Meet Author, Life Coach and Speaker — Micaela Thomas
Re-brand, re-start, re-do if you need to. It’s worth it. I can promise you will regret it, if you don’t. — Micaela Thomas
Micaela L. Thomas is a wife and mother. Co-captain of a large, blended family, she parents 6 biological children, 4 stepchildren and 1 bonus child with Husband, Kendrick. Born in March 1987, she grew up in East Cleveland, OH to a single mother and loving family village. Micaela has always had a knack for writing. Whether it was poetry, plays, songs, books or short stories, she was always able to utilize her imagination to keep her centered from the internal turmoil that brewed within. Eventually relocating to Columbus, OH., this is where she began discovering her various talents. The story of Micaela’s life has been kept secret for the majority of her 33-years of existence. She has now decided to share her journey for the encouragement and betterment of others who may be suffering in silence. It is her hope to assist in being an advocate for the intentional healing of others through her own journey of self-awareness and manifestation.
What inspired your entrepreneurial journey ?
What inspired my entrepreneurial journey was the fact that I was tired of watching my life pass me by. I would constantly and consistently stress myself trying to be what and who other people wanted me to be instead of stepping into my own purpose(s). I contemplated and dreamed, I imagined and obsessed over everything I wanted and needed, over all the things I wanted to do. I waited for the light at the end of the tunnel because I was told that if I was patient, it would happen. I was tired of waiting. So, I lit it up myself.
Tell me about what problem your business solves?
As a writer, as a speaker, as a coach, it’s my initial goal is to always, ALWAYS relate to my audience through their life issues, experiences, traumas and struggles. I offer services to help people step into who they are supposed to become. To help them become unattached to the person they are and have been used to. To help them grow from the person they were that served them no purpose. I do part of this, by giving an inside look to my own life, my own traumas and experiences to just show that I was the same way. That I am here, able to help you because I was that same individual who needed to step into me.
What do you define as failure?
What I define as failure is giving up. Giving up on yourself, your purpose and your potential. To not give your dreams, your goals a chance just because you “think” or “feel” like it won’t work. That, to me, is failure.
What kind of impact do you want yourbook to leave on your reader?
The way I would like for my book and services to impact my readers and customers is to let them know that I hit my version of rock bottom. My journey and their journey will not be the same. However, I need them to know that this journey also won’t be easy. It will get rough. They will ask the questions that never seem to have answers. But through my book and services, I need them to know and be impacted by the fact, that they STILL CAN push through and survive the hardships and challenges they are facing and will face in the future.
What is your why? Why you did you start your journey?
My Why had to do with being able to authentically live versus just existing. I started this journey because I felt as though I was trapped in a never ending cycle of work, drama, bills and debt. With people, with finances, with my emotions, within my mind and within my spirit. And as time went on, I was spiraling out of control more and more, further in debt and became more frustrated, more overwhelmed and more confused as to how to get out. I had other people coming to me and healing, thriving and succeeding off of the advice and empowerment I gave them, but I was struggling to uplift myself. So I embarked on this journey to take care of me first. Then I learned that as I took care of me, it became so much easier and it became my purpose to be able to further pour into others.
What hurdles did you personally face and how did you overcome them?
I have faced many personal challenges. I have faced homeless ( more times than I’d like to count), I have faced severe heartache, resentment, abandonment, domestic violence, suicidal thoughts, depression, anger, betrayal and the list goes on. I overcame a lot of these hurdles by making it clear to myself that I was giving too many people access to the power of “ME”. Of my essence, my being. I was granting too much access in allowing unsavory people to take over, to control me, to use and abuse me. In order for it all to stop, I had to change the narrative and the first thing was taking back my power, taking back ME in fear. Because when you are afraid and you act in the midst of that fear, some pretty miraculous things happen.
Do you feel your product met the needs of the market at the time of conception? Does it still?
Absolutely! There will always be a need for someone to tell their story or stories. There is always someone or a population of hurt people looking for healing and need an example of how to do it. They need to read or see how someone going through the same struggles they face, was able to master their happiness and take back their lives. There still is a need for this. Always will be.
When did you realize entrepreneurship was right for you?
I realized entrepreneurship was right for me when working multiple jobs became more of a hindrance than a help. I found myself having issues with authority, with being told when I could, when I could take a break and just breathe from being on the phones with irate and never satisfied customers. I wasn’t in control of what I was doing. I was constantly reaching new achievements and I wasn’t happy. But they weren’t for me! They were for an employer who was paying me pennies on the dollar compared to their multi-million dollar fortune. I love making money, but I was tired of having a cap put on how much money I could make and I felt like I didn’t fit in with the typical 9 to 5 life.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship?
I believe entrepreneurship chose me. I believe it chose me and molded me as well as I molded it to fit my purpose and the things I was created to do. The freedom, the creativity, the ability to create various ideas without someone telling me that it’s not right, making money without a cap, this life definitely chose me.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs and small business owners who may not be achieving their goals?
As scary as it may seem, DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE RISKS!! Whether they may be calculated or uncalculated, you never know what you’re capable of until you try and do so in the midst of fear and uncertainty. Re-brand, re-start, re-do if you need to. It’s worth it. I can promise you will regret it, if you don’t.
What would you say is your most driving motivation to keep doing what you to do?
My most driving motivation to keep doing what I’m doing is not only the perks of entrepreneurship, but also the fact that my work, my purpose is and has become so much bigger than me. It’s become more than just telling my story, it’s become more than just selling a book or services, but it’s become about helping others to save their own lives. To be able to lend that helping hand that wasn’t always afforded to me and watch a person’s “Come Up” is truly fulfilling. I’ll be rooting for them like “Yaaaasssss, Love. Go ‘head and GROW!”
What are you most excited or passionate about? (In both business and life or both)
I am most passionate about continuing my existential growth both professionally and in my personal life. I’m passionate about just continuing to evolve into my most authentic self and be genuinely happy and fulfilled.
What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your business? What are the goals that you hold personally?
The goals I most want to accomplish in my business and any businesses in the near future is growth. I want to be able to reach a wide range of people and show them that life doesn’t end just because it gets tough or, at times, unbearable. That same growth is also the goals that I hold personally. You can’t expect to get far in life without it.
Did you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life? Tell me about them.
Yes! A lot of people that have influenced are the big names that we know today. Tyler Perry…he slept in his car and then in a box on the street. He went down to what most see as nothing before he accomplished his goals. Cicely Tyson started her career initially, modeling and then as an actress in her 30s or 40s. She then became an innovator and embodied her dreams and everything she wanted to be. Oprah! Oprah was told she was ugly, that she would never amount to anything and she changed the narrative. She was determined to prove to others, as well as herself that she was destined for more than just society’s statistic. And my personal favorite, is my grandmother. Her influence on me has been absolutely tremendous!! As a mother to 5 children, her abilities to do things regarding her dreams have always been muted because of what other people thought of her. As a mother of a large family, myself, I understand her plight. I understand why she was doubted. And just like her, I have learned to subside the thoughts, the opinions, the negativity and the comments of others and prevail over what society “thinks” it can label me as. Each person listed that has influenced me has been a pillar and example in how I think, how I interact with and love others and how I look at life and the things in it in such a different light. They are all beautiful spirits. Beautiful people.
Did you have any life-changing experiences that put you on the path that led you to be doing what you’re doing today? Tell me about them.
Every challenge I have experienced in life has set me on this path, this journey before I even realized I was walking in my purpose. From domestic violence, to homelessness, to rape and abandonment, trauma and narcissism of others, I had been manipulated to the point of being lost. I never thought that my story would allow me to be a pillar or example for others to be able to be restored and healed. I never even thought I would be able to find my own healing and restoration, but I did.
What’s next for you in your brand? What can readers look forward to from you?
For my brand, I will be sharing all of me. The parts that everyone doesn’t see. I have an upcoming YouTube channel as well as a documentary in the works. I will also be releasing another book regarding my journey as a mother of a large family and facing challenges of Co-parenting and Custody battles. Stay tuned!
