Tiffany Sunday

Author | Poet | TEDx Presenter

Tiffany Sunday

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

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Tiffany Sunday Dyslexia

When I wrote Dyslexia’s Competitive Edge in 2015, companies had yet to embrace inclusion for neurodiverse individuals. The same year, I gave a TEDx Talk about the Gift of Dyslexia. Somewhere between 2015 and 2017, the neurodiversity and inclusion movement gained traction. I received multiple speaking requests and secured corporate sponsorships. 

In 2017, It seems like the world has finally realized the benefits and advantages of individuals who have dyslexia and think differently. Richard Branson launched Made by Dyslexia and companies were promoting their inclusion programs.

With so much momentum I hope companies continue to promote inclusion and how adults with dyslexia can provide insight for problem solving and innovation. Companies must be willing to go outside the HR box and hire neurodiverse individuals who think differently. 

Today, dozens of groups, individuals, and companies share information and build an awareness far beyond what many I thought was possible six years ago. When I was a child in school, I could never imagine a world where dyslexia is a positive trait. Now, we are educating children and others about the competitive advantages and thinking benefits of dyslexia. 

When I wrote, Dyslexia’s Competitive Edge, I never thought the opening quote in the book would be recognized and requoted by so many organizations, universities, researchers, and fellow authors. I am humbled by the attention and am glad the quote continues to inspire individuals around the world.

In 2018, I wrote How Dyslexics Will Rule the Future. The book’s purpose is to provide companies and HR departments with checklists and onboarding ideas and strategies that were helpful for individuals with dyslexia. But, most importantly, I wanted to offer fellow professionals with dyslexia a resource book they could use for work and share with others.   

I have always believed we (neurodiverse) individuals are here for a reason. Our unique way of viewing the world, how we solve problems, use our creativity and differences to transform ideas into reality is our greatest gift to humanity.

My Quote From Dyslexia’s Competitive Edge

“We are the visionaries, inventors, and artists. We think differently, see the world differently, and solve problems differently. It is from these differences that the dyslexic brain derives its brilliance.”

Updates to Proper Grey Areas by Tiffany Sunday

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On Thursday, August 26, 2021, Tilton House Press released an updated version of Proper Grey Areas. Back in April during a promo, a couple of readers noticed a couple of pesky typos that only show up after the book has gone to print.

My editing team, review again and made the corrections. I also tweak some of the administrative copy in the book as well. The beauty of print on demand is that we can make these updates almost effortlessly.

Proper Grey Areas Book Review

For poetry fans, Proper Grey Areas is a modern accessible collection of poetry.

A recent review from Lone Star Literary Life, reviewer – Melissa A. Bartell.

“Sunday’s work isn’t fussy or flowery. Most of her pieces are blank verse, written in clean, clear phrases full of truth and honesty, but that doesn’t mean her work isn’t vivid. “Darken veins/cross the sky,/various shapes reaching upward/from the earth,” she writes in a poem called “Winter Trees” and the picture is clear: the spindly leaf-bare branches stretching toward a sun that provides too little warmth.

While many of these poems are on the lighter side, or at least neutral, a few are visceral. “Hidden Truth” looks at the aftermath of domestic violence and hints at repeated patterns, for example, while “Pawn Store,” which has also been adapted into a song gives us the picture of a single mother in need.

Overall, this is a really satisfying poetry collection, capturing the many moods of pandemic lockdown, but going beyond that to look at life in general.”

Proper Grey Areas is available from independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble, and online retailers.

National Women’s History Month – Poem I Am Woman

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Musicians and songwriters influence my work and poetry. The melodies and lyrics form a creative foundation.

A couple of months ago, I wrote this poem after watching a show about Helen Ready and her famous song, I Am Women.

My mother played the album, and as a child, I remember hearing Helen sing – I Am Women. To celebrate National Women History month – here’s my poem, inspired by Helen Reddy, I Am Women.

From Concept to Market – What Dyslexic Entrepreneurs Really Need to Be Successful

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Today, with a greater awareness of the link between dyslexia and entrepreneurship, organizations are thinking of ways to help dyslexic founders develop their ideas into concepts and launch sustainable businesses.  

As a result of recent conversations, I am once again sharing my dyslexia startup wish list.

First – do not water down anything or hyper-focus on fixing our weaknesses.  Instead, share a list of apps or software, or strategies to mitigate and outsource. 

Over the years, the one thing that has pissed me off the most is the misguided perception of providing resource room accommodations instead of professional business advisement.

The best course of action is to ask neurodiverse entrepreneurs what they need to develop their ideas into viable products and services. 

Dyslexic Startup Wish List (starting point)

Access to qualified business professionals 

All startups need access to qualified business professionals and advisors such as IP attorneys, business attorneys, accountants, HR professionals (for hiring) to ask questions and discuss matters.

We need professional introductions to individuals we can trust to provide the following: nutshell required legal documents and strategic advisement for potential legal, financial, and tax business exposures, the nitty-gritty for filing patents and IP protection, and accounting matters that our dyslexic brain prefers to outsource. 

Understanding and Respecting Gut Decisions 

Dyslexic entrepreneurs need introductions to professional advisors who understand and respect us, our way of thinking, and how most of their decisions are made by a gut feel.

We’re 50 steps ahead and in our minds see the whole business, how the product will be built, target customers, marketing, everything. The entire concept is in our minds. When we make decisions, it’s based on our gut and a combination of all the actions we’ve taken to develop the idea and business. We back into concepts since we see the finished product. 

Fireside Chats with Fellow Dyslexic Entrepreneurs 

Create an incubator and group fireside chats for neurodiverse founders and entrepreneurs to share ideas, discuss lessons learned, and seek feedback. No business owner has enough time in the day to make all the mistakes while building a business.

By sharing with others, dyslexia / neurodiverse style, we can reduce the errors and accelerate the business. We need a space to share concepts as we are always thinking of ideas, solving problems, and anticipating the future.  

In 2015, I wrote Dyslexia’s Competitive Edge, which discussed the connection between dyslexia and entrepreneurship and shared strategies from fellow dyslexic business owners and professionals.   I also gave a TEDx Talk Dyslexia 2.0: The Gift of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Mind.

Birds on a Wire

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Birds on a Wire is a poem from Proper Grey Areas, my second poetry book. A previous relationship inspired the essence of this poem. During one of my morning runs, I noticed a group of birds sitting on a power line. The birds stared at each other and stared down at me as I pause to look at them.

I thought, so often in relationships, we can become distant from one another. We watch each other thinking the other person will reach out to make a connection to strengthen the relationship. Instead, inaction occurs, both parties become immobile.

A Trip to the Santa Fe Mountains

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A couple of days before New Year’s Eve, I made a last-minute decision to change our road trip to Santa Fe, NM.  My soul was craving downtime. As we drove along 1-40 and then north on 295, my mind relaxed as I watched the passing terrain. I needed physical and mental space to declutter my thoughts and reassess everything.

On our first night in Santa Fe, we order a to-go dinner from the Apothecary restaurant. My son ordered a buffalo burger with feta fries, and I had roasted tomato bisque with a salad. The food was fresh and delicious.

The next day, we ordered takeout breakfast from Cafe Pasqual’s of warm buttery pancakes, turkey bacon, and potatoes. Following breakfast, my son asked to drive to the Ski Santa Fe and explore the walking trails near the ski lodge.

As we walked along the trails near the Ski Santa Fe ski lodge, as the wind raced through the majestic trees, I paused to cherish the calmness of the moment. With each step, I examined my fears, some inherited, that have influenced my decisions.

With the disruption of normalcy, I made a choice to no longer allow these fears to silence my goals and dreams. I asked the mountain for strength to name these fears, and then the courage and determination to push past these fears to reach my writing goals. I sought the encouragement to fully express myself as a poet. With the release of Proper Grey Areas, it felt a release of creative energy.

Our trip was short, three days total. On our return, we slept in my son’s truck at a Love’s Travel Stop which my son thought was cool.

I think about our trip and creatively refreshed I feel since our return. I have tentatively penciled in another short road trip in March. Keeping my fingers crossed that we can revisit the mountains.