Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Frances “Fran” Fomai. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Frances “Fran”, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
“Take the trash out,” I barked to my 14-year-old. In a quick reply she said, “you’re not doing anything, why don’t you take it out yourself?” The disbelief and disrespect were written all over my face and body language. Trigger alarms blaring through my physical body urging me to take action and my mental state flipping the emergency switch into overdrive. The curse words the left my mouth during that heated argument left me in an aroused state of anger as she shouted, “You got a problem. Is it strange that two other conversations that week echoed, one with a co-worker and another with a friend echoed my daughter’s exact words, “You got a problem.” The synchronicity in the same week is eerie. There’s no way they planned this. The universe’s trumpet was blaring loud and clear to get my attention, and these events catapulted my journey into self-reflection, hence personal development.
The cold hard facts: I was the problem. I had the arduous task to dig into my suppressed childhood trauma to identify where the how I viewed communication and breakdown the relationship to the different beliefs that created how I connected with those around me. There was suppression I experienced of not being able to vocally express my feelings and thoughts came from parents that were unemotionally available. They used a lot of non-verbal communication and hand gestures to point out what was needed or wanted. These types of skills are not transferrable to the business world unless you’re acting, and this impacted my performance and my interpersonal relationships. Conflict resolution was not something taught in my home, so the lack of healthy communication was evident in how I took things personal other toxic behaviors.
Fast-forward as I started to share my journey with people regarding the grueling lessons and difficult challenges, I noticed that they resonated with my story and how relatable and impactful it felt. I was able to transform the hurt I experienced into an energy and story of healing for others. It is a story of resilience and a fight to reclaim their power in the safety of their own voice.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Currently I partnered with a local high school to share my story and teach them mini lessons of self-efficacy once a month for the rest of 2024.
I’ll be speaking at an event called the Best You Expo on April 12-14 online via zoom and the in person event will be October / November. The details are still being discussed and I’ll keep folks updated on social media.
Released a clothing brand for my son on LinkTree who is currently incarcerated. The collection is called “SOMEBODY” and “You Should Know. He want to be an entrepreneur, so I set this up for him, so when he gets out he has something tangible to work with and share his message with the world.
Class A Chicks is a clothing brand I created dedicated to women in trucking / women truckers. The mantra is to create a unity of sisterhood in a male dominated industry. I am working on rebranding and will have updates via social media.
I just started a podcast called, “FRAN & Friends Podcast on Spotify” which goes live on IG / FB 4 times a month Friday at 4pm PST. The motto is finding healing through self-discovery. Interviewing people who have experienced healing through energy healings and incredible life stories that will make you knock your socks off and ask how in the world did they survive that.
Our Freight Brokerage, All American Port Logistics partners with IMPORTERS / EXPORTERS / FREIGHT FORWARDERS & CUSTOMS BROKERS for port or rail drayage needed on the West Coast for regional moves specializing in: Bonded, Hazmat, Refrigerated and Overweight capacities.
I’m working on my 2nd book and look to release it towards the end of the year called, “Victim and Violator.” The back story to the book, “Can You Hear Me?”
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Application of the books I read. Being accountable for the chaos that was created. The awareness of noticing that I’m incongruent with something doesn’t feel right and I continue against what my body is telling me.
Therapy helped my journey become practical and applicable, and if paying for that service is an issue then purchase these books and find their content on YouTube. Non-Violent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg, BOUNDARIES by John Townsend and Henry Cloud and ATTACHED by Dr. Levine along with the accompanying workbooks. The process of writing out strategies with the workbook creates connection with the material that can be seen visibly on paper offering the opportunity to reflect and think of why we do some of the things we do. Finding a support group would also help, but I cannot stress enough the power of JOURNALING. Writing all our feelings on paper is so therapeutic and cathartic allowing a transference of negative energy onto another space, instead of keeping that stuck energy in our bodies. Two more books to consider is the BODY KEEPS COUNT by Bessel Van Der Kulk, MD., and The EMOTION CODE by Dr. Bradley Nelson. Less expensive than therapy, but the information inside will change your life. Last is to be graceful with yourself. It took a lifetime to create the habits you have, so will take some time to undo them.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
My best friend, Frances Pearl Villalobos. She started the therapy thing. One day she called me up and said to me, Fran I am going to cut some people out of my life because I am seeing now that people don’t prioritize me even though I have prioritized them. I then said, I don’t know if I can live without you in my life. I had a come to Jesus moment. I realized that I hadn’t been a good friend. I made excuses not to see her because I was lazy and was inconsistent throughout the years and I owned up to my behavior and apologized for not being present in our friendship. It was from that moment that our friendship elevated to sisterhood and made a pact, that whenever we said we would invest time with each other than that sealed the appointment.
I have been able to share with her my frustrations and celebrations with her and she’s guided and grouned me through a lot of those intense and grateful moments. I am truly grateful for her sisterhood.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.francesfomai.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frances.fomai/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fran-fomai/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@francesfomai
- Other: https://linktr.ee/francesfomai