"I would definitely say do it scared. If it scares you, if you cannot sleep at night and you don't have any peace, do it scared. Do the thing because you not doing the thing is going to hold you back, but it's also going to hold the people back that need you to do the thing."
— Ciara Horton
Founder and Publisher, She Is E Magazine and He Is E Magazine
Ciara Horton has spent ten years putting other people's stories on magazine covers. In this conversation, the tables turn: the publisher becomes the story, and she reveals the faith, fear, and laundry-room vision behind it all.
Episode Summary
What would you do if the vision came while you were folding laundry? For Ciara Horton, the answer was to build a magazine empire. In 2016, in the middle of a hard season, she saw the words SHE IS appear in lime green letters and felt clear instructions to start a magazine. She had never made one. She did it anyway.
Ten years later, She Is E Magazine has featured hundreds of women, from everyday mothers and business owners to the daughters of music legends. During COVID she added a second title, He Is E Magazine, giving men the same cover treatment. Along the way she has quit and un-quit more times than she can count, terrified herself at every launch, and learned that the everyday woman is a celebrity in her own right.
In this warm and honest conversation, Ciara talks about practicing what she preaches by stepping out of her own comfort zone, why sharing your story fulfills your purpose, the young woman who told her "you unmasked me," and her simple advice for anyone standing at their own crossroads: do it scared. If you have ever waited until you felt ready, this episode is your permission slip. Listen now.
Key Takeaways
KEY TAKEAWAY 1
You do not need expertise to begin. Ciara had never made a magazine when she launched She Is E. Research, faith, and starting messy carried her further than waiting to feel ready ever could.
KEY TAKEAWAY 2
Do it scared. If something keeps you up at night and steals your peace, that is the signal to move. Not doing the thing holds back both you and the people who need you to do it.
KEY TAKEAWAY 3
Sharing your story fulfills your purpose. Ciara believes telling your story and living your purpose go hand in hand. One young woman told her a two-page feature felt like taking off a mask.
KEY TAKEAWAY 4
Quitting is part of the journey, not the end of it. Ciara has "retired" the magazines many times. Every time, the people she serves pull her back. The twentieth wind counts as much as the second.
Meet Our Guest
Ciara Horton (also published as Ciara Horton-Stevenson) is the founder and publisher of She Is E Magazine and He Is E Magazine, platforms that give everyday women and men the cover treatment usually reserved for celebrities. Based in Atlanta, she launched She Is E in 2016 after a faith moment in her laundry room, building it from scratch through research and determination despite having no publishing background. Ten years on, her magazines have featured hundreds of entrepreneurs, authors, executives, and celebrities, including the daughters of Isaac Hayes, James Brown, and Sam Cooke. She added the men's title, He Is E, in 2020 during COVID. Beyond publishing, Ciara is an author, a coach who runs magazine boot camps, and a women's empowerment advocate whose may⁶ntra is "She Is you, She Is me, She is We." She is also a mother who credits her own mother and the women around her for modeling the courage she now champions.
Special Offers
She Is E Magazine and He Is E Magazine
Ciara's two magazine titles, featuring everyday women and men alongside entrepreneurs, authors, and celebrities. Readers can pick up current issues and learn about being featured through the magazines' websites and social channels.
Audacious Insight
Blog Post Title: Do It Scared: Why Waiting to Feel Ready Is the Real Risk
AUDACIOUS INSIGHT SUMMARY
Ciara Horton built two magazines without any publishing background by acting on a vision before she felt qualified. Her story shows that courage is not the absence of fear but the decision to move while afraid, because the people who need your work cannot wait for your confidence to catch up.
Audley's Personal Insights
What struck me most about Ciara is that she lives on both sides of the microphone. She spends her days elevating other people, then has to find the courage to let the light turn back on her. I know that feeling well. It is easier to celebrate others than to stand in your own story.
Her line "do it scared" landed hard for me because it names something I have watched for years. The people who change things are rarely the most qualified in the room. They are the ones who moved while their voice was still shaking. Ciara folded laundry, saw a vision, and built a ten-year institution out of it.
If you are waiting for permission, consider this your copy. The mask comes off one brave story at a time.
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