What if the thing everyone told you to “toughen up” about is exactly what makes you brilliant at your work?In this episode of Beyond the Bar Podcast, Denisa sits down with Carmen Rodriguez, a Cuban-American mediator and collaborative attorney who was once told she was “too sensitive” for the legal profession. Carmen didn’t change who she was. She changed where she used her gifts.Carmen shares how growing up as the only Hispanic family in a small Massachusetts town, watching her mother counsel a neighbor through antisemitism, and being the daughter of a Cuban lawyer who had to start over in the U.S. shaped everything about the way she shows up for families in crisis.You’ll hear:✨ The nightly gratitude ritual she taught her kids (“name three great things about today”)🌎 How traveling to 80+ countries helped her feel less “other” and more connected📘 The life philosophy she learned from friends in India: one third learning, one third working, one third giving back👨‍👧 The story of her father, who believed his daughter must be educated so she’d never be financially dependent on anyone💛 Why her sensitivity is her superpower in mediation and in helping parents lower the temperature for their kidsThis isn’t just a conversation about divorce. It’s about perspective, gratitude, identity, parenting, and what it really means to leave the world better for the next generation.

Learn more about Carmen Rodriguez:

Website: https://www.rodriguezlawandmediation.com/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-m-rodriguez-229b93209

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