Connie Morgan shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Connie, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Something that I am being called to do now is finding a full-time job that supports the life I want to live. I have been afraid of going back into the “real world” and finding a 9-5 job. I have worked for myself for over 12 years and the idea of my schedule and time not being my own or dedicated to my craft scares me. However, my life isn’t even close to the way it was back then. I had a family and a husband who supported us so that I could pursue other avenues of business. I have reached a point in my life where I need stability and no one is coming to save me so I have to save myself. Five years ago I had a heart attack due to stress and recently I have had heart attack symptoms that have scared me enough to force me out of my comfort zone and look for work outside of NEON. I will continue to keep my dream alive but I can no longer afford the financial stress that comes with being a commission based artist living in Wyoming.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Connie Morgan. I am the owner and operator of GloW Neon Lights, LLC in Casper, Wyoming established in 2020. I make NEON signs for a living and have done so for almost 30 years. I specialize in NEON signs and art and I have had the pleasure of crafting NEON signs that have been shipped all over the United States and the world. I have worked in San Francisco, Detroit, Seattle, Tacoma, Bozeman, Montana, and now Casper, Wyoming. Currently, I am working on a bunch of repairs for a new NEON Airbnb campground that is being built in Gillette, Wyoming for the Frontier Auto Museum. The museum went around the state collecting old, non-functional NEON signs and will display them among their campers at the campground. I am also working on a restoration project for the Tumble Inn sign that we anticipate completing by the end of May 2026.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
Honestly, my first memory of feeling powerful didn’t happen until I was in my late 30s. I was training for an ultra marathon (32 miles) with my friend Kristin Landry. It was still winter and the sky was sleeting down on us for the entire run/hike. We were doing between 15-18 miles that day and we had ran/hiked a local trail here in Casper called the Bridle Trail. We did the trail twice as the middle part of our training that day and as we came off the trail Kristin told me she was going to run the last three and half miles home but I just didn’t have it in me. As she continued to get further and further away from me I started to cry. Mentally and physically I was cooked. I got my phone out about five times to call my husband to come pick me up but I just couldn’t make myself do it and I kept forging ahead. I found out later that Kristin’s husband wanted to rescue me but she told him I needed to do this for myself. I arrived on her doorstep in tears and complete exhaustion. It was a day that completely changed me as a person. I had to dig the deepest I had ever dug to keep myself going and I achieved something personally monumental. It was a moment that I would reflect back on as I navigated my way through a divorce and many other difficulties that life has thrown my way.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain when my ex-husband decided to leave our children and myself. He has suffered with mental illness and addiction his entire life and he mentally left us about 10 years ago, then physically left eight years ago. He became homeless a month after our divorce and that launched me into checking out and I took up drinking to cope. Essentially, I was around but I had checked out mentally and my sons suffered as a result. It was and will always be one of the biggest regrets in my life that I didn’t make better choices for myself and my sons. I stopped hiding because what was the point? I was always trying to cover up what was really happening inside my marriage but I suppose everyone could see the castle falling down around us, but because I was in the eye of the storm, I couldn’t see it for what it was. I started talking about what was happening in our lives on social media because I needed an outlet and I wanted to share my story for no other reason than I felt like I was dying inside. The father of my children had abandoned them and never helped us financially after his unemployment ran out. I felt stripped of everything and I was laid out raw and exposed for everyone to see. I suffered but exposing my pain helped heal me. I don’t lay it all out there now but back then it was cathartic and helpful and I am glad I had an outlet for my pain.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
The person who I admire the most for their character is my sister D’Ann. She has always been a sounding board and a person who grounds me. I tend to live in my emotions with my head in the clouds. My sister is a rock with solid values and a big heart and she has helped me at times in my life when I really needed someone. D’Ann has an amazing husband, three kids, and nine grandchildren and while I know it hasn’t always been easy she made solid well thought out decisions that have reflected well and the richness of all of that has come back to her tenfold. I probably admire her more than anyone I have ever known. I have always said that if D’Ann wasn’t my sister I would choose her to be my friend. I am blessed to have her as both.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I’m not sure if I am doing what I was meant to do but I am definitely NOT doing what I was told to do. If I had done what I was told to do I would have joined the military. Both of my sisters and one of my brothers joined the military and I know that it served them all well, I had a big problem with authority and being told what to do and I wasn’t down with any of that. We all had a father that was a heavy handed disciplinarian and quite frankly that was enough for me. There are parts of me now that wish I had chosen something when I was young that would have given me a career with benefits and retirement but that life wasn’t for me at the time. I wanted to do something creative with my life and I didn’t want to spend my youth thinking about my future! lol! We all make choices and it takes all kinds to make the world go round.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.glowneonlights.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/glow_neon_lights
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connie.morgan
- Youtube: @GloWNeonLights428
Image Credits
Connie Morgan
