From the courtroom to the racetrack, entrepreneur and advocate Alicya V. Simmons shares the lessons that taught her to trust her instincts, stand her ground, and turn life’s challenges into opportunities to help others.

Women of Wisdom | Featured Interview

Meet Alicya V. Simmons, MBA

Founder, advocate, business consultant, and inspirational speaker Alicya V. Simmons has spent much of her life challenging the word “no.”

As the founder of Alicya Simmons & Associates, she helps individuals navigate complex professional relationships, advocate for themselves, and approach difficult situations with facts, preparation, persistence, and mutual respect.

Her professional journey began in hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), initially motivated by her personal experience with ADHD. Her practice expanded to helping clients address emotional challenges, phobias, and difficult childhood experiences. As her interests evolved, she pursued brain fitness certification through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), where Dr. Daniel Amen was among her professors. She later earned a cybersecurity defense certification through ThriveX at the University of Central Florida.

Her professional accomplishments tell only part of her story.

As a mother raising two daughters, Alicya found herself navigating a prolonged family court battle against a former husband who was both an experienced trial attorney and a Florida legislator. Faced with mounting legal expenses and limited resources, she began studying legal procedures and eventually representing herself.

Those experiences helped shape the advocacy work she does today, assisting clients in navigating relationships with lawyers, contractors, insurance companies, healthcare institutions, and other organizations.

Outside her professional life, Alicya has pursued equally demanding challenges. She raced SCCA Spec Miata at Daytona International Speedway, instructed high-performance drivers for the Porsche Club of America, and took up competitive surfing in her fifties. Even a broken neck sustained while surfing hurricane waves did not end her athletic pursuits. Following her recovery, she returned to tennis and continues to play social and USTA 4.0 doubles while sharing her love of surfing and tennis with her grandson.

Now in another chapter of reinvention, Alicya is writing her memoir series, Spilling the Tea, It’s Now All About Me.

Her story offers a perspective on resilience: wisdom is not necessarily about avoiding life’s obstacles. Sometimes, it comes from learning how to navigate them on your own terms.

The Interview

1. Who or what has inspired you most throughout your life?

I have been blessed with many mentors and supporters throughout my life, including my high school and college tennis coaches, my hypnotherapy teachers, including Richard Bandler, and the senior industrial real estate brokers I worked alongside.

But one person whose advice has stayed with me is my late racing coach, Jim Pace, a two-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

I remember becoming incredibly frustrated with my lap times. I would blow corners, maintain excellent track etiquette, and still get passed by other drivers.

Jim would simply tell me, “Alicya, you go at your pace.”

That advice completely changed my perspective.

You can only go as slowly or as quickly as your abilities allow at any given moment. Whether someone else is ahead of you or behind you doesn’t matter.

Go at your pace.

My faith and my daughters have also been tremendous sources of inspiration. When I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and outspent, my faith kept me standing, and my girls gave me a reason to keep fighting.

Every court hearing I walked into, I walked in for them.

Today, I also draw inspiration from the women who share their stories with me after hearing mine. Each one reminds me that none of us is fighting alone.

2. What has surprised you most on your journey to wisdom?

Discovering that it was, and still is, okay to have ADHD.

I remember being in fifth grade, standing on the soccer field, unable to remember what the physical education teacher had just told us. There were gaps in my comprehension because my brain seemed to be working too quickly or too intensely.

What surprised me was discovering how much physical activity helped me focus.

Sports, running, weight training, and yoga became essential outlets. They helped me manage everyday responsibilities, care for others, and navigate the difficult situations life presented.

When you have a healthy outlet for life’s frustrations, you develop the fortitude and strength to endure challenges.

That’s how I managed my life and supported my daughters through years of legal proceedings.

Another important discovery was that strength doesn’t require being loud.

I’m naturally shy. For years, I assumed that the people who succeeded were the ones who talked the most.

Eventually, I learned that preparation, patience, and persistence can be far more powerful.

The person who arrives with the documents, understands the facts, and has the patience to persevere often has an advantage.

Quiet confidence, preparation, persistence, and good manners can accomplish extraordinary things.

3. How did a family court battle turn you into an advocate?

I left my marriage to escape being controlled, but I felt that the control followed me into the courtroom.

I was the custodial parent, with a fraction of the financial resources available to my former husband, who was a board-certified trial attorney and sitting legislator.

I spent my marital assets hiring family law attorneys while fighting for what I believed was rightfully mine.

After repeatedly experiencing disappointing outcomes in court, I decided to learn how to represent myself.

I read the rules, studied the statutes, and worked to understand how the legal system actually operates.

That experience taught me many of the lessons I now share with my clients.

My advice is simple: don’t give up simply because an institution tells you no.

Learn the rules. Understand the process. Document everything. Keep going.

You can always decide to quit later, but don’t let someone else make that decision for you.

4. How do racing, surfing, and tennis keep you focused and strong?

Extreme sports have played an important role in how I manage my ADHD and maintain my emotional well-being.

Whether I’m racing car number 77 at Daytona, riding a wave, or competing on a tennis court, conditions are constantly changing.

But the line you choose to hold remains your responsibility.

During those moments, my mind becomes quiet and intensely focused.

These sports helped me maintain my emotional balance through some of the most difficult years of my life.

They also taught me the discipline I bring to every challenge:

Stay calm. Hold your line. Keep moving forward.

5. How did you support your daughters’ dreams while facing so many challenges?

I worked as a commissioned real estate broker, paid for childcare, and made sure my daughters could continue participating in the sports they loved, regardless of what was happening in court.

One daughter went on to participate in college cheerleading, while the other pursued college surfing.

I wanted them to understand that difficult circumstances don’t mean you have to abandon your passions or dreams.

Their accomplishments and the women they’ve become are my proudest achievements.

6. What problem does your business solve?

Many people hire lawyers, contractors, or other professionals and gradually lose control of the process.

Bills escalate. Decisions are made without their full understanding or participation. Eventually, they feel powerless, even though they’re the ones paying for the services.

I help clients approach these relationships differently.

That includes selecting appropriate professionals, asking important questions before signing agreements, understanding contractual obligations, and managing the process so they remain informed and involved.

I also assist people who are dealing with insurance companies, hospitals, airlines, and government agencies that have denied requests or failed to address their concerns.

I’ve achieved results in these situations by relying on three essential tools: data, persistence, and respect.

My goal is to help people become informed, confident participants in decisions that affect their lives.

7. What’s one leadership lesson you believe every woman should learn?

Institutions don’t necessarily respond to how deeply you’ve been hurt or how frustrated you feel.

They respond to facts, dates, numbers, documentation, and their own policies and procedures.

Keep your records. Put important requests in writing. Understand the rules and follow the appropriate escalation procedures when necessary.

When you lead with facts and documentation, you strengthen your position and make it more difficult for your concerns to be dismissed.

8. What advice would you give women entering their 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond?

Get organized. Get informed. And learn how to make your voice heard effectively.

Find out which rules and procedures institutions are expected to follow, and hold them accountable.

Protect your health and your energy because life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Be thoughtful about where you invest your time, energy, and resources. Don’t continually sacrifice yourself for people, including family members, who don’t appreciate your contributions.

One of my strongest recommendations is to understand your finances completely.

Keep copies of your tax returns. Know what assets you have. Maintain financial independence wherever possible, including income and credit in your own name.

Never sign documents based on financial figures you haven’t verified.

And never allow anyone to diminish your confidence or opportunities because of your age, heritage, or physical appearance.

My most powerful chapter began after 60.

Yours can, too.

9. What’s still on your bucket list?

Giving a TED Talk!

I’d love to explore how men and women may approach business negotiations and professional relationships differently, and how understanding different communication styles can help us work together more effectively.

10. Is there a question you wish more interviewers would ask?

Yes. “What makes you get up every morning?”

Every morning, I remind myself to be grateful that I’m still here.

My faith gives me confidence that, whatever challenges come my way, I can find a way forward.

When I look back at everything I’ve experienced, I consider my journey something of a miracle.

And that gives me another reason to get up each day: the opportunity to help others who have experienced unfair treatment, difficult circumstances, or situations in which they felt powerless.

If sharing what I’ve learned helps someone else find the courage to stand up for themselves, then those experiences have served a greater purpose.

A Final Thought: Wisdom at Your Own Pace

Alicya’s story is a reminder that reinvention doesn’t have an expiration date. Whether she’s navigating complicated professional challenges, competing on a tennis court, or writing her memoirs, she continues to embrace opportunities to learn and grow.

Perhaps the most memorable lesson from her journey comes from those four simple words her racing coach shared with her:

Go at your pace.

There will always be someone moving faster, achieving something different, or following another path. What matters is understanding your own capabilities, remaining committed to your goals, and continuing to move forward.

And sometimes, the experiences that challenge us most become the very lessons that allow us to help someone else.

Connect with Alicya

Alicya V. Simmons, MBA Founder, Alicya Simmons & Associates New Smyrna Beach, Florida Website: AlicyaSimmons.com