Photo Credits: Marvin Meyer from Unsplash
This series is all about diverse entrepreneurship, but Jelly Social has a different and broader definition of diversity, one that highlights the uniqueness of individuals. To us, there are two forms of diversity to us: inherit diversity (age, gender, race) and acquired diversity (education, knowledge, skills, experience, values). Using inherited and acquired diversity can help us to realize all the different ways we are diverse. This week, we are talking to expert Ricardo Lopes on his journey as a diverse entrepreneur!
What makes Ricardo Diverse?
As a diverse entrepreneur, shed some light on yourself, the work you’re doing and maybe some of the things that make you diverse!
I am of Portuguese heritage. I’m a father, a teacher, a speaker, a learner. On top of being a published author, I have a learning and performance company called advanced leadership. We are a creative and enthusiastic bunch who really enjoy helping people be successful through lending support and expertise in four key areas: communication, training, employee engagement, and performance. We essentially help organizations and the people in them develop the skills and the knowledge to better perform both within the organization and with their customers to take them from ordinary to extraordinary.
Obstacles on his Journey
Thinking back on your journey to becoming the person that you are today, what would you say was the biggest obstacle to overcome? Could be a professional obstacle, a personal obstacle, a mental obstacle, an emotional obstacle.
My parents were immigrants in this country, as were four of my siblings. Starting in a new country not speaking the language and not necessarily looking like the folks in the neighborhoods that we moved into, sometimes my parents made the conscious decision to live outside of our community. Our neighbors were Jewish and German men; we had a very diverse neighborhood downtown, but it presented different problems too. You’d come home from school beaten up because you didn’t speak the same language or dress the same. I had eight brothers and sisters; everyone finished high school but not everyone did school after high school. I was the only one who got a University degree while only some went to college, and it wasn’t easy. I expressed that interest in getting higher education and moving forward but my parents were like “OK. Well, good luck with that because we can’t help you do it.” I was pamphlets and flyers at 11 years old, lying about my age at 15 years old and working ever since. At 18, I funded an addition to my home that my dad helped me build so I could continue to stay with my family and support them. It was a lot of work to put myself in that environment and I think a lot of folks take a readily available education for granted so I feel very privileged and lucky to have the opportunity, but it came with a lot of effort.
Be a Determined Leader
When it comes to being a good leader, are there any helpful tools, techniques, or resources that you think might be helpful?
Determination. I was very lucky to have supportive and loving parents who had big hearts even though they couldn’t financially assist me or even understood my University school system since they only knew the trades. While I didn’t have their support directly, I knew that they had my back if I fell. I can’t say how valuable that was to me as a younger person. Now what advice would I give my younger self? I’d give him a hug and say “relax, you’re going to be fine.” My parents never told me what to do; they encouraged me and helped me be independent. Now I tell my kids exactly what my parents used to tell me: “I can’t tell you what to do. I don’t understand your world perfectly, but I’ll prove it you make the right decision.”
Ricardo's Advice: Everyone is not You.
As if you were to have a conversation with your younger self, what type of advice would you give your younger self?
Understand everyone is not you. If you come to people with an honest heart and patience to appreciate that people are different from you and are motivated in different ways, you’ll better understand where they’re coming from and you’ll be in a far better position to influence them.
Speaker's Specifics
Ricardo is an award-winning author, international speaker, trainer, and coach who is passionate about leadership and employee development. Through personal empowerment and promoting individual accountability, Ricardo contributes to building strong communicating performers who leverage leadership principles to advance personal and organizational objectives. To learn how Ricardo and his team can help you, visit his website!
Ricardo also published his own book called Embracing Leadership which speaks to some changes in the very definition of leadership and the skills around it. Find it online or at your local book store!
