COVER STORY

When you dive into the story and life of Ana Maria Sanin it takes you all the way back to Columbia where she was born and later to Kendall, Florida when she was only eight years old. Ana’s life story could easily have had a sad ending, early. She has lived a life riddled with hurdles and obstacles…

for the second annual Women With Vision Award

Nominations are OPEN!

Women With Vision dedicates its voice to professional women’s careers and businesses. We believe in a culture built on and about happy living. Creating a beautiful and well-rounded life is an important part of every professional woman’s life. We hope you enjoy this section of Lifestyle topics. 

Written by: Christine Beckwith

I sat outside a store on a Thursday waiting for a phone call triggered by an impromptu text from this Miami, FL marketing professional named Sanin. She texted to ask if she could pick my brain, saying she had recently returned from a church mission and was looking to get training in how to better grab the attention of realtors. I had agreed to squeeze her in on a packed day, between errands and coaching calls.

An hour later, I was amazed to reflect on an astounding conversation. This woman moved me. At the core of our conversation, her purpose rang through clearly—a passioned desire to change lives and pay forward education. She was clearly a person who is rich in character and a person on a mission.

This was Ana Maria Sanin circa 2016. She was speaking my language.

Jumping to current days, shortly after we announced opening 20/20 Vision for Success Coaching, Ana called and asked to hire me as her coach. Ana Maria believes in personal development, as do I and many others. She understands the necessity of growth and recognizes that reaching for unscaled limits is how we achieve all we desire to find.

When Ana started coaching, she completed the 24 core curriculum courses within the training center faster than any other member of our organization has done, before or since. Her appetite to learn is insatiable. She has the drive and the will to do and excel. Today Ana is one of the elite; a card-carrying 20/20 Vision Master. Having mastered the curriculum, she has achieved graduate-level status as a coaching student and has dived into the world of Marketing, Media, Image, Influence, and Prestige. She is a Master and a masterpiece.

Ana Maria possesses a rare combination, one that exemplifies the perfect professional who will strive and grow. Those traits include:

• A willingness to share vulnerably, even into the dark spots
• Showing up prepared to learn, to adapt, to willfully take what advice is given, to apply and then return and ask for the next step
• Being someone who is excited when she sees personal progress
• Waking every day with drive and follow-through
• Being willing to continue the journey; someone who is climbing, honest, imperfect, and real.

What sets Ana apart—as was evident even during that first phone call—is her ability to ask the right questions and to make great use of time. She excels in sharing precisely and is able both to explain her goals and to execute on the lesson learned in practical use with her work.

Growing into a Bold Confidence

When you dive into the story and life of Ana Maria Sanin it takes you all the way back to Columbia where she was born and later to Kendall, Florida when she was only eight years old. Ana’s life story could easily have had a sad ending, early. She has lived a life riddled with hurdles and obstacles. She has been subjected to and survived grievances both self-afflicted and put upon her. In some cases, she veered from a true path by her own decisions such as happened often during her years as a young teenage mom.

Her life for that decade was self-admittedly peppered with the kinds of horror stories we try to protect our children from. Ana found herself adrift on a dark river, far from the light within which she now lives. Her journey back was one of growth and self-correction, not always able to stay on the straight and narrow, yet inexorably pressing on.

I would say I am still working at it and through it. Becoming pregnant at a young age was my biggest challenge, other than dealing with myself. That was a hard time in my life. Raising up my children and myself at the same time was all-consuming. Overcoming that was difficult to climb from at such a young age. It is through knowing who I am and who I belong to that I gained enough confidence to be bold. Strength has come through my faith and a relationship with God that has never failed me, even when I have failed myself. It is my relationship with God that fills me with bold confidence. I know where I’m going and who’s leading me. If I take risks, even if they fail, I know my creator is in control. I surrender my life-end result to God.

Ana Maria is not ashamed of her life. Hers was a childhood peppered with insecurity that included a return to Cuba and separation from her parents. She knew a life devoid of protection and security until well into adulthood. Ana needs no prompting to tell you she found God and that He was her salvation.

I commend Ana for sharing her story with us. So many of us hide our truths and stories out of fear of judgment. It was not until recent years, when pushed by an editor, that I revealed my own dark spots in my life that are now public in my books.

Personal Growth is a Choice

To look at Ana Maria Sanin today one sees a confident, beautiful, well-established, and focused professional. She has matured into an incredible woman, wife, and mother. She is someone who our industry looks up to, and who is seen and recognized for her contributions. Ana dedicates her time to the church, to her business, her company with PRMG, to our company as a Women With Vision Director, and as an advocate of self-development.

Ana’s commitment to her personal self-investment is not minor. She sees it as the vehicle that allows her to continue traveling a path taking her far away from the shadows of a past life wrought with heartache and depletion of self-worth. She started in the mortgage business in 2016 as a Business Development Manager and Brand Ambassador. Along the way, Ana was not alone and credits several with helping hands, “I definitely have had several mentors starting with Jesus (God), Gerry my faith-based mentor, and my very good friend Kevin Jimeno. They have helped me cement my character in the life I now live. This is where I look in both a time of need and in sharing celebrations of milestones achieved.”

Ana Maria was chosen to be featured on the cover of our WWV magazine because she embodies branding and self-development and is an outstanding example of how 20/20 VSC students expand their mission and grow through their coaching experience.

According to Ana, she joined 20/20 VSC to “polish my skills as a businesswoman and to strengthen my own confidence within the work I was doing. I have found that mission and more. My Life goals are to be living in my calling and life’s purpose, to be in an environment that accepts me as is, and where I can give and share my God-given gifts. It is through this higher goal that all my earthly goals will come about.”

As I write this cover story, Ana Maria Sanin shares that she feels as if she is on top of the world. She is married to an Irish man who does not drink named Jamie Pallas. Her oldest son (21-year-old Nicholas) is a Marine. Her youngest (Bella, 15) loves to go on adventures. With her family, Ana loves to travel and serve the Lord. She is trusted with a national job that spans an entire organization with a brand that is known worldwide. That same organization has a women’s leadership division and has hired me repeatedly to motivate their women professionals.

Recently Ana launched her own podcast, Confident Closer. She manages a distinguished brand, the woman in the red dress. She won the 2019 Women With Vision award and we are confident she will be in the running for the 2020 WWV Award. The tagline for Ana’s life could be the same as the WWV’s: To Truly See, You Must First Have a Vision.

She is on a mission.

She is the mission. We all have a journey to trod, dark spots to struggle through, triumphs to celebrate, and stories to tell. Ana Maria’s story inspires everyone who reads it. She is a long way from where she started. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I have my money on her to go far.

My entire journey has taught me to be compassionate and step into someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. Today I have a new brand that fits who I am. It fits my story of courage and confidence. Today I launched My podcast channel. I’m positioning myself as a speaker through my story and the stories of other women like you and me.

Keep an eye on Ana and if you want to follow her, find her at any of these places:

Confident Closers Podcast onSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/69cOyHjwR57xHfqDtB3Rn4

On Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-confident-closers/id1512865181

FB Pages: https://www.facebook.com/BrandingInfluencer  and https://www.facebook.com/Confidentclosers/

Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/confidentclosers/

Linkedin Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anamariasanin/

Few will deny that this summer of 2020 heralds a time of change for all. Our familiar and traditional activities to celebrate the season, whether in small groups or large, are being scrutinized and modified. Let’s be sure to embrace the V-Factor as we make plans! Put Vitality front and center by making healthy choices, including movement, and encouraging motivation during the crisis! Incorporate these 20 tips to get sizzlin’ this summer.

1. Be firm with yourself around mindset. The body will achieve what the mind believes. We must be willing to push through. When it burns, it doesn’t mean you are weak. It means change is happening; good change.
2. Be proud of yourself and always be grateful for the ability to move, no matter what your current level of activity is. One can always increase activity, whether small or large steps; what’s important is to take the steps.
3. Strive to achieve the best version of you. Comparing yourself will hold you back. We are all not built like Kelly Ripa (or whoever you may want to look like). Comparing yourself is more likely to cause discouragement instead of motivation, so use that role model to visualize, not compare.
4. Remember why you started. Visualize yourself at your goal. Picture in your mind how it will feel when you reach your goals. Imagine how it will be better. Clearly see what reaching your goal will mean to you.
5. Make a commitment to yourself. Then make it real. Share that commitment with at least one other person. Hold yourself accountable to achieving your goal.
6. Share accountability. An accountability partner is someone who will encourage you and help you accomplish your goal and you provide the same for your partner in return.
7. Have a plan of action. Write down the most important actions you want to accomplish. List changes you want to make. List obstacles that you’ll face. Get that plan into a journal and keep it updated as a journey journal.
8. Make a realistic and attainable goal. Take achieving that goal one step at a time. Add more steps and goals as you achieve those already on the list. Avoid overwhelm. This is a lifestyle choice, it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon across the summer and into the next season as you choose.
9. Take several movement breaks throughout the day. Ten minutes at a time, if those are the longest blocks of time you can fit into your day. Block the time on your calendar or grab an app that will notify you when it’s time to move! Walk around, lift weights, do jumping jacks… just move.
10. Make the most of summer weather to get outdoors and get your daily dose of Vitamin D. Walk, bicycle, garden, or do your favorite activity. Studies show that sun exposure between 8 am and noon is associated with higher fat burning, if that’s one of your goals.
11. Keep a food journal. Often during the summer, we eat more than we think, and even more often, we choose foods that are out of our usual habit.
12. Take advantage of the fresh produce in season to eat real foods. Local farmer’s markets are fun to visit and a great way to add healthy nutrients to your menu choices.
13. Eat small meals throughout the day. Graze every 3-4 hours. This boots metabolism and stabilizes blood sugars which balance hormones.
14. Our bodies need carbs, protein, and fats. The restriction of one food group is not ideal.
15. Drink more water and less soda and other sugary and artificially flavored drinks.
16. Pack snacks in your purse. You are going to be out and more active. Your sugars will drop with activity. Having a healthier choice than a candy bar to sate hunger is good planning. Aim for three grams of protein and fiber in your snacks.
17. Follow the 80/20 rule when choosing what to eat. 80% of the time, aim for consuming real foods. The other 20%, allow yourself foods you love that may not be as healthy. Remember though, eating should be a pleasurable experience, not a mathematical equation.
18. Read the ingredients list! Processed foods are an unavoidable part of our diets and it is up to us to choose wisely to enhance our unique health needs.
19. Consider the extended daylight of summer. It’s easy to put off eating until the sun goes down. Take care to allow your body to digest your food before laying down for the night.
20. Make a DID IT! List. When you hit your water goal for the day, your movement goal for the day, no matter how small, if you took a step towards your goal jot it down. Give yourself credit and encouragement along the way and when you reach certain goals, reward yourself.

Vonk Digital

Vonk Digital, an industry leader in website and marketing tools for mortgage originators across America, is a proud sponsor and hosting partner of Women With Vision Magazine.

To learn how Vonk Digital can help you leverage the “New Way” to build your brand, authority & credibility with our website platform and tools visit us at www.vonkdigital.com

20/20 Vision For Success Coaching

The words 20/20 Vision for Success are not in the name of this company by accident. Coaching is about building a foundation for results and knowing how to step into action based on that foundation. Turning vision into reality requires trust that the bedrock beneath the vision is sound. Coaching with 20/20 Vision begins by building and strengthening your foundation and ensures that, as coaching progresses, you and the 20/20 team behind you remain focused on the vision for success.

Spotlight on Events: An Evolving Situation

As of this publication, our Fall event, Media Masters Workshop, will be held in Tampa, Florida. What has changed is the date. Based on Covid 19 updates and an informal survey of likely attendees, we have moved the event to November. The exact date will be chosen during the first week in July, so check out the social media postings from 20/20 Vision for Success Coaching on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest information. And keep an eye out for our emails since we will be notifying those who have expressed an interest via email as well.

Both the Vision Summit and the Paris trip are scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.

Recommended Reading

Words are powerful change agents that help us transcend to a place where learning and dreaming can occur. Today we spotlight three books in which Christine Beckwith takes her readers on a journey to a better life using her own life and business lessons.

In Wise Eyes: See Your Way to Success, Beckwith tells her life story in a style that is real and raw, but brutally honest. Wise Eyes is a handbook for professionals wanting to walk a direct path to incredible success.

Clear Boundaries: Every Business Woman’s Essential Safety Guide was born out of the shared experiences of Beckwith and co-author Jessica Peterson. Both are women professionals who have for many years traveled across the country for business. Sadly both have firsthand knowledge of how dangerous it can be for a woman. In this book, the authors draw from their own experiences and call upon experts to present real, actionable, and practical advice to prepare anyone to avoid and survive what could be a dangerous scenario.

Breaking the Cycle is filled with engaging stories wrapped around a theme of power words. Hope. Resilience. Idealism. Strategy. Focus. Drive. Humble. Loyal. Grateful. Dichotomy. Brazen. Persistence. Again written with a co-author, Dr. Wendy L. Wright, this book features insights from life’s tragedies and triumphs and is an invaluable treasure trove of practical, hands-on advice. Jam-packed with easy-to-implement suggestions, you’ll read sage advice from two women whose diverse career paths literally write the book on how to create your version of success!