Tell us about you..
My name is Sheila Bryan. Born native to the country of Colombia, I am a mother to 4 amazing kids. I am an author, licensed life coach, mentor, mindset maven, influential, and international speaker. Working with women is my passion. My work has attracted well known institutions like Nova University, a top-ranking school in South Florida. My mission is to help women live life on their terms while developing healthy boundaries, behaviors, and beliefs. I am the founder of the Empowerment Academy for Women which is an organization that focuses on giving women a sense of purpose and power while provoking them to dream and do what it takes to live their best life instead of settling for a life of mediocrity. I love people and have the desire to see women live the life they were created for while turning fear and failure into fuel to move forward developing a winning mindset.
In 2012, I successfully started and launched my coaching business part time to equip entrepreneurs and single mothers with strategies to maintain their full-time jobs while balancing their business and home. I have been featured in several local magazines: 100 Successful Women in Business by The Chamber of Commerce in the city of Pembroke Pines Florida, Member of the Strategic Society of South Florida, I have received several awards as a keynote speaker, conference host, workshops, seminars for several organizations.
(Women of Impact South Florida, Strategic Society, Stilettos Awards) to name a few. I am well recognized and often sought after for always exuding a spirit of excellence, strong work ethic, creativity, and commitment by my peers in the industry as well by my clients.
What is your dream and how will accomplishing your dream benefit you and others?
My dream is to build fully equipped and staffed safe shelters for battered women and children. It will benefit me because it is evidence of fulfilling my purpose and calling on this earth and leave a legacy of humanitarian work. It will be a benefit to others, particularly women and children who are often underserved, they will be afforded a safe environment, to help them restore their lives through providing psychological, spiritual, educational, and financial stability.
Who or what inspired you to pursue this dream?
My inspiration to pursue my dream of building safe shelters for women and children, is from my own experience. I came to America at the age of 17 years old with my father, at the time my travel visa was for 3 months. However, I fell in love with the diverse and familiar culture in South Florida. I told my father that I will not return to our country with him. I decided to stay in South Florida. Not long after, I got married. From age 18 to 24, I found myself in an abusive marriage and for those 5 years of marriage, I was in and out of shelters. Eventually I filed for divorce, then a single mother of 3 young children. With no family around, the only option for me and my kids to be safe was a shelter for battered women. It was a place known as “Women in Distress”. It was our home for 3 months, there we received a lot of support, weekly therapy, and counseling individually / family, employment and childcare assistance, food, clean environment, and a community of women who shared similar stories of overcoming, surviving, and conquering difficulties, hardships and abuse. It was not until my exit interview that I realized how much this place helped me change my life, restored my hope, and ignited my vision to become better for myself, my children, and everyone around me.
What challenges have you encountered while pursuing your dream?
The challenges I have encountered pursuing my dream is time and financial resources. I believe that my dream will come to pass in due time.
Who or what inspired you to keep pushing regardless of the challenges you have encountered?
What inspires me daily is my faith because God gave me the vision of building the safe shelters. My children keep me pushing because they encourage me, as well remind me, that they are proud of me. The fact that I have helped countless women get their lives back, and many who often reach out to me to share that my story has inspired them. My commitment to living a purposed life gives them hope and empowers them to pick themselves up and push pass their own set of challenges.
One of my favorites quotes is “Tough times don’t last; only tough people do”.
Please provide final thoughts/advice for others by finishing this sentence…
dream….
To dream is to know that within you there is strength, vision, passion, desire, and will to be the change you want to see in the world. I encourage you to dream because no one achieves greatness without it.
Social Media Handles
Facebook: Sheila Bryan
IG: SheilaBryanNow
Twitter: SheilaBryanNow
YouTube: Sheila Bryan
Website: www.sheilabryannow.org
