I’m not going to tell you about the song of Colombian origin, Los caminos de la vida (The Paths of Life), which has different versions and performers and was most popularized by Vicentico (the vocalist of the Argentine group Los Fabulosos Cadillacs) in 2004. The title is due to the coincidence of my story of having recently lived in Argentina and now in Colombia.

It was March 16, 2020, when a complete lockdown of people was declared in Peru as one of the measures to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, and a few days before my 50th birthday, I received an email with an invitation to a three-day seminar (July 20, 22, and 24) to be held online at the PAD – University of Piura, entitled “Leadership and Personal Transformation.” The speakers were Rafael Zavala, with the collaboration of Santiago Alvarez de Mon and Victor Kuppers.

In this regard, in recent days, some coincidences have occurred.

1. It has been 5 years since I participated in the aforementioned seminar.
2. Rafael Zavala, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, published a post (read it, I recommend it).
3. I just turned 55 years old 5 days ago, I started my birthday celebration by attending mass and I was moved by Psalm 116:12 “How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness he has done for me?”

In that sense, everything mentioned in the previous paragraph reminded me of the path I’ve taken since that 2020 experience, as it changed my perspective on life, starting with personal, family, and professional aspects.

Therefore, upon hearing the psalm’s interpellation, the scales fell from my eyes, not from my eyes, as happened to Saint Paul (Saul of Tarsus), but from my heart, as The Little Prince (De Saint-Exupéry, Antoine) says… “Only with the heart can one see clearly; what is essential is invisible to the eyes.” With humility, I must admit that I have a constant struggle to be better every day, and as it must happen to everyone: I advance, I fall, I get back up and try again. And yes, I often regress and fail, but the point is to become aware of it and correct our course.

To conclude, I share my public gratitude to God through:

• My parents, who taught and passed on their faith, principles and values.
• My brothers (Jorge and Iván), who have supported me and still support me at 55 years old.
• To Jessica, my life partner, who helps me every day to be a better person.
• To Mariana, Fátima, and Belén, for being such good daughters, for their unconditional love in forgiving their father’s inconsistencies.
• To my friends from school, undergraduate and graduate school, for their friendship, listening, and advice when I needed it.
• To all the people who have shared my career path, especially my colleagues, Raúl from Nestlé, Roxana from HPA, Inés, Claudia and Maripili from Bansud, and Julita from Tottus.
• To Rodolfo and Agus, for helping me with the crazy idea for the newsletter, “Ideas, contributions and failures.”
• To our friends from the “Leadership and Personal Transformation” seminar, especially Marita and Carmen Julia.
• To Alberto Ramirez Puig, for allowing me to share and make available to others the articles I write. As I told him: if I help just one person reflect, I’ll be happy.

As the popular saying goes: “a rabbit’s advice.” Don’t wait like I did to start playing the second half of your life to make the change.

I add two additional sentences to the previous paragraph.

• “Happiness is a reflection of gratitude” – David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine monk.
• “Happiness is to love and be loved” – George Sand, French writer, 19th century.

Come on! Let’s reflect on this. I remind you again that practice makes perfect. Start with small changes. I assure you that before you know it, you’ll have incorporated and internalized several good habits. So, keep going. Keep paddling against the current!