Marcial Dumlao - Navigating New Waters - A Military Officer's Journey to Business Leadership 

Naval Foundations: Early Life and Military Career
Marcial B. Dumlao's journey began with a childhood fascination with space exploration. "I wanted to be an astronaut. I actually wanted to fly jets and be a test pilot and actually go to the moon," he recalls. This passion drove him to correspond with NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, collecting Apollo mission photographs that fueled his dreams. Following in his father's naval footsteps but with pilot aspirations, his father drove him to Annapolis in 10th grade, setting clear expectations: "If you want to fly, you have to come here." Marcial embraced this path and entered the Naval Academy with high hopes, only to face disappointment when vision problems and knee issues disqualified him from flight school. "I didn't get to fly. I ended up becoming a supply officer," he explains, describing how he pivoted to learn "the business of the Navy." His 24-year naval career began in logistics, where he managed everything from food service and retail operations to barbershops and dry-cleaning facilities both on ships and shore installations. The second half of his career shifted to combat systems, expanding his expertise to "missiles and guns and computers and comms." His naval service took him around the world, including deployments on the battleship USS New Jersey during conflicts in Lebanon (1984) and the first Gulf War (1990). The latter deployment separated him from his infant son for nine months—one of many sacrifices made during his military career. His final ship assignment was on an amphibious helicopter assault vessel (LHA), completing what he describes as "awesome tours." Throughout his military service, Marcial accumulated impressive educational credentials, earning his initial degree in operations analysis and statistics from the Naval Academy, followed by a Navy-sponsored master's in IT. Pursuing personal interests, he later obtained an MBA in international finance, reflecting his growing fascination with global commerce. "One of my dreams was to actually reach out internationally," he explains. "When I was deployed abroad, I was like, how do we do these things? How do countries export and import?"

The Transition: Finding Purpose Beyond Uniform
After his Naval career, Marcial transitioned into federal service, continuing to lead and contribute within a structured, mission-driven environment. But in December 2021, a sudden health crisis—hospitalization from the aftereffects of COVID—brought everything to a halt. Confronted with the fragility of life, he began to reflect deeply, asking hard questions about purpose, legacy, and the path that remained. "I just said, you know, time is short," he recalls of this pivotal moment at age 60. During his recovery, he began journaling about his aspirations for the coming months and years, exploring what truly mattered to him after decades of service. This reflection led him to consider the concept of "vocatio"—the Latin term for "calling"—which he learned from one of his teachers: "If what you're dreaming of and what you really want and what the world needs and where they intersect, that's your calling." The movie "The Big Fish," featuring Albert Finney as a character whose impact on others is revealed at his funeral, deeply resonated with Marcial. "That's really why I was placed here on earth. That was my calling," he realized. "Whoever crossed my path, how can I empower them?" This insight became the foundation for his entrepreneurial venture. Taking the leap into entrepreneurship wasn't easy. Marcial acknowledges the security he left behind: "I was leaving a six-figure salary from that federal company." Despite colleagues suggesting he start part-time, he committed fully to his new path with a naval analogy: "You can't have one foot on the pier and the other foot on the ship. You'll fall in the ocean." In September 2022, Marcial officially launched Cool Persistence Coaching, LLC, publishing his book "Kadima, Mastering Your Destiny Through Cool Persistence" simultaneously. The book outlines his philosophy: "dreaming big, writing those dreams down, connecting with people who make impact, positive speech, because positive beliefs lead to positive actions, to positive results."

Navigation Challenges: Overcoming Entrepreneurial Obstacles
The entrepreneurial journey presented new challenges for Marcial, particularly regarding capital and business models. Having spent decades in structured military and federal environments, the financial uncertainties of business ownership required significant adjustment. "There are different models in doing that, gaining capital and cash flow," he explains, noting his learning curve regarding "venture capitalists or angel investors or actually having customer-funded type business models"—the latter becoming his chosen approach. His first year in business taught him valuable lessons about resource allocation. "There was a lot of cash outlays and things like that," he admits, acknowledging that better awareness of available resources might have prevented unnecessary expenses: "Had I known that there was a SBDC, had I known that there was an Apex Accelerator... I probably wouldn't have spent all that money hiring another person or another contractor." By 2023, Marcial faced a moment of doubt that nearly ended his entrepreneurial journey. "Last year, actually, you know, I was a coach, executive coaching, that was the business I started with, and I just said, you know, maybe I should just hang it up and just go look for another W2 job," he recalls. What kept him going was his documented dream of making an international impact, particularly in the Philippines. Rather than abandoning entrepreneurship, he pivoted his business model: "I actually divested myself from the coaching software, coaching stuff, and everything else, and just started being in consulting."

International Horizons: Expanding Business Vision to the Philippines
Marcial's international ambitions weren't merely about business expansion but were driven by a deeper purpose discovered during his academic research. While completing his master's degree, he investigated product introduction strategies across international markets and discovered concerning statistics about the Philippines. "There's this thing called Transparency International does this corruption perception index. And that's where I found out that the Philippines has a high rate of corruption... they're like ranked 114 out of 180," he explains. Further research revealed that 47% of Filipino management executives cited corruption as their primary concern, indicating systemic issues with business practices. This revelation stirred Marcial's desire to create change: "How do we change that behavior? And it's not fixing people, it's actually giving them a different mindset." His solution became a dual-focused approach he calls "boardroom and classroom." The "boardroom" component involves working with businesses to establish "trust and values" through processes of "clarifying, connecting, and catalyzing" to build trust-based corporate cultures. The "classroom" element completes the cycle: "Proceeds of that goes back and then feeds back into the public schools into the local school system and education to change the mindset of the youth." In October 2023, Marcial took decisive action by traveling to the Philippines to begin building relationships that would support this vision. This international extension of his business model represents not just commercial opportunity but alignment with his core mission of empowerment.

Leadership Philosophy: Compassion and Elevation
Marcial's approach to business leadership reflects his evolved understanding of success, which has shifted dramatically from his earlier career perspective. "Success is not just monetary," he emphasizes. "Success is how many people you've impacted, how have you impacted lives, have you empowered them." This people-centered philosophy informs his consulting approach, where he positions himself not as the hero but as the enabler of others' success: "As an entrepreneur, you're not the hero. Your actual client is the hero. And you need to elevate them." He believes this servant-leadership mindset creates sustainable success: "If you come in with that type of attitude of elevating your target client or whoever your prospects are and empowering them, then you'll have no issues of being successful." His commitment to empowerment extends particularly to youth development. Through involvement with Pikes Peak Business Education Alliance (PPBEA), Marcial works to inspire students from fifth through twelfth grades. "The biggest win is impacting the youth," he states. "Can I shape and mold and set conditions for their success, to let them know that they have dreams, to let them know that they have talents?" He emphasizes recognizing that different paths serve different talents: "Some are not destined to go to college, some are destined to open up a store, some are destined to be entrepreneurs right off the mat, but to realize that they have gifts and talents inside them."

Lessons Learned: The Power of Dreams and Community
When asked what lesson he wishes he'd learned sooner, Marcial doesn't hesitate: "Dreaming big and writing your dreams down." He regrets not maintaining this practice earlier in life, particularly after his initial astronaut dream was derailed by physical limitations. If someone had pulled me aside in high school and said, ‘Write your dreams down—capture them,’ it might have changed everything,” Marcial reflects. “I had the dream—become an astronaut—and I got close. I made it to the Academy. But when the pilot path closed, I didn’t have the next dream written. No map. So I had to pivot fast.” He acknowledges his Naval career was deeply rewarding, but without clearly documented aspirations, the path beyond became a question mark. Another crucial lesson came from attempting to navigate entrepreneurship alone during his first year. "I started out alone, didn't know where to go, so I started doing things myself," he recalls. "And found out that there's a network of people, of fellow entrepreneurs." This discovery of community resources—whether through organizations like One Million Cups, ACA Business Network, BNI, or Chambers of Commerce—transformed his approach. The key, he learned, was "to be courageous enough to ask the question saying, I need help."

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Ask Questions and Seek Community
Drawing from his experiences, Marcial offers clear advice for those beginning their entrepreneurial journey: "The biggest one is ask questions and you're not alone." He emphasizes the importance of overcoming pride or isolation tendencies to access available support systems. "That's the challenge that I had to overcome as well, is that I did things initially my first year by myself," he admits, noting the financial and operational consequences of this approach. Marcial believes entrepreneurs must embrace both compassion and commitment. "You have to be committed, I mean, resilient. You stand through adversity," he explains, acknowledging the unique demands of business ownership compared to employment: "Being an entrepreneur is not like the W2 or working for another company. You're it." The resilience required extends to navigating policy changes and regulatory environments that impact business operations. But alongside this fortitude, he emphasizes the importance of compassion—putting clients' success before personal recognition.

Future Vision: Legacy Through Impact
When asked to complete the sentence "Once upon a time, there was a boy who..." Marcial responds with his life's narrative arc: "There was a boy who had a dream of becoming an astronaut, and that dream did not happen. Because of just eyesight and blowing out the knees, he wasn't physically qualified. But he had a backup plan. He had to pivot." This ability to pivot while maintaining forward momentum continues to define his approach to business and life. When considering what the title of his biography might be, he suggests: "Sacrifice, Service, and Legacy in Action"—a phrase that encapsulates his military background, his commitment to serving others, and his focus on creating lasting impact. Though his path has taken unexpected turns from his childhood dreams of space exploration,

Marcial has found his mission in empowering others—whether business leaders in the Philippines seeking ethical practices or Colorado students discovering their potential. His journey from naval officer to international consultant demonstrates the power of resilience, adaptation, and maintaining a focus on elevating others. As he continues to expand his "boardroom and classroom" approach, Marcial exemplifies how entrepreneurship can serve as a vehicle not just for personal success but for meaningful social impact. In the words of former Israeli President Simon Peres, which Marcial quotes: "The definition of young is that if your dreams outweigh your achievements, you're still young." By this measure, despite his decades of accomplishment, Marcial's growing ambitions for global impact suggest his entrepreneurial journey is still in its youth.