A career-changing moment or experience
Musical inspirations
Asuccessful broadcast jour- she started writing uplifting songs about
nalism career left Jana life’s lessons.
Stanfield, CSP, disillu- While performing in a small
sioned and disappointed. Nashville club, Jana met NSA member
In her early 20s, she Al McCree and his wife, Peg. Al imme-worked for a New Mexico diately recognized that Jana’s lyrics
television station as an on-camera could motivate and inspire people, and
reporter, bringing “drama to people’s that her songs could be organized into
trauma” and reporting crime, tragedy one-hour presentations. With Al’s guid-and man’s inhumanity to man. Jana ance, Jana saw the connection between
dubbed herself “the professional awfu- singing her songs and profes-lizer.” In fact, station execu- sional speakers delivering
tives instructed her to presentations. That was
make the news as the first time she’d
shocking and sensa- heard of NSA.
tional as possible. Jana Shortly there-recalls, “I told God I after, Jana met
wanted to be on TV, but Joe Calloway,
I should have been more CSP, CPAE, who
specific!” agreed with Al’s
Disenchanted with her assessment of her
job, Jana contemplated Sitting at her first music and invited
leaving her lucrative TV her to see what
NSA workshop, Jana
career to use her creative NSA was all about.
writing skills and musi- knew she’d finally Coincidentally, an
cal background to help NSA Workshop
found an answer to
people. Her parents, was going to be
who had music careers held right there in
her life’s work.
of their own, were averse Nashville.
to seeing Jana leave her media posi- Sitting next to Joe and Annette
tion to become a performer. But when Calloway at her first NSA Workshop,
Jana discovered Success Motivation Jana knew she’d finally found an
International and started listening to answer to her life’s work. “There were
motivational tapes, she found the cour- all these people who were using their
age to pursue music. words to do some good in the world.”
She moved to Nashville, Tenn., and After 10 years of searching, her life
spent the next four years working as turned a corner, making it possible for
a record promoter. Although she tried her do social work through humor,
to get a record deal of her own, she music and inspiration.
realized there weren’t enough record That moment sparked Jana’s speak-deals to go around. Songs about heart- ing career, but it wasn’t easy and money
break were popular in Nashville, but was tight. She attended every NSA
they weren’t Jana’s style. She wanted to Convention and Workshop, and some-merge her music with social work, so times couldn’t afford to stay at the con-
vention hotel. What she learned at
NSA, however, helped her create a
new genre of speaking called Keynote
Concerts.
Today, Jana wants to concentrate
on philanthropic efforts. “I would
like to speak more at orphanages in
other countries,” Jana says. Recently,
she participated in an orphanage
tour documentary in Southeast Asia,
filmed by Mark Camacho and coordinated by Scott Friedman, CSP, and
John Crudele, CSP. Jana says that’s
the kind of powerful contribution
speakers give and receive through the
community of NSA. Clips of this tour
are available on You Tube.com.
Jana Stanfield, CSP, known
as “The Queen of Heavy
Mental,” started her
speaking business, Keynote
Concerts, Inc., 15 years
ago. She uses soaring vocal, acoustic
arrangements and meaningful lyrics to
give listeners a “faith-lift.” Stanfield
has shared stages with fellow performers
ranging from Kenny Loggins to The
Dixie Chicks. For more information,
visit www.janastanfield.com.
Stephanie Angelo, SPHR,
consults on companies’
costs and the impact of
domestic violence by raising
bottom lines and creating
positive organizational change. A past
board member of NSA-AZ, Angelo is listed
on the Family Violence Prevention Fund
Web site as a National Workplace
Resource, and also serves on the Speaker
magazine editorial advisory board. For
more information, contact her at
Stephanie@hressential.com.
