ARIEL DELGADO, AUTHOR, SPEAKER, COACH & CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL EXECUTIVE

Podcast Host, Ray Sanders interviews Ariel Delgado as he walks listeners through Delgado's new book, The Wounded Child, A Real Life Story of Healing and Hope.

Episode Transcript

Ray (00:07):
Hello, everyone. I'm Ray Sanders, and you're listening to
the Ray Sanders LeadershipPodcast. And today, I have a
very special guest. I guess youcould say all the way from
Uruguay, but we know you're alocal boy now, a US citizen, my
friend, author, speaker, andcoach, Ariel Delgado. Thanks for
being on the show today, Ariel.

Ariel (00:28):
Thank you, Ray, for having me. How's it going?

Ray (00:30):
Man, it's not every day that I get to have, my my
brother from another mother allthe way down from

Ariel (00:35):
South

Ray (00:36):
America on the show. But I'll never forget the first time
that you and I met. We wereserving a client together, and I
was doing some executivecoaching, and you were doing
some of your work with the restof the team. And I thought
that's a guy I wanna get toknow, and we've had an
opportunity to kinda grow ourfriendship. And one of the
things that, I've often saidabout you when I introduce you
to other people, as I said, Ihad no idea.

(00:59):
I had no idea about this guy.You're so easy to underestimate.
You're just a good looking SouthAmerican Latino, but, man, god
has done some amazing things inyour life. And who would have
thought that this farm kid froma little farm community down in
Uruguay would become anexecutive here in United States
for a major national company, gothrough a lot in his life, and

(01:23):
end up writing a book about hislife. And that's why you're here
on the show today to talk about

Ariel (01:28):
it. Right. Thank you so much again for having me, and I
agree with the second part that,God has done a lot of things on
me. I don't know about theLatino, all that stuff, but
we'll leave it up to God. Youknow?
Yes. We're, really excited, Ray,about the book Mhmm. That is
coming out. So, October. So thebook is man, I think it's it's

(01:48):
gonna it's impactful.

Ray (01:50):
Well, let's not waste any time. Let's jump right in into
this. I mean, I think a lot ofpeople would like to know what
is the mission of the book, whydid you decide to write the
book. It's not easy writing abook. It takes time.
And, I'm sure that for you,unpacking a lot of what you put
in this book, I mean, it's nowin black and white. It's in
writing, and it's taken youseveral years to even get to the

(02:13):
point that you would talk aboutthis publicly Right. Let alone
put it in a book for yourdaughters. You now have 3
daughters Mhmm. For them to see.
And the things that are in thisbook, folks, I'm just gonna tell
you right now, this could be aHollywood thriller, a
blockbuster, but it's not allgood. I mean, there's a lot of
good that's come out of it.

Ariel (02:33):
Right.

Ray (02:33):
But your story, man, it is it's crazy. So start us off,
tell us why did you decide towrite this book, what's the
mission of the book, and thenlet's let's talk about it.

Ariel (02:43):
Thank you again, Ray. At the first time, the I believe it
was from God. I heard thisvoice. You have to write a book.
It was when I was flying fromBogota, Colombia to Oklahoma
about 2 years ago.
We finished we just finished 14workshops with family ID, the
ministry that I work for, and Iwas coming back home with a

(03:06):
heavy heart. Every time that Ido a workshop with family ID, I
share my testimony. Andspecifically during this trip, I
had a lot of families approachme after the workshop asking me
for help. Because like you said,on the book, I'm not holding
back. And the families areapproaching me and asking me,
what do I do?
I'm about to get divorced. I'maddicted to porn. I'm a you

(03:28):
know, a lot of struggles. So Iwas coming back home with a
heavy heart, and I was prayingto god. I was like, god, what do
I do?
How can I help him? And that'sthe first thing first time that
I heard from god, you have towrite a book. Honestly, I I just
didn't even pay attention to it.And let me tell you why. I did
only 6 years of school my wholelife because I started working

(03:51):
when I was 9, and then when Idid, my first year 6 years of
school, I stopped and, startedworking with my dad.
That's what needed to be done atthe time. And so that's the
first thing that came to mymind, and I think it was the
enemy trying to convince me.When God told me, write a book,
I was like, no. I can't.

Ray (04:09):
So so

Ariel (04:10):
I left it alone. And then a month later, a friend came to
me, and he goes, you have towrite a book, Ariel. So that was
I started, you know, taking itseriously. Now I started praying
about it. And then I talked tothe, publisher, and we started
writing the book about 2 yearsago.

Ray (04:26):
So to put this in, the North American terms Mhmm. 6
years in school, would that bethe equivalent of 6th grade?

Ariel (04:33):
Is it the Yeah. Elementary.

Ray (04:34):
So elementary.

Ariel (04:35):
That's what I did.

Ray (04:36):
Yeah. So you really felt like, hey, who am I to write a
book?

Ariel (04:38):
Right.

Ray (04:39):
I've only been to 6th grade. Mhmm. My credentials
don't set myself up for writinga book. Mhmm. Mhmm.
But you continue to be naggedabout it, and then God brought
other people into your life

Ariel (04:50):
Right.

Ray (04:50):
And they urged you. I'm gonna tell you, I don't know how
you are, how old you are, on thecover of this book, folks. For
some of you who are watchingonline, or maybe if you're just
listening online. If you'rewatching online, you can see
here that I'm holding up thecover of this book. I mean, this
is a phenomenal cover.
Mhmm. The name of the book, bythe way, The Wounded Child, A

(05:13):
Real Life Story of Healing andHope. Now this is you. Both of
these pictures are you.

Ariel (05:18):
Yes. They are. The first the one on the left is the first
ID I had. I was crying literallyon that on that on that day when
I got my first ID. I was 4 yearsold.

Ray (05:29):
Wow.

Ariel (05:30):
And I saved the ID. I still have it. And when I showed
it to the publisher, they goes,this is it. We're gonna use it
for your cover. And and it wasawesome.
So yeah.

Ray (05:41):
And that's the other thing that's neat about this book,
folks. It's one thing to read astory, but Ariel has put other
photos from his story in thisbook, and I think it makes it
really even more authentic. Backto the mission, though. Mhmm.
You felt like, really, you'recalled to do it, but you and
your wife were talking aboutthis book, and you kind of come
up with a written formal missionstatement for this book.

(06:04):
Do you remember what it is, ordo you need to?

Ariel (06:06):
Yeah. The wounded child will help you discover your
emotional wounds first and thento find a healing path.

Ray (06:14):
Okay.

Ariel (06:15):
And, it was easy to write that down or, I guess, to come
up with that because that's whathappened to me. I didn't even
know I was wounded from mychildhood. And, if you know that
you if you don't know thatyou're wounded, how are you
gonna find a solution? How areyou gonna heal? So I think the
book is gonna help you, first,identify your wounds Mhmm.
And then second, find a path forhealing.

Ray (06:38):
So many people I mean, as parents, we get this more and
more, and we know that we're notperfect. And we sometimes
wonder, are we messing up ourkids? But so many of us, we bury
those things that have happenedto us. And your story is a
testimony to this. Once you candiscover that, you can then turn
that pain into purpose.
Right. And that's exactly whatyou've done. Now this book, it's

(07:00):
a it's a perfect type of bookyou can take on a plane with
you. If you wanna go to thebeach or you're going on
vacation, it's it's about a 143,a 150 pages, somewhere in there.
You've got 11 chapters.
So just kinda tell us the story.Walk us through the book as you
as you see pleased. I may I mayask some questions along the
way, but kinda give folks I knowyou don't wanna give them all of

(07:21):
it, but, certainly, give usenough reason to think I have to
know more.

Ariel (07:25):
Okay. Well, like you said at the beginning, Ray, I've been
in America for a while now,almost 20 years. I'm a citizen,
and I can tell you that Iaccomplished the American dream.
And I'm on my second journey forthe American dream. I'll tell
you in a second why, but, itwasn't always that way.

(07:46):
Like I said, I grew up in a poorfamily. I started working when I
was 9, quit going to school at11, and, and I love my parents.
And my my parents did the bestthey could with what they had.
They didn't have any resources.So, you know, when I was 11, I
remember the you know, goingvisiting bars with my dad, and

(08:07):
my dad was a great man.
And and I hope you guysunderstand that that I'm not I
love my dad, and he taught me alot of great things. But,
unfortunately, alcohol got aholdof him, and then he was a
different person. So but, youknow, from an early age, I was
just seeing my dad and hisfriends and and and other people
at the bar talking about what ittakes to be a man, and that's

(08:29):
what I learned. That's what Imodeled for over 20 years. In
America, we will say that I wasbuilding my testimony.
You know? So but, for me at thetime, it was normal. I grew up
in the rough environment. My momwas staying home, and my dad was
just going out with me, and wewere just doing what men do.
Right?

(08:49):
That's what I learned that whatmen to be a man, you have to be
tough. You don't cry. You don'task for help. You're not
vulnerable, and you don't haveanybody in your corner. You just
do it alone, and that's what Ilearned throughout the years.
And so I went through somedifficult challenges that you're
gonna find those on the book.I'm not holding back on the you
know, with the book. So, 11, I Iwent through something that

(09:11):
really changed my life. Itchanged the next 20 to 25 years
of my life. And today, I knowwhat happened to me when I was
11.
I didn't wanna go through that,but today, I know that it was a
good thing for me becausebecause of that, I am the area
that I am today. Mhmm. But likeI said on the book, I talked
about emotional wounds. I didn'teven know that I was wounded

(09:34):
until 36 years old. Imagine.

Ray (09:38):
So what did your father do for a living?

Ariel (09:41):
My father, he was a manager of a farm. My mom was a
cook there, And let me tell you,the farm was the best 8 to 9
years of my life. Mhmm. Becausewe were at the time, we were
happy. Everything on the farmwas sustainable, chickens, cows,
great beef, everything that youcan imagine.
It was awesome. And then when mydad lost the job at the farm, we

(10:03):
lost the house. So we thingsstarted to getting getting worse
a little bit. And my fatherstarted working for different
people butchering animal. He wasgood with the knife.
He was good butchering, youknow, cows, pigs. And that's
what we did. We did thattogether, and I learned that.
And today, I love cooking. Ilove

Ray (10:19):
Oh, yeah.

Ariel (10:20):
All that because that's what my mom and my dad, you
know, passed. So, but that'swhat my my father did. He worked
in a farm on after my parentsgot divorced, he moved to a
farm, and he died at the farm atage of 67.

Ray (10:33):
So I know what the book's about. I know the story. You
alluded to it. I don't know howmuch you would wanna go into it,
but I think it's a criticalthing, and it might connect with
a lot of listeners, and I don'tthink you have to go into
everything that's told in thebook. But do you think it's
appropriate, or how much of thestory can you tell that when you
were 11, that was somethingthat's forever affected you?

Ariel (10:53):
So when I was 11, I was abused sexually by another man.
And, at the time, for sure, Ididn't wanna go through that. I
you're gonna find some not allthe details, but some more
details to understand the wholestory. If you read the book,
that I would I would hope thatyou do. But that really, I can

(11:14):
trace the next 25 years afterthat sexual abuse.
I can just connect that back tothat incident. Everything I did
from that day on, it was tocover that, to I feel gain,
guilt, shame. I feel that Iwasn't a man, but I just I just
I just swept that umbrella.

Ray (11:36):
You were a child, basically, 11 years old, and
this was another man that tookadvantage. Mhmm. So many people
that are listening who havelived through this, I think
terms that I have heard aregrooming, they befriend you,
they make you feel a certainway, and the next thing you know
something's happened and you'reyoung, you don't know I I mean,
I like this person. I love thisperson. I care for this person,

(11:59):
but not in that way, not in aromantic way.
And you're like, somethingdoesn't feel right about it. And
once you come out on the otherside of it, a lot of people bury
it. They try to hide it, andthat's really what you did for
many many many years. But insome ways, you try to overcome
that by proving that you werethe macho man, and that you

(12:21):
liked women, and you were gonnaprove that you weren't that kind
of a man that you were attractedto me. You were trying to prove
it.
No. I'm I'm a I'm a red bloodedLatino. I'm gonna I'm gonna be
with the ladies. I'm gonna showmy dad raised me to be a
drinking, you know, hell raisingkinda guy Right. And I'm gonna
prove that I'm just the oppositeof what this other person was.

(12:43):
So pick us up after that abuse.They can learn more about it in
the book, but pick us up whathappened. Where where did your
life head?

Ariel (12:48):
Well, I started, you know, I was drinking when I was
12, 13, and that was normal. Andthen things got worse by the age
of 14, 15. I was drinking 3 or 4times a week and going out to
nightclubs and, yeah, having,you know, intimacy with the
girls and not just lying, alsolying about, you know, to take

(13:11):
girls to bed, you know, lie.That was just, again, a normal
lie for me. But I realized todaywhat I did, Ray, is I was just
medicating my wounds.
I didn't even know. I knew therewas something there, but I never
talked about it. Because, again,in our culture, you don't talk
about it.

Ray (13:30):
I've heard people use the term self medicate, and in this
day and age, I think a lot ofpeople, you know, the
traditional easy self medicationvices would be, say, alcohol,
certainly marijuana. You know,it's become more and more

Ariel (13:47):
Right.

Ray (13:48):
Prevalent. But now even prescription drugs but self
medication can take all kinds offorms, and here you are really
in your teenage years, trying tobury feelings in the ugly in
your life with other things, andyou kinda got to the point to
where you realize that didn'twork. So we fast forward a

(14:09):
little bit, the latter part ofyour teens. Pick us up in that
part of the story. I'm gonna I'mgonna take a peek at the book
while you're talking and seewhere we're at in the story.
So go ahead.

Ariel (14:16):
Yeah. Like I said, I I was dating, from a early age.
Then at age 16, my parents gotdivorced, separated actually,
and that really added moreemotional wounds to my heart. I
call it a backpack full ofrocks. Oh.
Rocks are to me are emotionalwounds, and if you don't if you
don't empty that backpack, man,that backpack will take you

(14:39):
down. And that's what it didwith me. Even though from the
outside, you saw me and I was Iwas great, but I was not inside,
I was broken. I was just therewas not even one day I will go
to bed and not feel gay guiltand shame for what happened to
me and for what I what I didafter. You know what I mean?
So when my my parents gotdivorced, separated, that was

(15:01):
just another punch that I waslike, I can't recover from this.
But, again, I went back to whatI learned. What do you do to be
a man? You don't talk. Just hideit.

Ray (15:11):
Stuff it.

Ariel (15:11):
That's it.

Ray (15:12):
Put it in the backpack. Mhmm.

Ariel (15:13):
Alright. That's what I did. So fast forward, at the age
of 2023, I was building housesat the beach with the with my
friend. We were doing well. Theeconomy went down in 2002.
And to give you a little bit ofcontext, Uruguay has 3,000,000
people. Very small country. Butwe have Argentina to the south

(15:35):
and Brazil to the north. Brazilis 300,000,000 or even more.
Argentina is 45,000,000, sowe're very small.
Again, we depend a lot fromthem. So economy went down
really bad in 2002. So I toldthe girl that I was dating at
the time, I was like, I cannotstay here. I need to go
somewhere if I wanna support mybrothers and my my sister. I
have a sister who just 9 monthsolder than me.

(15:58):
She's 9 months. And then I have2 brothers, twin brothers. They
were 10 years younger than me.So they were 7 to 8 years old,
when my my father left. And thenwhen I was 23, they were 13, so
still little.

Ray (16:09):
So you're the oldest male, not the oldest child. Right. And
in your culture, the family'slivelihood of dad's out of the
picture Mhmm. Whether it bepassed away or otherwise, you
kind of take on this role.

Ariel (16:21):
Take on the role. Yes.

Ray (16:22):
And that's what you were doing.

Ariel (16:23):
Yeah. Me and my sister and my mom too, but my my
brothers until today, they seeme as their dad. You know? Mhmm.
So I feel responsible for myfamily.
I was like, I need to supportthem. So age of 20 almost 24,
the day the girl that I wasdating at the time, she moved,
to, Georgia, America.

Ray (16:41):
Mhmm.

Ariel (16:41):
And then she invite me. She goes, hey. Would you come
with me? I was like, sure. I canfollow you in about 6 months,
and and that's what I I I wantedto do.
But then 2 weeks prior to mytrip, we broke up over the
phone. She was here. I was overthere. I didn't have any money.
The only money I had, it was,the money for the ticket to go
to Georgia with her.
But we broke up. I was introuble. You know? I was like,

(17:03):
what do I do? So I remember thatthe day before the trip, my mom
was doing a going away party,and I I just told her.
I was like, I'm not leaving. Idon't have any money. And to go
into America with a visitor visawith no money, that doesn't you
can't get in.

Ray (17:17):
Right.

Ariel (17:18):
So, I I remember I got up the day of my trip. I got up,
Ray, and I was like, I cannotstay here. If I stay here, my my
brother and my mom literallywill not eat. They won't
survive. So I call one of myfriends, and he goes, Ariel, you
can't stay here.
He goes, I have $50. Come andget him and go. And that's what

(17:39):
I did. I was, about an hour anda half from the airport. And,
remember I called one of myclose friends, and I was like,
can you take me to the airport?
And he goes, I thought you werenot leaving. I was like, well,
things have changed. So hedidn't have brake on truck. So
but he took me to the airport tothe capital. It was a it was a
nightmare to get to the airport,but we made it.
So but when we got to theairport, I had a a big

(18:01):
challenge. I didn't have a placeto stay the next day because I
broke up with my girlfriend.Couple of day prior to that, I
changed my ticket to New York,but then I decided not to go.
When I changed the ticket to NewYork, I was thinking, okay. I
have a cousin that has a friendin New York.
Maybe I can call them up. Again,it was just all crazy stuff.

Ray (18:19):
This is crazy.

Ariel (18:20):
So, I remember I got to the airport from a public phone.
I called my cousin, which is hewas in Uruguay, and I was like,
can you help me? Can you callyour friend in New York and see
if he can help me out?

Ray (18:32):
Where was the phone call placed from? Where were you at
when you called you back?

Ariel (18:35):
The yeah. Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. I called my
cousin, and I told him what wasgoing on. And he goes, sure. I
can help you with my friend.
And he goes, give me just acouple of days. I was like, I
don't have that. I'm landing inin, my hand tomorrow.

Ray (18:49):
So let me pause you because I think people are gonna say,
now what? This is so crazy. Sobottom line is you had a
girlfriend.

Ariel (18:56):
Right.

Ray (18:57):
She comes to United States. She wants to you to come with
her.

Ariel (19:01):
Mhmm.

Ray (19:02):
Somewhere along the way, you guys don't make it, you
break up, but you have a planeticket

Ariel (19:06):
Right.

Ray (19:06):
But you have no money. And it doesn't set real well with
customs when you pull into anypart of the United States and
don't have any money in yourwallet. Mhmm. So you decide I'm
gonna bail, but you know that atthe same time, the pressure's
mounting to take care of yourfamily.

Ariel (19:21):
That's correct.

Ray (19:21):
And your family says, yeah. You need to go. Your friends
encourage you to go so much sothat a buddy gives you not 500,
not 5,000, but $50.

Ariel (19:29):
$50.

Ray (19:30):
And that was enough to push you over the edge, but then you
get in the truck with anotherbrother or not a brother, but
another friend, and he doesn'thave brakes. And so you're
skidding your way to theairport. You get to the airport,
call your cousin, and say, hey.I've now changed my ticket, not
to Georgia, but I'm going to NewYork. Mhmm.
And you got a friend there.

Ariel (19:49):
Right.

Ray (19:50):
And that's all you got. It's $50 and a hope and a prayer
that your cousin's gonna call afriend somewhere in New York,
and when you land, you're gonnahook up with him, and you still
get on the plane.

Ariel (19:58):
Yes. And I will take out the prayer because I wasn't a
believer at the time. So Iwasn't even praying. I didn't
know how to pray, honestly. Soyeah.
So I called my cousin. He goes,hey. Give me a couple of days. I
was like, I do not have that.I'm landing in Manhattan
tomorrow morning.
I do have a layover in Brazil,and then from Brazil, I go
straight to New York. He goes,well, you crazy, but let me call

(20:21):
my friend. So I left Uruguay. Iboarded the plane in Uruguay not
knowing what I was sleeping thenext day. That's how desperate I
was.

Ray (20:28):
Wow.

Ariel (20:28):
But I remember I got to Brazil on my layover, and, I
called my cousin, 2 eyes, rightbefore I got in the plane to go
to my and I called my cousinagain. I was like, hey. Have you
talked to your friend? He goes,yes. I have.
Here's the number. Called himup. So I called this this guy up
in New York, and, he was alsofrom Uruguay. He goes, hey. I
know your story, but I can'tcome and get you.

(20:49):
I'm I'm in Poughkeepsie, NewYork, 2 and a half hours from my
hand. You're landing in 9 hours.I can't Go get you. You have to
get here on your own.

Ray (20:57):
He might as well told you he was in Iceland.

Ariel (20:59):
Right. I was like, no idea. And You

Ray (21:01):
don't speak English.

Ariel (21:02):
That nothing. So so I was just but I was happy. I was
happy, honestly.

Ray (21:06):
You were smiling. Hey. If you're listening out there, if
you see a smiling Latino, justjust assume something good's
happening Yeah. Really good.

Ariel (21:15):
So yeah. So I I remember that I I landed the next day,
man, and I went through custom.Man, it was it was I flew
through it. The guy asked me howmuch money I had. I I lied to
him, and, hopefully, I can findhim one day to ask for
forgiveness.
No. I know God forgave mealready. I told him that I had
$500. Otherwise, I couldn't makeit. So but I got out of the

(21:35):
airport and I was the happiestman in life, I'll tell you.
And I took a taxi. A guy from,happiest man in life, I'll tell
you. And I took a taxi. A guyfrom, from Peru, there there was
a taxi driver. He took me toKennedy Airport to Grand Central
train station.
He charged me $45, Ray. Listenout there. $45. Back in 2002,

(21:56):
that was a lot of money. Ididn't even know.

Ray (21:59):
So 50? Now you're down to $5.

Ariel (22:01):
$5, but I'm on my hand. So, you know, so I walk into But

Ray (22:04):
you don't have a ticket to get to

Ariel (22:05):
I don't. I walk into the train station, and I I just
thought about going to a policeofficer. Told him that I didn't
speak English. So he took me toa police officer from Puerto
Rico, which spoke Spanish. Andthey this police officer, I
believe today, that was anangel.
He took me to the ticket, to theticket window, and he bought me
the ticket, the train ticketfrom I think it was, like, $12,

(22:27):
something like that. He took meto the train, to the door, and
he told me it's 2 and a halfhour. When you see the sign for
Beacon, New York, get off andcall your friend.

Ray (22:35):
Oh, god.

Ariel (22:35):
And that's how I got to New York.

Ray (22:37):
Wow.

Ariel (22:38):
So

Ray (22:39):
So you walk off the train now.

Ariel (22:41):
Mhmm.

Ray (22:43):
And what next?

Ariel (22:44):
I call this guy, Juan, and I didn't know the from back
then from a public phone, youhave to dial 1 to dial the
number. I would just keepdialing the number and the
number was incorrect untilsomeone else came to the train
station. They helped me out. Sothis guy, Juan, picked me up. He
goes, hey.
I have to go back to work, butlet me drop you off on my house,
take a shower, eat, and thenwe'll get to know each other

(23:05):
later. And that's what happened.So the next day, I was working
with Juan's sister as adishwasher in Cold Spring, New
York. And, the interesting thingis I came to New York with a
little a little suitcase. Verylittle.
I didn't have a lot of stuff.So, I started working at this,
you know, 5 star restaurant andyou need a uniform. So I
remember Juan and Angela, thethe 2 brothers, they took me to

(23:28):
Walmart to buy me the theuniform because I didn't have
enough clothes, you know, to towear. So

Ray (23:33):
People that didn't even know you Mhmm. Took you in Yeah.
Fed you, gave you a place tosleep, and bought you clothes.
And I and I've seen you stillhave that suitcase.

Ariel (23:42):
I do. It's in the book.

Ray (23:43):
It's in the book, I think. Yeah. Yeah. It is. And so the
you still have that suitcase,and you came to America $50 down
to 5.
A police officer helps you out,and now you're washing dishes.
What next?

Ariel (23:58):
I was happy. I was making $5 an hour washing dishes. And
and let me tell you the what Iwhat I've been doing in America
since I arrived here is not hardwork. Hard work, it was back
home. Mixing concrete by hand,working out on the farm, long
days, riding a bicycle for 10kilometers, after working the

(24:19):
whole day to get home and thecold weather, rain.
That was tough. But working inAmerica hasn't been tough,
honestly. So washing dishes forme, it was like a piece of cake,
and I'm not exaggerating. It waseasy. So they saw something at
the first restaurant that I workfor.
They saw something in me that Imaybe I didn't even see. They
were telling me that wasawesome, and I was like, this is
normal for me. You know? So Iworked there for about 6 months,

(24:41):
but I started working also atthe same time. I was working on
a car wash and also in achocolate factory in Beacon, New
York.
So I had 3 jobs for a while.And, that's how I made I made
some money. I remember my firstcheck was $65. Right? And I sent
it all to my mom Wow.
Because it was rough, and I getemotional because it was, wow.

Ray (25:02):
It's alright, bro.

Ariel (25:03):
I didn't even mention that in the book, but my first
check, it was about $65, and Isent it all to my mom because it
was either that or they can Wow.Provide. You know? So but but it
was I mean, I love America. Imade a lot of good friends in
New York, and, I think this isyou can do whatever you want
right here.
If you speak the language andyour immigration status is okay,
you can do whatever you want.

Ray (25:24):
That's great.

Ariel (25:25):
Yeah. So So pick us up where you

Ray (25:29):
want to in the book. Tell me what's next.

Ariel (25:30):
So that's all that is in the book and a lot more.

Ray (25:33):
Mhmm.

Ariel (25:33):
So fast forward, I was, I have 2 beautiful daughters,
Angelina. She's gonna be 14, andJuliana's 12. I'm sorry. 3. And
then Gabby is 9.
Mhmm. And you're gonna see a lotof that, the, you know, the that
story on the book as well. But Iwent through I was married for
about almost 11 years. But theinteresting thing is, Ray, I

(25:56):
never stopped the lifestyleliving the lifestyle that I had
back in Uruguay. Never stoppedliving the lifestyle.
So during my my marriage, Icontinued that lifestyle. And
imagine that didn't end up well.So I started working for
Chipotle as a crew member when Imoved to Colorado. And, Chipotle
was the first company thatbelieved in me. They told me how

(26:18):
good I was, and they sent me toschool.
I did a lot of courses throughChipotle, and a few years later,
I was running Oklahoma andKansas. From Colorado, they
moved me to Oklahoma to be anarea manager. So, it was a
American dream come true. I wasmaking a lot of money. I had,
you know, a couple properties, aboat, jet ski, everything that
you can imagine.
American dream. But I wasn'thappy. I was a mess inside. But

(26:43):
back in 2016, I I just I feltthis desire, to be honest, for
the first time because I was agood man. If you you know, from
30,000 feet, I guess I was agood man, but I was not being
faithful to to the wife that Ihad at the time.
I was doing some things that Iwasn't supposed to. But, again,
I'm not justifying that, Butthink about it. That's what I

(27:04):
learned back home. That's whatyou do when you're a man.

Ray (27:08):
Mhmm.

Ariel (27:08):
Just that, you go out. You do your stuff, and I knew
that was wrong. But, again,that's what I learned. And

Ray (27:14):
You know, it's easy to think that you've left your past
behind whenever you come toAmerica on $50. You make your
first 65, and I don't think youmind me sharing this because I
know the story. You went fromsending your mom $65 to making a
very solid 6 figure income. Aguy a kid from a farm from
Uruguay who'd been molested,doing what he could to survive,

(27:36):
making a really handsome 6figure income, had the tiger by
the tail, had a beautiful wife,beautiful family, and inside you
know you're rotting, and you'recovering it all up, and it's
tearing you apart. You'rewounded.
Yeah. And you don't know why,you don't know what to do, and
you're living the high life. Imean, talk about being at the

(27:56):
bottom all the way to the top,and then you just started to
spiral.

Ariel (28:00):
Yes. And, you know, February 2016, that is when I I
I thought that I hit bottom, butthat was that was, I guess,
bottom, but there was anotherbottom after that. I didn't know
that. But, so February, Idecided to to be honest with
everybody in in my circle, youknow, and I, I just brought
everything into the light. WhatI did, what I have done,

(28:23):
everything, and that wasn'tgood.
So, that night, I ended up in amental hospital because I was
done with my life. You know? Iwas done with my life. But so I
got out of the hospital. I wasthere for a few days.
I got out of the hospital, and Iwas a new man. And I wanted to
do all these things that I guessI should have done before, but

(28:43):
it was too late for some things.You know? And

Ray (28:46):
Let let let me let me interrupt you there because I
think I don't wanna glaze overthis. When you say you hit
bottom and when you went to themental hospital, you were
thinking about taking your life.

Ariel (28:59):
Yes.

Ray (29:00):
And you told me that it was very tough. You got there. They
basically made you turn ineverything. Mhmm. I think you
told me they gave you everythingexcept your underwear.
Right. And you're in thehospital, and you're thinking, I
think I wanna get out of here,but then you tell the people in
there that you're hearingvoices. Mhmm. Right. And I'm not

(29:21):
trying to make light of it, butit wasn't those kind of voices.
You you would say now you feltlike the Lord was talking to
you.

Ariel (29:27):
Right.

Ray (29:27):
Tell tell us that part of the story before we get past the
hospital part.

Ariel (29:30):
Sure. So February 6, 2016, I was I was just done.
Excuse me. But also was tired. Iwas like, I can't do this by
myself anymore.
I can't. So I remember that itwas about 10 o'clock, that
night, and, I got off the bedthe bed and I started screaming
at god. And I didn't know Ididn't believe in god. 1st, I

(29:54):
was like, he's not real. Mywhole life, I believed that god
was not real.
And if he is, he doesn't careabout me. So, that day, I got
off the bed, and I startedscreaming at God, like, calling
him names and asking, man, ifyou're real, show it to me. I
don't know if I don't know ifyou're real or not, but show it
to me. And at 10:30 PM, I Iliterally, I started hearing

(30:14):
voices in a mental hospital,which is crazy. So but I know it
was God talking to me.
I heard I have a purpose foryou. And I went to bed a little
confused, but I got up, and Iwas a new man. I had a mess
outside of the hospital, and I Iwas still in a mental hospital,
but I see I saw the light forthe first time. I I saw hope,

(30:35):
and I wanted to read the bible.I wanted to ride.
And, and now, like I said at thebeginning of the story, the
first time I thought that thefirst time I heard about the
book, it was in that planeflying from Bogota to to
Oklahoma, but it wasn't.Looking, searching through my
stuff about 2 years ago, I founda notebook, that I wrote in that

(30:58):
hospital. And in that hospital,I already started writing the
book, and I never liked towrite. Never did. So I started
writing the book in thathospital.
So God was already giving methat vision. He knew what was
going to happen to me for the inthe next few years and what was
going to do with family ID. Sothe idea of the book, the vision
of the book came out of a mentalhospital. Crazy.

Ray (31:21):
Wow. You you wrote your first parts in a mental
hospital. So how long did youstay, and what was next after
you got out?

Ariel (31:28):
And where

Ray (31:28):
did you go? What happened? I mean, this

Ariel (31:30):
I stayed there for 5 days. And, when I got out, I
went back home. But, again, I 5days before that, I share
everything with with my wife atthe time, what I did, well, I
was unfaithful to her. I did alot of crazy things. You know?
So she didn't take it well. Soshe asked me to leave the house
after the hospital. Couple weeksafter, I ended up moving out to

(31:54):
an apartment here in Edmond,and, things, man, went downhill
pretty quick because I was I wasdepressed.

Ray (32:00):
You lost your job at Chipotle?

Ariel (32:02):
I lost my job at Chipotle. I couldn't do it. I
couldn't even lead myself. Icouldn't even get out of bed.
For sure, I wouldn't be able tolead 250 people.
You know? So I left I quit myjob. I got fired, actually, from
Chipotle. I don't remember if itwas on YouTube, but bottom line,
I couldn't do it. I couldn'teven get out of bed.
Mhmm. So I went from making$200,000 to $40,000, now

(32:26):
supporting 2 houses and facing adivorce. Mhmm. So finances went
down very, very fast.

Ray (32:34):
Right.

Ariel (32:34):
So we lost everything we had. Fast forward. So I started
going to Life. Church. My faithwas going awesome.
I got baptized 6 months afterthe hospital. You

Ray (32:46):
found the Lord.

Ariel (32:46):
I found the Lord, and and my my faith was going great, but
I was still going throughdepression, and I didn't
understand it.

Ray (32:53):
That's a key point right there. A lot of people think,
oh, you know, come to Jesus. Youheard they come to gee, and
everything just, oh, I won thelottery. Everything went great.
Your life didn't your nose divedidn't, turn up for a while.

Ariel (33:06):
Let me tell you. 6 months after, I got out of the
hospital, I I remember I gotbaptized at Life Church on
Sunday, and on Monday, I wasserved with divorce paperwork.
And I remember I just got on myknees, and I was crying, crying
to the Lord. I was like, god,really? This is what I get for
following you.
I just give you my heart onSunday. But I didn't understand

(33:28):
the again, I was facing theconsequences of my bad
decisions.

Ray (33:33):
Right.

Ariel (33:33):
Right? And, yes, you're right. It took me about year and
a half, even with Jesus in myheart, almost 2 years to get out
of the pornography, alcohol,because I was addicted to porn
and porn. Let me tell you, ifyou're listening out there,
pornography is destroying thefamilies today all over the
world, not just in America. Andnot just that, but pornography

(33:57):
will trap you.
And if you don't find help, youwill lose hope to the point that
you will end up taking youonline.

Ray (34:04):
And that's you've said this before, and it always captivated
me. You said that pornographymade you feel hopeless. It was
if I can't break this habit, andso I'm just hopeless. And so if
I'm hopeless, I've lost hope.And that was a point in your
life to where you're like, whyshould I even be here?
I'm so stupid. I can't get overthis. And, ultimately, you know,
you've been freed from that withthe Lord's help, and it's a

(34:24):
daily challenge andaccountability and all those
things, but you found hope. Youhit, you know, you hit bottom. I
don't know if we've hit thesecond bottom yet, but but you
moved out of your apartment tosome place everybody will
recognize.

Ariel (34:38):
Right. So after about almost a year living in that
apartment and losing all myfinances, I couldn't pay the
rent anymore. So I made thedecision to support, my wife at
the time and my 2 girls, withthe little money I was making.
And, I just decided to move outof that apartment and slip on my
truck for a while at Walmart onon Danforth and, in Santa Fe

(35:01):
here in Edmond. I just went tothe parking Walmart.
I was just sleeping there for afew days. And, You're homeless?
I was homeless.

Ray (35:09):
And what time of year was this?

Ariel (35:11):
This was in February.

Ray (35:12):
So winter?

Ariel (35:13):
Winter. You're

Ray (35:14):
sleeping in your truck Mhmm. At Walmart, and you're
thinking that here I was, anexecutive, top of the world,
look how far I've come. Mhmm.Six figure, heavy salary, 2
beautiful kids, a wife, and Ihave blown it. I'm living in a
truck at Walmart.

Ariel (35:33):
At Walmart. And Wow. That one the first day, sleeping on
my truck at Walmart, it was whenI hit the second bottom. Because
I remember I I got up thatmorning. It was snowing.
It was very cold. I went intoWalmart that morning to to wash
my face and do my routine inthere because I didn't have,
again, a place to live. So, Iremember I came back, and I was

(35:54):
drinking a coffee, and it wasjust me in the car in the truck.
I didn't have anything. Myfamily was not there.
I lost it all, my finances. Andand I remember the the Lord
asked me one profound question.He asked me, Ariel, look around.
What do you have? I was like,nothing.
And he asked me a profoundquestion. He asked me, am I
enough now? Wow. That