Public speaking
Great Leaders Don’t Just Build Businesses—They Build Leaders When I first became a CEO, I thought leadership meant having all the answers. After all, wasn’t that what leaders were supposed to do, solve problems, make decisions, and steer the ship? But everything changed when I stopped trying to be the one with every solution… and […]
Public speaking
It’s Never About the Marshmallow The other day, I came across an old photo from my orphanage in Mexico. My sister Maria, the kids, and I were gathered around a bonfire, laughing and sharing marshmallows. A simple, joyful moment. That memory reminded me of the famous Marshmallow Experiment at Stanford. Children were offered one marshmallow […]
Public speaking
Listening Isn’t Soft Leadership—It’s Strong Leadership The other day, I was sitting with my little nephew. What started as a simple moment turned into a surprisingly deep conversation. He shared how heavy life feels for him right now. And in that moment, I didn’t try to fix it. I didn’t rush to give advice. I […]
Public speaking
After 11 years of speaking, from corporate boardrooms to middle school gymnasiums, I’ve learned that every audience is different. Every stage feels unique. But one truth never changes: The way you deliver your message matters just as much as the message itself. The Salsa Story That Stuck I remember speaking to a group of middle […]
Public speaking
Yesterday my to‑do list looked like the L.A. freeway at rush hour—deadlines merging into calls, merging into slide decks. That familiar weight of too much started to press on my shoulders. Then my husband, Owen, walked over and placed the tiniest blooms from our garden in my hand. They weren’t big. They weren’t flashy. But […]
Public speaking
Embracing Adversity & Owning Your Superpower Most people don’t know this about me, but the truth is—I’m an introvert. After I delivered back‑to‑back talks at the WFF Women’s Leadership Conference in Dallas and signed books with two amazing groups of leaders who keep our food‑chain humming. If you’ve ever felt stage‑fright, networking nausea, or social‑media […]
Public speaking
Most people wait for resilience to crash through the window like a superhero. I did too—until life tested me: growing up in a Mexican orphanage with twelve siblings, sleeping in hallway corners while launching a salsa company on $800, and scrapping for grocery‑store shelf space until we sold with Garden Fresh to Campbell’s for $231 million. […]
Public speaking
We don’t become who we are in the easy moments. We become who we are in the fire—when life tests us, stretches us, and dares us to rise. I was born in an orphanage in Mexico. Later, I found myself homeless in the U.S., with no food and nowhere to sleep. It was during those […]
Public speaking
Do you ever have days where you don’t feel “enough”? Maybe it’s the way our culture is built, but this idea that if we are not perfect, productive, and ready to perform our best at the drop of a hat can quickly spiral into a harmful cycle of negative self talk, where persistent self criticism […]
Public speaking
“You are the sum of the people you spend the most amount of time with.” I forget where exactly I first heard this old adage, but the truth it communicates is a timeless one — the people you bring into your inner circle, for better or for worse, are reflections of yourself and your values. […]
Public speaking
It’s human nature to get stuck on a problem that we just can’t stop thinking about, getting bogged down by how bad, terrible, and seemingly important the problem seems. It doesn’t even have to be a big problem that ruins your whole week — small issues that pop up are far more common, and unfortunately, […]
Public speaking
I’ve learned quite a bit about myself since committing to weekly blogs, and one of the most interesting bits I’ve discovered is that writing itself is less a showcasing of ability, but more-so the result of staying consistent. I’m only human, and some weeks I’m writing down to the wire; however, I’ve noticed that my […]
