We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mikkita Moore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mikkita, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Mikkita why do you do what you do with “this tour”??? Well first let me say “this tour” was NOT my idea… All I wanted to do in 2016 was promote my “lil” book…. At the very FIRST, at this time we were calling it a “book tour” event, I realized that the things that I had GONE through was the same things people sitting in that room was GOING through, they weren’t really sure how they were going to GET through it….

After that event God and I had a serious conversation…. I asked God why he would sit me in a room full of people that probably couldn’t understand why I still had my joy…. Not even realizing I was STILL BROKEN….. God LAUGHED at me and said okay so since you real special and don’t get it…. Let me break it down for you…. You sat in a room full of people that NEEDED to hear your go through so that they can have just a little more FAITH that they can GET through!!! I sat you in that room so you too can know that your Brokenness is about to be your Breakthrough!!!!!!!! God then said with testimony others will be saved….. Others will know there is a way to make it out of the darkness…. In 2017… It was no longer “my book tour”…. It was then an ASSIGNMENT…. Matthew 22:14 says, “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”…. I was chosen to go through all of the hurt, the pain, the loneliness, pregnant at 13, mother at 14, mother of 2 by the age of 16… Suicidal attempt… Drinking and smoking just to forget who I was…. Now who in the world would choose me after all that I have done???

The Art of Transparency Tour was birthed to REBIRTH the tired, the lonely, the hurt, the mislead, the broken… It’s not about a book…. It’s about PURPOSE!!!!!!!!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Mikkita L Moore, an author, Realtor, international motivational speaker and mother of five, starting at the tender age of 14 from the South Side of Chicago. Mikkita is the Founder and CEO of The Art of Transparency, NFP an organization with a vision and mission to “Heal ONE Person, One City, ONE State, ONE Nation at a time. We provide the pivotal tools resources and fundamental needs necessary to create lasting impact for those affected by various traumas.”. The CEO of Invisible Daughter, LLC a publishing and Writing Coach Company. Although passionate about teaching others about her journey which includes forgiving a father that wasn’t, in her opinion, able to be the model man she had desperately needed as a young girl growing into womanhood, she continued to struggle with her inner feelings. Being able to convey these imbedded emotions is also comforting for her. Learning the Art of Transparency is equivalent to facing and being fully aware of who she is, her ability to candidly speak from the heart about real life issues and how to conquer life’s trials is one of my greatest gifts.

Speaking to participants is a time for meaningful engagement. Time used to encourage, lead and offer real life situations and results to enable listeners to truly understand and connect with her, not only as the speaker but to have empathy for the topic. One of the results that Mikkita obtains when speaking to audiences is her dynamic ability to ignite an awakening within those who hear her story. It allows them to realize and understand their issue more clearly, that she has been through similar situations and how they, too, can overcome the feelings and possible stagnations from its impact. These processes are all facilitated with audience in mind.

How beneficial it is to have the skill to ignite the path of change. Mikkita’s niche is engaging her audience with realistic topics that help identify the issues and the willingness to work towards resolutions. Her first two books, The Letter From, the Invisible Daughter as well as The Cause and Effect of The Invisible Daughter, talks about, among other topics, parenting a child that’s different from the rest and her doubts of being a good mother. As she speaks candidly about her thoughts of suicide and being in unsafe relationships that included domestic violence; emotional, mental and physical, she creates and implements strategies to be used in the moment to begin healing processes for others. Most gatherings include hands-on activities. There’s only room for results; a growth mindset. Mikkita continues to receive multiple invites to speak due this direct approach which call for peace and progress in the lives of others.

During the pandemic of 2020, Mikkita was blessed to birth another seven books through collaborations with other Authors, giving her a total of nine published books. As of December 2022 she has published, collaborated, been apart of 14 published projects. In the words of Mikkita about what inspired her to write her books… With all of my books I wanted to reach my audience on a level that’s different from the rest. I needed to reach an audience that hasn’t heard about the Black girl from the south side of Chicago that wasn’t poor and not knowing where her next meal would come from. The girl that her mother wasn’t a drug addict, father wasn’t a drug pusher. I was tired of the stereo types that I had to be from this type of family or that kind of family because I had my first child at the age of 14 years old. My all-time favorite was the one that says teenage moms can’t raise their children effectively or the one that says teenage moms are all high school dropouts. Neither of which proves true for me.

My books are not about the average poor Black girl living in poverty. My book is about my life, from a perspective of a teenage mom that didn’t struggle, that didn’t drop out of high school but in fact graduated high school a year ahead of time with honors. This book is my life from a perspective that thought about suicide, went through domestic violence, emotionally mentally and physically. This book talks from a perspective of not feeling the love of my father searching for that type of love from boys/men that either couldn’t give it or just didn’t know how to give love.

My books talk about parenting a child that’s different from the rest of her five children. Wondering where I went wrong as a parent, or as a real mother. I talk about being fatherless and how that affects my relationships with men. In my books I talk about how my struggle with alcohol was the only way I could cope with the depression and anger that was built from all the “life issues” that I didn’t know how to let go of. My books come from real life situations that happens in our community far too often and overlooked because it’s not society’s “norm”.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that everybody is not out to abandon me. There are some people that genuinely want to help me and believe in the mission of The Art of Transparency. I remember having a team that could not see the mission but wanted to simply be on a platform to gain access to build their own. There have been times that people wanted to help, and I would give them the side eye or push them away, not knowing if they were there to actually help or just steal the idea and run with it.

However, after to taking a look at myself and all that I had gone through over the last couple years, I had to realize that not everybody is the same. God truly has people to enter into my life to be of help, resources and sometimes even a shoulder for me to lean on when I need it.

I can honestly say that I now have a team that is not only there to make sure that the tour runs smoothly but they also make sure that their Founder… ME, is not running on fumes and stress. They see the bigger picture and what AOT actually stands for, they want to help build the solid foundation that it takes for us to go further.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

My advice for anybody managing a team is to be sure that you are in constant communication with your team. Hear them out, listen to them in order to learn what they may be going through and what their needs may be. You never know what struggles they may be having. We have learned through the pandemic, that when people are struggling in their personal lives their work ethic also suffers.

Be sure that you are showing them appreciation for all that they do by telling them as well as giving them public pats on the back. Know that in an industry of Speaking and different motivational platforms, they are a part of your team because they want to be not because they have to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artoftransparency.org
• Instagram: artoftransparency
• Facebook: The Art of Transparency, NFP
• Youtube: The Art of Transparency