Ep. 10: Staying Inspired with Kirsti Manna

I started my professional career in Nashville as a teenager. My first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry was at age 11. Because I started my professional path so early in life, I have had the amazing privilege of knowing some of my co-writers, collaborators, teachers and mentors for over 30 years (and counting)!

One of those mentors is Kirsti Manna, my guest on Ep. 10 of Happiest Hour (the grand finale Season 1)! Kirsti is a hit songwriter, publisher, record label VP, and a fierce advocate for female creatives.

You’ve heard Kirsti’s hits like “Austin” for Blake Shelton and “Loud” for Big & Rich, to name a few. Her songs have been heard around the world in such places as CMT, ESPN, Gayle King’s Grammy Special, The Tonight Show, The David Letterman Show, Friday Night Lights, and Dance Wars.

Known as the go-to person for inspirational information, Kirsti’s “whatever you do, stay inspired” mantra has helped girls and women find their creative voice. In 2008, Kirsti launched “Songwriter Girl” and “Songwriter Girl Camps” (www.songwritergirl.com).

Kirsti and I sat down to enjoy her delicious watermelon margarita recipe (more on that later), and to chat about the difference music and creativity can make in everyone's life.

In this episode, we also cover:

How she and her producer-husband, Bill Warner, came to Nashville from Ohio
Her goal of wanting to move people with her art — and how she’s accomplished that
What hard work looks like in the music business
Why mentoring women is so important to her
Her secret to success of working with her husband and staying married over 30 years
What she hopes to leave behind

Okay, now back to that mouth-watering margarita. As with every episode, we paired our conversation with a truly delicious watermelon margarita recipe (thanks to Kirsti’s husband, Bill), and a hack for making excellent hummus that I adapted from the woman who inspired me to start this podcast in the first place.

Get your recipes here! Blend yourself up a batch of Kirsti’s margarita recipe, then join us for the conversation!

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Connect with Kirsti here.

Ready to get inspired and spark your creativity? Check out Kirsti’s Spark Your Creativity Course here.

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The Happiest Hour theme song was written and performed by... me! If you'd like to hear more of my music, click here!

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Keep scrolling to get your recipes! They’re just below. ↓