A couple of weeks ago I was asked if I wanted to review a brand new shiny book called A Unicorn In A World Of Donkeys by Mia Michaels. It has only just been released, so I felt very lucky to get my hands on a copy before it was available to buy. I was immediately drawn to this book after reading the description: An empowerment manifesto for creatives, misfits, innovators, and disruptors.  This book is for me! In fact, I read it in just two days as I found this to be so inspirational and fell in love with the overall message – just be yourself.

What is a unicorn? In the book, Mia explains that a unicorn is someone who doesn’t fit in with the mainstream. They don’t try to look like other people or compare themselves with others and they can’t help but stand out in their originality. Unicorns tend to be creative, sensitive and most often introverted. (Yes, yes and yes).

So what is a donkey? A donkey is someone who tries to blend in, feeling uncomfortable veering too far from the mainstream. They follow trends instead of setting them and believe conformity is a good thing. Basically, they want to live a predictable, conventional and safe life.

Wow. Already I was hooked. On the donkey-unicorn spectrum I would place myself more towards the quietly creative unicorn end. If you asked me what I was during my teenage years, I would say 100% unicorn – I had bright colourful hair, dressed as far away from mainstream trends as possible, had multiple piercings, listened to a lot of punk music, dropped out of college to persue a career in drinking and rebelled against conformity. Fast-forward to now, I’m still a punk girl at heart, except I’m sober, with a degree and have taken out my piercings.

I could totally relate to a lot of Mia’s background and felt inspired by her courage and determination. Mia Michaels is an American choreographer, best known for her Emmy Award-winning appearances on So You Think You Can Dance and for her creation of the choreography for Broadways Finding Neverland. Mia’s students, peers & mentors have noted her as a dedicated, live-changing influence of positivity in their lives. Mia has a way of touching each human she encounters with passion, emotional expression, and confidence of self-love.

As with any success story, Mia had to work extremely hard from the very beginning. Her book describes her unconventional background, her numerous knock-backs in the ballet world and her pure determination to live her life to the fullest. Her story is brave and fearless. She embraces her inner misfit and uses it to her advantage to empower others into to being themselves through teaching dance.

There are twelve chapters in the book to guide and encourage you to embrace more of your unicornness. Mia writes about her experiences with isolation, loneliness, bullying and coming out the other side a stronger person. She writes about building up resilience, being brave and stepping outside of your comfort zone. At the centre of each chapter, the core message is about overcoming fear and learning to be proud of your unique and wonderful self.

The book packed with inspirational quotes and interesting stories from her experiences with other unicorns (including celebrities like Lady Gaga, Prince, Freddie Mercury and Elton John). It’s fun and interactive and above all will inspire you to turn negatives into positives and never give up chasing your dreams (even if they are unconventional and different). Thank you Mia for the boost of confidence and positivity! I know I’ll turn to this book time and time again when I’m looking for a quick pick me up to reassure myself it’s okay to be yourself and step away from the mainstream.

Click here to order yourself a copy of this awesome book!  A Unicorn In A World Of Donkeys by Mia Michaels.

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