Please explain to the readers what taking charge of your life means to you?

Taking charge of my life means being responsible for my healing and being responsible for my wholeness. I am not what has happened to me, I am not the zip code where I grew up, I am not my past– but I am the author of my choices. I do get to decide what I do with “right now.” Taking charge of my life means feeling the pain and unpacking the history of trauma while simultaneously designing a life I love.

You are quite a writer, what is your book “Until it’s Time” is about? How do you feel it can impact today’s readers?

Thank you. I am a contributing writer to Until It’s Time and in Chapter 4 I wrote about my journey of being raised by my mom who was a victim of the crack epidemic in the 80s and 90s. It’s an incredible story of being able to acknowledge the impact of her illness on my life and being able to see her as a person outside of her illness and learning her story from her lived experience. It’s taken years to get to that point and writing has been my refuge. My center. I blog, journal, write short stories, and really see writing as medicinal to my healing journey.

What called you to be a life coach? What’s your specialty area and niche?

I hadn’t known what I was doing was life coaching. As I’ve reflected over my journey, I was first coaching myself. I had to be intentional about the people with whom I associated, the music I listened to, the books I read, and most importantly, the choices I made. In doing that, I realized I had a set of tools that others could use to support them in designing a life that they love. So I attended a coaching certification program that taught me how to hone these innate skills as a coach and to help others resource their innate tools. I specialize in Audacity Coaching– for folks who are ready to bet on themselves and take a leap into healing, wholeness, and breaking patterns that have been in the way of the life they want.

Where did the concept of your tv show come from? How long have you been airing? How can our viewers tune in?

This show was birthed from my vision of seeing the powerful impact of storytelling in our culture. And instead of me telling others’ stories, I wanted to create a platform where young people could tell their own stories. The Audacity Show, which currently has two seasons (we’re looking for funding for the third) is a talk show where youth and young adults are interviewed on their stories of overcoming adversity and having the audacity to… and they get to fill in the blank.

Describe the type of consulting services you provide to the community.

The consulting I provide is on leadership development and organizational culture. This consulting work started in 2017 when I supported high schools leadership teams to deepen and shift their adult culture. Since then, I’ve worked with organizations and businesses to develop a forwarding staff culture.

With all of your many business attributes, which one of them is your true passion?

All of them are connected. My passion is in being creative. I love being able to design a life I love living– and if I had to choose, I would say being a healing artist and curating artistic experiences for people to use art to connect to their inner selves and heal parts of ourselves that are standing in the way of us becoming our highest selves. I am launching this project within the next couple of months.

Where do you feel your journey may take you next?

I am currently traveling to one state a month for the next 6 months (plus) because life is now. Where this part ends, where my next chapter begins… I am not yet sure, but I am staying open to the magic. When I graduated from Spelman over 10 years ago, I knew I would always find my way back to the city. And I have. I launched this travel journey from Atlanta and it will be where I ultimately land.

What advice do you have for our readers with regards to all that’d gone on in our world today?

You know something, I don’t usually give advice, but I will offer an invitation for folks to finish the following statements: I am waiting for… If not now, then…What is currently blocking me right now is…I am afraid to…I dare to….

What is the best way for our readers to engage more with you?

Invite me into spaces to engage– that could be in the form of a podcast interview, speaker (at a workshop, live, etc), OpEd, etc. I’m also on social media going LIVE and leading self-development workshops.

Who was your greatest supporter as you pioneered through life?

I’ve had so many supporters, it’s always felt like the Higher Power was sending people my way at each phase of my life and when their seasons were up, they’d pass the (invisible) baton to my next set of Earth Angels. I’d have to give a special nod to my surrogate family who helped raise me in Chicago (The Wares and Dabneys), my fifth-grade teacher who has come to every graduation and big event in my life, including my out of state, programs– Upward Bound at the University of Chicago and the Charles Hayes Center, my Spelman College community, my therapist of seven years, and so many more.

How would you like to be remembered?

I’d like to be remembered as a being who trusted the timing of her life. When I sense it’s time to go, I leap. When it’s time to be grounded, I buckle up. When it’s time to speak, I stand tall with my ancestors rooting me on. And when it is time to be still and listen, I pause. I want to be remembered as someone who lived wildly and wisely.

How can our readers connect with you?

I can be found at any of these three places: my website: http://www.miadunlap.com, Instagram and Facebook as @the_audacity_of_mia

MEDIA: Sharah Nicole
goforitcommunications@gmail.com