a whole new level now.
My tip for confidence is honestly trust yourself. Your intuition knows what you should be doing more of and often we disregard it because it terrifies us. You don't have to jump straight into the deep end, but take baby steps and start believing that you are capable of bringing so much light into this world - because it's true.
My tip for community building is to remember that everyone is human at the end of the day. Connecting with people is only as scary as we make it. A question I often ask myself is "Dr Pepper" (ie: "What's the worst that could happen") It might be a bit awkward if someone ghosts me, or tells me they're not really interested, but will it matter 5 years from now? Will I even remember it? The same goes for posting content.
Finally to you - What is real? What is authentic? and What is winning?
Real is about having self-integrity. It's about being honest with ourselves, finding out who we truly are and what we adore, then deciding to live life in alignment with that.
Authentic is being ok with setting boundaries and saying no to things that don't serve us. Contrary to popular belief, you can still be a "yes girl" and say no sometimes.
Winning is going for the big stuff. The stuff that you think about all day long, that you would love to do forever. This can be as a hobby, as a career or as a passion project, but being brave enough to do the things that light you up (even if it isn't what others want for you) is winning in my eyes...
Continue to follow Sherilyn's journey whether its travel, confidence or content. Follow and connect with her via
Website - www.sherilyncarter.com
Instagram - @sherilyncarter
Travel Addicts UK
Instagram - @traveladdictsuk
Facebook - @traveladdictsuk
The Confidence Cake
Website - https://www.sherilyncarter.com/the-confidence-cake
