We recently had the chance to connect with Kimberly Stevens and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Kimberly, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Something that’s bringing me joy lately is a nonprofit movement I started called Extend the Rose. It’s focused on bringing hope to kids in hospitals. What makes it so meaningful for me is that it’s also helping me heal the part of myself that spent four years in the hospital with my daughter. Turning that pain into something beautiful for other families has been incredibly life-giving.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Kimberly J. Stevens, an Orlando-based keynote speaker, author, and founder of two deeply personal ventures: Kimsurance and Extend the Rose.
With Kimsurance, I bring the same grit and precision I honed as a three-time All-American swimmer and University of Iowa Hall of Fame inductee to the insurance world, protecting what matters most: the health and future of families and businesses.
My story doesn’t stop at business. I’m a cancer survivor, the mother of a transplant warrior, and the mom of a son who didn’t survive citrullinemia. Those experiences led me to create Extend the Rose, a national nonprofit movement that brings visibility, voice, and victory to children in hospitals.
We do that through joy-filled, powerful moments: heroic photo booths, our ROAR Gallery, inspiring messages from athletes, and an upcoming float in the 2027 Rose Parade.
This journey wasn’t built on a string of successes. It was shaped by grief, loss, and failure, which means everything I do is rooted in purpose. I believe our hardest seasons can be transformed into something beautiful if we’re willing to see beauty in our own stories.
I strive to see the good in things every day, and I believe that when we help others feel seen, heard, and celebrated, they begin to see the beauty in their own story too.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that must be released, is the part that believed I had to hustle alone.
The part that stayed in overdrive, not because I didn’t believe in my vision, but because I didn’t believe anyone else could see it with me.
So I became a planner, a pusher, and a protector!
That part of me served it’s purpose and got me through some crazy hard times, but she is no longer needed in this stage of my journey.
What’s rising is the Seer part of me.
The one who doesn’t just grind to make things happen, but waits until she sees clearly.
The one who leads alignment instead of urgency.
The one who believes that vision is sacred, and when shared, it multiplies.
This Seer part trusts herself and allows others into the dream. She also receives their help to reach the finish line.
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If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
To my younger self, I would say this: You’re not too much. Your fire, your questions, and your yearning to make things are not flaws. Rather, they are the beginning of your calling. One day, your ache will become your anthem and what you’re walking through now will help someone else rise. So don’t shrink to fit in. Don’t silence yourself to keep the peace. The things you carry now are seeds of hope. You’re not broken, you’re being prepared and you are more loved than you know.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
They’re mistaking productivity for purpose.
Smart people are grinding harder than ever, launching faster, optimizing everything, chasing bigger numbers. But somewhere in all that motion, they’ve lost sight of what makes life matter. They’re choosing performance over presence and metrics over meaning.
I’ve done it. I’ve run full speed through heartbreak and high achievement, checking every box, earning every win, hitting every goal, not because I was grounded in purpose, but because I was trying to prove I was enough. I didn’t realize the proof I was chasing was already in the purpose I carried. I wasn’t fueled by alignment; I was driven by the ache to be seen, valued, validated.
Now I know: purpose doesn’t need to be proven. It just needs to be lived.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope they say:
“She didn’t just survive the unthinkable; she kept showing up.”
That even after wave after wave of loss, cancer, grief, financial strain and heartbreak; she never gave up.
Somehow, even in the darkest moments, Kimberly held on to just enough hope to keep going.
The Bible calls it a mustard seed of faith and she planted it, over and over again.
Now, she’s leaving behind something that matters, a legacy of hope born from the very places that once tried to take her out. A light in the dark places from which she’s come; giving others a reason to believe they can rise, too.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/extendtherose/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16tvaFd3BE
Image Credits
Emily Finger – Finger Prints
