Biography
I am Flora Brown author, coach, speaker, entrepreneur, mom of four and grandma of three. I have impacted the lives of students, educators,business owners, leaders and many audiences during my 40+ year career. My passion for encouraging people to make choices that lead to their happiness began when I was a junior high inner city English teacher and continued to grow deeper as I worked with university students, my own private tutoring program, and with retailers and business owners.
I am a Professor Emeritus at Fullerton College where I taught critical thinking for twenty years. My educational background as a USC graduate includes a BA in English with a minor in Drama, a M.S. in Education with a specialization in reading, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. I have written language arts texts, academic articles, curriculum, grant proposals, and motivational guides. I maintain a number of websites, blogs and newsletters.
I have loved school and books for as far back as I can remember. I loved the smell of the books, the vibrant colors of the crayons lined up in the little black box we were each assigned, the smooth finish of my desk with a black inkwell in the upper right corner. (My kids think that’s downright weird.) I especially loved my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Bordeaux. In my mind she was the smartest person in the world, and I counted on her to teach me all the things I needed to know to become educated. I also thought she was the most beautiful person in world, resembling popular actress of the day, Loretta Young, and dressing as elegantly.
Moving to the other side of the desk
Because I loved sch
ool so much it’s not surprising that I became a teacher, first in junior high English, then university teacher training, and finally teaching critical thinking in a community college.
And I loved writing. I still have some of the earliest poems I wrote, thanks to my mother. Throughout school I wrote many types of writing and after college moved into coauthoring textbooks and instructional materials for my children and my students.
But I always had a creative and entrepreneurial side too. I blame this on watching my mother run her home-based beauty shop. Around age 10, I began selling handmade potholders to the patrons of the beauty shop while they sat under the dryer or waited their turns. From then on I was hooked on earning money from my creative endeavors.
Mixing it up
So throughout my life I’ve mixed my academic career with creative pursuits. While teaching junior high through university levels I was always drawn to have a side business that involved using my right brain.
You could have predicted my destiny from my high school yearbook. I willed to the underclassmen, “The ability to mix boys and books and come out with a perfect recipe every time.” (I can’t believe I still remember that.)
Later as a wife and mom of four I wove creative activities throughout our lives. In addition to the typical tasks of motherhood, I also wrote lyrics to Bach’s Minuets to make it easier for my budding violinists to learn their pieces, wrote articles for education and consumer publications, and completed my Ph.D. at the University of Southern California with a new baby in the mix.
(Looks like I ended up mixing boys, books AND babies.) I couldn’t focus on just one interest, so I did whatever I loved.
My most important job has been as a parent of four children and now grandmother of three.
Here’s what Flora says about parenting.
Why is the most important job in the Universe left up to chance? No application, no screening, no manual, no interview. We show up at this job unprepared for what’s ahead, fumbling through with on-the-job training. Parenting is like taking a test based on watching other people take it, but never having actually studied the material yourself. And scariest of all, you may not find out how you scored until decades after the test.
From blog to book
When I retired from full-time teaching I had plans to travel and write my life story. About the time I was giving the book some thought I discovered blogging. I attended the first BlogWorld Conference, thanks to my friend Shirley who was a speaker.
When I returned home I was set on starting a blog. After all, I had plenty of experiences and stories to share. Besides, I couldn’t resist having my own platform from which I could pontificate, commiserate, and rant.
My first blog, ColorYourLifeHappy.com/blog evolved into my first self-help book, ColorYour Life Happy: Create the Success, Abundance, and Inner Joy You Deserve. I’ve published through traditional and indie publishing. Visit my author page at www.amazon.com/author/florabrown
My book, Color Your Life Happy: Create Your Unique Path and Create the Joy You Deserve, 2nd edition is my 11th book and promotes making choices that give you the life you want. Here’s what one review said about the book.
We have coached hundreds of individuals who were emotionally devastated living ‘life.’ They were far from being able to see or feel joy. Flora has put together a tremendous tool to help people experience the joy beyond the pain. Her passionate joy for life will spill over and touch many people in a profound way.
Richmond and Debbie Caldwell, speakers and authors of Changing Your Heart.
When friends and others began to ask for help in writing their books, the next phase of my life began. Learn about my move to publishing coach at ColorYourLifePublished.com
The philosophy I live by is “Nobody becomes somebody without the help of somebody else.”
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