Michele Greene
I’ve spent the last 40 years working across multiple industries, but creativity has always been the constant thread. For over 25 years, I’ve worked in the creative space—from weddings to interior design—and in the past two years, I’ve expanded into the digital world.
Right now, my primary focus is Palm Beach Proper Publishing, my publishing company. Writing has been with me since the beginning—I started in high school running the newspaper and yearbook, and from there it never left. No matter where I worked, I was always the one put in charge of marketing and storytelling.
I published my first novel, A Dream Takes Flight, last year and received the Literary Titan Award. Since then, I’ve been building out multiple storylines, characters, and universes designed to expand beyond books into YouTube, children’s stories, and ultimately film. I’ve already had early interest from Netflix on one of my concepts, which confirmed I’m moving in the right direction.
Alongside publishing, I created Creative Masters, where I design original art for everyday products—especially totes—blending philosophy, storytelling, and visual expression. For me, creation isn’t limited by format. It can be a home, a product, a story, or an entire world.
I don’t confine myself to one genre, but my work leans heavily into fiction and imaginative storytelling. My children’s books are currently in development, and I’m introducing my characters through short-form content, storytelling, and visual media.
Writing is where everything connects. When I’m deep in it, it feels less like I’m creating and more like I’m accessing something that already exists.
If someone asked who I am and what I do, the answer is simple:
I’m an author—and I build worlds.
• Certification in Myers-Briggs at NOVA University
• Master Class with Burt Reynolds at the Burt Reynolds Theater in Jupiter
• Florida
• Self-study in Carl Jung Myers-Briggs personality analysis
• Self-study in astrology
• Self-study in AI courses including 11 Labs and HeyGen
• Gold Coast School of Real Estate
• Literary Titan Award for novel A Dream Takes Flight
• Romance Writers Association
• Supporting Palette Coffee's nonprofit for sex-trafficked women
• Supporting organization for sex-trafficked children
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my parents and my two boys.
My parents taught me so much about life and business from a very young age. They always included me in their entrepreneurial businesses—real estate and mobile auto repair. I was taught taxes and business operations early on, and that naturally grew into sales with my mom and networking by the age of 18.
My father always took time with me to show me how mechanics worked, and that’s where I learned one of the most important lessons I carry with me: never force anything. If something is made to do a specific function, you don’t have to force it—you just grease it.
Although that sounds simple and specific to mechanics, it applies to everything. If it doesn’t glide, don’t force it—it wasn’t meant to be. That has become my motto when working with people, ideas, and books. Flow is my optimal state of being.
My two boys inspire and drive my ambition. Not only are they successful in their own right, but they include me in their daily lives and experiences, which I find both motivating and grounding. It keeps me on my path and pushes me toward greater success so I can support them and their individual endeavors.
They are my great loves and my reason to move forward every day. They drive me to complete my goals and turn my ideas into something real.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I’ve ever lived by is simple: don’t force it.
If something is right, it works. It moves, it opens, it connects. When you have to push too hard, convince too much, or keep trying to make something fit—it’s usually not aligned.
That doesn’t mean you don’t work hard. It means you learn the difference between effort and force. Effort builds. Force breaks.
I’ve found that when I trust my instincts and move with what flows, things come together faster and better than anything I could have forced into place.
The other part of that is not waiting for permission. No one hands you the moment—you step into it. The sooner you realize that, the faster everything starts to move.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don’t wait until you feel ready—you won’t. Just start.
Learn how things actually work, not just how they look online. Understand money, understand operations, understand people. That’s what gives you real leverage.
Also, don’t force yourself into spaces or roles that don’t feel right just because you think you “should.” If it doesn’t fit, it won’t last. Pay attention to what flows for you—that’s usually where you’re strongest.
And most importantly, don’t underestimate yourself. You don’t need permission, and you don’t need to have it all figured out. You figure it out by doing.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is noise—everyone is creating, everyone is posting, and most of it is surface-level. It’s easy to get lost in it or feel like you have to follow it.
The opportunity is doing the opposite.
There’s a huge opening right now for people who actually create something real—real stories, real products, real ideas—with substance behind it. Especially with how fast digital platforms are evolving, you can build and distribute faster than ever before.
The people who understand both creativity and how business actually works are the ones who will stand out. That combination is rare—and right now, it’s extremely valuable.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Flow, integrity, and truth are at the core of everything I do.
I don’t believe in forcing outcomes—if something is aligned, it works. That applies to my work, my relationships, and the ideas I choose to bring to life. I value being able to recognize that and trust it, rather than pushing something that isn’t meant to be.
Integrity matters to me in a very real way. I do what I say I’m going to do, and I build things that actually have substance behind them. I don’t chase trends or create just to keep up—I create with purpose.
I also value independence. I’ve always trusted my instincts and my ability to figure things out, and that has guided me more than anything external ever could.
And above everything, I value connection—especially with my family. My work means nothing if it doesn’t support the life I’m building with the people I love. That’s what keeps everything in perspective and gives what I do real meaning.
