Welcome to the doctor nurse podcast.
I'm your host, dr. Sandra contenta.
I'm a doctor, Lee prepared nurse practitioner.
And I am so glad you decided to join me today.
The doctor nurse podcast is a podcast for nurses and nurse
practitioners that are wanting to understand what exactly their
degrees can do for them. After the birth of my son, I had
this baking desire to have more flexibility in my career
choices. Despite feeling like all the
alphabet soup, after my name didn't really afford me.
Me very many options, I launched the podcast to find the answers
that I, so desperately needed. I also knew I couldn't be the
only nurse who felt this way. This is sound like you, if so,
come and hang out with me as I figure out what our nursing
degrees can give us access to as far as career flexibility
control over our schedules and Entrepreneurship my talking with
NPCs and our friends who are doing exactly that.
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Doctor nurse podcast Nation. Welcome to another episode of
the doctor nurse podcast. I'm your host seen representa,
and I am so happy to have on today.
The podcast a special motherhood Mother's Day episode with my
Mom. Hi.
How are you guys? Welcome to the podcast.
Mom, I'm excited for doing this. Yes, will be an exciting
episode. We decided to do this because we
were like, I was thinking, you know, Mother's day was
yesterday. Let's launch a podcast episode
with my mom so that people can kind of see where I'm from and
who raised me the values and the morals and all the things that
are Are tantamount to who I am as a person stem from this
person. So I thought it would be cool to
chat. Thank you for having me in your
show. I'm excited to share this time
with you and your audience. Yeah.
So I want to tell a start off by kind of reducing you, this.
What I do with all my guests mom my mom's, I number one podcast
fan, so she's used to this. My mom is a retired teacher, she
taught in the school system for almost 20 years and she is the
mom of three. And on top of that, she It was a
stay-at-home mom for the first part of her career and then the
second half of her career was being a teacher which he retired
from. And then throughout this whole
process she also became an entrepreneur had.
Multiple rental properties, has been able to grow a little side,
hustle business while working as a teacher or so super inspiring
and I know that you're gonna have a lot to kind of share with
my guest. I'm not willing to do.
So I the things that I have learned that if I can share with
others to do the same thing, NG I think they do is, will be
amazing. Yeah.
Alright, so again, tell us a little bit about yourself mom
and how you grew up where you kind of stem from.
Okay. I was born in Hoboken.
New Jersey, I was raised there. Well, I stayed there for six
years and then my parents had a. We moved to Puerto Rico.
That's what I was raised. I was there from 6 to 10 18 and
then I moved to Charlotte, then I moved to Memphis and then I
came to Jacksonville. In 1982, and then what happened
and I say to and 1982, maybe 84-84 14.
I got married. And then I have Sandra my first
child. I was working for the bank and I
was doing a fashion merchandising degree in a
finished in 1987, that was my first willing to want to do
something besides being a mom, even though I love being a mom.
But I wanted to finish that since I was I started it and I
finished in 1987, my first two years Associates in that kind of
stuff. Interesting, so you got, you got
married to dad had three babies and worked on your degree, while
you had your two children. And then I think that Elena was
born in 89. Yes, so that was your first two
and then you finished it up before your third, which is
pretty hard to do. I mean, as a Mom myself, I can't
imagine trying to do school and have the kids and be all the
other things that Had to do on top of trying to improve
yourself that stuff and especially from where you came
from. So I feel like, you know, really
being honest with my guest, you came from Puerto Rico and it
wasn't like you came over on a super nice flight.
No, it's class. The first class situation.
I mean, you Caden with just a suitcase?
Yes, I was going to say that I came with two suitcases.
Oh, I was that. Well, yeah, we're dramatic
yellow. And I had a brown dress.
I would never forget that because I always Like fashion.
When I graduated from high school, I finished deck are not
sure if you remember what that is.
But it's a business kind of track when you graduated from
high school and Decker program, yes in car.
And that's why I always like fashion.
And I said, I'm going to match my dress with my suitcase, but I
did not have anything in my suitcase.
It was like, maybe five outfits. That's the best thing I could
NE. So you came over here from
Puerto Rico to the states, with, which they call, like Mainland.
Yes. Mainland and you literally had a
suitcase with just five dresses and that was all your mom sent
you live. Yeah, go with launch yourself.
Yes, that's pretty incredible mom.
Yeah, I mean again I think my listeners, you know, they can
tell that I always fight for resiliency to to try to improve
yourself to always be better. And I think a lot of that stems
from who you are and how you raised us in that mentality that
you ingrained in all your children.
Because I know that my mom and this is a joke, you know, for
all those that are listening You know, she raised me as a nurse
practitioner to always get more education pursue.
The highest level of everything that you could as a kid, she
always dreamed that home. But then also you raise another
daughter who went off and became its, she said lawyer and Boston
anniversary but he's not practicing as much as she is
working with diversity and inclusion.
You've got a son who also works on the exam, you know, the
director level in a company. Yes, Anna.
And he has his MBA so you've done a good job.
It kind of driving home that message to all your children to
pursue education. Well, where does that come from?
Well, my philosophy and this is that we have a lot of obstacles
in our life it can be our the way we look.
It can be our speech or how we sound and those barriers that
our society has. I think that education is one
that you can seek without have anyone determine what is best
for you. Or how are you going to go there
to get it? If you apply yourself and go to
school and try to finish degrees?
There are some people are, some of the people are easy for them.
To get. Another ones is more difficult,
but if you can reach them because you have the ability, I
think that you should do better. So the doors will open for you
and you don't have excuses to say, well, this person did not
give me this or this person that I give me that.
Well, if you have the education and Willingness to work in prove
yourself, then I think no one's going to stop you from doing
those things and know when the right thing I think one of the
things you always used to say growing up to us was that
education was something nobody could ever take away from you.
Exactly and I think maybe it again, I'm correct me if I'm
wrong but whenever you you know are born.
And I remember your aunt, my aunts you're one of eleven
correct? Yes, one of them is just so, you
know, you're one of 11 and you're born with, you know,
having to share a A lot and having to also see things kind
of come and go because you just don't have a lot of money as a
family, you know, you get this mentality that, you know.
Well, what can I have that? No one can take away.
Exactly. And so, that's something.
I remember growing up a lot. You used to say that education.
Nobody could take from you. And so make sure to get that.
Because I think one of the things that I've seen and I've
noticed as we've as a gotten older, is that education and how
you use your brain and how you work.
Your Brain, I think determines how you do anything in life.
So what you really begin to see is not only do you cultivate the
degrees, but you also cultivate the mindset of work.
Yes. And so that part?
No one can ever take away with you away from you because you
can outwork most people even in your 60s that is still the case
that my mom can get out in the yard and out work.
Most people in the yard, remember the guys that were
doing me and yard work? We hired some guys to do yard
work and I remember I came to check on you and I was coming by
to see supervise whatever was going on and the these were
young guys and they were like, what is up with your mother out
in the field working? And I'm like, it's literally and
grandmother, she can't stop. I'm never going to forget that.
Well, I do love to work and I do believe that some things people
cannot take away from you. If you have ability to do a job
and a high level that is done correctly, for whatever it is,
it can be for patients or it can be for Clients or it can be for
an organization like my son, he's director for Humana, he has
to produce papers, or help to get lobbying, and that kind of
stuff that, that means, that he has to work.
And produce things that I think there's a bottom line.
You want to be busy, creating things that can change the world
and be a place for, for better Improvement.
Yeah. To make the world a better
place. Yeah.
But I like that. I like that.
So, a lot of the women that listen To my podcast could be in
that exact situation. They have children.
They're trying to figure out like, okay, so I'm killing
myself at this nursing job. I'm exhausted.
I've got kids and I'm trying to create a side hustle gig and one
of the side hustle gigs that you created.
You started to invest in real estate.
Yes, I think that was something that you really set apart
yourself from other siblings of yours.
Other people in general because most people weren't doing what
you were doing. 30 40 years ago, where it's starting to rent,
properties, collect money from renters and that kind of thing.
So, how did you kind of start off on this new path of a side?
Hustle? How did you come by to launch
that? Well, was a teacher for 23
years. If I'm not mistaken, I will sit
at my desk and I would say, oh my God, I'm making a thousand
dollars every year increase. I said, and I was thinking that
is not a lot of money $1000 back then.
It was 35,000 a year 37. It was not really a lot of
money, but one day I decided I wanted to move to a better house
and I told my husband I want to rent this house.
I was scared to death. I was scared about going to the
property your and I decided I said, oh Lord I'm doing the
right thing. I don't know what I'm doing the
right thing and he says, well, clearly is like I'm talking to
you, he said this house would never be empty.
In his faithfulness has been to that property is never been
empty and it is we bought it in 79?
No no 9797. We bought that in 97 you were
sort of going to get a 97. Yes.
And that property has been rented but I do take care of it.
It's not like I don't take care of the property.
I do things that I need to do is one of the things that you were
afraid of by renting out property, was that You could
potentially have two mortgages. Yes, you hold that.
You know, could you could you sustain two mortgages?
Thanks for listening to the episode.
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And I said, oh my God, this is not going to work, this is not
going to work this, not work, but it worked because the money
that I was making, I was invested in back into the house.
House they will pay in and I was paying that that was my first
paid house. Yeah.
That that is how we got to have several other ones that they're
already paid because we did not take our money and said we're
going to go to a cruise so we're going to buy a better car even
though I did have little Volkswagens.
Convertible Volkswagen so yes. You like you sound like you're
driving, I know. Yeah yeah but it was a lot of
the process has been A lot of fun challenging has taught me a
lot about working and how to get it people that come in and do
the work. I have worked with roofers
contractors work with reporters, I did every model a brand-new
you know, like it's kitchen and I change the the appliances, I
Des, fleurs the carpet, I learned all of that while I was
teaching and I was looking at my thousand dollars every month
every year. Yeah.
And thinking Oh my God, this is not gonna break.
This is not gonna make it, and the maybe I did this, because I
knew that, if I want to have my kids going to school or higher
education, I needed a place for them to stay in.
That's why, how all of this started?
Yeah. So I think the the drive home
message is that you did it scared.
Right. Well, yeah, you know most people
think like, oh, I could never do it.
I just can't happen. You know, this is going to be
taking a risk but what you began to see was it was risky.
Looking at your small incremental raises every year
and thinking, this can't be it. That seemed like more of a risk.
Yes, ooh, then really looking at, you know what, what if we
just throw our chips in and get a rental property and see what
we can do with this? And exactly, it's not like, at
that very moment. It was a golden egg ticket that
you are able to know what the heck is that.
Everybody on cruises and do all this?
Yes, it was a slow grind. Yes, I remember going to
properties with you as a young kid and helping you do yard
work. I mean you've Instilled, that in
us from the time. We were very little to you chip
in as a family. You work.
We're all building the dream here, that's kind of that
mentality. And I think it has a lot to do
with how you grew up again for those that are listening and
hearing. Okay, so miss you know, month,
you know, Sanders mom came from money.
I'm telling you guys, she literally came with two
suitcases from Puerto Rico with a high school education.
And again, you did not have a lot of money to being one of
eleven. You grew up in like a tube.
Your home was that? Well, I know it was a little bit
bigger than that, but I do have to say that my father, when we
were in New Jersey, he had a bodega that is a small store.
He really was not afraid of doing the job that needed to be
done for a family of 11, but we had a bodega and that is mainly
why we left? We went back to Puerto Rico
because it caught on fire and we lost everything.
And and that is when we decide to go back.
Puerto Rico and he bat-line land and he would grow vegetables and
had cows and he's kind of start. He went that direction even
though, you know, he wanted to be more as a business person,
but he didn't have the skills to do it.
God. So you think that that's kind of
the spark of the entrepreneur? Yes, I think it is.
Comes from watching your dad, do that entrepreneurial struggle.
Yeah, then again I like to say there's a lot of my podcast that
when you do things Scared and you have these ups and downs in
life. It shows that you're alive.
Exactly describe like, I ended up learning a lot through these
processes and through unit, roofer problems and floor
problem. Yeah, you know, how do we fix
this and how do we, you know, manage the budget and how do we,
you know, you didn't get a template, there were no courses
back then know what to do. And so you just kind of trouble
shot it. And did it scared?
And again I think that's a good lesson for those listening.
Yes, I was going to First Baptist.
Church downtown, Jacksonville. And I knew a lady did really, I
cannot remember her name. I'm sorry.
Not, you know, as you get older you forget people's names.
But she had nine houses. I'm thinking, oh my God, nine
houses, that is amazing. But how you doing it?
She says, well, I am going to debt for them and I'm doing this
and doing that or whatever. And I said, I just don't feel
comfortable, taking damn many and being in charge of that
many, and people, and that kind of stuff.
I told her, I said, Start little by little and I remember when an
89 on, I cannot remember what exactly what year was the crash
and she lost some of those houses because they couldn't
sell them. And I said, well, I think that
I'm going to go this route better.
I'm going to get one at the time.
Slow by slow like the turtle and day.
I saw I was thinking as you were talking was a turtleneck.
Yeah. And then slow by slow.
I was trying to kind of turtle makes it.
Yes. And that's exactly what I was
thinking. Yeah, no, it's true.
It goes back. Like you're saying like you're
rushing to do things and you think it's going to be this
quick fix and know kind of again perfected the overtime building
slow building of the side household that turns into a
full-grown Beast. Because I believe that that from
what I'm understanding, I got briefly about what you and Dad
have been able to build its enough to sustain a family which
is the ink the rental income. That you purchase from your
properties. So again, it can be done for
Mother's Day. What would you say for those
listening today is one of the things that you wish you would
have known at the start of becoming a mom that you would
have held onto, or you, say fold onto throughout your entire time
of being a mom in the struggle working to make things happen.
You know, you are stay-at-home mom, and then you went to work
and you were working mom. And then now you're a working
mom with the side hustle. What is something you wish.
Wish you could have gone back to tell yourself that day, you got
off the plane from Puerto Rico, that you would have told that
girl to hold on to the rest of her life to be consistent and
not to waver. I think that when people waiver
from their desires and their willingness to do, whatever they
want to do in life. And they take a detour that took
detour is going to take you longer to get there.
But if you honestly look at your life and say, I am not going to
back down, I am going to keep in this direction.
And and I'm going to work hard and I'm going to do whatever you
are at the end, you will make it.
It can be a profession, a better, you know, a better job.
It can be a family, that's a healthy family and do not waver
and your thoughts and your beliefs in a and you need to
believe in a higher power, whatever that is, I think that
it higher power. I think that is important
because we cannot make it by without it.
Yeah, I love this. You were talking about, makes me
think of this quote, Success, is not always about greatness.
It's about consistency consistent hard work leads to
success. Greatness will come by Dwayne
Johnson. I mean that's just one quote,
but I've heard it said multiple times that it is honestly about
the consistency more so than the greatness and I think that
you've said it so well that that has been one thing that you and
Dad have done, you know, consistently has been the
showing up and that and they think that part is Over time.
People ask me, like, how did your parents do this?
How did your parents create this portfolio?
And they have all this stuff? And I'm just like, honestly, I
just think they just, they never stopped.
They just kept going. And so I think that's kind of
the message. I think.
Most people can, I think I want people to hear from today is
just keep going, just keep pushing.
Well, I didn't doesn't really matter what age I think is
sometimes, you know, I went back to school at 63 taking some
archive. Oh, yeah, that's right.
You don't ever Stop. I mean what we're going to tell
people about that. I mean, you're currently.
So you retire to help me take care of Benjamin.
I remember that. And yeah, I was telling her I
was telling her, I would have to go back to work and you you
decided to retire, you were like, okay, I'll watch it while
you're at work and I'm like, you're going to do what and
you're like. Yeah, and you were tired to
watch Benji and then it's vivvy cute.
And then whenever you you get like your free time and you're
not taking care of grandkids, or Chasing After You.
You're grown children. You go back to school.
Even in your 60s. And what are you pursuing right
now? Well, I'm taking art classes.
Yeah, I took a three-dimensional course.
There are watery and pottery and painting.
Hey, it's never too late. That's a you keep going.
And the thing is about you keep going.
This kind of feels that your time and here on Earth is going
fast. But you enjoying the ride.
It's not like you sitting and just And look at each other and
time is going to pass by might as well do something that you
enjoy doing. And that is how I'm doing it.
Yeah, I think that's another thing.
I would like to add to your story.
Is that you've always been a lifelong learner.
I mean, from the time that you stepped off the plane and you
got to work and you've always just been pursuing something
almost just like with a dog with a bone, you just won't let it
go. And so I just remember you
studying because again you came with a high school diploma you
got yes. And while we were Little, but it
didn't necessarily equate to like, you know, a direct job.
Yes. And then I remember you studying
and working hard to get your bachelor's degree.
Yeah, while you had three kids, and then after you finish your
Bachelors, you've always been learning about something, doing
something, cross, stitch sewing. I mean, you've just always been
busy doing something so it's very inspiring mom.
Well, on Mother's Day to have a mom that constantly through her.
Example, shows herself to be a hard worker.
So, thank you for doing that and I think that for my listeners
out there, it's encouraging just to hear that, you can do it to
anybody can do it and not get around people that really can
teach you new things and ideas. I will say that Dave Ramsey, the
guy that talks about the snowball effect of like snowball
snow, that's not all is example of listening to people that give
you ideas and New decide that you're going to follow those
ideas, see if it works because you never know.
But I remember we taken the classes.
Kevin and I and the financial piece Financial play these class
and we decided we're going to follow that logic and sure
enough. It worked out, but I think that
we are listening to do today at so many people that the logic is
not beneficial to individuals to make them do better and be
better. And that is why we have it.
The break Down in our society. But I think that if we listen to
people that have values and have ideas, they are like, like out
there. But honestly sometimes you look
at that. You if you think about it, the
kind of don't make any sense. But you thinking, I'm going to
try it anyway. I'm see what it works.
If it works, and if it works, then more power to you.
Yeah. Kind of makes me think of like,
the, the salmon swimming Upstream, right?
Yeah. Like, you could just go with the
rest of the All right, which is broke miserable.
Sad. Chasing after looking like
everyone else, you know, keeping up with the Joneses type.
Yes. Or you could be that salmon.
That's like, you know what? I'm not going to buy nine houses
right off the bat. I'm going to slowly build my
real estate portfolio. I'm going to, you know,
methodically get out of debt to set myself, free trade.
I'm going to, you know, work hard on these things that.
Yeah, most people would either let go because the consistency.
Yes, I really want to just feel Good now.
Yeah. So I think that those are the
concepts that you really honed in on as you pursuing your
career, in pursuing, Financial Freedom, and things that you are
able to do for yourself. And that is so true.
And I think that the bottom line to the sometimes, people don't
want to see you succeed. That is always there because we
are not by Nature. We are gel individuals, that's
what we compete with having the better house, or having the
better car or having the better traveling.
But, We are saying to ourselves. Let's do something that is out
there that nobody really is going to be paying attention,
but the benefit is so much bigger than competing with other
people. I think you will see the
benefits of it sooner or later, you will see the benefits of it.
You might not see it. When you understand, you're
like, working and you're trying to do everything, but at the end
of The Journey, you will see that paint out for you.
Yeah, it made me think of when you're saying that like When
you're looking at everybody else, you're competing with
everyone around you. If you actually just compete
with yourself. Yes.
Can I be consistent? Can I eat this?
Exactly, I want to build. Yeah, you're not focusing on
people around you and what they have.
You're focusing on what you're building for yourself.
Exactly. And so again Guys, these are
just, you know, this is my mom, this is who raised me.
This is the person that gave me all the wisdom and insight.
As I watched her, not just tell me these things but also live.
These things in her life, and I wanted to bring her on the
podcast today, because I really thought that It would be cool to
hear from my mom because she's got a lot of just wisdom and she
is just a fun. Puerto Rican mom.
And I thought for the last part of the episode, we could do some
rapid fire questions. If you're down to our, let's
see, okay, okay? Okay, so Mom, if you have to
give a book to somebody, what book would it be good?
Bible? What is here?
Because it's a have a lot of learnings that a teaching, is a
lot of things inside a book did, as I'm trying to read it.
I'm thinking, oh my God. This is one of the best books.
I've missed it for anything. Yeah, it's like it helps you
with relationships with forgiveness.
Helps you with finances? Yes, it helps you with
everything. Yeah.
So if you had to give a mom hack, one thing that is you were
raising three kids and trying to give everybody straight and in
the land on their way that if the straight and narrow path of
like this. If you had to give a mom hack to
a mom today, that was like I'm struggling help me out.
What would you do if she's here then everybody's gonna Go
through those times and that you need to take breathing 10 times
in and out and then assess the assess the issues and then make
the best decision, okay? For your family.
So interesting, when you breathing 10 times, whenever I
call you on College, how about that sucks?
All right, that's the last question of the podcast, Mom.
How did you pick the name Sandra?
Well, I have a sister named Sandra and I thought that she
did a lot for our family, and I thought that having her name
passed down. It won't.
It means a lot to you last night.
Yeah, honor. That's why I did it.
That's very cool. Mom.
Thanks for coming on the podcast.
Thank you for having me. I love it.
Yeah. Isn't it fun?
Yeah, it is. A lot of fun guys again.
And don't forget to enjoy the journey of your career, and to
all the moms that listen out in the podcast.
I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day.
Thanks for tuning in guys, and we'll catch you next week,
Emily. I love you mama and thanks for
letting me so that's a wrap. Be sure to subscribe to the show
so you don't miss an episode and leave me a review.
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Care by a medical provider. The information in this podcast
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cast at gmail.com with any career professions that you're
interested in hearing about and just a friendly.
Reminder, the information on this podcast is for educational
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in substitute for Professional Care by a medical provider.
The information in this podcast does not represent medical or
professional advice or services.