Making Our Desires Happen........

It´s sad to say that over one month has gone by since my last post in my blog, and I´ve sincerely missed making the time to sit down and express my thoughts.......so I hope I didn´t get even rustier than I was before!

I´ve been thinking a lot about how I can make this happen, how I can make things change and create the new reality that I so desire. It´s obvious when we focus on those things we want, we kind of stop valuing what we have today, which in turn makes us usually "throw in the towel" before we should.

I mention this situation because when we "through in the towel" before the time is right, we unnecessarily affect our current circumstance in a negative way and this, in turn, creates addition complications for us. Complications that do not help us in any way whatsoever advance in achieving the objective or the change we so want. Why do we fall into this way of doing things???

I´ve come to the conclusion that if I want to change some type of circumstance in my life I should first accept that where I am today is where I most need to be and only if I do what I have to do in my current situation, and sincerely with the best of attitudes, will I ever be able to make things change to what I want them to be.

The truth of the matter, is that I often come back to this conclusion, but oddly, only when I truly put my mind to it and keep this consciousness present, do things really start to change or improve! When I forget about this, I usually end up quite frustrated in the near future.

I ask myself again...........why does this happen? My take on it...........we´re here to learn and surpass our shortcomings.........only when we truly "learn the lesson" is when we will be able to go on the the next step!

How do you make your desires and objectives happen..............?

Business & Family......

This weekend we conducted what I think was our 4th Family Assembly Meeting in Ixtapan de la Sal. Much of the focus of these events is to build and grow the emotional links and relationships among the grandchildren, while also creating a moment of reflection among parents/uncles and their children/cousins with regards to family and the business. Personally, I came back quite happy with the results, but I can´t help but to reflect on what lies ahead and how to best manage certain challenges we have, as so do most families that share a business as we do.

Family values are obviously a core foundation for any growing family that stays united.......how can we truly live these values in our daily lives? What to do when other´s might not "walk the talk"? This is an arduous path but it requires to be walked through with determination.

Empowering the next generation in the business, shifting control of the organization, and passing ownership are textbook steps in this process, but we require certain basics like......communication, clarity, empathy, tolerance, respect, inclusiveness, and nurturing not only our financial capital, but also our human and intelectual capital...........these are all needed for the family and the business to transcend, for the legacy to successfully live on. Only if we do this accordingly, will we build the much needed trust to carry on.

Are we doing enough for this to happen and move forward successfully..........???

Social Responsability........

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to organize and attend our last YPO Ed event of the year. This event revolved around the topic of social responsibility. We wanted to bring the members and our families up close to what is a very sad reality for so many people in Mexico.

In order to create more awareness in both members and children we brought them to a site close to Mexico City where, together with the help from other foundations, we built small low cost homes no bigger than 45 sq meters. All attendee families were directed to homes that were in different stages of construction so we could help as "construction workers" with the pending chores to finish them.

The reason I mention all this is for one very important reason...........coming from a family that has always been very philanthropic and having always accepted the importance of helping the less fortunate, I had never experienced something so powerful as I did during this day. Just imagine taking a day from your life, roll up your sleeves, get your hands "dirty" working shoulder-to-shoulder with real construction workers and afterwards having lunch together with the lucky families that will receive these homes!

Having these people, who are economically less fortunate, thank you over and over again, and seeing the joy these parents and their children expressed was a completely overwhelming experience for my family and myself.

This simple event made me understand that it was not only important to give of our money but to share one of our most scarce resources which is our time. Having had given of my time and that of my families, reminded me of how fortunate we are and how important it is to make social responsibility part of our family life.

Social responsibility should be something we do because we truly believe in helping others. This will contribute not only to keep us level-headed, but to create a culture of giving back, and will also help to transform our sometimes natural reaction to hoard wealth to that of becoming a channel that shares with community around us.

In closing, I want to express some questions I am challenging myself with.............have I dedicated of my time and resources with the most needy for the right reasons? Have I done this for the recognition I will receive from others or have I don this to truly share with the less fortunate? Who gained more during this event........the families receiving the home or the families that donated them? How can I do more to help my community in ways that will have a lasting impact? How can I develop in my kids a true sense of sharing and a proper philanthropic culture that lasts a life time?

I still don´t have these answers.........