Ronald Day has spent decades making other people's dreams come true.
From helping build The Cristina Show into a daytime institution to creating and overseeing some of Telemundo's biggest entertainment franchises, Day became one of the most influential executives in Spanish-language television without ever becoming the face of the shows he produced.
Now, for the first time, he's stepping into the spotlight himself.
The longtime television executive is promoting El Poder del Enfoque ("The Power of Focus"), his first book, a project born after making one of the biggest decisions of his professional life: leaving Telemundo after nearly four decades in the industry.
"I started thinking about what my next life project would be," Day told this reporter. "A friend suggested I write a book, and my first reaction was, 'Who's going to care about Ronald Day's life?' But she told me people would find it useful, and that's how everything began."
What surprised even him was how quickly one chapter led to another.
Only months after leaving television, Day was invited to join the Miss Universe Organization, where he now serves as CEO. While he says his current focus is divided between the global pageant, motivational speaking and his book, he insists he has no desire to return to the corporate television world he left behind.
"I don't plan to open a production company, and I don't plan to go back to television," he said.
That decision may come as a surprise to those who watched him help shape Hispanic television for nearly 37 years.
Day began his career as a producer before climbing the executive ranks at Univision and later Telemundo, where he oversaw some of the network's biggest entertainment brands, including La Casa de los Famosos, Exatlón Estados Unidos, Top Chef VIP, live specials and scripted productions. Along the way, he worked closely with television icons such as Cristina Saralegui and helped launch and develop formats that have become staples of Spanish-language television.
Yet instead of writing a memoir filled with backstage stories and celebrity encounters, Day chose to focus his first book on something more universal: overcoming fear.
"I realized that so many people have dreams but never pursue them because they're afraid or because they worry about what others will say," he said. "Fear keeps us from doing things."
His advice isn't to ignore fear, but to confront it.
"I tell people to put fear right in front of them. Look at it every day until you're ready to move forward."
That philosophy also guided one of the boldest moves of his own career.
"When I left Telemundo, I opened a drawer and left my ego, my power, everything inside it," he said. "I closed that drawer, and I don't plan to open it again."
Although he has embraced a new life outside network television, Day acknowledges he wasn't planning to return to entertainment so quickly. Then came a call from Miss Universe.
"I had only been away from Telemundo for four months when Miss Universe came along," he said. "It's a wonderful company, and everything complements each other. My motivational talks, my book and Miss Universe all fit together perfectly."
While careful not to reveal details, Day confirmed that preparations for the pageant's 75th anniversary in Puerto Rico are well underway.
"I can't tell you much because there are still surprises," he said. "But we're going all out for the 75th anniversary."
For now, however, Day says his biggest mission isn't producing television or pageants. It's helping others discover what comes next in their own lives.
"I wanted this book to have substance," he said.
His "mission" goes beyond the pages or the conferences and talks. "I wanted it to help people when I started all of this, and when I decide to do something, I don't waver until I achieve it," Day added. From his words, he is just starting.
