Tiffany Michelle

“I had no idea how to publish a book, I didn’t know the first step about creating a book, what it was supposed to look like, how it’s supposed to be, how to edit the book, I’m gonna have to pay somebody and it’s going to cost so much to do it – these were the thoughts going through my head when I made the decision to actually publish a book. It’s pretty crazy thinking that it’s done now and it’s here. I have paperback and hardback covered books.It’s unreal and it’s a little overwhelming. At the time when I decided to write a book, I had so many doubts that it’s just not going to be good enough and people are going to hate it. That was just one step, and thinking that I never published a book, I was just wondering how I’m going to make this happen.Throughout the whole process, through being emotional about what the content is and being emotional about not knowing what the hell I’m doing, I just feel like it’s been very overwhelming, very draining, and frustrating at times. But I realized I had so many friends who are self-published authors on Instagram and they all quit their jobs. And that’s what had motivated me further and it’s just one of the many things I want to do.I’ve been wanting to start vlogging especially with fitness videos and even makeup tutorials, pretty much anything! Because I want to do so much, that’s what pushed and motivated me to do everything because people would tell me I couldn’t do it. I’m thinking back to when I started to write this book and it was just one thing on my list that I wanted to do. Thinking about the process of writing this book and even where I am now, I parked up the street and paid for parking. A few years ago, I was so broke I didn’t have the finances to even pay for parking. Since then I’ve changed throughout the process and learned to prioritize certain things.I’ve been working my ass off just to get to this point and get this book done. I used to have that “I think I can” mindset but after going through this process and all that I’ve gone through to get this done, I know I can accomplish anything. The next goal for me is to find a place of my own. I need a creative space for me. My fear when I started writing was thinking about the financial backing for it. It took me two years if not longer to finish this book.In the long run I feel like I had to go through those shitty experiences to get to where I am but it was hard. I went through relationship problems, family problems, didn’t have a car, and was in debt. I didn’t have a job for 5 months, then I got hired at Rubios and never in my life had I ever worked a fast food job but I hated it. I was so frustrated so a few stores down I sat in the Starbucks and pulled out a notebook and wrote a very vague list of things I knew I wanted to accomplish. Write and publish a book, become a certified trainer and nutrition specialist, and something along the lines for a food truck. I sat down and decided I can’t let life just happen to me anymore, I have to figure out how to take control of my life and take active choices. I made shitty choices so that’s why I’m here but I decided to turn that around. So on that day I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I knew the first step was to find another job even if it’s whatever.I scheduled a week off work at the time to find a new job. That’s when I went to 9Five walked in a pitched myself to be an asset to the team and I’ve been working there ever since. In the long run I know I’m not meant to work for anybody else. At the time, I wasn’t concentrating too much on the book, but I had started with working at that new job just one day a week. I walked everywhere at the time so I was very fit doing a lot of cardio. That was about two years ago and someone at the time asked if I was an athlete but I definitely wasn’t, I just walked a lot. It was also the same time I had started to work out a lot because I was going through depression and would have anxiety attacks really bad. I figured out that working out had helped me and I needed to do something to reach some sort of structure, so working out was the answer for me. And if I were ever sad about something, I would write.

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What I had done initially was type out the entire book from the notebooks I have written in, printed all the pages out, and rearranged them in the order I thought they should be in, read through it, and retyped the entire book. I learned so much about writing throughout this entire process and really just figured it out along the way. It had helped me accept things, gain an understanding of people and their feelings, and adopting a different mentality and perspective on things has helped my life tremendously.My book is sectioned off the book in 4 parts. The first starts with the relationships with parents and how that sets a precedent with how people deal with their own personal relationships. Part 2 is about relationship issues. Part 3 is a bit hopeful based on my own circumstance. And Part 4 is the recovery and the overcoming of all of these different emotions and the full circle of growth. That’s why I titled my first book The Orchid, not only is the orchid my favorite flower but I noticed that orchids have a difficulty growing, which represented me in a way.I’ve learned that people may equate success to financial gain, but mine is to maintain a balance of peace of mind. I learned that acceptance is one of the greatest gifts that I’ve allotted to myself whether it was a favorable or unfavorable circumstance. To just accept everything for what it is and not worry about what I can change or control has really changed my life for the better. I feel like since then, these random opportunities have come to me, which I am so excited for, and I just have to take a deep breath and see where things go from here.The book is just one step and just the beginning. If I could get through the process of publishing my book, anyone can accomplish anything. Even if you don’t believe you can do something, just do it. When I was asked what I was afraid of, I took a moment and answered ‘I’m afraid of not trying.’ I made a choice to not go for something on account of thinking I would fail. I don’t feel like success will come the way you envision in your head, but regardless you’ll still accomplish your goals and it’s going to be better than you ever imagined for yourself. As long as you take that first step to do whatever it is you’re trying to do, then continue to make those moves. This book is proof that I can do this. Now that it’s done, it’s on to the next project. I’m so happy it’s finished and it still feels surreal because of the crazy process, but now that it’s completed it’s like the book itself is a chapter that has closed in my life.This is one small, yet big accomplishment for me, and now that I did it I have a lot left in store for me. I really thought that I wouldn’t even want to start writing something for a really long time, but I just started writing my second book. I don’t know what will be out first, but I also want to write a nutrition book with recipes. One of my many passions aside from writing and music is also cooking!With music I’m going to start working on an EP to release with about 7-8 songs. I have a lot of content for that as well and maybe intertwine some of my book into my music, but it’s something I’m looking forward to creating! Music is my number one passion, and one thing I’ve always wanted to do is to release an original song. I want to do these things for me just because I want to be able to say that I was able to accomplish these things and work towards it. My intention isn’t to make money from these projects, even if I do make money that’s awesome. I’ve gotten to a point where I can balance everything else out because money is paper that’s not going to make you happy. I feel like as long as I’m fulfilling what I want to do for myself, and I can help one person in the process, that’s my purpose and my goal.I’ve learned in the process of working on projects is to stay quiet and don’t tell everybody everything. As you go through the process of living your life just the way you want to live it, people feel envious or jealous because they’re not putting themselves out there. And I understand because I was that fearful at one point. I try and surround myself with people who understand where I’m coming from, because it is frustrating trying to explain to people something you’re passionate about and you may have to separate yourself from that person/situation. I had so many people laugh in my face and let me know I can’t do things. But that’s helped me toughen my skin. I’ve had people tell me I’m doing too much or I have a lot that I want to do, and maybe I do have to focus and do one thing at a time but regardless I wouldn’t have my life any other way."

We had the pleasure of connecting with Tiffany through our mutual friend, Ian. After meeting with her a few times hearing about her endeavors, we knew we had to sit down with her over coffee and learn her story. She is a reminder that through struggle there is strength and beauty. She's overcome a lot of adversity and has shined through in cultivating her passions for fitness, writing, and music.A woman of many talents, she runs her business, Train Your Body SD, and has recently become a self published author releasing her first book, The Orchid. The Orchid is a book about growth she has written through personal experience. She shares poetry and even advice in hopes to help the reader find solace and heal from what hurt or difficulties they may be going through. After reading it ourselves, it truly gave us more perspective on vulnerability and the power of telling your own story through creativity. And this was Tiffany's story written on physical pages of a book that she had put in so much work to create, which was so beautiful to experience!It's truly amazing to be inspired by someone who has that hustle mindset because she reminds us that we all have 24 hours in a day, but it's what we do with that time that truly matters. Aside from getting ready to publish another book and launch a clothing line, she has a lot up her sleeve that we're so excited for! So definitely keep up with her and she what she's up to, because she's a force to be reckoned with! We know trying to balance work and doing what we love isn't easy, but she shares with us it's completely possible if we just put in the work and take the necessary steps to keep moving forward!