Walking with Giants & the BEHEMOTH Men...

The gifts in our lives that are not always physical...

Sometimes along the way in our life, if we are truly lucky & blessed we can meet & build a relationship with a person from the opposite gender that can impact your life forever. I have had a journey of these incredible men that have helped transform me & my mind in ways that I didn't know were possible at that time. They helped me open doors of possibilities & actions that were successful proof of their advice & support. I want to share those stories because being in line with our season of giving & receiving maybe we can really "see" that a gift doesn't have to always be physical.

Years ago I was mentoring a man that worked in retail selling you a membership to his company, I was able to meet & build a relationship with his boss at the time who became one of the most impactful & constant business relationships that have empowered me profoundly. Thomas Manning, Sam's Club, is one of the highest integrity & ethical business people I have ever met. As we got to know each other back in 2009 he helped me see & learn the immense value I had to share as a Latina owned small business owner. At that time I facilitated an introduction to the new regional Walmart leadership & Sam's Club teams, he recommended I have the meeting at my location. It was a historical moment for all of us as this had never been done before, by someone externally that was a small business owner, I almost didn't fit in the room ;). My staff at the time & Put Illinois to Work (grant free employees) team also experienced game changing access to business leaders that they never thought they would ever meet. Who would've thought that this was a possibility that would change me & my business forever. A gem to any company, a gem in my life (priceless) & may others also work with their hearts as well as their minds, like he did. Reggie Reese, Ross, another inspirational leader that poured into me but also nudging me forward to share & mentor others that could learn from me. A giant with a gentle heart, but a warrior's soul for a better business world.

Mike Duke, Former Global CEO to Walmart, became the voice that I would forever hear in mind. Having been introduced to him the first time as CEO, I thought "Great I am one too, but I need to let him know about his great people". As we spoke at the event, I told him my thoughts "CEO to CEO" & I figured he probably didn't know this information because his company was so big. His precious response was "You know you & I have the same issues & challenges, the only difference is we have more zeros behind us". I hadn't noticed the line behind us & that he was the Global CEO. As he went up to the stage to keynote, he spoke about our conversation & that is when I learned a small business owner like myself could impact one of the most powerful men in the world. Every chance I get, every stage I am on I mention this because others should know how critical our words & impact can be, & how we can collaborate with Corporations for great stories & future businesses to empower others. You never hear these great conversations, the impact & results.

I was blessed with two Corporate mentors that helped me understand a Corporation, their purpose, & value of working with communities & nonprofits. Mark Espinoza, Walmart & Roger Guzman TJX, to be able to learn from them, attend & be a part of conferences or meetings that had learning value beyond the norm were game changing for me in my career. I was also able to enroll because of them into America's Leaders of Change, by National Urban Fellows, sponsored by Walmart, that was my new educational source on learning about working with nonprofits, government & economic impact. I felt like it was a new vitamin to my mind, that I felt flowing through my blood as I was growing my businesses & my network of relationships. From a past President of a country, Senators, Congressmen & women, other government leaders & with nonprofit community economic & workforce development being a critical must in my actions & communication. Roger, who has been there while I lost the most precious female role model in my life, my mom this year, & helping me navigate a loss that is irreplaceable, hmm a non business discussion that I will forever cherish, was profound.

My other incredible mentor Abe Thompson, serial entrepreneur, who mentors Oprah & producer Mark Burnett, wow the difference he poured into me & even today is moving faster in my new business roles. Abe who has co-founded the most incredible businesses in media & Advisory Boards for the largest media companies in the world, took time to help me see through pain & suffering when it showed up. He put the spot light of faith & God on me, of the miracle I am in this world & why me. He recently had me speak to his entrepreneur class at Kennedy King, part of City Colleges, in exchange for a Zoom keynote for my IC Genius retreat. My clients that heard his words were beyond moved, some to tears, & in return when I spoke to his students they moved my soul. Knowing that my straight talk about the great & the bad of ups & downs, challenges & traumas, one could reinvent & pivot but better. Their eagerness & appreciation is so appreciated & humbling.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Mayor that I wish most people could see & meet the way I have. Because of his efforts as Mayor Elect he brought into Chicago Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, a small business program that was like a mini MBA for entrepreneurs. Growing up I never had the luxury of going to college but because of this program I was able to apply, was accepted into the first cohort & I would enter my first experience going to college. I attended Harold Washington, a City College where we were being taught. Not only did I finally have another education besides the school of hard knocks, I was chosen to be in the original commercials & sent to the White House to speak about my experience, I even brought my first business plan, which I had bound & I made a copy of to leave there as a proud graduate of the GS 10K program. He supported & hosted some of my meetings from the group I created after graduation. My biggest fear after class: what happens after we end our cohort interactions? He saw the value in what I had created & how I wanted us to have the continued access, who does that? He stopped in each time to meet everyone, hear from them, appreciate them & invite us back. A Mayor that makes me proud that as an adult I was given access & opportunities.

My Executive Coach, one of my business partners-Ed Bohlke, Deserve Level Executive Coaching. I have met many people who coach & have courses but this one was the game changer, the catalyst & as I jokingly say "I need that Koolaide". He helped me "rewire" my unconscious bias & clear things out of the way, whether taught or created they needed to go. My experiences since working with him have been the reason I could come back from a trauma, successes & losses & jump in the game into deeper waters & soar to unexpected heights. I learned that I don't know everything, I can't do it alone, don't want to, & especially that I could create the life I proudly deserve. If people were so lucky to see & learn what I have they would jump in as well & stop looking for "reasons" that they create to doubt what something is or could be. It gave me the new & super improved "Letty". It's the precious Tiffany diamond inside of me coming out.

Now to home, my best friend & boyfriend, Steve Shabat. The man that has helped me navigate through so many waters, so many mountains that have had peaks & valleys. He has seen me soar, land, relaunch, fly, & helped me fuel my engine to make sure I am soaring again. Accepting me as I am, but reminding me who I am, & how far I have come, as well as how proud he is & has been of me. No life is perfect, & neither are we, but with respect & love anything can be accomplished. Having been a shareholder of a midsize company, managed over 150 people successfully, & driven to respect everyone from all levels has been another incredible experience for me to learn from & observe. Another asset inside of a business & the home, because so many of us forget that component & preciousness at home.

My proudest success in life & experience, my incredible son, Antonio Rey, proud Veteran, leader, college student, & husband to Jessica. He has taught me the most, accepted me the most, forgiven me repeatedly, as well as advised me the most. There's no manual to being a mom, & a single one at times. What I learned over the years is that what you pour in with love can truly come out successfully in their future. Being an alpha, a debater growing up, joining the Air Force, becoming a Veteran, learning about being an entrepreneur & successfully helping other Veterans to also have a better life has been the best of my lessons. Learning & seeing the world of those that protect our country, sacrifice so much & their families & in return are at times too proud to also ask for us to step in as well. I thank those Heros for all of their commitment & service every single moment I can & let them know how much I appreciate them. So learning to be overall the best mom & business woman I could be that he would be proud of was my nonnegotiable goal.

Then there was the man that gave me my life, my Dad, Jose Manuel Velez, born in Puerto Rico having studied up to 6th grade. My Dad taught me about family & working, being a provider & being proud no matter what, but especially about loving God & being proud. As a Latina woman being raised by a proud Latino "Chief of the Tribe" father was an incredible experience. My goal was to make him proud, as the baby of the family, who at that time before his passing had not gone to college but had successfully navigated being a mom, provider, retail business woman, then an entrepreneur, a committed family member & role model. I learned about being proud of our heritage, being in the Puerto Rican parades, visiting our island, having family get together's, enjoying our food & playing dominoes competitively.

He helped me see the beauty & pride that I brought to him & the family by believing & creating whatever successes I had & shared with others. I thank him for pushing me & supporting me no matter what.

SO in conclusion to my story, I want to say "THANK YOU" to the men that stepped in to believe in me, share their experiences & knowledge with me, who advised me to move & step forward proudly, but most especially to the many times I heard them say "You did this, you created this, you deserve this". May all the men out there realize how much they can mean in someone's life, that their words can be a catalyst in someone's world & future legacy, that because they cared more than the norm they meant the world to someone's world, that their actions & words will live on in many stories that will be shared for years. May you all have prosperous lives of faith, peace, financial successes, & community impact that will be proof of the differences you have proudly made.