Her Side of the Story

My journey with anxiety has been one of isolation and overwhelming fear. As a woman of God, a wife, and a mother, I tried to push through my anxiety and did my best to control it…without any real tools, strategies, etc. Over time, anxiety was dominating my thoughts daily and it was robbing me of my joy, my marriage…and consuming my life! I knew this was not the life God wanted for me and my turning point was asking for help and support. By digging deeper to the root of my anxiety, I learned to reframe my thinking, face my fears head on to combat it. This doesn’t mean my anxiety has disappeared, but I know what to do as soon as the waves of worry comes over me. Don’t suffer in silence, but instead reach out for support and take the steps toward living a life full of peace and joy.

Margaret, “Magi,” Graziano, owner of Keen Alignment, and Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author for her groundbreaking book “Ignite Culture” is a transformational speaker for women in leadership.

Magi is fiercely passionate about empowering women to elevate themselves and the organizations they are a part of by cultivating emergent cultures and engaging in personal introspective work. She has a specific retreat and workshop for women leaders, called “Ignite Power” which helps women take ownership of their lives and career. She has accumulated many accolades including:

Inc. 5000 – List of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America

Silicon Valley Business Journal – 100 Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley

The Stevie Awards – Female Entrepreneur of the Year-Business Services

National Association of Women Business Owners – Chicago Woman Business Owner of the Year

Magi’s journey to becoming a beacon of resilience, empowerment, and achievement is a testament to her unwavering spirit in the face of systemic adversity and personal hardship. Her entrepreneurial path was not just challenging due to the natural hurdles of business but was further complicated by stark gender biases. When a male executive team attempted to undermine her and her female co-founder by altering the terms of a crucial deal at the last minute, exposing Magi to potential intellectual property theft, the impact of this betrayal was profound. Magi found herself facing the loss of her multimillion-dollar business and the erosion of personal relationships.

However, rather than succumbing to victimhood, Magi channelled her experiences into a powerful counteraction. She embarked on a rigorous journey of self-improvement and legal battle, dedicating over 200 hours to self-funded training and engaging an IP lawyer. Her efforts culminated in a victorious deposition, where she advocated for women’s rights, equality, fairness, and integrity, ultimately securing her former company’s intellectual property and back pay.

This pivotal moment marked the beginning of a transformative phase in Magi’s life, leading her to establish Keen Alignment which promotes the development of high-performance corporate cultures and employee engagement. Through her work, Margaret turned her personal and professional trials into a platform for advocating gender equality and empowering others in the workplace. Her story, characterized by determination, resilience, and the pursuit of justice, offers profound inspiration and actionable insights for any woman looking to ignite their power.

Growing up, I faced molestation, abuse, amongst numerous challenges that seemed insurmountable. Life threw obstacles my way, and I often felt trapped in a cycle of self-doubt and limiting beliefs. But deep down, a spark of rebellion flickered—a desire to break free from the narratives that held me back.

One day, I made a pivotal decision: to embrace my inner rebel and redefine my life. I released the old stories that kept me stuck, rebuilt my personal power, and rebranded myself with an unapologetic voice. This transformation was not easy, but it was necessary.

Through resilience and courage, I discovered the strength to ROAR. I learned to harness my unique voice and share my story with authenticity, inspiring others to do the same. My journey taught me that true empowerment comes from within and that each of us has the power to challenge the silence and ignite our own revolution.

Today, I’m on a mission to help others awaken their inner rebels, to empower them to break free from constraints and embrace their boldest selves. If I can transform my life, so can you. Together, let’s start the revolution that redefines our lives.

Ms. Astra Armstrong’s journey is not just a story of personal triumph, but a testament to the transformative power of perseverance, compassion, and unwavering dedication to serving others. Born and raised in the vibrant yet challenging environment of Washington, DC, Ms. Armstrong’s early life was marked by adversity and uncertainty. As a Black girl navigating the inner city, she encountered obstacles that many would find insurmountable. However, rather than allowing these challenges to define her, Ms. Armstrong chose to harness her experiences as a source of strength and inspiration.

From a young age, Ms. Armstrong discovered the profound impact of the arts as a vehicle for self-expression and empowerment. Her time at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Norfolk State University provided her with a platform to cultivate her talents as a writer, playwright, and performer. Through her artistry, Ms. Armstrong had the privilege of sharing the stage with icons like Maya Angelou and Patti Labelle, showcasing her remarkable talent and resilience in the face of adversity.

Despite enduring personal tragedies, including the untimely deaths of her mother and brother, Ms. Armstrong remained steadfast in her mission to effect positive change in the world. Throughout her college years, she seized opportunities to broaden her horizons, studying abroad in South Africa and dedicating her time to teaching theater to local students. Her experiences volunteering in Costa Rica further ignited her passion for service and advocacy, inspiring her to create initiatives aimed at uplifting underserved communities in Norfolk.

Throughout her academic journey, Ms. Armstrong demonstrated exemplary leadership, serving in various roles within student government and earning recognition as one of Norfolk’s most active student leaders and advocates. Her commitment to education and community empowerment continued as she embarked on her career as an educator in Atlanta’s most underprivileged areas.

Ms. Armstrong’s classroom serves as a beacon of creativity, innovation, and compassion. Leveraging her background in drama and the arts, she engages her students in meaningful learning experiences that empower them to explore their potential and pursue their dreams. From Connect Four-inspired math activities to outdoor classroom experiences, Ms. Armstrong exemplifies her dedication to making learning both impactful and enjoyable for her students.

Beyond the confines of the classroom, Ms. Armstrong is a tireless advocate for educational equity and social justice. Recognizing the systemic barriers that hinder the success of marginalized youth, she is committed to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline through the transformative power of the performing arts. By providing students with outlets for self-expression, creativity, and personal growth, Ms. Armstrong is paving the way for a brighter and more inclusive future.

As the author of “From Adversity to Empowerment: A Novel About One Woman’s Transformation,” I am deeply passionate about sharing stories of resilience, determination, and hope. In my book, readers embark on the powerful journey of Astra Armstrong, a woman who overcame significant adversity to become a beacon of inspiration for others.

In “From Adversity to Empowerment,” readers witness Astra’s unwavering determination to rise above her challenging upbringing in Washington DC, where danger and instability were constant companions. Despite facing formidable odds, Astra refused to let her difficult beginnings define her future. Instead, she turned her struggles into stepping stones for growth and dedicated her life to helping others.

As a teacher, Astra went beyond the basics of education, aiming to be a mentor, supporter, and living example of resilience for her students. Her story serves as a powerful reminder that determination and self-belief can lead us from darkness into light, inspiring others to stand tall in the face of adversity.

My name is Anar Massani. As a devoted single mother and a compassionate registered nurse, I’ve faced my fair share of challenges, particularly the shadows of abuse that once clouded my life. Feeling lost and overwhelmed, I knew I had to embark on a transformative journey to reclaim my agency and rewrite my narrative.

Through unconventional thinking and unwavering determination, I became a catalyst for innovation and resilience. Emerging from the depths of defeat, I found myself not only victorious but also inspired with a newfound sense of purpose and empowerment.

Today, I’m driven by a fervent desire to share my story with others, to offer guidance, and to ignite a spark of hope in the hearts of those who may be facing similar struggles. My journey has taught me the power of resilience and the importance of never giving up on oneself. And now, I stand as living proof that with courage and determination, we can overcome even the darkest of shadows.

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” — Nelson Mandela

At three years old, I was different. A diamond in the rough, as my mother tells the story. One day, while grocery shopping, she saw this adorable teddy bear sitting atop a bicycle. After paying for her groceries, she decided, I’ll buy this toy for my daughter.

The bear not only sat on top of the bicycle, but it had cymbals attached to its paws, and the pedals were attached to its feet. While the pedals went round and round, the hands and cymbals clapped together. Fascinating, she thought. She purchased the toy and left the store.

She arrived home with a bag of groceries in one hand, me (2 ½ years old) and the toy holding onto her other hand. As she took me into the apartment, she sat me in the middle of the kitchen floor to keep an eye on me and thought the toy would keep me occupied as she began to prepare dinner. And it did for a short time. She watched me as I watched the bear, clapping its hands and moving its legs round and round on the bicycle.

But, unbeknownst to her, I took the toy and went into another room. The next thing noticed was I wasn’t in the same room. How many of you know that when a 2-year-old is out of sight and in another room, you need to go check?

As she rounded the corner, in sheer horror and disbelief, she saw me sitting in the middle of the room with this toy that she thought was so adorable, and that she had spent her last bit of money on, totally obliterated, in pieces all over the floor.

She was in shock, teary-eyed, and thinking my dainty little girl is destructive. What in the world? She turned for what she thought was a moment thinking, I’ve got to get the broom and clean up this mess.

While she was looking for the broom, she heard a different noise that sounded like forks clanking together coming from the same room. How many know when you hear noises, and a 2- year-old is in another room, you need to go check?

This time when she rounded the corner, to her amazement, the toy was completely put back together and functioning, proving that before I was 3 years old, I was an engineer.

Fast forward, I never liked dolls (my mother didn’t know that at the time), and I always loved machines and still do, and because of it, I spent an illustrious career in information technology as an engineer. Why do I tell that story? The engineer was always in me, like a diamond buried. Now that I have made the discovery of who I am, I can show up authentically. That’s how audacity shows up. I was two and a half years old. How does it work?

Don’t show me anything cool without showing me how it works. From the time I can remember, I always loved learning how things work. As a little girl, I never really cared for traditional little girl toys. I had little to no interest in dolls or playhouses. Even tea parties and tea sets bored me. I loved tinker toys, Lincoln logs, Lego building blocks, and cars. Even today, I still love cars. I can name every car logo on the market today and when they come out with new ones, I am enamored with those, too.

My ambition for the newest and latest became an obstacle. You see, I’m the eldest of five, and because I existed three years before my next sibling came along, I was always curious and independent. I had my own things. The only one to have my own room and my own toys – the others were not allowed to play with them. I thought differently.

But I always wanted more. I wanted to be wealthy and have all the things I thought I deserved. When I became a mother, I wanted more to leave an inheritance to my children. The wanting more drove me to work harder and longer at the expense of spending time with my children. It had never occurred to me that I was neglecting them emotionally. I was driven. It was for them that I worked so hard.

It was well past time that the damage I caused would be evident. In 2020, my father left us. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, we had to make the excruciatingly hard decision of putting him in a nursing facility. Putting him in that horrible place was difficult enough, but with the virus eliminating the ability to check on him daily, it was horrific.

The last time we saw him breathing was his birthday. The chaplain and nurses propped him up in his wheelchair and did a Zoom session so we could see him. He was unaware of his surroundings. His body was limp, and he was unresponsive when they called his name. They didn’t care for him like they would have when we were able to visit. There was no doubt his care was relatively nonexistent when we couldn’t see inside the confines of those walls.

On May 1, 2020, in the early morning hours, the phone rang. It was the call that no one wants to get about their loved ones. “Hello,” I said. Groggy and trying to see the clock with sleepy eyes, the voice on the other end announced herself as someone from the facility. Her next statement caused me to become enraged. “Your father has taken a turn for the worst,” she said. Screaming, I demanded, “WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN”? She softly said, “He passed away.”

There was a silence that seemed eternal. I sat up on the side of the bed thinking, how do I tell my mother that the man she’s loved for 60 years is gone? What will I say to my siblings? So many thoughts raced through my mind, I didn’t have time to think about grief.

Three years have passed since that time, and my sister Donna made plans to spend time with our mother. It was going to be a glorious time for her. She said to me, “I’m going to give you a break.” That’s a good thing, right? Wrong! Our mother lives with us – me and my husband, Robert, but we have so much fun that I don’t need a break from her.

I cherish all the moments we spend together. We have breakfast almost every day together. She shares my stories of triumph and loss in business. She sometimes reminds me of meetings. I didn’t really need a break from her, I’m attached to her in so many ways. Well, the day came for Mama to visit with my sister.

It was the first time I’d really sat still for more than just a few minutes. My husband, Robert, was at work and my mother was an hour and a half away from home. I walked past the room where Mama sleeps and started crying. Real tears, big, bold, torrential rain tears. I sat in sobs of grief and realized I was grieving them both. What is this? I wondered.

Suddenly, like a massive hurricane ripping through a city and tearing up everything in its path, my heart was ripped to shreds. It was my fault. The problems my children were having boiled down to me. The one who didn’t support them emotionally. Their lives were unbalanced for decades.

I was so busy making a living, I neglected to make a life for them. I missed being in their lives and now may be missing being in the lives of their children. What have I done? I questioned, I wondered, I pondered the devastation. Is this horrific error causing a legacy of parental absence?

The revelation came so late in life, I was devastated. I cried literally for two straight weeks while my mother visited with my sister. The realization of my father’s death and how he died alone brought me to my own absence. Now I, too, have the possibility of dying alone without the nearness of my children.

It was difficult to live with this realization because it reminded me of scripture, “What profits a man who gains the whole world and loses his soul?” I felt like I sold my soul at the expense of my children.

I’ve been married before and my husband abandoned me. Yet, nothing could compare to the hurt of realizing I had caused abandonment issues for the very ones I loved. My children. I inflicted the pain; conviction is difficult but necessary to come to the surface of the pain especially when you’re the one who caused it. I keep thinking I must fix this.

But how? That’s when I learned about the stages of forgiveness. I must ask my children for forgiveness. I must listen to what they have to say. I must allow them to be angry. I’m still walking through the process. It took years for me to recognize what I did.

So, let me ask you a question. Are you walking around oblivious to the pain you may have caused? Are you willing to pull back the band-aid and reveal the scab that may be affecting generations to come? If we don’t stop and take responsibility for causing others horrific pain, the ripple effect has the potential to be far and wide.

Even more painful to note was that the signs were there, but I was so driven and focused on success I was completely blinded by what I thought was the reward. One of the many signs was that my sons ran away from home. Each one of them ran away at different times. They were crying out for help, and I just ignored the glaring signs.

When I look back, my father did the very same thing, and his father before him. It was my mother was the one who always attended our sporting events, parent-teacher meetings, and all our school activities. My dad never came. I can’t remember him ever attending anything I ever did, and I did a lot. I was very active in school. I looked for his validation around every nook and cranny and never got it. I have since learned that validation is for parking, not people.

I vowed I would never be that way with my own children and the very thing I said I would never do was exactly what I did. Never say never — it’s unconscious wounding.

I didn’t lean on anyone during this time. In this moment of discovery, I didn’t see emotional abandonment as a problem. It was only recently that I even realized what I’d done.

Then, I had the opportunity to be alone with my thoughts and felt alone in the revelation that I was unfamiliar with my children. I didn’t really know them. I didn’t know what they liked or didn’t like. I didn’t know their favorite things.

They had been crying out for my attention for years and I didn’t see it or hear it. How could I be so blind? Blinded by success. Blinded by the money. I thought, what a horrible mother you are. My self-talk as a coach was, you can help people around the world but can’t help your own children. The revelation hurt and the two words that describe how it felt… SOUL SHATTERING.

It is about the Dream but it’s more about having the diligence to complete any target goal. Next you need focus stay on the right track to complete goal and I do this by surrendering my will to Grace to help me with my challenges and shortcomings because they happen but with trust and with like minded guidance I am able to complete all things

Dear Fellow Inspirer,

Thank you for all you do to uplift the communities you serve. I am thrilled to introduce you to an exciting new book called, Unstoppable: A Story of Resilience. This memoir is a raw and vulnerable account of my journey from extreme poverty as a teen parent to leading a successful & rewarding career making an impact through the workforce system, also speaking, and coaching throughout the U.S., turned author sharing details of how my unwavering faith, courage, and authenticity shaped me into a force to be reckoned with. For anyone looking for inspiration to achieve goals and overcome obstacles, this is the book for you!

“Unstoppable” is a powerful guide that will help you harness your inner strength and become the best version of yourself. The book is filled with inspiring stories, practical advice, and powerful strategies that will help you overcome challenges and achieve your dreams.

From “Unstoppable,” you will learn how to:

• Build resilience and perseverance

• Develop a positive mindset

• Overcome fear and self-doubt

• Set achievable goals and create a plan to achieve them

• Build strong relationships and networks

• And much more!

My personal journey is a testament to the power of resilience, perseverance, and determination. In “Unstoppable,” I share experiences and insights, along with stories of other successful individuals who have overcome obstacles to achieve greatness.

Whether you are an entrepreneur, a student, a professional, or simply someone who wants to take charge of their life, “Unstoppable” is the perfect guide to help you step into discomfort and reach your full potential.

“Unstoppable” is available: Order Now

Best,

Tiffany

Tiffany Lynn

Author, Unstoppable

Educate | Empower | Challenge

Before I was born God decided that my life would be a testimony to others. My life’s journey thus far has allowed me to experience what I like to call storms. My biggest storms seem to always involve my health. I’ve had my share of health crisis dating back to my birth. I was born at six months premature, I battled with childhood asthma, I got pneumonia in the fifth grade which led to developing fluid around my heart, I had open heart surgery nine months after having my second child in 2011 and now I am navigating the journey of kidney failure. I have what is called (ESRD)End Stage Renal Disease) due to polycystic kidney disease. This disease was passed down to me from my father’s side of the family. My disease became aggressive in 2018 because of my uncontrollable high blood pressure. You may hear all of this and say”Wow she’s dealt with a lot” yet when I look at it all it tells me that I was born to be a fighter. I am physically fighting my disease with dialysis daily accompanied by pure mercy and grace from god. Dealing with all of these ailments and issues has given me the confidence to know that everything happening to me has a higher purpose. You see one person may have only dealt with one health crisis and it was enough to end their physical journey on earth. So for me to endure and overcome multiple health challenges god was shouting loudly that he needed to use me and all of my experiences. That’s why, I am allowing this journey to mold me and shape me to live with purpose. I have discovered my purpose throughout all of the chaos and disruption. I created a new career and path as a Life Purpose Coach and Motivational Speaker. I was able to birth my own company in May of 2023 called “Crown Of Life”. My life purpose and mission with my company is to let other people know that there is a voice and purpose behind their challenges. I am someone’s daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, mother, cousin, and best friend. Above all of these roles, I feel the most reward in being a vessel to help others in life. I am unapologetically the “Me” that is able to stand confidently in who God has called me to be. I did not allow my circumstances to defeat me. I instead allowed it to define me into the best version of myself. My journey is still being written relying on one of my favorite scripture Psalms 46:5. “God is within her, she will not fall “. I am destined to survive and inspire because god is within me and I shall not fall.