Cathleen Daly on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Cathleen Daly shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Cathleen, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Oof, what is a normal day right now? As I write this I am currently managing a LOT at once. I’m working full-time as a one-person marketing and communications team for a national engineering, procurement, and construction firm in the renewable energy industry, growing my side business – Muse + Matter Boutique – an online and pop-up shop women’s fashion boutique, and planning my wedding as well as trying to remember to be a good, healthy human/fiance/daughter/sister/friend with a positive social life and a consistent workout routine.

PSA: it’s not possible to do all these things perfectly at once, but you can certainly try your best!

So right now my mornings, afternoons, and evenings are pretty full and can sometimes be kind of chaotic. But despite working on doing all the things, I’m learning that a lot of the discomfort I am feeling is just temporary and for the most part, I have control over how hard I make my days. Instead of looking at everything that needs to be done and thinking I need to get it ALL done today, I spread it out over the week and ask myself: What is the next step I can take to get me where I want to go? You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done when you break things down into smaller steps or time batch your to-do list.

Lastly, I am working on remembering to remind myself every day that I am doing a good job; I am capable of much more than I think sometimes; I am proud of myself; and I am allowed to extend myself grace when I don’t get something right or when things don’t go the way I wanted.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Cathleen Daly, and I am multi-passionate creative type who finds joy, excitement, and identity in a lot of areas of my life.

Professionally, I have a 10+ year marketing and communications career spanning the industries of politics, real estate, higher education, and renewable energy. I am also an owner of a women’s fashion boutique and brand consulting business where I work with a variety of clientele. I’ve built both marketing departments and businesses from the ground-up, and have become very well-rounded in my field with a reputation for my ability to both execute and strategize with creativity and integrity.

Personally, I am a fiance, cat mom, sister, daughter, and friend. I love spending quality time with my people, traveling, trying new restaurants, and taking fun photos/videos for instagram! Most people are surprised to find out that I am an introvert because I can be pretty social, but I do very much cherish my alone time as well.

Somewhere in-between personal and professional, I find I’m always on some creative side quest such as miscellaneous modeling gigs, working as a background extra for film/tv shows, coming out in phases from retirement as a ballet dancer, or attending events as a local blogger/influencer.

Overall though, I LOVE learning. Self-improvement is actually probably one of my overarching hobbies (i.e. listening to podcasts, reading books, having deep talks, spending time in introspection and prayer, journaling, etc). We are given one life on this Earth and I intend to live it to the fullest and become the best version of myself. I believe that when we take on the individual responsibility to grow ourselves that is one of the keys to being able to serve those around us. You can’t fill someone else’s cup if yours is empty.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My relationship with God is the #1 relationship that has shaped how I see myself. I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t believe in God or have faith that He had my back. People have let me down lots of times, but God has always been there to pick me back up and point me in the direction I need to go. I am naturally a busy bee and self-diagnosed control freak so I can sometimes get distracted by everything I’m doing and forget to listen for His guidance, but God always finds a way to remind me that He’s there and His plan is always 100000000% better than what I try to cook up on my own.

I’ve learned throughout my relationship with God that everything in life has a bigger picture: a closed door means another door is open somewhere else, patience and persistence is a balance, and as cliche as the saying goes, everything really does happen for a reason. Knowing this puts a lot of life’s challenges and decisions into perspective.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Rejection was probably the biggest fear of mine growing up. I wanted nothing more than to just be the kid that fit in. Fitting in sounded very safe and comfortable.

It wasn’t until I got into my teens and started leaning more into the possibilities of dreaming up a bigger life for myself that I started to realize that fitting in was actually kind of boring. I realized that I was created to be an individual with my own set of talents, dreams, and abilities and once I got out of my bubble of comfortability, there were actually exciting opportunities waiting for me on the other side.

Once I grew in my confidence, I realized that I had way more to lose by not trying and not knowing what’s going to happen isn’t a bad thing, so I took that mindset and applied it to all areas of my life – career, relationships, and travel, especially. So now I know that I’d rather speak up and be rejected for it, then to reject myself by staying quiet. I am not afraid to go to events by myself because I never know what wonderful new friend I could make. I love to travel to new places because I never know what cool experience I could have. I put myself out there in dating and that’s how I met my amazing fiance.

You’ll never know what’s out there for you unless you try. If rejection comes, then you know that person or thing isn’t for you, and you can keep moving forward because you’ll know you are one step closer to finding the people, places, and opportunities that are for you.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Currently, I am very committed to growing my business, Muse + Matter Boutique. Since I was a little girl, I always wanted to work in fashion. I didn’t know in what capacity, but I always studied style books, read blogs, and sketched my own designs. As I got older, my interests evolved and I picked degree/career that was broad and that I believed could open a lot of doors for me. And it did. I’ve worked in a variety of industries, and very much enjoy working in a corporate environment where I can utilize my skillset in marketing and communications, and still have some lofty goals in that area of my life.

Starting the fashion boutique was an idea that I started dreaming up back in 2020; I just didn’t know it was going to be a fashion boutique at the time. All I had was a name – Muse + Matter – and it wasn’t until I moved back to my hometown in Rio Rancho, New Mexico after living in Phoenix, Arizona for several years that I knew it was going to become a fashion business. It stemmed from realizing that after being gone for several years and being spoiled by all the shopping options in Phoenix that the women’s fashion options hadn’t changed at all in my hometown since I left.

And that’s when it came together, and Muse + Matter Boutique was born as a registered LLC in March 2023. Right now, Muse + Matter Boutique is an online and pop-up shop boutique offering a variety of clothing styles for women. I tell my clients that I love clothes that look like you tried, but you didn’t actually have to try. I run this business outside of my day job on evenings and weekends, and it definitely fuels a different side of my creative brain.

I’ve had many people ask me if I intend to make this my full-time gig someday. I’m honestly not sure what the future holds for this as I’m very much enjoying building this without the pressure of it being my bread and butter, but as I like to say “never say never to God’s plans!”

So make sure to stay tuned and shop for your new favorite outfit at museandmatterboutique.com!

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
This is a really great question. In my personal life, my love language is definitely words of affirmation and at work I do really appreciate recognition. But I think the important distinction here is that even though I do value external validation, it is not what motivates me to do my best.

What motivates me to do my best is: integrity. It’s my number one value in everything I do. I believe in doing what I say I am going to do and not cutting corners to do it.

I’ve worked in environments where I’ve found myself admiring a certain leader only to find out that they got to the position they were in because of unethical reasons. I’ve always found moments like that disappointing, but also sobering. It’s made me realize that if I am going to have to sacrifice my values to reach a certain level on the corporate ladder or to receive fame, then it isn’t worth it to me.

At the end of the day, I just want to know for myself that when I go home to my family that I can be proud of the work I did whether someone noticed or not. I believe it’s what you do when no one is watching that truly reveals who you are as a person.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://museandmatterboutique.com
• Instagram: discoveringdaly
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/discoveringdaly
• Other: discoveringdaly.com (personal blog & marketing business)

Image Credits
Nicole Bowman Photography, Briana Nicole Photo