Today we’d like to introduce you to Mimi Rosado.
Mimi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m one of three women raised by a single mom in the ghettos of L.A. Although my mother found herself in a situation most couldn’t escape, she raised us to be independent, kind, authentic and most importantly, open to new ideas and challenges.
Learning has always been important to me and I learned early in life that my situation doesn’t define me so I was the first of my cousins to attend college, UC Santa Barbara, in hopes of becoming a child advocate lawyer. While at UCSB, I became pregnant with my daughter and my life course changed but it didn’t stop me.
In 1998, I moved to San Diego with no job, no place to live and my daughter in tow. Since then, I’ve changed careers too many times to count, had a son, been divorced, remarried, lost my husband to suicide, volunteered as a CASA, mentored high school juniors at Clairemont High School, and served on a non-profit foundation raising scholarships for at-risk teens.
I’m currently the Total Force Manager at Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific, managing a team of personnel experts. Although I absolutely love my job and feel valued, my true passion is helping others in their paths to greatness. I’ve been able to incorporate this into my work by supporting Wounded Warriors and underserved college students find meaningful work.
I also mentor young women at work as they progress through their careers and I enjoy it so much and have had so many help me in my journey, I’ve now launched a second career as a personal transformation coach. With Kawal Wellness, I support women looking to be their most powerful selves. This is my life passion and will be my life’s work.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has absolutely not been a smooth or straight road. When I was young, my mom worked three jobs just to feed us, We were poor. Not the “no McDonald’s tonight” poor either. The kind of poor where you think everyone has colorful money (remember food stamps in the little perforated booklet). I distinctly remember my mom saying she wasn’t hungry because we didn’t have enough to go around and sitting on the public bus with all our groceries, everyone staring at us. As a single mother, I remember doing the same, claiming to be on a diet so my kids didn’t know I was struggling financially. My mother’s strength gave me strength.
But I was raised to be resilient and fierce. As long as I had my ethics in place and stayed open to opportunities and challenges, I’d find a way out of any situation. I went through a divorce that destroyed me financially for a while, a boyfriend that left me with $26k in debt (he used my credit cards without my knowledge), and a second husband who committed suicide. But I’m not a victim. I refuse to be a victim.
And this is what I would tell other women starting their journey. You are not a victim. You are what you tell yourself you are. I tell myself I am a powerful women with amazing children who not only love but respect me, surrounded by a sisterhood that will stand by me, ready to battle anyone who dares to cross me (just as I would for them) and a life calling I am so passionate about, it doesn’t feel like work. THIS is what I tell myself and so it is.
Claim your life as your own, own your mistakes but don’t feel compelled to hide your strengths.
What should we know about Kawal Wellness? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m also the founder of Kawal Wellness. In early 2018, I found myself recovering from almost a year of medical issues, culminating in a hysterectomy and questioning how I spend my days. While at a spiritual retreat with my mother later that year, an honest conversation gave birth to Kawal Wellness. After a decade of mentoring professional women, working with foster children and high school ladies as a volunteer, and supporting Wounded Warriors transition into an honorable civilian life, it became clear that this was my life mission, to coach individuals through their transformation. I’ve started coaching clients, am organizing a one-day workshop in October and have begun modifying my home to hold group sessions. This is what I’ll be doing after I retire from my day job. I know this is what I’m meant to do because the universe had made it happen without much pushing from me. I put in the work in as I always do, but the speed of success has been a true blessing.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
Women have a particular intuition and tolerance for fluid situations that allow us to adapt and excel in careers with a lot of change. I feel that women have learned to sharpen their instincts for people, situations, and options so we’re particularly good at reading situations and making adjustments. Women I know do well in positions where relationships and collaboration are key tenets, such as managers, client representatives, and coaches. These also seem to be the careers I’ve done well with, the ones where I need to read a situation, let go of my own fear or ego and help teams move through a change.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kawalwellness.com
- Email: mimi@kawalwellness.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kawal_life/
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