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Magie Cook Profile

  • Born and raised in a Mexican orphanage, Cook used her resourcefulness and entrepreneurial instinct to build a salsa company that turned her into a multi-millionaire.

  • Cook started Maggie’s All Natural Fresh Salsa’s & Dips with just an $800 gift she received from a stranger after he had tasted her entry in a fresh salsa competition.

  • In demand for her raw presentation style and empowering content, Cook teaches others to defy setbacks and find a way to make good things happen.

  • Magie Cook started her salsa company with a gift of $800 while she was homeless. Despite no experience in business, she grew Maggie’s All Natural Fresh Salsa’s & Dips into a multi-million dollar company over the course of 4 years and sold it to Campbell’s Soup at a $231 million value in 2015. Today Magie uses her experience to empower others, helping them to grow as mindful and prosperous entrepreneurs and leaders.

    Cook grew up in an orphanage, feeding her 68 “brothers and sisters” with meat that she hunted with a short knife, one of the few possessions she had. She taught herself to play basketball, seeing it as a possible path to a better life. She won an athletic scholarship to the University of Charleston, but was unable to find a job after graduating, leaving her in a familiar scenario – surviving in the forest and on the streets.

    With the encouragement of friends, Cook entered and won a salsa-making contest, procuring an $800 gift from someone who had tried her salsa. Through hard work and passion, she expanded her company nationwide, building partnerships with Walmart, Whole Foods, and several other supermarkets until her products were available in 38 states.

    After selling her company, Cook turned her focus to speaking, coaching, and helping Mexican orphans. For five years she served as the US Program Director of the Give New Life Orphanage, rescuing 31 Mexican children from the Cartel and sex trade.

    • View Extended/Alternate Bio

      Magie, whose birth name is Magdalena De La Cruz Cook Garcia, is a Latino businesswoman who was born in an orphanage in Mexico. She grew up in poverty along with 68 brothers and sisters. She missed her opportunity to play basketball for the Mexican National team because she broke her collarbone. Shortly after she immigrated to the US on a basketball scholarship at the University of Charleston.

      After obtaining her college degree, and not being able to find a job, Magie became homeless and lived on the streets. When someone recognized her, she was given a place to stay. A few weeks later, she entered a Fresh Salsa competition for the State of West Virginia and won unanimously. At this event, she was given $800 to start her business.

      Not knowing anything about business and with perseverance, she created Maggie’s All-Natural Fresh Salsa’s & Dips, a company that grew into a multi-million-dollar business within 4 years and distributed products across 38 states to major supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods and many more. At the height of her success in 2015, Maggie’s Salsa sold to Campbell’s Soup. Shortly after, she went back to Mexico and helped rescue 31 orphaned children from a drug cartel.

      As a CEO, Magie shares her unconventional and unique techniques that made her super successful in life and in business. She was given a Nobel Entrepreneurial Prize in Mexico, the Small Business Administration gave her the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the University of Charleston Awarded her into the Hall of Fame, and West Virginia inducted her into their Generation Next, 40 under 40. Magie is a board member of AFIRE Pinellas, an organization that provides educational scholarships to kids with disabilities.

      Magie has been featured on the Television Network Daystar, the American Dream Television, ABC, CBS, the show Ask Dr. Nandi, and has been featured in many more tv, radio shows, magazines, and newspapers.

      Magie is the author of Mindful Success – How to use your mind to transform your life. She’s also the founder of success workshops and an e-learning platform that provides personal and professional development content for individuals and companies, and a podcast called True Life Heroes, where she interviews people who are making an inspirational difference in the world.

    Magie Cook Speaking Videos

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    Magie Cook's Speech Descriptions

    Magie Cook is a woman to be reckoned with and a speaker to remember. She uses her extraordinary life and business experience to help leaders and entrepreneurs sharpen their focus, take on complex challenges, and create a meaningful difference in the world. Known for her spectacular ability to hold an audience’s attention, Cook’s authentic account of her rise from a Mexican orphanage to matriarch of a salsa empire worth $231 million will leave you laughing, but more importantly, fired-up and ready to improve your life, organization, and community.

    I Am Extraordinary - Your creative genius, embracing change and finding meaning.
    Magie shares her story and teaches you how to spark your creative genius, embrace change and find meaning to living at your highest potential.

    She shares insights after growing a company from solopreneur to 500+ employees. What she's learned and implemented in her life to become successful as a person, a team player and as a company builder. People who find fulfillment in their work are more creative, more productive, healthier (with fewer sick days), better at customer service, better at sales, more innovative, more loyal, better leaders, giving companies an increased employee retention ratio. Magie has been creating and developing successful teams for companies. She understands what people need to inspire great results.

    Think Like A CEO - 5 Leadership & Culture strategies for Success.
    Magie shares what it takes to create a shift in mentality for success, knowing and understanding your 'why' and building a road map to achieving your full potential. She uses psychology, language, and perspective. She also shares life experiences as successes, from growing up in an orphanage, becoming homeless and growing a company that was acquired for $231m in 2015.

    If leadership and teams understand their full potential, they will be better people, more productive, more creative, more responsible, better leaders, deliver better customer service, take personal responsibility for moving their work for their organizations and their clients.

    The Diversity & Inclusion Advantage - On being a woman, a Latina & LGBTQ.
    Magie talks about being a woman entrepreneur, a Latina, and LGBT and her struggles with abuse (physically, mentally and sexually), that she endured since she was born in an orphanage in Mexico, coming to the US and what she did to overcome it all, then starting her business that later sold for $231m.

    Mindfulness Mines Success.
    Magie's Mindfulness Insights in the workplace improves team trust, productivity, accountability, performance, and culture excellence. Her experience building companies and teams from the ground and up, have made her an expert in this field. She shares life experiences as successes in implementing these Principles.

    -Learn Magie's Mindfulness stories that she practiced with her team while growing her company.
    -Learn how Accountability and TRUST in the workplace mean everything.
    -Learn how to stay productive and increase your performance while enjoying what you do.
    -Learn how a Strong Culture can shave your company and your world.

    She teaches how to use your mind to transform your life.

    Epic Giving - Four ways heroes give to make a difference.
    Magie talks about the 4 different ways heroes give and how important it is to make a difference on a global scale (one person at a time). She talks about the four paradigms:
    -Time
    -Money
    -Resources
    -and Life.

    She teaches others and encourages how to become a giver, regardless of your circumstances to make this world a better place.

    Ending Human Sex Trafficking - Solving a generational issue with an idea for social good.
    Magie speaks about her epiphany, an idea for social change after she helped rescue 31 orphaned children from a drug cartel in Mexico in which some of the kids were trafficked for sex.

    What People are Saying about Seeing Magie Speak

    Rating Entries

    I have seen Magie live in a variety of settings and addressing different audiences. I've seen her address a congregation multiple times and I invited her to speak to a small group of teen girls living in a shelter for at-risk teen girls who were homeless. Each time I've seen/heard her speak I was impressed by her ability to "touch" the audience in a very intimate/authentic way with her inspiring message of not only survival and overcoming but her spirit of tenacity and perseverance in challenging circumstances. I enjoyed her book, Mindful Success, and recommend it highly. I believe that at the core, one of the qualities that sets her apart is that she is genuine and authentic and genuinely cares about people and the audiences she addresses (this comes across in her book as well). I think Magie speaks well to youth as well as adult audiences.

    10/10

    I had the pleasure of hearing Magie speak at the SHRM Conference in Las Vegas. I wasn't sure what to expect, however I was blown away. She is relatable, relevant and real. I enjoyed every minute she had to share and could imagine sitting at a table having coffee with her. After the session I felt inspired and recommitted to my own personal journey and professional growth. If you ever get the privilege of hearing her speak, count yourself blessed.

    10/10

    I heard her speak at a convention this morning and she was wonderful! Everyone loved her, she was so inspiring. Five stars!

    10/10

    “Homerun!!! GOOD JOB!!! She knocked out of the park… Thank you. I am so glad that we had her today. She connected with us on so many levels and we all can relate to you and understand your intent.”

    – D.O., VICE CHAIR, SCORE

    “Magie is a true professional with an empowering, heartfelt story. Magie is a force and has genuinely risen from the ashes in triumph. Along her journey she has been a real inspiration.”

    – P.P., EXECUTIVE VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, PROVO FINANCIAL SERVICES

    “A real inspiration and raw in delivery. Really took you on her journey to success. The epitome of ‘never giving up’.”

    – S.F., SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, COGENCY GLOBAL

    “Her story was funny, ironic, engaging and your success was a testimony to your in venerable spirit as a businesswoman. I’m still laughing thinking about it. We have had the typical economist keynotes in the past and you were a refreshing and welcome change. Voices like yours need to be heard by our industry and it’s lobby now more than ever.”

    – R.D.M., VICE PRESIDENT, JP MORGAN CHASE BANK

    “I am sure Magie will be in high demand. She was the hit of the conference! Everyone was talking about her.”

    – M.K., SENIOR SBA REGIONAL SALES MANAGER, TD BANK

    “Magie was absolutely perfect to speak at the WLP WISE Student Symposium. She is not only passionate, humble, and engaging but she is a professional who was both prompt and responsive throughout the planning process. Many students say that she was by far their highlight of the entire day. We are so thankful for her graciousness and kindness to our organization and know that our students will continue to cherish her message of empowerment and hope.”

    – C.G., ORGANIZER, USF (THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA)

    “Magie is genuine, real and authentic. She brings you to the core of who she is and inspires you to be the best version of yourself possible without letting the headwinds or obstacles in your life get in your way. She has crushed thru them all and has come out shining on the other side. She will inspire you to look in the mirror and take action in your life, your business while opening your heart to your true self. She will turn you inside out leaving better then when you came. Her words, her delivery, her message, her story and what she has overcome to be in front of you is nothing short of determination, discipline and resilience. Prepare yourself for the transformation that will occur after being part of Magie’s world during her talk. Enjoy!”

    – Jon Dwoskin

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    Books by Magie Cook:

    Mindful Success: How To Use Your Mind To Transform Your Life

    Mindful Success is a compelling story about one woman’s rise from living in an orphanage and homeless on the streets of America to building a multimillion dollar company from scratch. In this book you will learn step by step exactly what Maggie Cook did to bring herself from such difficult situations and how no matter where you come from, or what situation you are currently in, you can accomplish your dreams using the principles she teaches you in Mindful Success.

    This is truly a story of self discovery as Maggie travels through circumstances few could ever imagine. Her story is inspirational and her lessons are universal.


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