We were lucky to catch up with Micaiah Fletcher recently and have shared our conversation below.
Micaiah , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I would love to simply say yoga or matcha green tea is the regimen that has always given me buoyancy from challenges of money, success, and peace, but the probable answer is the unpleasant contrast in my life. In realness, my resiliency may have developed from the childhood trauma of physical and mental abuse, the bullying in school, and the strong beliefs from these events that made me think life had to be a struggle. My ability to focus on the positive moments repeatedly throughout these challenging times I believe is the true resiliency. As an adult now, I feel more clarity in my conscious and subconscious, and realize that everything was always working out for me, even when it didn’t feel like it. I have now amplified my strength of resiliency, and reduced my need for it with the knowledge of the law of attraction, and rampages from Abraham Hicks. In my newly heightened awareness, if I encounter unwanted experiences, I visualize past challenging experiences that became successful outcomes, which shifts my vibration rapidly. I learned I am not at effect to life, and can deliberately create my day with more pleasant experiences. Beginning the day with meditation, listening to my feelings, and setting more boundaries has allowed for the creation of a more balanced and joyful life. Every day will not be completely free of unpleasant experiences or contrast, but my life is now more wanted than unwanted. I’ve also diminished my fear of contrast by understanding every encounter of contrast brings more clarity to what is wanted and unwanted. Black and white, or absolute thinking patterns, has been a great fusion in terms of resiliency, and a definite asset to my resource of knowledge in the law of attraction. I understand for example, that if I experienced an unpleasant day from an overdose of coffee, that I simply want to adjust the frequency or amount and not label coffee as bad or good.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
You see movies about the guy who came from a very rural area and grew up on a farm. This accurately describes me, and specifically it was a dairy farm and a watermelon farm in Jewett, Texas. My creative expression began here with legos, Barbie doll furniture, and deciding to paint my entire room, including furniture, True Blue (Hex #2D68C4 ; RGB 45, 104, 196). I originally thought the color was cobalt blue or royal blue, but I recently revisited shades of blue and determined it was definitely True Blue.
Living in a very desolate area definitely forged me into a young artist. I additionally remember drawing on the interior of cardboard boxes with graphics of steering wheels, buttons, and air vents to create my dream car, and illustrating diagrams on the floor plan of our house to scare my parents. I wasn’t conscious to the idea as a child that these fun moments weren’t every child’s excitement. I also spent three summers on building homes in The Sims computer game, which I thought was a waste of time later on in life. I recently confirmed it definitely was not, and that I have been practicing what I enjoy since the moment I built Lincoln log structures.
When high school graduation approached, I did not yet have this clarity on my future profession. My grandfather and uncle advised I pursue architecture and so I moved to Houston in 2008 for college. I tried a technical school first, but I felt I wasn’t challenged, and then transferred to the University of Houston with the suggestion from a professor. I didn’t begin as a student at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture until 2010 after not receiving admission on my first application. It was a very challenging program, with a no.14 global ranking from Red Dot Design for its Industrial Design program. Living in a big new city with the desire to have fun and explore only tested me even more. My first internship in 2012 at global architecture firm HOK, and almost failing the architecture program twice, made the most complex dynamic. In 2015 after losing much sleep and many nightmares of unfinished courses, I graduated successfully from the 5-year program.
Recurrently, I had no clear direction of knowing my future path. Zooming out of the details, I assuredly knew that it was time for something bigger, and moving to a bigger, creative city felt appropriate. New York and Chicago were my top choices architecturally, but the cold temperatures did not feel to be a pleasant transition, therefore Los Angeles seemed like the perfect fit.
From 2015 -2020 I experienced life in Los Angeles. I began as a designer at Restoration Hardware, and then in 2016 I decided to take on my own projects as an entrepreneur. My most exciting opportunity was to assist in the design and create 3D renderings for Richard Lawson, Tina Knowles Lawson, WACO Gala advisory board members Beyonce Knowles Carter, Kelly Rowland, and Solange Knowles. I’ve also worked with the show Restored on DIY as the art director, selecting finishes, fixtures, creative solutions, hardware, and more.
In 2019 I met my partner, Matty Fay, and in 2020 we moved due to the pandemic to Palm Springs, where design standards and design history brought about the perfect place for inspiration and creativity. Additionally we were ready to have a better quality of life and escape apartment renting by purchasing land to build a home. We explored many cities, but Palm Springs struck a very special chord. I realized that when I drove from Texas to California in 2015, it was my first impression of the otherworldly wind turbines, sand dunes, Joshua trees, and nature that excited me. Eventually we found a monumental three-acre lot, full of mountain views, sunsets, and tranquility. From 2020-2023 I concurrently taught architecture and design software, worked remotely on projects with existing Los Angeles clients, and gained very important new experience as a project manager in residential construction in the Coachella valley area. During this time, I also developed many versions of our home design as a minimalist, brutalist feel, with some mid century Star Wars influence. We decided to wait for construction due to new methods of 3D construction printing which saves on costs, time, and the environment, with new sustainable materials emerging this year made with eighty percent algae. When construction begins, the structure should approximately take 1-2 months, with a total of 6 months for the permitting process, ordering windows, doors, appliances, and fixtures. At this point, it is imperative that we start this year so that our home doesn’t become La Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi, a cathedral that will be complete in 2026 after 144 years of construction!
Building an otherworldly dream home is very exciting, however more thrilling ventures are concurrently arriving. I’m grateful to announce being a part of my partner, Matty Fay’s success working at the world famous Trixie Motel since September 2022. Now as the manager, he oversees the customer service, bar, and more. I’ve been able to even provide consulting on some small recent projects. Many “moving parts” should I say are occurring rapidly, and a final creative pursuit I will announce is the launch of my new home furnishing store, Matter in Mind ™. The selections will include a soon to be revealed theme of futuristic luxury lighting, décor, furniture, and art from Matty. I plan to launch the website by April 12th. Be sure to tune in to matterNmind.com or @Matterinmind on instagram for the launch!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Prioritizing my mental health, physical health, and social health has definitely proved the greatest leaps on my creative journey. Many times you have heard that it all starts with you, and I have discovered for myself it is true! This is by no means a critique of any wrong path, habits, or advice to make yourself work harder, but to empower you in the awareness and experimentation of these areas. Everything I have experienced in life has served its purpose, and it has served me best to not dwell on the past or feel any guilt. I would strongly agree to relax and enjoy life as much as possible, or in the words of Abraham Hicks “chill out”. It may be frequently inferred that we have to wake up at 5 am every morning or work very hard to get what we want, but this is only a belief. In fact, the more self love and empathy I had for myself, the more I felt like a star, deserving of anything I wanted, and began to attract everything I wanted. I discovered from my therapist the empathy and words of wisdom I learned from Abraham Hicks were similar to cognitive behavioral therapy, which is practiced in talk therapy.
Due to my knowledge of the law of attraction, I became addicted to ensuring my vibration would be the best possible. I prioritized meditation as my consistent morning practice for about 15 minutes to quiet my mind. I’m definitely not one for routine, and it took some time to consistently keep this habit, but now I feel lost when I do miss a meditation. I no longer allow my self-critic to keep score if I do miss a session, but I also jump back in as soon as I can set aside 5 minutes in the day.
Yoga pushed the needle of my well being in the best way I have ever experienced. Again, it took me time to have a longing when I didn’t practice, but now it literally creates the balance in my life I have needed for a very long time. Yoga created awareness within me to ask myself if I should have another drink of alcohol or stop at three drinks, less sugar and more stevia, or less fried chicken and more brain food like salmon. The most important theme here again, is that life isn’t black and white or absolute thinking patterns. Listen to what feels best for you; pay attention to what your feelings and physical body are telling you, take as many naps as you need if it is possible.
A very important final awareness or knowledge is social health. If you find yourself at home most of the time, step outside even for 5 minutes for a walk down the block. I’m sure we all were reminded of reconnecting with nature and people during the pandemic, and it might have been challenging relearning socialization, but it has definitely helped me talking with someone as easy as a Trader Joe’s worker. Definitely pay attention to what your feelings are telling you or how someone makes you feel when you hang out with them, but again it is the balance and awareness that can assist you.
Remember that everyone is different! Your meditation may be writing in the morning, painting, singing, walking, and eating fried chicken to celebrate your meditation. Playing tennis, hiking, or walking may be your practice instead of yoga.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
I would definitely reiterate my knowledge of Abraham Hicks the law of attraction, my therapist, and my inspired efforts in my current success. I would also say my current partner, Matty Fay, has been equally imperative. I did not have a serious relationship for almost 7 years before I met him, and I was challenged to evolve, especially during the pandemic of covid. I was grateful to have a couple’s therapist from the beginning of our relationship. An individual and a couple’s therapist provided the key to crumbling our walls of trauma and accept real love, not only from Matty, but also from anyone who wanted to give me compliments, a friendly hello, and new friends who reciprocate my good energy. Matty also had the diplomatic customer service skills from working in famous bars such as the Whiskey a Go Go for over 10 years, which helped me charmingly interact in ways that seemed effortless.
Contact Info:
- Website: mfdesigned.com , matterNmind.com
- Instagram: @micaiahfletcherdesigns , @matterinmind
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/micaiah-fletcher-5910a068
