I Am...
By Donna Kent
I am here by the grace of God and from Maria and Joseph
I am the middle child of 4 and as the middle child I looked for ways to express love from a love-less home and broken promises
I am from Italian traditions wrapped up with odd food from the sea, organs, and things others would cast aside
I am from a pioneering spirit and a Samurai warrior who learned to let down the sword and pick up the heart
I am the daughter of a high work ethic; learning to dream and believe and value myself
I am from a broken family but learned how to mend hearts, forgive, and raise children who love me
I am from many creations of myself.. bettering each time
In recreating myself, my life, and others, I embrace the heart with a passion to continuously learn, to love wildly, and to listen to understand….
I am from a rich sense of gratitude for each day spent with friends and family and for my health and the experiences that life provides in which I seek joy… even when there is pain
I am from a love of the work that I do and the forever gratefulness for those who trust me and come into my path and make me a better person
My Why
“My why is to grow leaders and to live a purpose-driven life. I do this by building new generation leaders and facilitating leadership transformation. With a focus on Big G growth, leaders transform, and all boats rise- mine, the leader, their organization, their clients, their business, and stakeholders.
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The outcome is to drive a life of purpose which includes behaviors and skills that provide for an authentic and grateful life grounded in sound decision making, communication that strive for understanding and to build ever-growing strong and compassionate relationships.”
My Story
I’ll never forget the day when my 8-year-old curly, redhead daughter looked up at me and said I was a “dream killer.”
I spent most of my life with the switch on or off, thinking my decisions were always right because that helped me make them faster. During my 25 years driving multimillion dollar sales and marketing at Xerox, I was making thousands of decisions every day. I had 17 direct reports, 20,000 clients, and $350 million worth of profit and loss (P&L). Everything felt so weighty. I behaved like a Samurai warrior all the time.
My home life became all about me and everyone had to step in my line. I even scheduled reviews with my 5-year-old. I thought it was the only way I could get everything accomplished. I needed to be a superhuman mom, superhuman career woman, and superhuman in the community. On my quest to control everything, I was oblivious to others, as my daughter so aptly expressed.
This a-ha moment put me on a path toward a more passionate and impactful life. I realized that my old ways were feeding into a life of being self-centered and killing my own dreams. A series of pivots and self-discoveries brought me to my knees. I traded in my Samurai sword and pursued a calling to transform myself first, then leaders and their companies as an executive coach and trainer. Today, I inspire people to feel positive and energized by the journey while sharpening their skills and growing their businesses.