BUENOS DIAS- GOOD MORNING- GUTEN MORGEN!!

AMERICAN ME!

Felicia and her grandfather Gerardo "Jerry"  Lobo, both at 21.

A friend of mine said:  "there is a book in that Luis!", after I told him that my daughter Felicia Lobo     www.felicialobo.com

was graduating New York University, almost 50 years to the month, of my father Gerardo Lobo's arrival at JFK International, February of 1964.

I have written about his motivations to come to the United States, from our ancestral Costa Rica, a young man 21 years of age, the same age as Felicia upon her graduation ( Jerry Lobo could have never imagined....) .  Yet, what drives one individual to act, does not necessarily drive another to act accordingly.  Felicia has no memory of her grandfather, as he passed away when she was the age of two.  Her older  brothers Andres and Thomas have few visual recollections of my father.  What they all have shared has been an incessant dialogue, over the years,  on who he was, what he accomplished for himself and his family and the impact that he had on his community.

Highly motivated individuals cause things to occur.  Less motivated individuals watch things occur.

There is the interminable analysis of NATURE VS NURTURE.  Malcolm Gladwell has written about drive and motivation in "OUTLIERS" where he gives examples of individuals nurturing their passions, at a rate of 10,000 hours, to be on the competitive plane of sports, academia, or anything. He also wrote "David and Goliath"on the most conventional advantage, David's nature in speed, agility and rifle-like sling, in destroying a visibly superior competitor.

There are also an encyclopedia of work on the subject: Qubein - "The Time is Now. The person is YOU"; Peters - In Search of Excellence"; Pink - "DRIVE"; Useem - "The GO Point". There are 100's of  other relatively respected works with all the evidence in the world that proves the point being conveyed:  "if YOU do this and that, then, this and that will occur."

Sure, in a frozen and controlled universe it may occur.  We do not exist in a frozen and controlled universe.  Our lives are crashing forth, wether we are consciously involved or not, on a time continuum that ultimately ends in death. Very motivated individuals recognize this race against time.  Everyone else lives day to day, tacking to the winds, simply trying to make it at some level acceptable to their own self-esteem.

What causes a child to sing before she can rise to hold herself up on her crib? We did not actively play music in our little house in Burlington, NC.  What motivation seeks to understand the written word before entering the public schools, her day school teacher telling my wife: "Felicia can read", at three years of age. How can a child of 10 grasp a grown-up concept of where she wants to live (NYC), and what she wants to pursue (the stage), without an active visual example, such as parents or friends in the entertainment industry?

I believe that the "Immigrant Story" has had a lot to do with the second and even third generation children of immigrants having a bold and driven nature. The history of the United States is that of "A Nation of Immigrants" as written by JFK.  I also believe that the children of accomplished individuals have a better chance than others of also becoming successful simply because they have seen it done and it is not mystifying to them. Yet, there are countless individuals; bound by economic, physical, cultural and totalitarian walls, that surmount these challenges across  the globe.

Felicia, and my other children, and now my nephew, have had a tremendous advantage in the persistent day-to-day involvement of my wife Debbie.  This is the structural organization and moral upbringing that comes with strict boundaries, lots of love and affection, and an ongoing emotional support.  A love of self is more important than any degree, and these are earned early or they are not.  My grandfather Andres called this the education that is gained at home, not the education that is gained at school.

Just this very moment a child was born, somewhere in the world, with the odds stacked for or against them.  That child will be able to "see over the wall" of religious intolerance, political oppression, or economic disadvantages.  Because of increasing world-wide freedom, that child will be able to quickly assess his little or large  town or village in comparison with the rest of the world relatively earlier than ever before.  He or she will make a decision to become a person of impact (motivated), or the thought may not ever cross their mind (unmotivated).  IF we can continue to be the greatest country conceived by the mind of man,  that child will want to come here above anywhere else.

When that child arrives in this country, young or later in life, all of us and our descendants will be the beneficiaries of the drive, productivity, innovation and ethics from that one point of light.  It takes thousands and thousands  points of light to  continue to illuminate the world.

Gerardo Lobo changed our reality 50 years ago.

CONGRATULATIONS to Felicia!

In the final analysis, your attitude determines your effectiveness in everything, every time! LGL www.LuisLobo.Biz