Meet Michele

Hello!  Thank you for stopping by to check out my world and getting to know me.

I want to share with you how positive mindset is everything to me and what makes me different. 

My journey has probably started like a million others.  My parents divorced when I was young.   I grew up in a small town in northern NJ.  I lived on Long Island for a short stint with my grandparents.  Then moved down to Florida when I was 13 with my mom, step-dad and little sister.  I was bullied in school and a wild child at heart. 

I was encouraged to attend college.  I always fought back "I didn't need to"!  But I tried it.  First, at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale.  I was doing what I loved!  Being told "how to do it"  was not what I expected.  So I quit and moved back to Long Island.  I surfed all over the Island and eastern seaboard for a year.  I tried to find myself and what I wanted to be.  I went back to school for court reporting.  I had some very uninteresting jobs.  My positive mindset found the waves - but not my way in life yet.

My journey began when I was 21.  I moved with my grandmother and my disabled father to Tampa after my grandfather died.  I hated it there.  I spent most of my time creating uninteresting jobs around enjoying my very interesting life.  And then it happened.  I somehow landed a "real job" in a law office.  

I worked in Downtown Tampa until my boss merged with a large firm.  I decided to come back to West Palm Beach.  I landed another job at a prestigous law firm.  I thought this was it! My career without college.  I was trained by the best.  I quickly moved up the ranks and through the best firms.  I eventually worked directly with managing partners.  It was a dream come true. I loved what I was doing!  I got to the top of the field.  I had landed in a national corporate and securities law firm.  And the tide changed.  There was mandatory overtime, no sick time and special privileges for special people.  I wasn’t one of those people.   My spirits dropped.  I knew my mindset had to be reset and ignited.

I decided to go back to college to obtain an interior design degree.   You may relate to my day.  Start at 7:00 AM.  End at 5:00 PM.  Attend night class from 6-10 PM.  Sometimes two to three nights a week. If at school, I would pick up everyone dinner after class and go back to the firm to work until 2-3 AM.  If there was no class, I just stayed and worked.  This went on for a few years.   In fact, I finished my college degree under these circumstances and graduated with honors. Time for studying?  Well I just figured it out.    

Unfortunately the economy crashed.  My dream of designing luxury yachts crashed with it.  I was now trapped in the world of corporate and securities law.
 

After 10 years of this ridiculous life style, I took it up with my therapist.  She suggested it was time for me to learn how to set boundaries.  I need to learn how to use the word “NO”.   I did!  Then I wound up on probation at the firm and "had" to quit my job - REALLY??  Best lesson I ever learned!

From there I went to massage therapy school.  I moonlighted at law firms for friends I thankfully loved to make money while in school.  I learned a lot from that experience about business, accounting and juggling schedules.   I opened my own massage practice.  Next, a boutique day spa.  I won the Small Business of the Year Award with the local Chamber of Commerce.  My life was great! I did that for 10 years too.   Guess what?  I burned out and went right back into the world of corporate containment.  
 

Well the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the hill . I was bored to tears in my corporate job but I stuck with it.  I missed working with my clients and helping them. I missed my networking and meeting new people.  I missed serving them business to business.  I missed learning and growing.  I missed everything outside of the world of 9-5! 

I FELL APART.  Endometriosis.  Fibromyalgia.  Hemiplaegic Migraines.  I started getting sick with violent attacks causing me to go to the ER for hours.   Then the lightning strike (yes it happened but I’m still here!!).  And it kept coming.  In 2014, I had heart surgery at 48.  Next up, gall bladder removal and more endometriosis surgery.

On May 5, 2017 (Cinco De Mayo -yes that's right!) I was diagnosed with rare and aggressive anal cancer.   In short, I went through 6 weeks of radiation.  I had 2, 5 day stays in the hospital receiving 24/7 rounds of intensive chemotherapy.  It was incredible!   I mean that in a good way.   I actually feel very blessed to have had this experience – I finally found my way!

Somewhere along the way above, I also went through some pretty crappy relationships, alcoholism in my family and countless other journeys in my life.  I have seen a therapist since 1992 for these wonderful things and still do for my own sake and sanity. I even have a small group of coaches I use on a consistent basis to keep my life in check.  

My mother always said I should have been a doctor.   NO WAY!!!   No doctor here.  Just a heart-centered girl who loves to learn and help others under the rules of the universe she serves.   I did however listen to my mom when she always instilled in me that I could do whatever I wanted to in life. And I am!! Thanks Mom! ox

 
Nothing in life is perfect. Nothing in life can be what you want unless you decide to make it happen. You get to pick the paths you want to walk down towards your destiny. There are many and they change all the time. It's a beautiful journey in life, if you decide to take it.

“Why would you settle for what you have when you can CREATE WHAT YOU WANT?”   - Michele Adler

 
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Sparkles, love and light 

oxox Michele