Meet Nicole De Lara Puente

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole De Lara Puente a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I believe with all of my heart that to those of us who much is given, much is expected. I also believe that it is in giving that we receive.
My “purpose” comes from honoring both of those things and knowing the importance of serving others.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am privileged to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Live Like Bella® Childhood Cancer Foundation. The Foundation was established in 2013 in memory of Bella Rodriguez-Torres, a young girl who passed away at the age of 10 after a long battle with cancer. During her six-year fight, she inspired people around the world to live with compassion and serve others. Today, Live Like Bella® is committed to being a recognized leader in childhood cancer research and advocacy while providing financial and emotional support to families whose children are battling cancer.

Often times people tell me “I could never do what you do. Working with children with cancer is too sad.” and my response is always “If not us, then who?”. There is no denying that this is indeed a sad reality but it is the most fulfilling and rewarding opportunity of my life.

Since I joined Live Like Bella® in 2017, the foundation has provided over $7.3 million in direct financial assistance to families and advocated for $37 million to fund 66 pediatric cancer research trials. Our focus is supporting children battling cancer and their families through every stage of their journey.

The foundation provides three “lines of service” to help children and families affected by cancer:

• Our In-Treatment Support program operates across the entire United States and in 38 countries and helps ease the financial burden on families by assisting with basic necessities like rent, medical co-pays, utilities, transportation, groceries, and more.
• Our Memorial Support program also helps families cover the costs associated with memorial services – including burials, headstones, and funerals in the heartbreaking event that a child passes anywhere in the world.
• Our advocacy initiatives help fund innovative research through the Live Like Bella® Pediatric Cancer Research Initiative across the State of Florida.

I’m having a great time continuing to build the foundation and expand our reach. Although I’ve been in this role for seven and a half years it still feels like we are just beginning. Live Like Bella® has the credibility of a well-established non-profit but the vibrant energy of a start-up. The road from idea to implementation is short at the foundation. I worked at several multinational companies in my career and the road from idea to implementation was always soooooo long. Red tape makes it difficult for ideas to come to life so it’s important for me to be able to hit the ground running. Children battling cancer don’t have the luxury of waiting and neither do we.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Passion, resourcefulness and adaptability are three of the most important skills that continue to be at the core of the way I operate both professionally and personally. They are the things I look for when building a team and expanding my network.

I love having the opportunity to mentor young adults as they begin their career journeys and share the importance about loving what you do. There is a cliché that says “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” but I disagree. I believe that if you love what you do, you will work every single day of your life – it just won’t feel like work. Without passion, everything feels like a chore.

Resourcefulness is more important than intelligence. You can be the most intellectual person in the room but if you don’t know how to be resourceful you’ll never be able to grow. Knowing who to call, who to connect with, who to trust and who to spend time with changes the game. You don’t have to know how to do everything but you’ve “gotta have a guy” (or a girl) that does.

Covid taught us a lot about “pivoting”. I always say that your plan B is more important than your plan A. Everyone’s got a plan A but rarely do things go as planned. The key to success is being ready to adapt and be ready for that inevitable plan B. You could be planning an incredible vacation to the Caribbean and while you’re at the airport your flight gets canceled. You’ve got two choices – you either rebook it or you cancel the vacation. Same applies in business. If you launch a campaign and the strategy falls apart you either abandon the idea or come up with a new one. Be ready.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My parents gave me both roots and wings. I am the youngest of three kids – my sister and brother being 15 and 11 years older than me. By the time I was in 6th grade my parents were grandparents so they weren’t super focused on my daily activities – they were busy spoiling babies! Perhaps it was inadvertent but they gave me a chance to make a lot of decisions on my own. I had their guidance but I also had their trust. I got my first job working as a summer camp counselor at 14 and have worked ever since. They didn’t “force” me to be responsible, they gave me the chance to have responsibilities which is different. My parents also ALWAYS celebrated our wins and ALWAYS helped us find a silver lining in the losses. To this day, they are my greatest cheerleaders and closest friends. I hope I can do half the job with my kids as they have done with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://livelikebella.org
• Instagram: @livelikebella
• Facebook: @livelikebella
• Linkedin: @livelikebella
• Twitter: @livelikebella
• Youtube: @livelikebella