Author: Kkoaching Business And Leadership
As a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Teacher, Trainer and Speaker, I can offer you workshops, seminars, keynote speaking, and coaching, aiding your personal and professional growth through study and practical application of John’s proven leadership methods. Working together, I will move you and/or your team or organization in the desired direction to reach your goals.
I am originally from Puerto Rico. I attended and graduated from Mary Baldwin College in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Social Work and minor in Spanish. In 2015 I completed a Business Executive Power Program at MGE – Management Experts Inc. in Clearwater, Florida. At the same time, I also attended and completed the Leadership School at MGE. I am a Certified Medical and Community Interpreter. I am very delighted to be able to help the Hispanic community in my area with their needs. In 2016 I was part of the Leadership Team at the American Cancer Society, and in 2017 I volunteered in a dental clinic in Haiti. I have been in the dental field for over twenty years. Educating our patients is very important to me as well as training our team. I love educating myself about leadership. In 2016 and 2017, I was chosen as Miss Virginia Woman of Achievement.
Contact Me. I am looking forward to assisting you on your journey to becoming a successful leader.
Janitza Rivera
Start A Daily Practice Of Gratitude
I like to focus on the positive things that happen in my life and remind myself than even when life is challenging, good things are still around me. With a regular gratitude practice you may begin to notice how the challenges has helped you gain insight or grow as a person.
This is one of many things my mom taught me since very little, to always be thankful not matter the circumstances.
Is November first. I am not telling you that you should be thankful this month only, what I am saying is since November is a month we all consider to be a thankful month, may be this is the starting month for you. Once you start doing this I can assure you that your life will change.
Start your day with a grateful heart. First thing after you wake up acknowledge what you are grateful for. I do this in the shower and while I brush my teeth.
I attended to a great annual meeting few years ago that changed my life and I do let people know in writing how much they mean to me and if they changed my life in one way or another I let them know as well. I think you should try it. We should not wait till someone pass away to cry and tell others how much that person means or meant to you. DO IT TODAY!
How about donating money or clothes to a charity of your choice? I am not going to say much about this because it is something I do and I feel is between me and God but I do donate money and clothes. I also volunteer. It makes me feel so good. Sometimes I randomly pick people and surprise them with whatever I know they need. Sometimes I even do things to people and they do not even know it came from me. These are some ideas. Do whatever your heart tells you but know that you are always making a difference.
Post words, photos, objects of gratitude around your home. I keep a little jar. I love looking at the things I write from time to time.
I hope these ideas give you a starting point. I am for ever grateful of my precious daughter. Im grateful for her health, my health, our relationship and for this amazing journey that started three years ago. I can definitely go on and on for all the things I am grateful for but I will not do that now. May be next time. 😊
People ask me all the times, how can you always be laughing and stay happy? Well, one of many things I do is this, I Practice Gratitude. I also can let you know all the things I practice to live a happy and healthy life. I am not perfect and my life is not perfect but my attitude does make a difference in how I deal with challenges.
I hope you have a very happy November and I hope you get to start practicing Gratitude 💗. Please share. We are living pretty hard times and people need to know there is Hope.
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
God Bless,
Jani
The First Person You Must Lead Is You
This book is about leadership. I heard about the author Rebecca Halstead on an interview she was having at Steven Shallenberge’s podcast about leadership and she talked about her book and I seriously didn’t think it would be as good as it is.
You would think when you have a child, take classes and take care of everything else in life you don’t have time to be reading but the truth of the matter is that you have to make time. I love this book and I want to share few things about leadership.
You have one person to lead- that person is YOU.
If you want to change yourself, your family, your community and your work place you need to start drawing a mental circle. If you want change, you need to start inside your personal circle.
In other words the first person you should lead is you.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
I will never ask someone to do something I was not willing to do myself.
I had to talk the talk and walk the walk.
Leadership is your choice. Character is who you are when no one is watching.
Are leaders born or made? What do you think? Take some time to think about this. What skills and traits, values and behaviors make up your leadership chemistry?
You must identify your strengths and manage your weaknesses. This is the second time I see this. Remember that no one is ever too old or important to stop learning.
The day you stop learning is the day you stop leading, for that matter is the day you stop really living.
I hope this gives you a little synopsis about what the book is all about. I recommend you to read it. Once I’m done I will write more about leadership and why you are the first person you need to lead.
God bless,
Jani
Be Thankful
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
-Oprah Winfrey
Today I’m very thankful for this rainy day. A day that can give you clarity even when is blurry, a day that can give you hope even when you feel hopeless. The same way I show up for people, people show up for me. Today I’m thankful because through my daughter I see that little child in me.
Experiencing Mentorship as Leadership At Mary Baldwin University
October 27, 2020MBU students, masked and distanced, gathered in the Student Activities Center to watch live-streamed keynotes and participate in Q&A sessions.
The second annual Women’s Leadership Symposium on October 24 wove together meaningful speeches, practical advice, and participation from industry experts, workshop facilitators, and attendees both on campus and across the country.
Three keynote speakers gave insight into their unique perspectives on leadership and mentorship, telling stories from their careers and summarizing key take-aways for the audience to put into practice in their own lives.
A live Q&A followed each speaker so both in-person and virtual attendees could engage directly with the experts.
MBU students also had the opportunity to attend break-out sessions and workshops during the day where they gained tools to help them prepare for entering the job market after graduation.
“I knew that the different guests and speakers would offer priceless advice on how to expedite my confidence in being a strong, working woman.”
— Courtney Rosenstadt ’23
“I would say that my mother, Dr. [Carey] Usher, and other strong women in my life influenced me to participate in the symposium, because we as women should learn from each other.”
— Savanna Nobles ’22
Speaker Dara Beevas ’02 placed her remarks firmly in the context of 2020 and all its challenges, looking back to her time at Mary Baldwin and thinking about the questions, fears, and plans her college-aged self would have been experiencing.
Throughout her talk, she identified three ways of being in the world and working through challenges: survival mode, hustle mode, and, finally, purpose mode. The first two are important to acknowledge, she said, but unsustainable.
“We often move along doing the thing we’re supposed to do, instead of doing the thing that we are called to do,” Beevas said.
The third option, purpose mode, is the path to conscious and effective leadership — and also the source of productive mentorship. It opens people up to curiosity, growth, and stretching themselves toward new challenges.
“In purpose mode, you are centering the voice inside, who already knows where they should be in this moment, and they know why,” Beevas said.
“The world is starving for your leadership, your creativity, your ideas, and your willingness to have tough conversations.”
— Speaker Dara Beevas ’02, publisher and author
“It was really meaningful to me when speaker Dara Beevas asked us to ask ourselves ‘Where am I being called?’ It was something that I had to actually sit there and think about. I am so focused on getting my degree that I haven’t asked myself ‘Is this my calling? Do my personal values align with this career?’”
— Jasmine Matthews ’21
Dr. Leigh Frame ’06 was the second keynote speaker for the symposium on the theme of mentors and allies in healthcare. She gave advice on how to find an effective, knowledgeable, and available mentor in the healthcare world, and how they can help their mentees develop into healthcare leaders.
“Mentorship is many things including sharing knowledge,” Frame said, “and then inspiration — how you can inspire others to become a leader or change healthcare or get into the healthcare field initially.”
She identified different types of mentoring — coaching, guidance, and inspiration — and the strategic value they each bring, together with shadowing a healthcare professional to absorb what the career is like day to day.
Thinking about attendees who are interested in joining a healthcare profession, Frame gave tips on different introductory and entry roles that are available, and on staying persistent.
“The moral of the story is just keep trying,” she said. “Don’t be discouraged if your mentor doesn’t respond to you at first. Don’t be discouraged if being a hospice volunteer didn’t work out for you. Try something else.”
Watch Frame’s full presentation here.
“There are so many kinds of positions in healthcare that you have to find the one that’s right for you. And this is also true of your mentor, you have to find the right mentor or mentors for you.”
— Speaker Dr. Leigh Frame ’06, integrative medicine researcher and program director
“It really meant a lot to hear Dr. Frame speak about the many challenges and wins she has faced in her field, all while providing such impactful advice to those of us seeking healthcare-related careers.”
— Emily Carroll ’18, administrative assistant and graduate student at MBU’s Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences
MBU students had the opportunity to participate in sessions and conversations on career preparation, nontraditional mentorship, men as allies, networking for their first job, and salary negotiation; here facilitated by Nell Desmond, director of the Vantage Point, MBU’s office of personal and professional development.
“I am in a place where I would love to mentor anyone that would need to know all about my expertise in my field of dentistry. I have so much knowledge that I’m ready to pass on to anyone who would benefit from it. I want people to love what they do.”
— Janitza Rivera ’99, assistant office manager, Smiles for Life
I’m looking forward to next years women’s leadership Symposium.
God Bless
Jani
Success…
Here I list some of the things that helped me get better at what I do in life. I hope this help you get better if this is what you are looking for. I hope it inspires you if you are confused and do not know where to start or you can get a thing or two out of it because you are simply wanting to see about other ideas beside the ones you are trying. Enjoy!
- Become More Observant. Notice everything that surrounds you.
- Collect Ideas. Ideas and thoughts tend to evaporate from your mind too fast.
- Develop A Habit to Act.
- Read.
- Expand Your Comfort Zone.
- Set goals.
- Do more of what already works.
- Learn how to solve problems and handle them.
- Stay positive.
- Align yourself with people who are experienced, especially in the field you want to be in.
If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.
God bless
Janitza
Learning Patience
Today I had the pleasure to see this 80 years old gentleman for the second time at the office. Yes, the second time. Few weeks ago I saw him for the first time to go over few treatment options. He had few questions then and some things to think about and also some financing to figure out.
I would have to say that I fell in love with him. He is so polite, so cute, he comes in prepare to take notes, asks great questions and he makes sure he leaves with all of his questions answered. He also has a very cute accent. I love listening to him.
Now, we do schedule an hour appointment to go over treatment options with our patients but this man had me in the office for an hour and a half the first time. His appointment ran over my lunch but I didn’t care, I wanted to make sure he was well taken care of.
When he was scheduled for the second meeting I made sure we scheduled an hour just to be safe even though normally 30 minutes is long enough to meet for the second time. Most of the questions are pretty much answered already at the first meeting. I’m glad I was proactive.
This appointment took another almost hour and a half. Again it ran over my lunch time but it didn’t matter because I needed him to be clear of whats going on with his dental care. He would ask the same questions over and over again to make sure he got it. He would make sure he is following every recommendation we are recommending. He wanted to make sure he is able to afford all treatment recommended.
It was such an honor to be the one helping him. You know why? Because this person seating in my chair could’ve been my dad or my grandfather and I would’ve wanted them to be treated the same way. I would have wanted the person take the time to listen, be patient and not felt taken advantage of. This is why I had such a wonderful time talking to him and making sure he is fully aware of everything.
He is so funny, he will pause and tell me little jokes about whatever will come to mind but he would always remember to go back to where we left off.
This is the first 80 year old man I meet that takes no medications. He tell his doctor when he make a recommendation to tell him how to prevent medical problem so he doesn’t have to take medications and he just follows the directions.
He goes to the hospital parking lot and walks every day. Sometimes more than once. You have no idea how much I have learned from him. Just because we are the knowledgeable provider does not mean patients just learn from us. This is not one way street for me. I learn from our patients too and one thing this man had showed me is patience. Not everyone process information the same way and believe it or not that’s has been a struggle for me. My brain process things pretty quickly and not everyone is the same.
I do practice patience every day. To the point that I have a lot of feedback from family, friends and co-workers telling me how well I do with patience. Believe me I don’t have much, ask people who are very close to me but I do work on it every day. I’m very cautious about it. There are so many things I master that you would think I’m very natural about it and thats not the case. Experience and hard work has helped me.
I encourage you to work on your patience today. People need you to be patient especially the elderly. It is not fair to disregard people’s feelings just because they are slower than you or because you are too busy. We live in a very busy world. Learn how to respectfully dismiss them or always schedule for a second meeting.
Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
-Joyce Meyer
God bless,
Janitza
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