The Blog

  I am in the mood for coining a phrase, so here it is: “Responsibility is a quality that, when it is present in one´s life, becomes the strongest foundation on which all good can be built!” Living without a sense of responsibility is like walking through life...

The famous quote by Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher, “Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it…” fits the message in this article. My simple cabinetmaker’s mind perceives from this quote that I can only access the treasure (knowledge) if I use...

I saw somewhere sometime ago a line that read: “Recent US studies suggest that immigrants are four times more likely to become self-made millionaires.” I am not sure how accurate this statement is, but I have seen and met so many successful immigrants in the last 17...

“I know that if I start making “focaccia barese” in a take-out restaurant in Japan, I will succeed, but… I have nobody there, I can’t do it…” someone told me few years ago. Knowing that no matter what I could have said to this individual, nothing would have changed...

In the previous article, I shared my thoughts about how immigrating gives, as a default, the potential empowerment to anybody that has, secretly or not, the desire to start a new business. I mentioned how some people immigrate with the hidden desire to become...

I strongly believe that inspired immigrants, the ones that have “felt the call”, have everything they need to succeed if they decide to start their own business, independently of what they were or are doing in their native country. Yes, I know I am putting a smile on...

In my previous article, I attempted to separate the different types of an immigrant’s spouse into four groups, according to the degree of support that they give to their partners in regards to the immigration adventure. I want to reinforce the fact that a spouse is...

Here are some samples of the complaints that I hear over and over again (and there are new ones coming out every day): “I am trying to convince her that this is the best place to be, but she is so negative!” “It is impossible to make it here with him whining about...

How can we use our culture to grow as immigrants instead of being penalized by it? Appreciating and leveraging what we bring with us in our cultural luggage can only happen if we don’t attach our “being” to it. I will give the following example in general terms, so...