Name: Michael Higgins
Age: 56
Title: Managing Principal, Higgins Architects
Married/Single: Married for over 31 years
Kids: Tyler Sean, a Cinematographer in Hollywood and Katie Colleen on the University of Houston Swim Team -Butterfly/Free Style.
City you live in: Phoenix, Arizona in the Arcadia neighborhood.
A typical day in my life includes…
a morning workout or road bike ride. A long day in the office doing what I love – creating beautiful timeless homes in various styles that reflect our diverse clientele. Lunch out with friends and associates, making dinner with my family and a Diamondbacks baseball game in the evening.
I was born…
in Kansas City, Missouri. Moved to Tempe in 1968 and grew up on the ASU campus hustling pool in the Student Memorial Union.
My favorite thing about Arizona…
the diversity of landscape and people. A desert at times so forbidding and yet so beautiful.
I’m listening to…
mostly Country music and vintage rock and roll.
My family…is tight and means everything to me. I come from a long line of teachers. My father taught education courses at ASU and my brother is the Dean at Brophy Prep High School.
One thing I cannot live without…
water! Hey, it’s a desert here and we can’t exist without a great cup of H2O. Seriously, I love anything with wheels.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
a professional baseball player or a motorcycle racer. Those dreams faded in college and I focused on my passion for building and design. I love designing homes for people who genuinely put their hearts into the homes.
I’m inspired by…
people who like to make things. Most of my friends are artist and builders. People who leave behind a footprint that says something about them and their values.
The one person who motivates me is…
my wife Tina. She makes me want to be a better man every day. Behind every good man is a great woman and she is a great person.
If I could change anything in the world, it would be…
intolerance. “Why can’t we all just get along?”
The perfect day would be…
the next day. Isn’t that what we all want? One more day to pursue our dreams, tell the people nearest to us we love them and keep on living the dream?
My first job was…
Taco Bell on Apache Boulevard in Tempe. I made enough to purchase my first love, a 1967 Mercury Cougar. A $900 car I put a $2,000 paint job on.
My favorite escape…
riding dirt bikes. The intense focus makes me forget about anything else going on in my life. We love the sand dunes in Yuma. I call it my private roller coaster. A real adrenaline rush!
My life…
is a blessing and is unfolding exactly as I had always dreamed.
I’m currently working on…
an awesome home in Sedona, AZ. The site is directly north of Cathedral Rock with unobstructed views. It will be a real stunner but honestly my best home is always my next home.
Always…
give 110% in whatever you do.
Never…
give up. It is the Higgins family motto.
Favorite Quote…
“We make a living out of what we get, but we make a life out of what we give.” – Winston Churchill.
Biggest Dream…
getting my pilots license. I have spent a lifetime looking down on the house plans we design and I would love to be able to fly my own plane someday.
My Pet Peeve(s)…
negative people.
