Are you grateful?
It’s a cold day in Mosquera, Cundinamarca, days like this that you need a hot beverage and stay at home, which is, a great plan to be with yourself or with the person that it’s Important for you. While I was watching the beautiful landscape from my balcony, somehow, I started to think about this beautiful name called life. Drama, deceptions, or happiness? Let’s see how precious it is, see this perspective, because there are different approaches to re live those memories.
Somehow, I started to listen music that I used to listened when I was a teenager. I do not know why this music come up with memories, the special thing about this its that I could re live those memories just closing my eyes and thinking about the smells, the air, the people’s laughs, the sky, the nights, the stars, how the moon shined, how my first dreams came up in my mind.
I think there are areas or goals in our lives that we do not remind how long we get through, lets see one by one:
Personal development
10 years ago, was 6/14/2012, I was a simple young guy that wanted to be someone in this world, with scattered visions, purpose I did not had. Because usually we turn in our twenties without knowing what we want for this life, specially, what sort of person I would like to be or become.
But, at that year I had the opportunity to reflect about one goal that I truly wanted to achieve, the English Language. I had the opportunity to meet a couple from United Stated in 2008, I remember that couple came from Illinois, EEUU, they had a great attitude, they used to smile with everybody, which I wanted to talk with them. I said to me: “Cris! Let’s talked with them” and for sure, I did my moved, I greet them with a nervous: “Hello, I am Cristian Lopez, nice to meet you”, they looked to me, smiled and answered: “Hello Cristian, nice to meet you my name is “they started to talk, and you know what? I did not get any idea. It was a real frustration for me because I wanted to talk with them, but my brain, could not understand them. At that day I took a decision, I am going to learn this English language, with a truly determination.
2008 a year that I met incredible people and started the dream to speak and learn a new lenguage.
At 2008 I lived in a farm, without internet connection, without any computer or MP3 device, yes, I know, I’m turning older talking about MP3 devices. I downloaded some audios magazines, the PDF magazines and started to listen and read at the same time without understanding anything, maybe this simple action was stupid and boring, but for me, was a precious opportunity to develop my listening skills and my writing. I did this simple action between 2008 to 2011, more than 3 years, in addition, I used to ask question to my English teacher at high school, asking about grammar, sentences structures, context when some words can be applied or used, another step that I took was talk with friends that loves the English and try to talk, I did that step between 2008 to 2010.
The farm 2009
One brave step that I took on those years was prepare a speech in my class totally in English. I did it even when my English was not good, but I thought at that moment, I wanted to prove to myself this little baby step in front 30 classmates.
In that moment I was nervous, I remember it too well, I started to say: “Good morning, everybody, my speech will be about What do I do with my life?” My classmates looked at me with a weird face, which made me feel unconformable, instead of being quiet, I kept talking in front of them. Long story short, my English teacher corrected some phrases on my speech and cogratulated me about this little baby step.
The speech in 2010
At 2012 I remembered my dream and I decided to keep study this beautiful language, I signed up to English programs, I decided to be part of Business Process Outsourcing company since 2014 with the promise to improve my English language, my writing, my speech, my understand and so on, things that matters in a long term.
At the end 2018 I decided to become a Start up Founder, with that decision, I signed up for investments batches with some venture capitalism firms, one of them, demanded for me have a weekly business summary about some KPI’s results (Key Performance Indicators), talk with them to sell the idea that my company has big potential. At the beginning was not easy, it demanded from me to learn technical words, ask questions, and clarify doubts in a professional way.
My company died in 2019 and my English skills grew in a way that I could not imagine. With this I took a decision to work with a Tech Company. It was my best decision, I believe in a phrased “At the end, the cables links/connect each other in a way that you cannot imagine”.
Why do I write about this? Because a decision, with full determination can affects the direction in your life. If I did not take the determination about this language, I could not be a Team Manager, Founder, Quality Analyst, positions, and experiences that I love.
Today, after 10 years I am doing my best to share and write my ideas in English language, what a win! For sure, my English is not perfect yet, my writing and grammar needs to be improved and I am still working on it.
If you are reading this part, I am pretty sure that you have goals that you already achieved, think about how you get through, how long it took this goal, and most important, who sort of person you become while you pursue your goal.
For me, that’s so beautiful and I have a lot of gratitude that fills me, and I hope fills you too.
Things Goals
I do not know if you can remember a time when you were a little kid and maybe you saw how your close family members, friends had some things that for you was impossible. I remember when I was 10 years old how my cousins had the opportunity to drive cars, have good clothes, travel, get Christmas gifts and so on.
My reality in those moments was dramatic for me because I wanted to get the same material things too. I remembered that I compared myself with friends/family members, walked away and cry a lot, asking me why I cannot get those things.
When I turned 14 years old, I lived a tough situation, I could not eat any lunch or dinner, because my parents did not have enough money to buy food. Moments …. when I asked to my parents crying and discussing why they decided to give us this situation (For sure, I was unmature on those moments).
In 2019 was an abysm for me, I lost everything, my professional career, my self stem, some material things, even my hopes and dreams.
I can extract some lessons from those situations:
- Your parents did their best with the mindset and resources that had on those tough moments.
- Appreciate the simple things, as a dinner, lunch or even a breakfast.
- Value the things, we need to work to get the things that you want.
- Do not take anything for granted.
- Appreciate the people that stayed with you on those tough situations.
- Do not lose your faith, hopes and dreams even when around you all collapsed.
- Appreciate the failure, because this one is trying to tell you something that you need to learn.
In addition, dream, believe and work hard on the things that you wanted to get in life, it could be material things, relationships, personal growth, contribution, and significance.
The best thing that we can do is focusing about what sort of person what we would like to be, what are the material things, experiences that truly want to live. Then, think about how you overcome failures, deceptions and dramas that moves you to learn and be better version of yourself, doing this, we start to be grateful about the good and the bad experiences. Finally, have an insane work ethic.
The life it’s too short, why do you cannot live it as YOU want?
