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What’s your backstory?
I was born and raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela. I’m an only child but a member of a huge family. My father has always been a business owner and my mom was a lawyer who quit practicing her career in order to help my dad build their main business. As a kid, I used to dream about becoming an engineer, and several years later, I graduated from college in one of the toughest engineering fields, “Electronics Engineering with a Major in Automation and Process Control.” I used to work in the Oil and Gas field, and my job was very important to me even though I didn’t have time to take care of myself and felt burned out most of the time. However, quitting or doing something else never crossed my mind.
It wasn’t until I moved to the US when my passion for fitness also became my calling. Helping others has always been very fulfilling but I took it to a whole new level about five years ago when I realized that I could truly make a difference in people’s lives. That’s how everything started, that’s how Pao’s Fit World started.
Can you tell me the story of your prior successes, challenges, and major responsibilities?
Once upon a time… just kidding… My major challenge to date was leaving my home country and coming to the US. It was something that I had never experienced before, I mean living in a different country, so leaving my family and friends to start a new life was definitely the most significant challenge I’ve ever faced to date.
However, that challenge brought me to where I am now… A woman, an entrepreneur, a fitness and nutrition coach who is in love with her job and her business. A woman who has succeeded in her idea of bringing the healthy lifestyle to thousands of other women around the world. A woman who loves helping and mentoring others to shift their mindset to work on what actually holds them back to reach their fitness goals.
Being the owner and CEO of Pao’s Fit World, Inc. has brought me so much joy, but that hasn’t come without sacrifices, long nights, and tough moments. As an entrepreneur you have to embrace the struggle, focus on the positive and begin each day with definitive purpose. Personal growth lies beyond our comfort zone, so it’s imperative to think outside of the box to reach the results we want. But most importantly, we should stay humble, and hustle hard.
Can you tell me about a time when you almost gave up, how you felt about that, and what you did instead of giving up?
When I arrived in the US, all I wanted was to get back to my “normal life” or to whatever I considered to be my “normal life” at that time. I desperately tried to find a job in the Oil and Gas industry again, but it never worked. I was overqualified, underqualified, or an immigrant who “needed more experience in this country,” even though I was very good at my job. I tried and tried and eventually I just wanted to give up. I was very frustrated and felt defeated but instead of giving up, I kept trying. I needed to do it for myself, I needed to keep my spirits high.
Losing motivation wasn’t an option because that was everything I had at that point. But everything happens for a reason, so it was during that time when I finally found my true purpose… when I found my calling. That’s when I realized that helping others and change their lives was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. That was the beginning of what I have today, and for that, I’m extremely grateful.
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