Tiffany Sunday

Author | Poet | TEDx Presenter

Tiffany Sunday

Tiffany Sunday – Featured Guest on The Dyslexia Quest Podcast

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On Thursday, August 10, I was a guest on Elisheva Schwartz’s Podcast – The Dyslexia Quest.  Her show is ranked in the top 30 iTunes podcast shows.  We talked about a range of topics from my experiences as a student in school to how technology is creating more career opportunities for dyslexics.

Quote from Elisheva –

Guest Tiffany Sunday quests with us on the fascinating topic “Dyslexia 2:0 The Gift of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Mind”. We uncover dyslexic strengths and wonder why having these strengths can sometimes cause overwhelming pressure instead of motivation.

Tiffany is an author, innovator, entrepreneur and mom of a dyslexic child. She writes and speaks on multiple topics from the digital revolution, to the future of work to personal development and the relationship between dyslexia and entrepreneurship.

Tiffany reminds us that every one of us has a passion…. even our kids. It’s what “makes our tail wag”. We talk about dreaming big and innovation. Tiffany shares from her own unique experiences – you won’t want to miss it so stay tuned till the end!

LISTEN HERE | iTunes | Stitcher Radio 

 

Tiffany Sunday is Speaking at the Dallas Book Festival, April 29, 2017

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Tiffany is a featured speaker at the 2017 Dallas Book Festival.

She will be talking about her book, Dyslexia’s Competitive Edge and how individuals can use their dyslexia as a competitive edge.

Following the discussion, she will be answering questions from the audience.

Signed copies of Tiffany’s book will be available to purchase.

Dallas Public Library is located at 1515 Young Street Dallas, TX 75201

 Click here to view more information about the event and to see a complete list of authors and presenters.

Realistic New Employment Opportunities in the Digital Economy

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When we think and write about the future – most of the employment job titles are based on tech companies, programming, and STEM. But, in the real world, we’ll need to develop jobs that are not sexy.  

We need workers who will fix our digital worlds when something goes wrong – how do I fix my drone or robot or how do I learn how to use these darn things?  That’s the real world we live in every day.

We know from studying history employment evolves out of need. Back when individuals were driving horse-drawn carriages, they never dreamed of being an automobile mechanic, telephone operator, and electrician.  The jobs created during the exponential growth that occurred between 1880’s and 1920’s was incomprehensible.

To prepare for the immediate future, we need to develop jobs to manage and repair our technologies.  Our goals should focus on educating students and professionals now,  not later.  We need to educate and train individuals because the need exists in the market, we just don’t think about it, yet.

DATE: October 31, 2015. LOCATION: Chevy Chase, Maryland. Selingo family portraits. CREDIT: Jay Premack

One action is to create different employment pathways for students and adults.  For example, offer vocational training and apprenticeships during high school and after graduation.   Jeff Selingo is a thought leader and has written multiple books on this topic.  Great resource if you have high schoolers at home.

Many of the job titles I created, listed below, exist today.  I believe these industries will continue to change and disrupt B2B, consumer, and healthcare markets.

List of New Employment Opportunities
Drones

Drone mechanic

Drone repair specialist

Drone parts supplier

Drone mechanic shop and on-site service

Drone developer

Drone programmer

Drone software manager

Drone educator

Drone manager

Drone flight coordinator

Drone fleet management for agriculture and corporate uses

Drone recycling

Robotics

As a small business owner, where would you take CP3O and R2D2 to get repaired? 

Robots mechanic

Robots repair specialist

Robots parts supplier

Robots mechanic shop and on-site service

Consumer robots developer

Robot programmer for consumer and healthcare

Robot software manager for B2B, consumer, and healthcare

Robots educator for B2B, consumer, and healthcare

Robots manager – all three segments

Robot customization – pick your style and color.  (Think mass customization of personalized robots)

Robot fleet management for agriculture and corporate uses

Robot recycling

Using drones and robots as a template, these types of jobs could be adapted for virtual reality, augmented reality, and the Internet of Things.

Think – who’s going to fix your Nest or a similar application when it stops talking to your iPhone?

We have professionals working in this field.  However, remember this area will continue to expand as more houses and apartments are built and incorporate the IoT.

 Potential New Practice Areas – Legal, Finance,  and Accounting

Legal – attorneys who focus on determining the status of robots and drones as the digital economy evolves.

Will robots and similar technologies be considered assets or individuals? Will advanced robots with the capability to care for a human, have a different asset value?

During a merger will companies fight over advanced AI robots similar to a divorce – if so, how we established a precedent?

How will accounting and finance determining a value for these new technologies change the legal, finance, and accounting industries?  Or will these industries be automated to the point where the software program determines it’s own value?

We’re at the beginning of another big leap.  To plan for the future and help our children we need to develop means for teaching these skills now.

Are You Going Backward?

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Image Credits – The Peaceful Runner

Twice in 2016, I thought to myself, “Am I going backward? Was I regressing to a place I no longer wanted to be?”

Both times, I was an event participant.  Everything felt dated.  After several attendees voiced concern, the coordinator stated, “That’s the way it’s always been done, no need to change.”  Staring back at the individual, I felt like an alien.

I don’t want to go backward, especially after I’ve spent so much mental energy moving forward.  The last thing I wanted to do was to get stuck in another rut.

In all of my experiences, there has never been a time where going backward proved beneficial.

Not once.

As an impatient movie viewer, films are consumed while working on the computer with the audio playing in the background or during dinner. Last night’s working selection was Whiskey Tango Foxtrot starring Tina Fey as Kim Barker.  The movie is based on Barker’s book.

I’ve been thinking about Tina Fey’s character and the reason she became a war correspondent.  Each day she faithfully ran on a treadmill. One day, she noticed the constant motion was moving the machine backward across the carpet.  In her mind, she was regressing in life instead of gaining.

Again, I am consumed with the question “Am I moving forward or not gaining at all?”

Change surrounds us, yet for many, there is no movement, there is no internal growth, there is only redundancy.  The creation of goals reworked year after year.  There is comfort in knowing what to expect each and every minute of every day.  Being too comfortable can evolve into compliancy distorting reality masquerading as happiness.

2016 was a mixed bag as I was surprised and pleased with the growth of my business while conversely dealing with several sobering realizations.  From the new awareness, I gained wisdom enabling me to move forward once again.  I am not the same person I was six months.  My approach to problems and how I formulate decisions is different.   My worldview is constantly evolving.

When you think you are moving backward, stop and ask yourself why you feel this way and what could be the triggers? Often we ignore our inner voice.  Look beyond the usual answers and responses, what else is under the surface.  Is there a decision or something you are avoiding that needs to be addressed?

If nothing comes to mind, then think of the most outside of the box answer.  Anything? If not, let your mind noodle on why for while.  When you least expect an answer it will appear.

I believe the only way we can move forward and create a meaningful life is to avoid events and people who cause us to move backward.   Our world is full of too many amazing things to be satisfied with how it’s always been done or remaining stuck in a rut refusing to evolve.

 

Creative Obsession – Never Give Up On Your Art

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Creative Obsession by Tiffany Sunday Two weeks ago, the creative obsession kicked in as I shifted my attention back to a fiction novel I am writing. Along with the book, I am adapting The Digital Prairie manuscript to a play.

After two books, I’ve learned when my behavior shifts the manuscript is ready to be written.  The awareness is more significant with the third book.

Almost overnight, every part of my being becomes consumed with writing.  I eat the same lunch.  I wear black and listen to the same song on YouTube not once or twice but 50 times or more.  My ability to singularly focus on one task is amazing.

I am a vehicle for something greater than myself.  My soul is determined to write and refuses to allow anything to get in its way.

Artists and entrepreneurs are made from similar DNA.  Launching a business, writing a book, and creating music is art.

All of these endeavors are part of the creative process. 

I am learning to honor and accept my quirky behaviors.  I write at late at night when my mind has the freedom to explore what is hidden beneath the surface during the day.

The creative obsession has been the focus of many studies as researchers work to determine why creatives become obsessed with their work.

From personal experience, my brain doesn’t like to focus on clothes or food because when you are in a creative flow, making decisions is annoying.  Which, I believe explains our need to eliminate non-essential decisions.  I imagine my brain, taking its arms and sweeping everything off the table that is irrelevant to the creative process.

During the creative obsession, you search for a time to create.  For many, it is either the stillness of the night, early in the morning or both.

This fall, I’ve discovered the peacefulness at 4:30 am which is unmatched by any other time during our 24 hour period. It’s when everything, all our worries and the world’s chaos, seems for a brief moment to fade into the background. The new day is beginning, it’s fresh and clean.

When I’m alone with the computer, songs playing over and over in my ear buds, I savor the time. I protect this time.

Our creativity is our humanity.

In the depths of the night, I came across an interview with Pat Benatar and her husband, Neil Giraldo, at 2016 SXSW Music session. Pat talked about the importance of protecting our art.  Our creative expression is a freedom that we should never take for granted.

I write with urgency. I write with a purpose. I write because I need to express what is in my soul.  Sleep feels unimportant until the words appear on paper.