Yesterday, I had a great conversation with Youla, a 3rd grade teacher from New York… We talked about her students, about their passion and their determination. She also  shared with me some of her secrets in teaching strategies; how she gets her kids excited about school and how she motivates the kids to try and keep trying without the fear of failure.
On the second day of school, she places an eraser on each one of the kids’ desks. When the kids arrive to class they always comment: “Miss, our mom already gave us an eraser…” with a puzzled face. 
“The eraser is for you to understand that it is ok to make mistakes, to commit errors, and that you are allowed to erase your answers; however, the purpose here is for you to really understand why you committed the error and for this understanding to click in your mind so you will always remember”
Love it!  
She is teaching her kids what I have been advocating in my writings: “Failures are not regrets but small disappointments that wake up the strength within us! Failures are the process of learning and improving!”
Youla is instructing her kids to take chances, to take risks knowing that they can fail and that it’s not a big deal.  
This training is what we call LIFE, and it is full of disappointments and setbacks but they do not last forever!
We all have the power within us to overcome anything that life throws our way.  We are wired to be resilient, to bounce back. Nothing can permanently stop us.
Understand and learn from your failures and mistakes; use your eraser, delete them and try again! 

Today is a cloudy and cold day in Lima, Peru; I bundled up and decided to go for a walk to find out where people go on a Sunday afternoon. 
At the park I found a lot happening; older people dancing to Latin beats, street artists, street vendors, lots of activities where people were enjoying the afternoon.
While touring, a group of young ladies approached me and handed me a wrapped candy with a written note with the word “Smile.”  
One of the girls said to me, “give us a big smile for the picture.” I smiled and click, the picture was taken and they moved along.
“Hey, what kind of project are you guys working on?” I asked.
“We give away candy in exchange for a smile; we give sweets and take pictures to make people smile. It’s a cold day and people are a little cranky. With this candy we remind them that God loves them and has given them one more day so they should be happy.”
Wow, what a great concept, this group of girls are not asking for anything in return, they just want you to smile.
Researchers have found that smiling on purpose can help people feel better; it changes brain chemistry, improves people’s health and makes them optimistic. 
So, I take my hat off to these great crusaders. Their only mission is to get people to smile, to make them feel good and to stay hopeful.
Cheers!!!

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” - Leo Buscaglia

Constantly I tell my kids that the most important thing that they have is their pride and not one person can take it away from them.  
When I use the word “pride” I do not use it as arrogance, which is the bad-pride and is the sin of superiority.
I use it for self-esteem, self-respect, self-confidence and self-assurance; the consciousness of one's own dignity − the good-pride!

“When you believe in yourself and have commitment, enthusiasm, and PRIDE… you are a champion!” -  Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld

Sometimes it's hard to get out of bed …
It’s natural to lose interest in things that used to excite us; at times, we feel lost or defeated and we do not know how to get back on track…
For me, to get motivated in doing something creative or active, I just set the goal to do it, not to enjoy it. I just focus on getting up and finishing the task.
As soon as I build the momentum the enjoyment arrives, and then it becomes exciting to have gotten out of bed.


“Enthusiasm is the energy and force that builds literal momentum of the human soul and mind.” - Bryant H. McGill

Jan Oblak, the new goalkeeper for the Atlético de Madrid, stopped by our house for a few minutes last month.
We knew in advance that he was going to stop by. Isabela, my youngest daughter who is an Atletico fan, had planned to get autographs, pictures, and to give him a souvenir!
Oblak, a young man with a great attitude, established a great rapport with Isabela, and she was able to accomplish all of her objectives.  Before he was ready to go, Isabela gave him a souvenir: an I Love Failure t-shirt…
A great and exciting experience for her….
- Anyway, his visit made me think… how tough must it be to be a goalkeeper.
In soccer, what do you do when all else fails?
You hope that your goalkeeper is ready!
A goalkeepers’ job is to prevent the other team from scoring; whether he punches the ball, catches it, or kicks it out, as long as the ball does not go past the line, no point is scored. A goalkeeper is the gatekeeper of the team. When everything else has failed he/she is the ONE!
In life, at home, at work, at school, and among friends, we all have a gatekeeper.
A gatekeeper is the person that guards an entrance; he/she is the one that keeps a cool mind, stays focused and finds a solution. The gatekeeper is a leader that we can count on.
In life, we should all aim to be some type of gatekeeper: the person that has the confidence and is prepared to do the right thing!
Oblak is the person that Atlético has chosen and they are counting on him. We wish him all the best in his new venture. 

"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." -Tom Landry

Before success are stacks of failures, sleepless nights and plenty of self-doubt about whether or not they will ultimately make it; no entrepreneur is immune of issues.
Yet, they do not waste time upsetting about it. They know, that their job as a founder is to stay motivated and to maintain the passion that motivates everyone else to keep going.

"Don't listen to what anybody says except the people who encourage you. If it's what you want to do and it's within yourself, then keep going and try to do it for the rest of your life." - Jake Gyllenhaal

So here I am, sitting in the middle of the highway, on my way back to Dublin.
This morning I decided to rent a car to do some sightseeing. To my surprise, when I got in the car, I realized that people in Ireland drive on the wrong side of the road. The driver seat is on the right side.
Everything is opposite to what you are used to. You have to drive on your left, the Rear-view mirror is on your left side; you have to shift with your left hand. Everything is opposite of what you were taught. It took me a while, a long while, to get confortable with the situation.
My wife, Nesrin, when she heard that I was driving in Ireland, said to me, “you should not be driving there.  With your dyslexia and your constant confusion of your right and left you are going to have an accident” (she jinxed me). I responded, “Do not worry, I already got used to it. It is easy.”
I decided to tour the countryside in the morning.  I visited the coast, a lake, a castle and a botanic garden. In the afternoon, although I had the car until the next day, I decided to head back in order to return it.  I had had enough and was ready to spend my afternoon walking around town.
On my way back, while driving on the highway I heard a strong blast and suddenly the car was full of smoke. I was confused and did not understand what was going on. I slowed down and parked on the side of the road. After the smoke had cleared, I realized that everything was ok and realized what had occurred.
I had hit a pothole and the front tire exploded.  The impact was so strong that the passenger air bag was activated. The explosion of the air bag filled the car with smoke… A little dramatic but everything was ok.
After 3 hours, here I am, still waiting for the tow truck.  My sim card is empty so I am with out access to outside world. 
What should I do with all this time? Write a post.

So here is the lesson:
Despite our plans, sometimes events occur that are completely out of our control and can turn our world upside down in a split second. These uncontrollable surprises are called circumstances.
The dictionary defines CIRCUMSTANCE as an event that causes something to happen, typically something undesirable.
“Typically something undesirable” I disagree. I see a circumstance as an event that could be used as an opportunity. 
It is important to understand where you end up in your life has less to do with your circumstances than with where you decide to go in spite of your circumstances. 
At the end, I do not know if the lesson was great in this blog, but I can tell you something, in spite of my circumstances, I am glad that I was carrying my computer and was able to spend time with you, (the readers).
Thank you for listening, to my dramatic situation… LOL

“Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” - Nido Qubein