Meet Ti Young

We were lucky to catch up with Ti Young recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ti, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Well if I’m being honest, it pretty much started from the day I was born. I came into this world premature, weighing around 3 pounds— To say the least, I entered life weak, tiny, fragile, and feeling alone… but I was a fighter from day one and have overcome a lot, probably why I like superheroes so much.

Growing up, there were a lot of challenges in my family. As a kid, I didn’t fully understand them, but I remember being five or six years old and already asking why there was so much pain around me. So much abuse, neglect, food insecurity and hardship. No one was happy. It felt like we were all trapped in a constant state of survival—fear & trauma.

I have a lot of dark memories, too many for someone so young, or to share all here. But even then, I felt like I was somehow… different. Like I was born into this life, but not meant to stay stuck in this cycle. I didn’t know how to escape it yet—but I knew I had to. And at that small, snoopy cheeked age, I made a decision: I would fight.
for something better. Even if I didn’t know what it was yet…the resilient “Dragon” was born.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Well, I’ve been an athlete—it’s where I built a lot of my confidence and more resilience. From basketball and track to women’s tackle football, golf, fitness, bodybuilding, and Muay Thai fighting, It gave me an outlet to conquer things and have discipline, and I do low key like doing badass things, just don’t love heights so much… I spent college summers fighting wildfires to make money and support my family while earning my architecture degree. Sport taught me how strong I could be to push through pain, lead with heart, and never back down. At the same time, creativity was always my outlet—one of my survival skills—I thread it into everything I do.

Today, I channel a lot of that lived experience and knowledge into my career as a Nike creative, with a strong focus on narrative & storytelling. I’m passionate about sharing the journeys of athletes—their grit, their growth, because I can relate. In parallel, I’m pursuing my dream of becoming an actress (super hero) and film director. Storytelling through film allows me to connect even deeper, to move people, to inspire, and to dream out loud.

I hope to empowerment others—and always find ways to lift as we rise. I A belief in working hard, and always aiming to inspire others has kept me driven.

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?

1. Find a purpose that scares you a little.
If your dream doesn’t make you slightly nervous (or question some of your sanity), it’s probably not big enough, cliche, but true I think, we have a lot of fear that hold us back… but pushing through it gets us to what we want a lot of the time. People might not get it. They might try to box you in, water you down, or tell you to be “realistic.” Smile, nod, and keep it pushing…Find exactly what you were meant to do. Your passion is your superpower—don’t apologize for it.

2. Imposter syndrome is real—and so is your magic.
We all have doubts. We all have moments where we feel like we’re faking it, or don’t have it. Reality is no one has it all figured out. Lead with empathy, show up as your full self, and don’t let the fear steal your shine. Feel the fear and do the damn thing anyway. Less regrets is the goal.

3. Play to your strengths—and build your dream team.
Don’t focus on your weaknesses.. Know what you’re good at, double down on it, and find people who are strong where you’re not to fill the gaps and support each-other. Greatness can happen when you build a dream squad, in business and in life. But don’t get me wrong, working on your self development all along the way is so important then when you finally do team up, in a relationship, friendship, or bunnies partner then you can elevate everyone around you. Find the balance of solitude, self reflection and collaboration.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

Biggest lesson … love yourself, so you can lead with love and compassion and empathy without getting burnt out by life and all the infinite challenges that can came with this world at times… not to get too sentiment, but at the end of the day. Remember what you’re fighting for and don’t get lost in the sauce. (If you know you know)

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ti.young

Image Credits

Can we have a title like
“Born a Dragon”

Ti Young a journey of resilience