Michaela Alexis

I never thought this is what my story would look like.

Here’s how I thought life was going to unfold:

📖 I would go to law school and become a lawyer with a swanky office

📖 I would fall in love at first sight and effortlessly push out a few babies, all while still killing it in my career

📖 I would never have to set foot in a hospital or clinic for any abnormal health issue until I was much older

📖 My parents and family members would be here to celebrate each milestone with me

What has ACTUALLY happened:

🥴 Never took my LSATs and dove into a wildly delayed party girl phase that threw my entire life plan off track

🥴 Fell into social media marketing by chance and didn’t figure out what I loved to do (LinkedIn training) until I was 32 years old, and after a few failures under my belt

🥴 Struggled for 4 years of failed treatments until having a successful IVF cycle at 35 years old

🥴 Diagnosed with severe Endometriosis and struggled to keep working, eventually had abdominal surgery a decade later

🥴 My dad died quickly and painfully from Alzheimer’s and isn’t here to see my hard work pay off

But as imperfect, and at times, heartbreaking, as my life as actually turned out from what I imagined, I own each and every chapter with my whole soul. Why?

Because I cannot love who I am without accepting what I’ve gone through to get here.

Brené Brown once said:

“When we deny the story, it defines us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending.”

And I feel that today more than ever.

❤️ if you agree!

Love and coffee,
Mick and her future coffee shop buddy

My dad was a Black man, and an immigrant.

He was born and raised in absolute poverty, sharing a bed with his four brothers.

He went hungry most nights.

Fed up with his circumstances, he worked until he was accepted into medical school in Canada. He had just $40 in his pocket and a dream.

He eventually graduated and moved to Petrolia, a small town, where he thought he had finally made it.

But when he tried to start his office, as a Black man in a rural town, a petition was circulated to prevent him from practicing.

He ignored the hundreds of signatures and carried on.

He became one of the most beloved doctors in town, and when he finally left to open a practice in Ottawa, another petition was circulated. Only this time, the petition was asking him to stay.

My dad is a hero. He never complained about the mountains that he had to climb. He kept showing up.

My dad is gone, but on days when the odds feel stacked against me, I remember whose daughter I am and I rise up again.

He had a vision, impenetrable grit, and the courage to lead, and that’s a lesson that regardless of race, we can all be inspired by.

Happy Black History Month, if you were inspired by this, please share this story of my dad, my hero, Horace Alexis.

Love and coffee,
Mick

#blackhistorymonth

“I can’t believe I landed my dream job!!!!”

At 11:30 am, I got the call from Grade A, offering me the Marketing Manager role I had interviewed for.

That was three years ago, and I celebrate this moment every year since. Why?

I never sent out a single resume. Fed up with the process of sending out a gazillion resumes and hoping for a call, I asked WHY.

WHY am I alright with being treated like cattle as a job seeker?

WHY can’t the job search become more personal?

I shared my story in a LinkedIn update. I wrote about my skills and the type of company I dreamed of working for.

That post was passed around the Ottawa community. Mathew Lafrance and Allan Ghosn saw it and reached out, CREATING a position for me knowing that our values aligned.

In a two week period after posting, I was given four job offers!

I accepted Grade A’s offer and shared my story on LinkedIn.

https://lnkd.in/dp7SDtq

What happened next blew my freaking mind...my app started crashing, my inbox filled with thousands of connection requests. CNBC reached out.

My story went viral.

All because I decided to play the game on my own terms.

Today, I hope you do something that your future self will celebrate too ❤️

Love and coffee,
Michael

In case nobody has told you today...

It takes an unbelievable amount of strength to pull yourself out of a dark place mentally and carry on when you feel like you're falling apart.

So if you've done this today or this week, I'm so freaking proud of you.

♥️ this post to encourage everybody fighting their own battle!

Love and coffee,
Mick

#motivation #inspiration #mentalhealth #michaelaalexis

I think I’ve accidentally stumbled upon the key to happiness 🥰

I’ve always been a hard worker. It was drilled into me by my immigrant dad to always be the last one to leave and go the extra mile.

So when I was told years ago that I had severe endometriosis and only a 5% chance of having kids, I did what I knew best, I tried to work for it.

I meditated, I took all the supplements.

I tried everything from acupuncture and Chinese herbal teas to YouTube fertility hypnosis.

Nothing worked.

I couldn’t hustle my way into motherhood the way I had been able to with my career.

But there are some things in life that require more from us than just extra hours, they demand resilience.

Resilience has gotten me through three surgeries since December.

Resilience motivated me to continue showing up for ultrasounds when IVF clinic shut down due to COVID.

Resilience kept my faith burning bright when the embryo transferred was given just a 20% chance of working.

Success isn’t just about the hustle,

it’s about grit while facing the unknown,

those moments when you have every reason to surrender,

…but instead, you wipe the dirt off your cheek and take another step forward anyway.

❤️ if you agree!

Love and coffee,
Mick

I don't know who needs to hear this right now but the hardest battle that you will ever fight is between what you know in your head and what you feel in your heart.

I'd bet everything I have on your heart winning the war.

You know what to do.

I believe that the universe sends us what we need, so I won't add any hashtags to this post.

Let me know if this showed up in your newsfeed and this was what you needed in the comments below!

Love and coffee,
Mick