![]() Last month in Washington DC after finishing a photo shoot I got one of the best compliments… A few years ago Nesrin, my wife said to me “you should stop exciting people about life, not everybody has your spirit… you always place these big dreams in their heads…” I had always believed that I am a good motivator and when I see a person with a lot of potential wasting their lives, I feel the need to talk to them. I want to get them motivated to find their element. After the photo shoot, Peter, a well known photographer and a dear friend, asked me, “you don’t remember when we met the first time do you?” “Sorry, not really…” I said. Peter recounted our first encounter, and I took it as a great commendation. I asked him to write a paragraph about it for my blog. “I was serving lunch in a cozy Italian restaurant on a beautiful sunny afternoon, I was young, inexperienced yet energetic, strong and hungry for knowledge. Not to mention super excited about my new job. Sitting by the window was a gentleman quietly enjoying his lunch, thinking, pausing, and looking out the window as he was looking for something. It almost looked like he was writing a book, but instead of paper and pen he used his mind. After a little small talk He introduced him self as Mauricio – “I am an entrepreneur”, he said. He asked me, “What's your story?” It turned out to be a really nice conversation, something Mauricio is good at - he is an extraordinary listener. He told me something that I have carried on as a legacy in my mind ever since. He said, "what you are doing is great, but ("pero") you can do more. Multiply, expand, open your own business, employ and harvest... Think of the possibilities. Work hard and enjoy it while doing it. That was nearly 15 years ago and I love what I am doing! " It took Nesrin a few years to understand what I had been trying to do and now she supports it 100%. She knows by now that I won’t stay quiet. When I choose an “unlucky” person to talk to, she looks at their faces thinking: too bad you have to deal with it… it might help you! A few days ago at home, I was putting some furniture together and I had hired a young Nigerian man, Abah to help me. This was the second time that I used his services, he is an immigrant in Spain that is determined to succeed. So while working on the furniture I began giving my rules for success (poor guy had to listen to me, he didn’t have another place to go. ja,ja): First you need to be conscious about your own dignity, you need to be determined and resilient. If you have a dream, you need to see yourself accomplishing it, believe in it, become part of it…. While giving my speech, I was surprised and glad to see Abah taking notes and asking questions, “dignity, what is the meaning of it?” “How do you spell resilience?” He was really absorbed with the discussion. After finishing assembling the furniture Abah said to me “Thank you, I am keeping these notes and I will review them every morning”. Great! He is young and has the drive to succeed. I wish him all the best! Peter the photographer said to me “Mauricio, you do not know how many times I have repeated your speech when I encounter a young motivated person. I am glad that I got to see you again. Gracias my friend”. Here is the lesson: As we get older we manage to acquire knowledge, some money and if we are fortunate we are healthy. Even though we take care of ourselves, eat healthy, constantly exercise our health could deteriorate rapidly. Money comes and goes and you can not take it with you when you die. So knowledge, our experiences are the only thing that we can pass on. This knowledge is the only thing that is going to stay after your gone and the information that you were able to transmit. I will keep motivating and challenging young people to find their passion and to have the courage to pursue their dreams. At the end, only a small percentage of the people that I preached to will get encouraged to make a change. However, if this modest group, just like Peter, will keep passing enthusiasm and knowledge to the next generation, I accomplished my goal of making a positive impact in this world. "The revelation of thought takes men out of servitude into freedom." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
4 Comments
Nesrin Abaza
11/10/2013 04:33:12 am
I always said to my dear late Mother, I would only marry someone who is generous when they have nothing, it is easy to give when you have so much. When I dated Mauricio he gave his last dollar to a homeless person and said to me, "I have the ability to make another"!
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Mauricio
11/10/2013 07:24:49 am
This is really a great compliment
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1/25/2024 03:26:32 am
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