Meet Sophia Flowers

We recently connected with Sophia Flowers and have shared our conversation below.

Sophia, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

To find my purpose, it took a great deal of self-examination and consideration of who I actually am and understanding my individual desires. And when I say individual, I don’t mean separate from everyone/everything. I just mean as purely me, the unique person I am, within everything else, with the unique part I have been invited to play amongst it all.

I believe we are all here for a reason. We all have a specific role to play that we can do best. Not only that, but the things we desire and seek for ourselves are inextricably linked to it. But our purpose extends beyond ourselves; it fits into a bigger picture. It is possible that believing these things was a prerequisite, as well.

I am incredibly grateful each day that I was able to find my purpose, as it completely transformed my life. Now that I know it, nothing I do can be separated from it. Every action I take relates to it; I relate to it—my purpose and I have a relationship.

In my experience, this process of self-examination can be broken down into three key parts:

1. Deciding to commit to trying things I think might be my purpose to see if it works out.

2. Taking action in that direction.

3. Spending ample time truly alone with myself—in solitude, away from anybody else. Preferably without the phone, internet, or any distractions. Learning to love and listen to myself. To become my own best friend, partner, and hero.

There’s a common saying that the person who will truly love and support you best is yourself. This saying has become a cliche for a reason: it’s profoundly true. I was amazed by the truth of this simple yet profound idea: listen to yourself, trust your instincts, and embrace your unique path. There’s only one you.

And the most exciting aspect? You and your purpose are constantly evolving and growing. It’s a journey, not a destination, so embrace the process and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a professional poet, writer, and author. My novel A Brush With Danger will soon be available everywhere books are sold, which is incredibly exciting. Here is a brief glimpse:

“In a small, seaside tourist town, quirky bookstore owner Emily’s life is changed forever when she discovers a mysterious painting that seems to hold the secret to a hidden treasure.

Eager to learn more, she soon finds that the artist, a young woman, has recently disappeared. And when another woman who is trying to get to the bottom of things also disappears under suspicious circumstances, Emily becomes determined to figure out what happened to them both.

But lurking beneath the picturesque facade of the place that she calls home is a grimly rising tide of obsession, madness, and murder… and she will have to fight with everything she’s got if she wants to survive long enough to uncover the truth and put things right.”

I have ghostwritten over a dozen books and worked in a multitude of genres. With over 20 years experience writing creatively and professionally, I have also traveled extensively around the world, walking the paths of many of my characters and following the common threads of mythology and storytelling that connect us all. I have been awarded for my writing by several honorable arts and justice organizations, and when I am not writing my next book I can be found working with such organizations to strengthen, uplift, and celebrate my community. I also enjoy performing poetry and teaching accessible writing classes to the public.

I intend to bring light and clarity to the world, make it a better place, and open conversations about what that actually means.

The value of perspective is the root of my platform. With that in mind, the inherent value of diversity and inclusivity immediately follows. The inevitable liberation of all peoples is the fruit.

I strive to dismantle oppressive systems that frequently masquerade as ‘realism’ which they are not. Such systems have a tendency to attempt to crush people — the youth, especially — into submission and into accepting unacceptable realities as ‘the way things are’ or ‘the way things are supposed to be.’ That is false. I am here to expose it as such. I envision a world where we no longer crush our youth, and I intend to be an integral part of creating it.

I am here to create amazing fiction that informs and teaches — about the old oppressive systems, how we are breaking free from them, and how to create a better, more beautiful future for the good of all. I am here to tell good stories that ultimately uplift, inspire and give hope, and to contribute to making the world a better place by doing it.

My ideal life as an author includes being able to help others as much as possible and making a lasting change in the world for the sake of good. I intend to embody the spirit of my highest self, to give, and to be a representative of Heaven on Earth to the best of my ability. I’d like to reach a wide audience with a message of love.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe the three most important qualities, skills and/or areas of knowledge are:

1. Passion
2. Determination
3. Craft

In my experience, passion is the main prerequisite for a successful journey. You will have a better time and are more likely to prosper with something you truly love — something which gets you eager, excited, fired up.

Now like I said earlier, you may have to experiment to find out what that is, exactly, but that can be the most rewarding part as you learn more and more about what actually works for you and what doesn’t.

As for determination, I think it is important to consider this: what happens when your experimentation produces results that are less than preferable for you? What happens when you are faced with closed door after closed door after closed door? If you call the game too early, it is impossible to win. It would be a lie if I told you I didn’t have small “giving up” moments over the 20 years I’ve been doing this. I’ve cancelled many a plan, and I’ve taken many a hiatus. That’s totally fine and part of the process, in my opinion. But you have to recognize that a lot of this stuff takes decades to lay the groundwork for. You can’t be a master immediately and without fail. That’s just not how it works. By all means, pause, take a break, take a step back, reassess. Don’t keep doing things that aren’t working. But overall, in the long run, if you want to make it, you have to keep trying to make it until you do. Having a fairy godmother moment where you all of a sudden get a big break and get everything you ever wanted is certainly possible, don’t get me wrong. But it is incredibly rare. You can’t bank on the lottery. But you absolutely can bank on persistence and continued work and learning.

There have been several of these profound interviews with Ethan Hawke popping up in my news lately where he is discussing art and being an artist, particularly through the lense of his art of acting. I think what he says applies to everyone. Speaking directly to these first two points, he explains that if you consider yourself an actor but don’t love the art enough to teach theater at a highschool in some “nowhere” place, then you actually don’t love the art like you think you do. You cannot truly say you have a passion for it, that you are a real actor.

By all means, strive for big roles and success, absolutely. But you must love it to the bone, to the point where you would still do it even if you were destitute and unhoused for the rest of your life. The second you stop acting, you’re not an actor any more. The second you stop writing, you’re not a writer anymore. You’re a former actor, or a former writer. This applies to all art forms and disciplines.

Don’t give up. And remember that often when you extra don’t want to do something, that is when you double double have to if you want to overcome obstacles in your way.

Be gentle with yourself, kind to yourself, try not to hurt yourself. But don’t use these concepts as an excuse to avoid the hard things. You can do hard things, and the rewards if you succeed will most often far outweigh the trouble. And if you fail, the rewards *still* outweigh the trouble, for the knowledge of what not to do and what doesn’t work is just as valuable as the opposite. Priceless, in fact.

Remember this and keep an open mind.

Finally, by the term “craft,” I mean learning the actual technical knowledge of your art form or discipline. The “how-to.” The proper tools and methods. The first two are nothing without this third piece. You can have a passion for acting and a determination in you so strong that you will never, ever give up.

But if you don’t learn the technicals of how to actually act — the *craft* of it — you will always be an aspiring actor and not an actor. Again this applies to everyone, whatever they are doing.

Having teachers and mentors and people to show you the way will help greatly in this. Pursue the knowledge of techniques and methods that will make you better. Masters are masters because they have learned certain things. If you want to be a master you have to learn them, too.

Of course there are people born with natural talents for things. But even those people still work hard to learn the best ways to do them.

Learning the actual craft of what you are doing will also inevitably bring you into the circles of others who are learning or teaching it, which then allows for greater expansion through networking and sharing.

One last thing, on that note: nobody, ever, can do it all alone. There is simply no such thing.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

For me it is The Bible.

Now, as a transgender person I definitely understand why some members of my community might be averse to this book, considering how corrupt, deceptive, and power-hungry people have leveraged it in the name of violence and oppression over the years, even to this day. But I believe such people are to blame, themselves, not this book. It is a powerful piece of literature, there is no doubt about that, which I believe is why it has been so eagerly co-opted throughout history, for its power.

But I believe it is exactly that: a piece of literature. You don’t have to look at it with doctrine/dogma as a lens. In fact I highly encourage looking at it with a literary lens instead.

From that perspective, it is a monumental piece of art, one of the biggest collaborative novels of all time.

And it does have valuable stories within. I happen to be a very spiritual person, which helps, but I don’t think one necessarily has to be spiritual to experience these stories and the next-level expertise of the storytellers who created this book. They were clearly operating with all three of my aforementioned important qualities of passion, determination, and craft.

Of course, it’s impossible for me to reasonably list all of the valuable wisdom I have gleaned from reading this book. But if I had to choose one prevalent ‘a-ha’ moment, it would be understanding the concept of the Word as a hypostatic element of our reality, through which everything is created.

Ursula K LeGuin sums this idea up perfectly: “We live in narrative as much as space and time.”

That is to say, we live in a story. You reading this right now: it’s a story you’re telling yourself as we speak. We exist because of it. We can co-create our reality by using the power of the word to write our own story and inspire action. This has both figurative and literal applications. As a storyteller, an artist and a creator, recognizing that Word begets creation is a big deal, in my opinion.

The book can be challenging, at times, for sure. But I respect a good challenge, and I see it as an important impetus for understanding oneself, for growth and for evolution.

Perhaps it’s a hot take? But it is mine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sophiaflowersbooks.info
• Instagram: @sophiaflowersbooks

Image Credits

Anastaci Pacella
Dani Flowers
Manx Taiki Magyar & Izzi Caplan