THE AMBER WEITZER PODCAST SILHOUETTES OF SUCCESS | YVETTE LOPEZ |
EPISODE 42 | SHOW NOTES
FEATURED GUEST
Grab your notebooks, get ready to press the pause and slide back to rewind…our VIP Featured Guest will keep you on your toes! She has held several positions in international affairs; such as Director of International Projects at Daytona State College and Liaison Officer for the Department of Defense at United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). She was Advisor to the Government of the Dominican Republic for 10 years, she is a member of the Florida Bar and a Mediator certified by the Supreme Court of Florida. She has a significant educational background with certifications, so let’s bring her on to get this episode kicked off so she can fill us in!
CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS
Chance encounters…coincidence, I think not!
Destiny: Interesting to hear Yvette talk about how the others were trying to obtain the high paying or coveted interview/position but she was figuring out her own standard of success and realized that she could do different things with her law degree versus the traditional path. On her graduation day of law school she traveled on the same flight of the former President of the Dominican Republic, she was later offered a position to lead his Florida think tank, a sister organization to the one in Dominican Republic. Chance encounters…coincidence, I think not! He later reran for President…and won, so she was back in DR working with him on creating a pilot program for the community college. Wow! She talks about the successes, her pride and reflects back of tremendous accomplishments during this part of her Silhouette of Success journey. The working culture was unique and taught her how to grow by assimilating in some ways and building the relationships to build camaraderie for credibility.
Plan: Personal Strategic Planning has been a passion project over the last 15 years and she is in the beginning stages of incorporating, creating a website and gearing up to share all of her brilliance! She talks about sharing what she has learned and that growing up she didn’t have a mentor, so giving back is so important. Not only can you hear it in her voice but virtually feel her vibrations of selflessness in her storytelling. High Vibrations! Mapping out and creating a plan, life isn’t simple and most people live reactively…that’s not ideal. You either have a plan or plan to fail. She world to help young people with a plan. Schools don’t dive deep into this, lacking the resources. She is trying to create a platform to share what she has learned. Chart your goals and accomplishments for a life fulfilled.
Opportunity: As a daughter of hard working immigrate parents, growing up in the 80’s in public housing in Brooklyn, New York. Yvette talks about the rough times growing up in the midst of this environment with a vivid recollection of staring outside her window at night and looking at the moon all the while hearing gun shots, screams and loud arguments realizing that she didn’t want to live like this and others were staring at the moon in other circumstances. She realized that she wanted options and the power to choose. In addition, her family was about to reunite when her father passed suddenly…talk about motivation and white heat intense drive-don’t take time for granted, take advantage of every opportunity. This is what drives her in delivering and sharing personal strategic planning for as many as she can reach. Yvette says she opens up her workshops by reflecting on foundational moments with introductions and says, “now put your but into it”. There is your story and a but…go back and listen again to her explanation! Yvette talks about her standards of success in reflecting on her accomplishments and achievements from her past works and future. Her reasons for not in the front but to know that the people she helped have a better life and more opportunities available to them…remember the young girl starring at the moon?
She stays grounded and center with her faith, keeping her coherent in what she does and says by listening to Bishop TD Jakes and Pastor Stephen Furtick. The books Yvette is currently reading and shared in the Resource section below sound very deep, inspiration and intriguing. She talks about coming out of life changing, heart wrenching adversity then dealing with the emotions, resilience they found the ability to pivot…so deep.
INTENTIONAL INSPIRATION
“A mind stretched can never return to its original dimensions.” by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.. Travel, explore, challenge yourself, talk to people who don’t look like you, think like you.
RESOURCES
PERSONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING SUPPORT ON FACEBOOK
BISHOP TD JAKES OF THE POTTERS HOUSE
PASTOR STEPHEN FURTICK ELEVATION CHURCH
BOOKS
[…] a both beautiful and heart wrenching visual Yvette painted for us in her Episode 42, can you see the little Gile staring out her window at the moon…were you looking too? I know I […]