A woman with a purpose: Living a full and authentic life is all about having and maintaining a certain mindset. Never underestimate the power of Positive Attitude; that’s why Joni B. Redick-Yundt, with a small voice yet making a huge impact, has decided to educate the world with her uplifting, inspirational and motivational books.
Sponsored Content
When it comes to leading a successful life, many of us have heard that hard work, self-confidence, and passion is all we need to achieve happiness. While this may sound like an overly simplified explanation for how to become successful, the reality is many of us can make small changes in the way we live our lives and treat ourselves, that will lead to an overall sense of achievement.
Joni B. Redick-Yundt is one of the greatest examples of how a positive attitude and hard work can lead to a life full of fulfillment and helping others. Redick-Yundt is known for her extensive career as a professional financial specialist, as well as her nonprofit/volunteer work and success as an inspirational speaker, author and entrepreneur.
An ordinary person with extraordinary determination, Joni was born and raised in the Philippines. The lack of amenities such as running water, electricity and no Barbie dolls, motivated her to one day rise above her humble beginnings. Joni and her family emigrated to Hawaii when she was 14 years old to find her American Dream. She is the proud daughter of Emilio and Lucia Tamayo Bumanglag who will be celebrating their 68th wedding anniversary early next year, and has four loving sisters.
In her high school years, Joni was ‘accelerated’ from 10th to 12th grade, so at 16 years young, she began college and majored in accounting and nursing. She worked hard during her college years, not only to pay her own way, but to assist her parents with the rent. She thought, when emigrating to Hawaii, that this would be an ‘easier’ life; but quickly realized that if ‘you don’t work’, you can’t pay the bills.
She worked simultaneously as a nurse and a professional Mary Kay beauty consultant; key in helping her overcome her ‘shyness’, then she vaulted to sales director record-time in Hawaii (30 days!) and had the opportunity to earn and drive several pink cars, all along learning business acumen and actually meeting Mary Kay herself.
After 20 years in her nursing career, she courageously traded her white smock for a business suit to pursue a new career in the financial field. Joni’s purpose for working in the financial sector is heartfelt and goes a long way to explaining her high level of success in the financial and insurance industry. After unexpected and devastating deaths of her sister and nephew, Joni learned the perils of not having financial protection to buffer life’s surprise events.
At a glance, Joni’s bio can make one dizzy.
While still very active as a Professional Sales Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, coaching and training over 100 Beauty Consultants, she started her career in 1998 in the Financial and Insurance Industry and given her consistent work ethic, she achieved Rookie of the Year and Million Dollar Roundtable within her first year.
Thereafter, Joni was promoted to Career Development Supervisor and Sales Manager overseeing more than 35 financial representatives. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions including Leader’s Club, Centurion Club, and Presidential Platinum Outstanding Management citation awards. In 2014 she was promoted to Managing Director and expanded her knowledge and expertise in the financial industry, especially after the merger with Westpac Wealth Partners.
“My focus centers on the client’s vision for their future in order to create a lasting impact on their wealth potential.”
“I already had such a passion for helping others, so starting a career in finance and knowing that I could now help even more people feel secure in their finances and it’s what honestly led me to having such a rewarding career.”
As she began helping more individuals confidently manage their money, she began to feel like she could do even more to educate the world about not only her extensive knowledge in finances, but also in compassion, self-confidence, and hard work; all of which are factors of her success during the first few years in the industry.
“Educating, inspiring and motivating people has become a vital mission. I always tell my mentees that having the right attitude, believing in yourself, and believing in your ability to make a positive difference for a given family or community makes all the difference when it comes to any job.”
As she continued to expand her career in finance, Redick-Yundt realized she wanted to become more heavily involved in non-profit work, as she’s always spent her spare time volunteering for organizations any way she can.
Joni is the Founder and CEO of FAMES Hawaii, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization for nearly two decades whose purpose and mission is mentoring, educating, motivating, and developing leadership skills for Entrepreneurs, Business Owners and those aspiring to start a new business. In addition a high priority is given to fostering personal development for both young and adult. Joni believes how fortunate and blessed she is to have such amazing Officers, Directors, Executive Advisors and generous sponsors and she encourages them frequently that together, we achieve more.
When Joni envisioned founding this organization, she received substantial negative feedback , ie. ‘don’t do it, it won’t last’ or ‘not a good idea’ etc. This did not discourage her to go forward with this non-profit, obviously. Joni’s desire to be an Ambassador of Goodwill, and to differentiate herself by doing what she believes in, compelled her to go forward. Notably, for the first three years of the FAMES Hawaii Scholarship and Fundraising gala, Joni negotiated with Mercedes Benz of Hawaii to provide brand new Mercedes cars as a door prize, which had the effect of quieting the naysayers.
FAMES collaborates with the U.S. Small Business Administration and other successful business and community leaders to help business owners and smaller professionals meet up with one another, network, and educate them on the ins and outs of running a small business with FREE business and leadership workshops; the 17th workshop was held in August, 2022.
Every year FAMES increases the amount of scholarship packages awarded to deserving students; over the years, FAMES Hawaii has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships. She has already bestowed the ‘FAMES Hall of Fame’ honor to 15 selected community leaders that have supported this endeavor since its founding. FAMES has also worked with other non-profit organizations. Joni finds it quite rewarding to witness FAMES scholarship awardees and her Scholarship Pageants, and to support their continued education. She has provided letters of recommendation for students applying to University of Hawaii, Yale and Harvard Medical Schools, just to name a few, and helped to prepare them for the entrance interviews with these prestigious universities. Joni is deeply fulfilled that these young people are moving forward with their lives, education, and careers through some measure of her positive influence.
Joni is motivated to mentor and coach young women to build their confidence and to prepare them, not just for the pageants, but for their future.
In Joni’s spirit of ‘paying it forward’, and her experience in Pageants, she decided to challenge herself to become the Executive Director and owner, going on seven years, of Miss Paradise Hawaii, Miss Oahu, and Miss Waikiki Scholarship Pageants. Joni is motivated to mentor and coach young women to build their confidence and to prepare them, not just for the pageants, but for their future. She recently added to her Pageant lineup the Miss Waikiki Outstanding Teen and Miss Paradise Hawaii Outstanding Teen.
Her titleholders then go on to compete in the Miss Hawaii Pageant and the Miss Hawaii Outstanding Teen America, then represent Hawaii in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant, which is the largest of its type in the world. She herself was crowned Mrs. Hawaii United States in 2002. With over two decades of amazing experience in all of these fields, Redick-Yundt knew that she wanted to reach an even wider audience when it came to educating individuals about having the right attitude, putting yourself first, and having a successful career, so she decided to write a book.
“Being able to wake up everyday and know that I’ve made a difference in so many lives, and will continue to do so, is just such a gratifying feeling. I’ve helped teenagers to senior citizens when it comes to giving advice on how to lead a successful and fulfilling life and do it with a Million Dollar Attitude.”
As an empowering force she has authored three books, “Million Dollar Attitude”, original and the Best Seller 2nd Edition, and newly published “It’s All About Attitude: Still Sexy at Sixty… and Beyond!” She was also a contributing author for the book “ALOHA: The Message of Hawaii”.
Her foray into authorship was originally due to the encouragement of Dr. Richard Schuttler, International Keynote & Motivational Speaker, to write her first book “Million Dollar Attitude”. This would not have been possible without the extensive help of her husband, Tom, and Sandy McKee for the final edit. It is said that Joni’s books are inspirational, motivational, and contain nuggets of wisdom and humor.
To illustrate; the first chapter of the “Million Dollar Attitude” is titled ‘Get Up! Get Out! And Go!’ … and it means exactly that! Visualize what you want, figure out what you need to get there, and there you go! These books also dive into a concept she call the ABC’s of success, which has to do with confidence in every aspect of one’s life, while developing balance spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
The ABC’s are a great introduction to treating yourself with kindness and applying these fundamentals to your everyday life. The back cover of Joni’s recent “It’s All About Attitude Still Sexy at Sixty … and Beyond” book has an excellent summation of the overall theme of Joni’s books: ‘WARNING: Reading this book could prove hazardous to your negative attitude.
Currently, Joni is excited to create her collection of designer handbags. Joni’s exclusive designs are being developed and she will be traveling to Italy to work with the leather goods craftsmen. Also, she has recently launched ‘Joni’s Empowerment Training’ to build confidence, character and foster personal development for our young women, many of whom unfortunately are struggling during this Covid era. Recent studies show that the percentage of teenagers admitted to Emergency Room facilities spiked during the 2020 and 2021 years.
“Every rejection and adverse moment doesn’t have to be a negative experience, in fact, it’s a normal part of life. If you have a positive mindset throughout it all, you’ll begin to wake up everyday thankful for the opportunity to learn more, and go to bed grateful for the lessons you’ve learned.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the rate at which girls ages 12 through 17 were visiting the emergency department (ED) for suicide attempts between February and March of 2021 increased nearly 51% compared to the same period in 2019.
As has been understood for years, (another) main factor in teen mental issues is that of the rampant nature of bullying in our society. Joni has a special empathy for these young adults, as she experienced bullying first-hand during her high school years in Hawaii. Being an immigrant with poor English skills, petite and dark skinned, and having a difficult to pronounce last name led to teasing and bullying. Rather than let these events bring her down, she elected to focus on positive elements in her life, including schoolwork and studies… she graduated at 16 years old with honors. Joni has a knack for turning lemons into lemonade.
Joni is humbled and most grateful to receive prestigious awards for Marquis Who’s Who of American Women, 2020 and 2021 as well as Who’s Who in America, 2021 and 2022, Who’s Who of Distinguished Leader, 2021, Who’s Who of Professional Distinguished Woman, 2022. Joni also graced the front cover of the Who’s Who in America Millennium Magazine, 2021.
If that weren’t enough, Joni was recently featured in Forbes magazine, was chosen for the front cover of the Top Industry Professional (TIP) Magazine, was selected as Empowered Woman of the Year, 2022 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP), and was on the famous Reuters Billboard in Times Square, New York City for her selection as Top Influential Business and Community Leader of the Year, 2021. For this award, she received a proclamation from the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu.
Joni is blessed with son Jason and daughter Jessica, three grandchildren Olive (7 years old), Legend (3 years old), and Luna (4 years old) and loves spending time with her family. In her free time, she enjoys walking at the beach, dancing, going to the movies, and working out/staying fit with her husband Tom, an International Aviation Consultant and Aviator.
“I thank God and I feel truly blessed in sharing my story, educating, and making an overall positive difference in people’s lives, and will continue to be the most valuable contribution that I can make on this planet. Be a fearless leader and be a woman of action, then you can truly make a significant contribution to our community. People always ask me when I have time to sleep, where do I get my energy, or when I’m planning on retiring, to which I have the same answer for both; I’ll do that when my life expires. I am inspired to inspire before I expire!”
It’s highly recommended to read more about Joni B. Redick-Yundt’s amazing success story and learn how to adopt a Million Dollar Attitude in your own life, click here: www.jonismilliondollarattitude.com. Joni’s challenge is to sell a million copies of her books to fund her FAMES Hawaii’s 20th Scholarship & Fundraising Gala, thus providing scholarships for 20 deserving students, and to fund her other projects aimed at giving back to the community as a servant leader.
In closing, her message can be summarized as follows: Positive attitude + Positive action = Positive results, Believe & Achieve with your Million Dollar Attitude, anything is possible. Use this mindset to develop multitasking skills, believe in yourself, make the right choices and remain passionate in all that you do; this is her formula to success.
WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT JONI AND HER BOOKS
2 Selected Reviews from Amazon
*****
Sam Cooper, Founder of Positive Thinking Rallies
Hello Joni…WOW…Your book “The Million Dollar Attitude” was an absolute “Blessing To Me”. I was the Creator and Founder of the Positive Thinking Rallies that filled up to 20,000 seat Coliseums which Featured Speakers like Paul Harvey, Art Linkletter, David Cooper, Mary Kay, Cavett Robert, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Dr Robert Schuller, Zig Ziglar, Tommy Hopkins, Earl Nightingale, W. Clement Stone etc.
Your Book Inspired Me MOST of All… Thank You… Sam Cooper
*****
Kimberly Border
Inspiration at its best!
An inspiring read that will leave you wanting to go out and conquer any obstacle in your way! Joni’s life story is one of triumph that will encourage you to set your professional and personal goals at a level higher than you thought possible. Then discovering that with the right attitude and positive outlook they are indeed achievable. No matter where you currently are in your walk of life, Joni’s story is one to read again and again Joni is a true example of how challenging beginnings can turn around tenfold with that Million Dollar Attitude!
____________________
A testimonial from Joni’s Book “It’s All About Attitude; Still Sexy at Sixty… and Beyond”
Ms. Joni has been a huge blessing to my life. When I thought that I was not qualified to become Miss Oahu she continuously encouraged me. One day at interview practice I got so frustrated that I literally cried. Ms. Joni guided me through the process and gave me many valuable tips. These tips helped me go on to do extremely well in the interview phase of the competition. Today I was interviewed and hired on the spot to work at Jamba Juice. I had no idea the manager was going to start asking me questions right away, but I was able to answer them calmly and know all the right things to say! I know that without Ms. Joni’s mentorship and training me for private interview I wouldn’t have done as well as I did and got the job so quickly. I’m grateful for her being a woman that is so motivated and has a heart to help others succeed in life.
Ja’Nae Richie
Miss Oahu 2018
Magna Cum Laude & Career Technical Honors Court
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
