September 30, 2025 • 29 mins
What does it mean to retire at 23—and still work with passion and purpose?
In this episode of The Uncommon Leader Podcast, host John Gallagher welcomes Maritza Davila, a business consultant, speaker, and bold believer in values-driven leadership. Maritza’s journey is anything but conventional—and her frameworks are designed to help leaders move from chaos to clarity.
Whether you're an executive, an emerging leader, or someone navigating faith and ambition, this episode offers practical tools and deep inspiration.
💡 What You’ll Learn:
👉 Redefining Retirement: How Maritza built financial freedom at 23 through real estate—and what “retirement” really means when you’re purpose-driven
👉 Fearless Public Speaking: Why Maritza has never feared the stage, and her advice for leaders who do
👉 Optimization in Action: The story of how she helped a client 5X revenue in just 3.5 months
👉 The TRACK Loop: A weekly reflection system—Target, Record, Analyze, Correct, Keep momentum
👉 The GROW Methodology: Guide, Research, Optimize, Win—how to build a business aligned with your values
👉 SPUR Values: Service, Progress, Usefulness, Reliability—Maritza’s personal compass for leadership
👉 Whole-Person Leadership: How she prioritizes health, marriage, and business with intentional habits
👉 Mission-Driven Impact: Why she’s committed to edifying “leaders of leaders” for deeper, ripple-effect transformation
👉 Her Billboard Message: “Live life boldly.”—and why courage is the antidote to cultural fear
👉 Watch full episodes of The Uncommon Leader Podcast here:
🎥 YouTube → https://youtu.be/aTrjbjV85lE
🔔 Subscribe for weekly leadership insights
🎧 Listen on Buzzsprout: https://coachjohngallagher.com/podcast/
📍 Learn more about Maritza:
Website: https://opt360.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maritzadavila/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@_maritzadavila
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_maritzadavila
🎧 Tune in now and share with a leader who needs this message. 💬 Leave a review if this episode sparked something in you. 📩 Interested in coaching or guest referrals? Visit johnrgalagher.com to connect.
#UncommonLeaderPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment #FaithDrivenGrowth #CoachingForImpact #Optimize360 #TRACKLoop #GROWMethodology #SPURValues #LiveBoldly
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
And so I told them, okay, well, the first thing we
need to do is come up with agoal, right?
So let's talk about your goals.
And so I had a client and shetold me my goal is I want to
make, you know, 1.2 million inrevenue.
I've been trying to do this forfour years.
And I said, great.
So then I went with her.
SPEAKER_00 (00:28):
Uncommon leaders, welcome back.
This is the Uncommon LeaderPodcast.
I'm your host, John Gallagher,and I've got a fantastic guest
for you today.
Maritza De Villa.
She's here as the founder, ifyou will, Optimize 360.
And I'm lower to our energeticconversation today.
We've already had so many goodthings we chatted about before
we even hit the record button onthis conversation that I'm
(00:50):
hopeful that we haven't used allof them up yet.
Maritza is going to bring anenergy that you're looking for
to ultimately encourage andequip you to be the leader that
you were called to be.
Maritza, welcome to the UncommonLeader Podcast.
How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:04):
I'm doing great.
I'm so honored to be here.
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
Yeah, it's going to be a great conversation.
I'm really looking forward toit.
Look, I want to jump right in.
As I did some research andgetting ready for the
conversation, I came acrosssomething on your Twitter
profile that said you retired at23 years old.
Now help me understand this.
You're not retired, you're stillworking.
What is going on?
And what does that mean for youto retire at 23?
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Of course.
So retirement to me means thatyou don't have to continue
working.
It doesn't mean you don't work,just have to work.
And so I am very grateful thatwhen my husband and I, we bought
a real estate investment at theage of 23 that gives me rental
income.
And it's not passive income, aspeople say, but it is as
(01:49):
passive, I think, as you canget.
And at least from my experience.
And I really haven't had towork.
I have worked, obviously.
I'm still working.
But I I've had that has given methe opportunity to be able to
work on things that I reallylove and I'm passionate about
and not just go to a job andjust pay the bills.
(02:09):
And so that that's what I meanby retired at 23.
SPEAKER_00 (02:12):
I love that.
I've had a friend of mine say hewas reinventing himself after he
quote retired.
I've seen a book that's outthere that says, let's retire
the word retirement.
And I I love how you talk aboutit in terms of being able to do,
in essence, what you love to do.
You know, many, many people, ifI don't believe this statement,
many people say if you can findand do what you love to do, you
won't work a day in your life.
(02:33):
But I actually see that theother way in that if you find
something you love to do, uh,you have a passion for, you have
a gift for it, and you have amarket for it, you can get paid
for it, then you'll work as muchas you need to to make a
difference inside of that space.
So I I'm encouraged then.
Good.
I know you weren't done at 23.
No.
And I know let's let's jump intowhere you were.
You just had a birthday post onyour Instagram that talked about
(02:56):
R.
And I I love some of these uhdescriptions where you start out
that you are a businessconsultant, but you also say
things like uh you're not apicky eater.
Uh you say things like you wantto live life boldly.
SPEAKER_01 (03:09):
I do.
SPEAKER_00 (03:09):
And but the other side, the one of the ones that I
was really intrigued by is thatyou're never afraid of public
speaking.
And so I've often read thatpublic speaking is like the
number one fear that individualshave and the toughest thing to
overcome.
What does that mean for you tonever be afraid of public
speaking, to be able to chatlike this in front of a group
and really share?
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
Yeah, so I say that because, like you mentioned,
most people are afraid of publicspeaking, but I've never felt
that way because even when I wasa kid, or even like in high
school and college, you know,most people when you have like a
group presentation, there alwayshad to be one person that had to
go up and I was always likehappy to volunteer, you know,
(03:53):
and never had a problem.
I mean, I've translated in mychurch, uh like, you know, in
public in front of a bunch ofpeople.
And it's never like I'm not, I'mnot really worried about what
people may think of me, which isI think what most people what it
really ties down to is the fearof public speaking.
I am more interested or thinkingabout how possibly what I say
(04:17):
could affect them and couldimpact them.
And so I'm not really thinkingabout myself when I put myself
out and do public speaking, uh,which I think is the uh what
mostly ends up happening, right?
Uh and so that's why I say thatbecause I mean, all my life I've
never been afraid of it.
So it it comes very naturally tome and it it's just something
I'm happy to do when theopportunity presents itself.
SPEAKER_00 (04:39):
So when someone says that to you, even as a
consultant, yeah, I'm afraid todo public speaking.
Like what's one of the what'sone of the tips for you that you
give them?
Like, this is what I do to benot afraid of public speaking.
What is it?
SPEAKER_01 (04:49):
I just think about the audience.
And so as long as I am, I knowexactly what I'm gonna talk
about, and so there's a specifictopic.
And so I have to think, I'mthinking about the people that
are there and how this topiccould affect them in their
personal life, could affect themin their business, could take
them to make a decision andreally lead them into a better
(05:11):
place than when when they camein, they don't leave the same as
they came out.
And so I'm my advice to anyonethat is afraid of public
speaking is forget aboutyourself and just completely
think about the audience andwhat you can possibly say uh to
them that will lead them intoaction, lead them into results.
And I mean, it's it's veryfulfilling when after you speak,
(05:32):
people tell you, wow, this wasamazing.
I learned a lot.
That was very inspiring.
I actually made this decisionand turned into this result in
my business or my person.
So that's more fulfilling thanuh the fear of it.
SPEAKER_00 (05:44):
I love that.
And I I the other thing I hearin what you're saying with
regards to advice is speaking onsomething that you know,
speaking on something you haveknowledge of or you're good at,
whatever that is.
A lot of times folks will try tospeak on something that they
aren't comfortable with, andthat shows right outside their
their public speaking when theyaren't comfortable with the
topic.
So know who you're speaking withand also know the topic that
(06:05):
you're speaking about and try tostay focused on that.
Love that.
All right, folks, listen in.
Because I know that even I, andI have a few years on you, even
or okay, several years on you, acouple decades.
I know that I get nervous stilla little bit when I'm doing
public presentation.
But if I know the topic and Iunderstand who I'm speaking to
and the impact that I want tohave, that's powerful.
(06:25):
And you even touched on it.
The third thing, what makes itbetter for us speakers is the
feedback that we get as well.
You know, when somebody tells usthat it made a difference, it
certainly can be veryencouraging for us to continue
to do that.
So I appreciate that.
All right, let's learn a littlebit, Maritza, about your
business now then.
Business is another one of thoseI ams that you really observe
who you are.
(06:45):
And tell me a little bit aboutOptimize 360.
What do you do business withOptimize 360?
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Yeah.
So we're gonna help businessowners with a team to grow their
business predictably.
That's what I'm doing.
And so the main pattern that Isee, or the main problem that I
see in multiple business owners,is that even though they're
still successful in theirbusiness because there's
momentum, things are moving, itstarts becoming very chaotic.
And so they may not have themost efficient systems or the
(07:15):
most efficient resources toreally optimize, like the name
indicates, right?
Um, to the best potential, totheir best ability.
So they have people, they havemoney and they have time, but
they're not utilizing them sothat they can, you know,
basically get the the mostpotential out of them.
And so I've seen that in manybusiness owners.
(07:37):
I've helped different types ofbusiness owners over the years.
And business is something that Ilove.
And I love learning aboutbusiness.
I I know that some some men orthat I've like clients that I've
had, they tell me, you know, Ican't speak to my wife about my
business because it's just not atopic that they're interested
in.
But I've all my life beeninterested in business for as
(08:00):
long as I can remember.
And it is constantly a topic ofconversation with me and my
husband.
So it's just great that I couldmake it uh into a business for
myself.
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
No, I appreciate that because, and again, you and
I have a common uh organizationthat we work with, brand
builders group, and their CEO,Rory Vaden, the most powerful
quote that I've heard him saybefore is that you are most
powerfully positioned to helpthe person that you once were.
And it sounds like, again, youhad a passion for that in your
past.
Tell me a story from your pastthat you know really encouraged
(08:32):
or inspired you then to start abusiness and say you wanted to
help others do that.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
Yeah, 100%.
So this was the really theturning point for me when I
realized my natural skill setand ability to help business
owners.
Because as you know, when youare trying new things, there's a
lot of self-dow and things thatcome into your mind of can I
even do this?
Like, am I even, like you said,positioned?
(08:57):
Am I even equipped for this tobe able to help these people?
But I had worked with severalbusiness owners, but it wasn't
until I worked with thisspecific business owner where he
wanted me to essentially be thehis right hand for about three
businesses that he had.
He was in real estate investingand he had a coaching company
(09:17):
and so and a nonprofit.
And so he just asked me, look, II have this great vision that I
want to do, but I need I needsomeone to help me execute on
this.
And so um at that point, I said,okay.
And so we, I, I joined him and Iwas only there for about three
and a half months.
And I worked with him onmarketing, on optimizing like
(09:40):
his funnel.
I worked with him on just theoperation side of the business
and making it reallystreamlined, making things uh
automated and so all about uhlike efficiency, as we were
talking about.
And I was able to see how inthose short three and a half
months, we were able to 5x therevenue money.
And so after that, uh engaged, Ihad to sit back and think to
(10:03):
myself, you have a natural skillset for this.
Like it's not something that youhave to study, even though I did
study and I do have my MBA and Icontinue to study about
business, no matter like anybooks, it's any, you know,
course I've done so manycourses, so many things, but
because I'm interested in it,because it's a topic of that I
(10:24):
find to be challenging.
And I think because it'schallenging, it's why I actually
love it.
And so I just sat back from thatexperience and saw, you know, my
natural ability to be able tosee things that maybe
visionaries typically don't orfounders typically don't see,
and to be able to go in thereand just execute.
(10:45):
And so that that's when Irealized, okay, I I can do this
and started to channel that evenmore.
SPEAKER_00 (10:50):
Five X and three and a half months.
That's pretty powerful in termsof understanding and very
impactful.
Thank you for sharing thatstory.
What was the what was thebiggest barrier that you saw
that he was going through interms of trying to, in essence,
grow the business?
And at least he was sharp enoughto recognize he needed help.
That was the that was the firststart.
SPEAKER_01 (11:08):
But when you got in there and you can and you had
that success, what was thebiggest thing you found that was
getting in the streamlining hismarketing and his sales was
really and so you know, he woulddo a ton of content, but it
wasn't pinpointing themanywhere.
And so it really just we, youknow, worked and came up with a
challenge where you know hefunneled all his content into a
(11:30):
specific challenge for people togo into.
And then before he would doone-on-one sales with a a lot of
the, you know, with a lot of theleads.
And I I told him, you know, whydon't you just sell on the
webinar or on the challenge andjust streamline it?
You know, most people are notgonna want it, but you if you
get, you know, 3% of the peoplethat sign up to to do it, it's
(11:54):
gonna lead to a lot more sales.
And so he did, he did that andit did.
It it worked out.
SPEAKER_00 (11:59):
And I love that the the numbers are important,
there's no doubt about it.
Uh, in some of your literatureand some of the things that
you've done, I I've seen you saythings a couple of times metrics
or just feedback.
What does that mean?
Tell me what you mean by metricsor just feedback.
SPEAKER_01 (12:12):
Yeah, I love talking about uh what I call momentum
metrics.
And so that's it's what it whatit means.
It's build momentum, moremomentum into your.
And so typically I see that alot of my clients have no data.
So they're not looking at dataat all to make decisions.
And so I tell them, okay, well,the first thing we need to do is
(12:36):
come up with a goal, right?
So let's talk about your goals.
And so I had a client and shetold me, My goal is I want to
make, you know, 1.2 million inrevenue.
I've been trying to do this forfour years and I haven't been
able to hit it.
And I said, Great.
So then I went with her.
I said, How many weeks do youwork?
Right.
Because the companies don't allwork 52 weeks a year.
(12:56):
And so she told me, and then Isaid, Okay, let's make this
annual goal into a weekly goalthat you have to hit.
And so we did this in quartertwo, and I made essentially a
scorecard for her, where weeklyshe had to put in billable hours
and product sales and how manypeople she was reaching out to,
things like that.
(13:16):
And her quarterly goal was$290,000 for product sales.
And with her tracking weeklythese metrics by just two
months, because she hadn'trecorded the the last month yet,
she had already hit 391,000.
And so there's a study that Ifound that shows that if you
(13:38):
track your goals weekly, yourannual goals weekly, you are
twice as likely to hit them.
So I just implement that for myclients and show them the
urgency and the importance of itbecause most people don't track
anything.
And so when you start tracking,then and you actually hold
people accountable to thosemetrics, then you're gonna see a
(13:59):
big difference in the growth ofyour business.
SPEAKER_00 (14:02):
It's certainly something as you look at that,
the annual goal, and and thatcan come in resolutions that we
have and things that we want todo from a leadership development
standpoint, whatever those are.
I love thinking about breakingthat down into both weekly goals
as part of that.
But also the second componentyou talked about are what are
the behaviors that I must do aswell.
So you talked about how manypeople that I'm reaching out to.
(14:24):
So it's not just the number interms of revenue, but it's also
those behaviors or thosedisciplines that come into play.
And I did my homework.
You said you can't excel at whatyou don't prioritize.
So tell me a little bit aboutthat and what that means.
Like how what gets in the way offolks prioritizing and doing the
right things?
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
Well, typically business owners that I work with
are operating.
And so they're dealing with theday-to-day.
There's a ton of distractionsday to day and just running your
business.
And so what ends up happening isthat there is no priority
because you're just yourpriority is just, you know,
putting out the fires and makingsure things are running.
(15:01):
Doesn't mean they're runningwell, but they're running, you
know.
And so I like to tell them youyou can't excel what you don't
prioritize.
So if you don't prioritize yourgoals, you don't prioritize
meeting those goals.
Then you won't, you won't hitthem, right?
You won't excel at that.
And so that that's typicallywhat I mean when I say that.
SPEAKER_00 (15:18):
Love that.
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(15:40):
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Now, let's get back to theepisode.
Many times as coaches, asconsultants, and we're advising
(16:03):
and encouraging others to followthese disciplines.
We have to know that we have todo those ourselves as well to be
successful.
What's a unique habit or twothat you have that helps you to
continue to grow, like youmentioned, uh, that's very
important for you.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
Yeah.
So I mean, really, it comes backto metrics and data.
I actually tend to be the typeof person that will make
decisions based off my gut.
Like if it doesn't feel good,you know, I always that's
typically what I would do.
It wasn't until I startimplementing data that I said,
okay, I'm have more of ananalysis.
So I see there's like a like acycle that we typically go to
(16:41):
when once we start tracking inour business.
And so I call it like the trackloop.
And so T is like target, what'syour goal?
Right.
Then you go into record, you'rerecording the results week over
week.
And then A is analyze.
And so that's what I typicallydo is I analyze what I have done
with the data to see is thisworking, is this not working?
(17:03):
Because if this is not working,I don't need to waste more time
doing this.
This is not, it is not giving meany results.
And then it goes to C, whichwould be correct, right?
So we course correct over theweek to see, or over the month
or the quarter or the year tosee what I'm doing is working
well.
How well is it working?
Or it's not working.
So then I'm gonna stop doingthis and now I'm gonna focus my
(17:25):
efforts on something that's moreproductive.
And then K would just be keepthe momentum, right?
So we continually come up withnew goals, right?
We're we're I'm the type ofperson and the clients we I work
with that are leaders, you'renever satisfied with when you
hit the one goal, right?
You're always gonna make thenext one.
And so you just continue doingthat.
And that's the practice that Ihave in my own, my own life, my
(17:47):
own business, uh, where I alwaysimplement specific um things
that I want to hit and thentrack it and analyze it weekly
to see if it's really working ornot.
SPEAKER_00 (17:56):
That's what I was gonna ask.
So weekly is the is thefrequency in which you're trying
to do that analysis.
I might refer to it often to thelist of the uncommon leader
podcast as reflecting, taking alook at what's really happening,
and then ultimately, as yousaid, course correcting or you
know, what do I need to keepdoing, start doing, or stop
doing that's working or notworking?
(18:17):
I love that intentionalreflection.
And you mentioned you do that ona weekly basis.
And I think that's probablyabout the right frequency as
well.
Not that it's you know up to me,but I think many leaders uh they
want to do that on an annualbasis, and it's just not
frequent enough in terms ofdoing the course correction.
So I I like how you said that.
The other methodology thatyou've uh mentioned that I've
(18:38):
read a little bit about is yourgrow methodology as well.
Tell me at a high level, what isthis grow methodology?
Realize proprietary, you canshare as much as you want to,
uh, and how would somebody getstarted utilizing a methodology
like that?
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
Yeah, so the grow methodology is guide, research,
optimize, and win.
And how you get started, you getstarted with the guide
component, which is there, youreally need to reflect and
think, well, what is importantto me in my business, right?
What are my core values?
What are my goals?
What type of people do I want?
(19:12):
How big of a business do I want?
Because not everybody wants, youknow, a billion-dollar business.
And so, and how many people do Iwant to manage?
How much of this time do I wantto input?
Am I building, you know, whatkind of a business am I
building?
Is it more of a lifestyle or isthis really a potential type of
business where I really want tosee how big I can make this
(19:32):
thing?
But then you also have to think,well, I have family.
It's just realizing for yourselfto guide yourself first as the
owner of where is it that I wantto go and how do I want to get
there?
Because that's all with corevalues, right?
And I want to make sure I'mmaking decisions that are
aligned with who I am, where Iwant to go, and who I want to
(19:53):
become.
And so that's really that guideportion of the grow methodology.
Because if you don't have that,that's really foundational where
you could grow a huge business,and I've seen it many times,
where people will grow a verysuccessful business from the
outside, but they're verymiserable on the inside.
And so that's not, that's notwhat I want to do with my
clients.
(20:14):
And so that that's that's howyou start.
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
I love that.
So I and think about that guideand getting that going.
You know, you mentioned anotherterm in their core values uh
that are very important as wellto understand.
What are what are the corevalues that you live by and how
do you uh model those on aregular basis?
SPEAKER_01 (20:30):
Yeah, so my core values is per SPR.
So it would be S is for service.
And so I love to be of serviceto anyone really, but I'm always
on service.
And then P is prioritizingprogress.
So I don't prioritizeperfection, I prioritize
progress.
So as long as things aregrowing, then I'm happy.
(20:53):
And then R is being reliable.
And so a reliable partner, areliable, you know, in my
marriage, reliable with myfriends, reliable with my
family, reliable with myclients.
And so I like being someone thatpeople can count on, where you
know that if I say yes, I'll bethere, I will be there, right?
It doesn't, it doesn't changeand I'm consistent with the with
(21:14):
my behavior.
And so those are kind of some ofthe ways that I model that
service.
I mean, I serve from my churchfrom when I cook and clean in my
house, serving my husband, towhen I serve my clients, you
know, I'm always looking to seeuh maybe bonuses.
I'm always thinking about themin the back of my head to see
how can I better serve them,right?
Whether it's with a newconnection, uh, prioritizing
(21:37):
progress is in any area of mylife.
If I'm seeing, you know, whetherit's my health, my marriage, or
my business, I'm trying to makethings better at all times.
And then uh yeah, being reliableis just I want to make sure I'm
consistent with my behavior andand really someone that people
can count on.
SPEAKER_00 (21:56):
I love that.
The health, marriage, andbusiness as the whole person
leader that you're talking aboutand utilizing that and
prioritize in terms of your interms of your health, what's a
unique, again, another anotherway that you prioritize your
health that others can learnfrom?
Because you're you're a youngleader, but you're very
ambitious as well.
I can tell that you want tocontinuously grow and helping to
(22:16):
grow others.
How do you stay grounded and andfocus on your health as well?
SPEAKER_01 (22:21):
So typically I I I reflect on what has worked the
best for me.
And I love to walk.
And so whenever I'm feeling verystressed, um, which does happen,
I just go on a walk.
And I love walking with my dog,Sadie, and I all walk.
And so I I'll typically do thatin the evenings.
And so I love walking.
(22:42):
And then sometimes I also amspecific on my carb intake.
I I've I've done some thingswith with the foods that I eat,
and I can feel a lot better whenI'm not eating as many carbs.
And so sometimes I'll have, Idon't do that always, but I'll
do like sprints where for like acouple of months I'm really,
really focused on how many carbsI'm taking in.
(23:04):
Um, and I can see a difference,you know, in my body and even my
attention.
So those are the two ways that Iwould say I focus on my health.
SPEAKER_00 (23:11):
So m movement, certainly.
And you did that was anotherdescriptor that you'd use.
You're a dog mom.
Uh and I saw pictures of folksif you should follow her on
Instagram to see the pictures ofher dog Sadie as well.
Definitely involved in her lifeand in her business as well.
Uh but the other side of that isthe nutrition.
And I've often said that it'svery difficult to out-exercise a
(23:31):
bad diet.
There's no doubt about that.
So those seasons that you're inwith regards to recognize being
able to recognize when you feelwell or don't feel well based on
what you eat is so powerful.
Uh I mean, again, I just gotback from a three-day trip uh
that was my own personaldevelopment, but the food was
phenomenal.
And I recognize that uh if I ifI try to uh eat the way I used
(23:56):
to is not a good thing because Ienjoy food, it can be really
bad.
I mean, I love the desserts thatthey had and the pastries and
all those things, but I alsorecognize how I feel uh if I
overdo it.
So learning to uh stop when it'sjust what you need for your
nutrition is very important.
Thanks for sharing that as yougo forward.
I just have one more question.
Then we're gonna get a chance tolearn a little bit more about
(24:17):
you and how folks can get incontact with you, all the way up
to mission for you and what'simportant for you is to build
and edify leaders of leaders.
Where did that come from andwhat does that mean to you to
edify leaders of leaders?
SPEAKER_01 (24:30):
Yeah, where that came from really to me, it's
just conviction of where uh Godhas been guiding me.
And so I heard that term yearsago, a leader of leaders.
And it always it caught myattention a lot because I
thought, you know, if I canimpact a leader of leaders, I
actually can have a biggerimpact than if I'm uh focused on
(24:52):
individually, because I I'm onlyone person.
And so we all have limited timehere on earth.
So I'm thinking, okay, well,what's the best way for me to
have the most impact?
And I really think it's by byimpacting leaders of leaders,
because then when you affectsomeone's leadership, which you
know, right?
The uncommon leader podcast, ofcourse.
And so when you affect someone'sleadership, it's gonna affect
(25:14):
the way they show up, not onlyin their business or their
company with the team that theyhave, it affects the way they
are with their spouse, itaffects the way they are with
their children, it affects theyare the the way they are with
their community and theirfamily, because you start to
become someone different.
And so I really think that whenyou can help affect people's
(25:34):
character and who they areinternally and their behavior,
it's much more impactful thaneven what I'm doing right now
with businesses and growing andmaking it more profitable.
And that's great.
And I love doing that, butreally it's how can I make this
business owner understand thatthey really affect the way that
their employees show up whenthey go home from work?
(25:55):
You know, it's like when theyare miserable.
I mean, you go home from workand you're probably having
fights with your with yourspouse, right?
So the way they show up is veryimportant, not only not only for
let's make this business asprofitable and as efficient as
possible, but let's make surethat the people that we have
within our circle are positivelyaffected by us being in their
(26:18):
lives.
And so I think leadership has alot to do with that.
And so uh really just beendefining it and refining my
mission more uh as the days goby.
And I just thought, you know, Ireally want a hundred leaders of
leaders that I can affect.
And even within that, you know,kind of like a like 10, right?
That I'm like really involved inbecause I think that nothing,
(26:41):
nothing impactful happens on thesurface.
Everything is deep.
And so when you can build deeprelationships with people, you
have more influence and impactover their lives.
SPEAKER_00 (26:50):
Love that.
Maritza, how can folks get intouch with you?
I mentioned kind of yourInstagram page and a couple of
other.
What's the what's the best wayfor them to get in touch with
you and learn more about you ifthey wanted to chat with you?
SPEAKER_01 (26:59):
Yeah, well, I'm I'm in a lot of the socials, but I'm
most uh in LinkedIn orInstagram, and they could just
look up my name and we'll findme, Maritza De Villa.
Um and then on my website, mywebsite is opt360.co.
And so that's opt, like opt-in,but op360.co.
Uh and you'll find moreinformation about me there.
SPEAKER_00 (27:21):
Excellent.
I'll be sure to put the links inthe show notes so that folks can
get in touch with you.
I'm sure they're gonna want to.
Okay, Maritza, one more questionthat I always send my guests
through at the end of everypodcast, and I give you the last
word here.
I'm gonna give you a billboard.
You can put it anywhere you wantto.
You want to put it in Naples orwherever you want to put it in
terms of where you're from.
You get to put any message thatyou want to on that billboard.
(27:43):
What's the message that you puton that billboard and why do you
put it on there?
SPEAKER_01 (27:46):
The message, I think for me, is a guiding principle
that I live by, and it's livelife boldly.
And why?
It's because we are in a culturewhere everyone is really focused
on fear.
You know, I'm fear, I'm fearful,I'm anxious.
I mean, even newer generationswhere they're even fearful to be
in social settings.
(28:07):
I mean, things that arehappening now and how the
culture is changing.
And I really don't think thatyou can have a very fulfilling
life if you don't do things thatyou're afraid of.
And so I love to do things thatI'm afraid of and I don't feel
ready for because on the otherside of that, I become a more
bolder person, become morecourageous.
(28:28):
And so I think that our worldwould benefit from people that
live life boldly.
SPEAKER_00 (28:34):
Live boldly.
Maritza DeVilla, you've been abold guest here on the Uncommon
Leader Podcast.
I appreciate you sharing just alittle bit of your story and
adding value to the listeners.
I wish you the best in thefuture.
Thank you again for coming on.
SPEAKER_01 (28:46):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (28:47):
Hey, Uncommon Leaders.
I hope you enjoyed thatconversation I just had with
Maritza De Villa.
I was inspired by her messageabout using metrics, help us to
get better, and breaking themdown from an annual goal into
those weekly buckets that shetalked about and understanding
what habits we needed to go to.
And it certainly was inspiringas she talked about the message
of how she doesn't get fearful,if you will, uh, during public
(29:07):
speaking.
I think I had something to learnfrom her, and I know you all did
as well.
Hey, if you enjoyed thisconversation, I encourage you to
share this with somebody elsewho you know needs shares to
hear it.
And I would encourage you alsoto think about it.
If you like the Uncommon Leaderpodcast, leave us a five star
review so that we can get in thehands of other people just like
you.
Until next time, go and growchampions.
And so I told them, okay, well, the first thing we
need to do is come up with agoal, right?
So let's talk about your goals.
And so I had a client and shetold me my goal is I want to
make, you know, 1.2 million inrevenue.
I've been trying to do this forfour years.
And I said, great.
So then I went with her.
SPEAKER_00 (00:28):
Uncommon leaders, welcome back.
This is the Uncommon LeaderPodcast.
I'm your host, John Gallagher,and I've got a fantastic guest
for you today.
Maritza De Villa.
She's here as the founder, ifyou will, Optimize 360.
And I'm lower to our energeticconversation today.
We've already had so many goodthings we chatted about before
we even hit the record button onthis conversation that I'm
(00:50):
hopeful that we haven't used allof them up yet.
Maritza is going to bring anenergy that you're looking for
to ultimately encourage andequip you to be the leader that
you were called to be.
Maritza, welcome to the UncommonLeader Podcast.
How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:04):
I'm doing great.
I'm so honored to be here.
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
Yeah, it's going to be a great conversation.
I'm really looking forward toit.
Look, I want to jump right in.
As I did some research andgetting ready for the
conversation, I came acrosssomething on your Twitter
profile that said you retired at23 years old.
Now help me understand this.
You're not retired, you're stillworking.
What is going on?
And what does that mean for youto retire at 23?
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Of course.
So retirement to me means thatyou don't have to continue
working.
It doesn't mean you don't work,just have to work.
And so I am very grateful thatwhen my husband and I, we bought
a real estate investment at theage of 23 that gives me rental
income.
And it's not passive income, aspeople say, but it is as
(01:49):
passive, I think, as you canget.
And at least from my experience.
And I really haven't had towork.
I have worked, obviously.
I'm still working.
But I I've had that has given methe opportunity to be able to
work on things that I reallylove and I'm passionate about
and not just go to a job andjust pay the bills.
(02:09):
And so that that's what I meanby retired at 23.
SPEAKER_00 (02:12):
I love that.
I've had a friend of mine say hewas reinventing himself after he
quote retired.
I've seen a book that's outthere that says, let's retire
the word retirement.
And I I love how you talk aboutit in terms of being able to do,
in essence, what you love to do.
You know, many, many people, ifI don't believe this statement,
many people say if you can findand do what you love to do, you
won't work a day in your life.
(02:33):
But I actually see that theother way in that if you find
something you love to do, uh,you have a passion for, you have
a gift for it, and you have amarket for it, you can get paid
for it, then you'll work as muchas you need to to make a
difference inside of that space.
So I I'm encouraged then.
Good.
I know you weren't done at 23.
No.
And I know let's let's jump intowhere you were.
You just had a birthday post onyour Instagram that talked about
(02:56):
R.
And I I love some of these uhdescriptions where you start out
that you are a businessconsultant, but you also say
things like uh you're not apicky eater.
Uh you say things like you wantto live life boldly.
SPEAKER_01 (03:09):
I do.
SPEAKER_00 (03:09):
And but the other side, the one of the ones that I
was really intrigued by is thatyou're never afraid of public
speaking.
And so I've often read thatpublic speaking is like the
number one fear that individualshave and the toughest thing to
overcome.
What does that mean for you tonever be afraid of public
speaking, to be able to chatlike this in front of a group
and really share?
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
Yeah, so I say that because, like you mentioned,
most people are afraid of publicspeaking, but I've never felt
that way because even when I wasa kid, or even like in high
school and college, you know,most people when you have like a
group presentation, there alwayshad to be one person that had to
go up and I was always likehappy to volunteer, you know,
(03:53):
and never had a problem.
I mean, I've translated in mychurch, uh like, you know, in
public in front of a bunch ofpeople.
And it's never like I'm not, I'mnot really worried about what
people may think of me, which isI think what most people what it
really ties down to is the fearof public speaking.
I am more interested or thinkingabout how possibly what I say
(04:17):
could affect them and couldimpact them.
And so I'm not really thinkingabout myself when I put myself
out and do public speaking, uh,which I think is the uh what
mostly ends up happening, right?
Uh and so that's why I say thatbecause I mean, all my life I've
never been afraid of it.
So it it comes very naturally tome and it it's just something
I'm happy to do when theopportunity presents itself.
SPEAKER_00 (04:39):
So when someone says that to you, even as a
consultant, yeah, I'm afraid todo public speaking.
Like what's one of the what'sone of the tips for you that you
give them?
Like, this is what I do to benot afraid of public speaking.
What is it?
SPEAKER_01 (04:49):
I just think about the audience.
And so as long as I am, I knowexactly what I'm gonna talk
about, and so there's a specifictopic.
And so I have to think, I'mthinking about the people that
are there and how this topiccould affect them in their
personal life, could affect themin their business, could take
them to make a decision andreally lead them into a better
(05:11):
place than when when they camein, they don't leave the same as
they came out.
And so I'm my advice to anyonethat is afraid of public
speaking is forget aboutyourself and just completely
think about the audience andwhat you can possibly say uh to
them that will lead them intoaction, lead them into results.
And I mean, it's it's veryfulfilling when after you speak,
(05:32):
people tell you, wow, this wasamazing.
I learned a lot.
That was very inspiring.
I actually made this decisionand turned into this result in
my business or my person.
So that's more fulfilling thanuh the fear of it.
SPEAKER_00 (05:44):
I love that.
And I I the other thing I hearin what you're saying with
regards to advice is speaking onsomething that you know,
speaking on something you haveknowledge of or you're good at,
whatever that is.
A lot of times folks will try tospeak on something that they
aren't comfortable with, andthat shows right outside their
their public speaking when theyaren't comfortable with the
topic.
So know who you're speaking withand also know the topic that
(06:05):
you're speaking about and try tostay focused on that.
Love that.
All right, folks, listen in.
Because I know that even I, andI have a few years on you, even
or okay, several years on you, acouple decades.
I know that I get nervous stilla little bit when I'm doing
public presentation.
But if I know the topic and Iunderstand who I'm speaking to
and the impact that I want tohave, that's powerful.
(06:25):
And you even touched on it.
The third thing, what makes itbetter for us speakers is the
feedback that we get as well.
You know, when somebody tells usthat it made a difference, it
certainly can be veryencouraging for us to continue
to do that.
So I appreciate that.
All right, let's learn a littlebit, Maritza, about your
business now then.
Business is another one of thoseI ams that you really observe
who you are.
(06:45):
And tell me a little bit aboutOptimize 360.
What do you do business withOptimize 360?
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Yeah.
So we're gonna help businessowners with a team to grow their
business predictably.
That's what I'm doing.
And so the main pattern that Isee, or the main problem that I
see in multiple business owners,is that even though they're
still successful in theirbusiness because there's
momentum, things are moving, itstarts becoming very chaotic.
And so they may not have themost efficient systems or the
(07:15):
most efficient resources toreally optimize, like the name
indicates, right?
Um, to the best potential, totheir best ability.
So they have people, they havemoney and they have time, but
they're not utilizing them sothat they can, you know,
basically get the the mostpotential out of them.
And so I've seen that in manybusiness owners.
(07:37):
I've helped different types ofbusiness owners over the years.
And business is something that Ilove.
And I love learning aboutbusiness.
I I know that some some men orthat I've like clients that I've
had, they tell me, you know, Ican't speak to my wife about my
business because it's just not atopic that they're interested
in.
But I've all my life beeninterested in business for as
(08:00):
long as I can remember.
And it is constantly a topic ofconversation with me and my
husband.
So it's just great that I couldmake it uh into a business for
myself.
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
No, I appreciate that because, and again, you and
I have a common uh organizationthat we work with, brand
builders group, and their CEO,Rory Vaden, the most powerful
quote that I've heard him saybefore is that you are most
powerfully positioned to helpthe person that you once were.
And it sounds like, again, youhad a passion for that in your
past.
Tell me a story from your pastthat you know really encouraged
(08:32):
or inspired you then to start abusiness and say you wanted to
help others do that.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
Yeah, 100%.
So this was the really theturning point for me when I
realized my natural skill setand ability to help business
owners.
Because as you know, when youare trying new things, there's a
lot of self-dow and things thatcome into your mind of can I
even do this?
Like, am I even, like you said,positioned?
(08:57):
Am I even equipped for this tobe able to help these people?
But I had worked with severalbusiness owners, but it wasn't
until I worked with thisspecific business owner where he
wanted me to essentially be thehis right hand for about three
businesses that he had.
He was in real estate investingand he had a coaching company
(09:17):
and so and a nonprofit.
And so he just asked me, look, II have this great vision that I
want to do, but I need I needsomeone to help me execute on
this.
And so um at that point, I said,okay.
And so we, I, I joined him and Iwas only there for about three
and a half months.
And I worked with him onmarketing, on optimizing like
(09:40):
his funnel.
I worked with him on just theoperation side of the business
and making it reallystreamlined, making things uh
automated and so all about uhlike efficiency, as we were
talking about.
And I was able to see how inthose short three and a half
months, we were able to 5x therevenue money.
And so after that, uh engaged, Ihad to sit back and think to
(10:03):
myself, you have a natural skillset for this.
Like it's not something that youhave to study, even though I did
study and I do have my MBA and Icontinue to study about
business, no matter like anybooks, it's any, you know,
course I've done so manycourses, so many things, but
because I'm interested in it,because it's a topic of that I
(10:24):
find to be challenging.
And I think because it'schallenging, it's why I actually
love it.
And so I just sat back from thatexperience and saw, you know, my
natural ability to be able tosee things that maybe
visionaries typically don't orfounders typically don't see,
and to be able to go in thereand just execute.
(10:45):
And so that that's when Irealized, okay, I I can do this
and started to channel that evenmore.
SPEAKER_00 (10:50):
Five X and three and a half months.
That's pretty powerful in termsof understanding and very
impactful.
Thank you for sharing thatstory.
What was the what was thebiggest barrier that you saw
that he was going through interms of trying to, in essence,
grow the business?
And at least he was sharp enoughto recognize he needed help.
That was the that was the firststart.
SPEAKER_01 (11:08):
But when you got in there and you can and you had
that success, what was thebiggest thing you found that was
getting in the streamlining hismarketing and his sales was
really and so you know, he woulddo a ton of content, but it
wasn't pinpointing themanywhere.
And so it really just we, youknow, worked and came up with a
challenge where you know hefunneled all his content into a
(11:30):
specific challenge for people togo into.
And then before he would doone-on-one sales with a a lot of
the, you know, with a lot of theleads.
And I I told him, you know, whydon't you just sell on the
webinar or on the challenge andjust streamline it?
You know, most people are notgonna want it, but you if you
get, you know, 3% of the peoplethat sign up to to do it, it's
(11:54):
gonna lead to a lot more sales.
And so he did, he did that andit did.
It it worked out.
SPEAKER_00 (11:59):
And I love that the the numbers are important,
there's no doubt about it.
Uh, in some of your literatureand some of the things that
you've done, I I've seen you saythings a couple of times metrics
or just feedback.
What does that mean?
Tell me what you mean by metricsor just feedback.
SPEAKER_01 (12:12):
Yeah, I love talking about uh what I call momentum
metrics.
And so that's it's what it whatit means.
It's build momentum, moremomentum into your.
And so typically I see that alot of my clients have no data.
So they're not looking at dataat all to make decisions.
And so I tell them, okay, well,the first thing we need to do is
(12:36):
come up with a goal, right?
So let's talk about your goals.
And so I had a client and shetold me, My goal is I want to
make, you know, 1.2 million inrevenue.
I've been trying to do this forfour years and I haven't been
able to hit it.
And I said, Great.
So then I went with her.
I said, How many weeks do youwork?
Right.
Because the companies don't allwork 52 weeks a year.
(12:56):
And so she told me, and then Isaid, Okay, let's make this
annual goal into a weekly goalthat you have to hit.
And so we did this in quartertwo, and I made essentially a
scorecard for her, where weeklyshe had to put in billable hours
and product sales and how manypeople she was reaching out to,
things like that.
(13:16):
And her quarterly goal was$290,000 for product sales.
And with her tracking weeklythese metrics by just two
months, because she hadn'trecorded the the last month yet,
she had already hit 391,000.
And so there's a study that Ifound that shows that if you
(13:38):
track your goals weekly, yourannual goals weekly, you are
twice as likely to hit them.
So I just implement that for myclients and show them the
urgency and the importance of itbecause most people don't track
anything.
And so when you start tracking,then and you actually hold
people accountable to thosemetrics, then you're gonna see a
(13:59):
big difference in the growth ofyour business.
SPEAKER_00 (14:02):
It's certainly something as you look at that,
the annual goal, and and thatcan come in resolutions that we
have and things that we want todo from a leadership development
standpoint, whatever those are.
I love thinking about breakingthat down into both weekly goals
as part of that.
But also the second componentyou talked about are what are
the behaviors that I must do aswell.
So you talked about how manypeople that I'm reaching out to.
(14:24):
So it's not just the number interms of revenue, but it's also
those behaviors or thosedisciplines that come into play.
And I did my homework.
You said you can't excel at whatyou don't prioritize.
So tell me a little bit aboutthat and what that means.
Like how what gets in the way offolks prioritizing and doing the
right things?
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
Well, typically business owners that I work with
are operating.
And so they're dealing with theday-to-day.
There's a ton of distractionsday to day and just running your
business.
And so what ends up happening isthat there is no priority
because you're just yourpriority is just, you know,
putting out the fires and makingsure things are running.
(15:01):
Doesn't mean they're runningwell, but they're running, you
know.
And so I like to tell them youyou can't excel what you don't
prioritize.
So if you don't prioritize yourgoals, you don't prioritize
meeting those goals.
Then you won't, you won't hitthem, right?
You won't excel at that.
And so that that's typicallywhat I mean when I say that.
SPEAKER_00 (15:18):
Love that.
Now, common leaders, hope you'reenjoying the episode so far.
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not just a company name.
That's why a strong personalbrand is essential, whether
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Brand builders group, the folkswho have been helping me refine
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(15:40):
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That's coachjohngallagher.comslash BBG.
Now, let's get back to theepisode.
Many times as coaches, asconsultants, and we're advising
(16:03):
and encouraging others to followthese disciplines.
We have to know that we have todo those ourselves as well to be
successful.
What's a unique habit or twothat you have that helps you to
continue to grow, like youmentioned, uh, that's very
important for you.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
Yeah.
So I mean, really, it comes backto metrics and data.
I actually tend to be the typeof person that will make
decisions based off my gut.
Like if it doesn't feel good,you know, I always that's
typically what I would do.
It wasn't until I startimplementing data that I said,
okay, I'm have more of ananalysis.
So I see there's like a like acycle that we typically go to
(16:41):
when once we start tracking inour business.
And so I call it like the trackloop.
And so T is like target, what'syour goal?
Right.
Then you go into record, you'rerecording the results week over
week.
And then A is analyze.
And so that's what I typicallydo is I analyze what I have done
with the data to see is thisworking, is this not working?
(17:03):
Because if this is not working,I don't need to waste more time
doing this.
This is not, it is not giving meany results.
And then it goes to C, whichwould be correct, right?
So we course correct over theweek to see, or over the month
or the quarter or the year tosee what I'm doing is working
well.
How well is it working?
Or it's not working.
So then I'm gonna stop doingthis and now I'm gonna focus my
(17:25):
efforts on something that's moreproductive.
And then K would just be keepthe momentum, right?
So we continually come up withnew goals, right?
We're we're I'm the type ofperson and the clients we I work
with that are leaders, you'renever satisfied with when you
hit the one goal, right?
You're always gonna make thenext one.
And so you just continue doingthat.
And that's the practice that Ihave in my own, my own life, my
(17:47):
own business, uh, where I alwaysimplement specific um things
that I want to hit and thentrack it and analyze it weekly
to see if it's really working ornot.
SPEAKER_00 (17:56):
That's what I was gonna ask.
So weekly is the is thefrequency in which you're trying
to do that analysis.
I might refer to it often to thelist of the uncommon leader
podcast as reflecting, taking alook at what's really happening,
and then ultimately, as yousaid, course correcting or you
know, what do I need to keepdoing, start doing, or stop
doing that's working or notworking?
(18:17):
I love that intentionalreflection.
And you mentioned you do that ona weekly basis.
And I think that's probablyabout the right frequency as
well.
Not that it's you know up to me,but I think many leaders uh they
want to do that on an annualbasis, and it's just not
frequent enough in terms ofdoing the course correction.
So I I like how you said that.
The other methodology thatyou've uh mentioned that I've
(18:38):
read a little bit about is yourgrow methodology as well.
Tell me at a high level, what isthis grow methodology?
Realize proprietary, you canshare as much as you want to,
uh, and how would somebody getstarted utilizing a methodology
like that?
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
Yeah, so the grow methodology is guide, research,
optimize, and win.
And how you get started, you getstarted with the guide
component, which is there, youreally need to reflect and
think, well, what is importantto me in my business, right?
What are my core values?
What are my goals?
What type of people do I want?
(19:12):
How big of a business do I want?
Because not everybody wants, youknow, a billion-dollar business.
And so, and how many people do Iwant to manage?
How much of this time do I wantto input?
Am I building, you know, whatkind of a business am I
building?
Is it more of a lifestyle or isthis really a potential type of
business where I really want tosee how big I can make this
(19:32):
thing?
But then you also have to think,well, I have family.
It's just realizing for yourselfto guide yourself first as the
owner of where is it that I wantto go and how do I want to get
there?
Because that's all with corevalues, right?
And I want to make sure I'mmaking decisions that are
aligned with who I am, where Iwant to go, and who I want to
(19:53):
become.
And so that's really that guideportion of the grow methodology.
Because if you don't have that,that's really foundational where
you could grow a huge business,and I've seen it many times,
where people will grow a verysuccessful business from the
outside, but they're verymiserable on the inside.
And so that's not, that's notwhat I want to do with my
clients.
(20:14):
And so that that's that's howyou start.
SPEAKER_00 (20:16):
I love that.
So I and think about that guideand getting that going.
You know, you mentioned anotherterm in their core values uh
that are very important as wellto understand.
What are what are the corevalues that you live by and how
do you uh model those on aregular basis?
SPEAKER_01 (20:30):
Yeah, so my core values is per SPR.
So it would be S is for service.
And so I love to be of serviceto anyone really, but I'm always
on service.
And then P is prioritizingprogress.
So I don't prioritizeperfection, I prioritize
progress.
So as long as things aregrowing, then I'm happy.
(20:53):
And then R is being reliable.
And so a reliable partner, areliable, you know, in my
marriage, reliable with myfriends, reliable with my
family, reliable with myclients.
And so I like being someone thatpeople can count on, where you
know that if I say yes, I'll bethere, I will be there, right?
It doesn't, it doesn't changeand I'm consistent with the with
(21:14):
my behavior.
And so those are kind of some ofthe ways that I model that
service.
I mean, I serve from my churchfrom when I cook and clean in my
house, serving my husband, towhen I serve my clients, you
know, I'm always looking to seeuh maybe bonuses.
I'm always thinking about themin the back of my head to see
how can I better serve them,right?
Whether it's with a newconnection, uh, prioritizing
(21:37):
progress is in any area of mylife.
If I'm seeing, you know, whetherit's my health, my marriage, or
my business, I'm trying to makethings better at all times.
And then uh yeah, being reliableis just I want to make sure I'm
consistent with my behavior andand really someone that people
can count on.
SPEAKER_00 (21:56):
I love that.
The health, marriage, andbusiness as the whole person
leader that you're talking aboutand utilizing that and
prioritize in terms of your interms of your health, what's a
unique, again, another anotherway that you prioritize your
health that others can learnfrom?
Because you're you're a youngleader, but you're very
ambitious as well.
I can tell that you want tocontinuously grow and helping to
(22:16):
grow others.
How do you stay grounded and andfocus on your health as well?
SPEAKER_01 (22:21):
So typically I I I reflect on what has worked the
best for me.
And I love to walk.
And so whenever I'm feeling verystressed, um, which does happen,
I just go on a walk.
And I love walking with my dog,Sadie, and I all walk.
And so I I'll typically do thatin the evenings.
And so I love walking.
(22:42):
And then sometimes I also amspecific on my carb intake.
I I've I've done some thingswith with the foods that I eat,
and I can feel a lot better whenI'm not eating as many carbs.
And so sometimes I'll have, Idon't do that always, but I'll
do like sprints where for like acouple of months I'm really,
really focused on how many carbsI'm taking in.
(23:04):
Um, and I can see a difference,you know, in my body and even my
attention.
So those are the two ways that Iwould say I focus on my health.
SPEAKER_00 (23:11):
So m movement, certainly.
And you did that was anotherdescriptor that you'd use.
You're a dog mom.
Uh and I saw pictures of folksif you should follow her on
Instagram to see the pictures ofher dog Sadie as well.
Definitely involved in her lifeand in her business as well.
Uh but the other side of that isthe nutrition.
And I've often said that it'svery difficult to out-exercise a
(23:31):
bad diet.
There's no doubt about that.
So those seasons that you're inwith regards to recognize being
able to recognize when you feelwell or don't feel well based on
what you eat is so powerful.
Uh I mean, again, I just gotback from a three-day trip uh
that was my own personaldevelopment, but the food was
phenomenal.
And I recognize that uh if I ifI try to uh eat the way I used
(23:56):
to is not a good thing because Ienjoy food, it can be really
bad.
I mean, I love the desserts thatthey had and the pastries and
all those things, but I alsorecognize how I feel uh if I
overdo it.
So learning to uh stop when it'sjust what you need for your
nutrition is very important.
Thanks for sharing that as yougo forward.
I just have one more question.
Then we're gonna get a chance tolearn a little bit more about
(24:17):
you and how folks can get incontact with you, all the way up
to mission for you and what'simportant for you is to build
and edify leaders of leaders.
Where did that come from andwhat does that mean to you to
edify leaders of leaders?
SPEAKER_01 (24:30):
Yeah, where that came from really to me, it's
just conviction of where uh Godhas been guiding me.
And so I heard that term yearsago, a leader of leaders.
And it always it caught myattention a lot because I
thought, you know, if I canimpact a leader of leaders, I
actually can have a biggerimpact than if I'm uh focused on
(24:52):
individually, because I I'm onlyone person.
And so we all have limited timehere on earth.
So I'm thinking, okay, well,what's the best way for me to
have the most impact?
And I really think it's by byimpacting leaders of leaders,
because then when you affectsomeone's leadership, which you
know, right?
The uncommon leader podcast, ofcourse.
And so when you affect someone'sleadership, it's gonna affect
(25:14):
the way they show up, not onlyin their business or their
company with the team that theyhave, it affects the way they
are with their spouse, itaffects the way they are with
their children, it affects theyare the the way they are with
their community and theirfamily, because you start to
become someone different.
And so I really think that whenyou can help affect people's
(25:34):
character and who they areinternally and their behavior,
it's much more impactful thaneven what I'm doing right now
with businesses and growing andmaking it more profitable.
And that's great.
And I love doing that, butreally it's how can I make this
business owner understand thatthey really affect the way that
their employees show up whenthey go home from work?
(25:55):
You know, it's like when theyare miserable.
I mean, you go home from workand you're probably having
fights with your with yourspouse, right?
So the way they show up is veryimportant, not only not only for
let's make this business asprofitable and as efficient as
possible, but let's make surethat the people that we have
within our circle are positivelyaffected by us being in their
(26:18):
lives.
And so I think leadership has alot to do with that.
And so uh really just beendefining it and refining my
mission more uh as the days goby.
And I just thought, you know, Ireally want a hundred leaders of
leaders that I can affect.
And even within that, you know,kind of like a like 10, right?
That I'm like really involved inbecause I think that nothing,
(26:41):
nothing impactful happens on thesurface.
Everything is deep.
And so when you can build deeprelationships with people, you
have more influence and impactover their lives.
SPEAKER_00 (26:50):
Love that.
Maritza, how can folks get intouch with you?
I mentioned kind of yourInstagram page and a couple of
other.
What's the what's the best wayfor them to get in touch with
you and learn more about you ifthey wanted to chat with you?
SPEAKER_01 (26:59):
Yeah, well, I'm I'm in a lot of the socials, but I'm
most uh in LinkedIn orInstagram, and they could just
look up my name and we'll findme, Maritza De Villa.
Um and then on my website, mywebsite is opt360.co.
And so that's opt, like opt-in,but op360.co.
Uh and you'll find moreinformation about me there.
SPEAKER_00 (27:21):
Excellent.
I'll be sure to put the links inthe show notes so that folks can
get in touch with you.
I'm sure they're gonna want to.
Okay, Maritza, one more questionthat I always send my guests
through at the end of everypodcast, and I give you the last
word here.
I'm gonna give you a billboard.
You can put it anywhere you wantto.
You want to put it in Naples orwherever you want to put it in
terms of where you're from.
You get to put any message thatyou want to on that billboard.
(27:43):
What's the message that you puton that billboard and why do you
put it on there?
SPEAKER_01 (27:46):
The message, I think for me, is a guiding principle
that I live by, and it's livelife boldly.
And why?
It's because we are in a culturewhere everyone is really focused
on fear.
You know, I'm fear, I'm fearful,I'm anxious.
I mean, even newer generationswhere they're even fearful to be
in social settings.
(28:07):
I mean, things that arehappening now and how the
culture is changing.
And I really don't think thatyou can have a very fulfilling
life if you don't do things thatyou're afraid of.
And so I love to do things thatI'm afraid of and I don't feel
ready for because on the otherside of that, I become a more
bolder person, become morecourageous.
(28:28):
And so I think that our worldwould benefit from people that
live life boldly.
SPEAKER_00 (28:34):
Live boldly.
Maritza DeVilla, you've been abold guest here on the Uncommon
Leader Podcast.
I appreciate you sharing just alittle bit of your story and
adding value to the listeners.
I wish you the best in thefuture.
Thank you again for coming on.
SPEAKER_01 (28:46):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (28:47):
Hey, Uncommon Leaders.
I hope you enjoyed thatconversation I just had with
Maritza De Villa.
I was inspired by her messageabout using metrics, help us to
get better, and breaking themdown from an annual goal into
those weekly buckets that shetalked about and understanding
what habits we needed to go to.
And it certainly was inspiringas she talked about the message
of how she doesn't get fearful,if you will, uh, during public
(29:07):
speaking.
I think I had something to learnfrom her, and I know you all did
as well.
Hey, if you enjoyed thisconversation, I encourage you to
share this with somebody elsewho you know needs shares to
hear it.
And I would encourage you alsoto think about it.
If you like the Uncommon Leaderpodcast, leave us a five star
review so that we can get in thehands of other people just like
you.
Until next time, go and growchampions.
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