Meet Kim Genkinger | Creative Director, Writer, Wellness Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kim Genkinger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kim, what role has risk played in your life or career?

In a way, I think we’re all here to take risks. To step into the uncertainty and the unknown because that’s where the juicy stuff happens. It’s where we learn about ourselves and what we’re capable of. It’s where we grow, becoming resilient and confident and interesting and self-aware.

Sure, I’ve experienced fear and doubt when I’ve made significant changes in my life and career—most recently, moving abroad deep into my life and career. But I’ve come to trust myself and my intuition enough that, as the path unfolds in front of me, I look forward to walking right into the big what’s next.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I already spoke a little bit about the path unfolding in front of me and not being afraid to step into the unknown. That would pretty much describe my professional path from the time I started to where I am right now. The journey has been easy/not easy. But I’ve always found myself surrounded by people who are creative, smart, and inspiring and I’m so grateful for that. I’ve also learned to reframe challenges as opportunities. When I couldn’t find meditation cushions I liked for my studio, I thought well, I’ll design and manufacture my own in India. When I started Sit in the City, the enormity of taking it from inside my head to out into the world could’ve paralyzed me. When something I have to do feels overwhelming, I stop and ask myself: How do you eat and elephant? One bite at a time. I use that quite a bit.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I created Sit in the City cards around this very idea of “favorite spots” in the city. Specifically, Los Angeles. I’ll speak for myself here, but with work and life and responsibilities, inertia tends to settle in and my world can get very small. So I would use the Sit in the City deck with my friend and allow it to guide our local LA adventures together. We’d choose one place from the 30 “spot” cards to visit each day. And, depending on where we were guided, I’d make sure find other interesting things to see and do in the area, giving ourselves time to slow down, walk around, maybe even get lost.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I lost my father when I was fairly young, just as I was starting my career in advertising. He was quiet but quirky. He’d speak gobbeldygook as he walzed me around the house; string words together in rhythmic ways that were both clever and corny. Looking back, I like to think that the way he played with language imprinted itself on me. That it influenced my love of the written word and fueled my creativity.

I learned that he’d been collecting clippings from magazines and newpapers of the print advertising I was creating. I wish he had lived longer and had the opportunity to see some of my work on TV and to hold my very first product, Sit in the City Meditation Cards, in his hands. His favorite color was purple. The packaging is purple with bright orange. He would have loved that.

Website: https://sitinthecity.com

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Twitter: @sitinthecityLA

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