March 17, 2025 • 35 mins
What happens when the success stories you're told don't match your reality? For Raul Lopez, this disconnect became the catalyst for creating something new. Growing up undocumented with a truck driver father who pushed college as the only path forward, Raul found himself disillusioned when mainstream success narratives felt unrelatable to his experience.
During our candid conversation, Raul shares how listening to the story of Nike's founder—who received startup funds and connections from his father—highlighted the privilege gap in popular success stories. This realization sparked his podcast "How Do You Say Success in Spanglish," where he interviews people of color about their unique journeys to various forms of achievement.
Whether you're feeling stuck in your career, contemplating a risky professional move, or seeking success stories that reflect your own background, Raul's journey offers practical wisdom for navigating change and building momentum toward your goals. Check out his podcast on all major platforms or visit successinspanglish.com to connect with a community built around diverse paths to achievement.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thank you for being here today and just talking with
me and taking time out of yourday to be here.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Where are you from?
Have you been on podcastsbefore?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
No, I mean I host my own podcast, but I haven't been
really on another podcast talk.
Currently I live in Connecticut, but I'm originally from Rhode
Island and lived the last 12years in Houston, texas.
So I'm back up north dealingwith the cold, but originally
from Peru.
I was born in Peru, came to thecountry when I was about three,
(00:36):
but I've lived most of my lifehere in the States.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Okay, cool, I'm in California, so I think I'm
dealing with the opposite.
Right now, the weather here isreally hot.
Yeah, are you from CaliforniaIn LA area?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
No, always from California, Buenos.
Aires.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, cool yeah.
So it's like 97 right nowoutside.
It's really hot.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, we got a heat wave thisweek week, but it's like barely
hitting 90, so everybody'sgoing crazy, right?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
okay, um, so you said you have your own podcast.
What's?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
your podcast yeah, my podcast is called how do you
say success in spanglish?
Um?
So it's a podcast where Iinterview, uh, people of color
who've gained different levelsof successes, so they can kind
of talk about their journey andexplain their story to the world
.
I kind of had this moment offeeling kind of slumped in my
career, like I wasn't goinganywhere with it, and so I
(01:36):
wanted to kind of get better.
So I went into like theself-help aspect of things,
started looking at books,getting, you know, try to
improve myself my life and kindof get better with things, and I
got I started listening to theaudio book for Shoe Dog, the
story about the guy who startedNike, and I kind of got caught
up in a moment in it.
(01:57):
That kind of threw me off forthe rest of the story.
And it was you know all thereviews that talk about like
this is a great story, greatunderdog story, this is great
motivational story.
And it was you know all thereviews that talk about like
this is a great story, greatunderdog story, this is great
motivational story.
And when I got to a point wherewe were talking, where we're
listening, early on, you know,he decided to like spend some
time in Hawaii and sellencyclopedia before he decided
(02:17):
to start working and at thatpoint he wanted to start his
shoe factory.
He talked to his dad.
His dad gave him some startupfunds, was able to get him
connections because he knewpeople in Japan who knew people
that had a factory and got thedoor open for him.
And I'm like that wasn't likean underdog for me, because
that's not the life I lived.
That wasn't what I could relateto.
(02:39):
I was a poor kid that grew upundocumented.
For most of my life my dad wasa truck driver.
If I wanted to start a business, I would have had to learn how
to do it and the only thing mydad knew for me to improve my
life was go to college.
That was the only answer I had.
So I felt like there wasn'tenough representation for our
people, people of color, in thesuccesses that we've gained and
we've gathered throughout ourtime to present it to the world.
(03:02):
So I kind of wanted to presentthat and I started the podcast.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Oh, nice, yeah.
So you were reading this bookand it didn't really feel like
you could relate to the person'sbackground and story.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah, it's supposed to be motivational and it's like
man, if only I had a dad thatknew people that could connect
me to a factory, I could be thenext Nike as well.
So it threw me off and I feellike for a lot of us, sometimes
our stories are very unique inwhat we go through and so it's
hard to, you know, empathizewith people who have had certain
(03:37):
privileges that you don't have,and so I want to be able to
present our story so that, youknow, hopefully it helps people
going through some situations.
A lot of us are trailblazers,doing this for the first time in
our family, so I think we needto be able to tell those stories
.
And since success is differentfor everybody, you know, not all
of us are going to be the ownerof Nike, so you know, different
levels will provide differentsuccesses.
(03:58):
So that's one thing I've beenlearning.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Sounds very interesting and, yeah, I'm going
to be checking out your podcasttoo and listening to it.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Thanks yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Yeah, it sounds really cool.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yeah, I appreciate it .
Thankfully, I've been gettingsome very interesting guests and
I'm reaching out to more andmore people, so it's growing.
The insight has been, I mean,while I'm doing this kind of to
present to the world, I'm takingit in and absorbing what I'm
learning and it's been helpingme out in my career and my life
(04:29):
as well, allowing me to takemore risks and be more advocate
for myself, more moving forwardat work.
So it's been great.
It's helped improve my life alot as well.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, yeah, cause you learn a lot from the people
that you talk to just bylistening to their story and
even maybe finding similaritiesto their story, like things you
have in common, like I feel likeyou can learn a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, it's hard to what's it called like guilty by
association.
It's hard to like be aroundpeople and not absorb some of
what they do.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So you mentioned that there was a turning point for
you.
So you said you felt like youwere down in a slump right in
your career.
What were you doing at the time, like, what was your career
Like?
Can you share a little bit moreabout that?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, I had a—I mean I mentioned I grew up as an
undocumented immigrant for mostof my life.
So we're immigrants from Peru.
We came to this country.
I was three when we came tothis country and we stayed here
illegally for most of our lives.
Hardcore blue collar, you know,keep your head down, go to work,
work hard and eventually thingswill work out kind of mentality
(05:38):
which I think when you get to acertain point in different
careers and especially whenyou've driven your whole life,
to kind of be pushed to do moreand have more.
And you know, go to college, goto college.
You want to get successful.
You don't want to do the work Iwant to do or something.
My dad always told me like hewas always fearful, he's a truck
driver.
(05:58):
He wouldn't even teach me howto like jump in a truck and turn
it on and drive it, which islike, you know, for anybody who
watched that Schwarzeneggermovie where he was a truck
driver over the top.
You know you always wanted tobe that your dad is a truck
driver, to jump in the front ofthe seat and drive, and he would
never do it because he wasalways afraid that I would enjoy
it and not want to go tocollege.
So he always had a fear ofderailing me from being more
(06:22):
successful than I think what hehad, derailing me from being
more successful than I thinkwhat he had.
So when I got to college andstruggled and you take a big hit
from, I guess, your self-esteemand thinking, oh, this is going
to be easy, I'm going to dogreat, my whole future is ahead
of me.
I was supposed to become acardiologist.
That was my goal to go topre-med and I had to drop out of
(06:45):
pre-med early on.
And then eventually you startyour career and it's like I'm
making barely $35,000 a year andI owe $60,000 in student loans
and all the promises I wasexpecting from college is never
quite hit.
And then it just slowprogressing and then you, you
deal with.
I've been fortunate to besurrounded by a lot of people
(07:06):
who have done successful thing.
A lot of you know I'm in aLatino fraternity, so I've I'm
surrounded by a lot of Latin menthat have, you know, gather
successes and watching theircareers skyrocket and blow up.
And I'm still feeling leftbehind, where I'm struggling and
I'm asking for a raise, apromotion, being promised
something for years that justnever occurred you know that
(07:27):
little carrot dangled in frontof you and you just try your
hardest that eventually I had torealize that the same path I
was going to wasn't leading mewhere I wanted to.
You know, I was doing the samething, I was keeping my head
down and working hard, but I wasmissing something and so I
decided I needed to improve.
There must be something I'mdoing wrong If what I'm doing, I
(07:52):
think, is right and it's notgiving me what I need.
I need to make a change.
So I decided to take a risk andjump into a different career
Not career path, but like adifferent job that would give me
more resources and started thatwhole self-help aspect of my
life.
And, like I said, through that Ithink I started kind of
(08:14):
understanding better and givingmyself rules.
And you know, I started tellingmyself like, hey, I can't sit
in a job for eight years hopingto get promoted.
I need to come in knowing thisis where I want to go.
And if I'm not getting it bythis point, I got to kind of
take the risk and not be afraidto leave if I have to.
So but yeah, I was justslumping.
(08:35):
I was literally at a job foralmost eight years, promised a
promotion, kept telling me to dothis and do more, and after all
of that, I was.
All I was told was you weredoing great and we would give
you a promotion, but we can't.
So we'll give you a $500 bonusfor the year.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, what kind of job was that?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Yeah, I was working, I work IT.
So I work in IT, various ITdepartments, mainly as a admin
for CRM systems, and so I wasworking at a law firm at the
time and.
I mean, I like working there andI love the people.
It's just, you know, and it'sfunny because the job I have now
they actually asked me to comeback at that point and couldn't
(09:18):
afford me.
You know, had they kept me witha little bit more, I probably
probably would have still beenthere, you know, busting my tail
and doing well.
But you know it was anopportunity I had to take that
kind of put me out of that realm.
Eventually it worked out in theend.
So I'm glad I took that risk,but it was kind of a bit to go
(09:38):
there.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, at the time when you were going through, you
said you were going to schooland you felt like something was
missing, like you kind ofstarted questioning right, like
is this even for me, or at leastthis path that you were taking,
and do you feel like at thattime you were kind of following
(10:01):
what your parents wanted you todo, or was that something you
wanted to do?
But then it changed.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, it was kind of a mix.
I mean, like I said, my parentswere very big proponents of
college, so college was my onlyway.
I didn't know any other option.
You know it was I have to go tocollege.
I have to do well enough inschool to get into college.
I need to do well enough to beable to afford college, because
we couldn't afford college, soit was the only path I knew to
(10:32):
get there.
I think we're all well.
My parents weren't pressuring meto any specific field, right,
and my parents were verysupportive of the changes I made
.
There was still a pressure tobe the best and do the best and
I was really good at what I didin school until about college,
and so being a doctor was kindof what I wanted to do.
(10:53):
And then you get hit with thattidal wave of your dreams that
you've had since you were three.
Since I was like three, four,I've always wanted to be a
doctor.
My whole life I wanted to be adoctor.
Then I get to college and Ijust get destroyed.
It completely threw me off,dealing with anxiety, panic
attacks, you know it took me afew years to kind of get into
the groove, especially once Iswitched from the medical
(11:16):
pre-med field to kind ofrecognize what worked for me and
I kind of changed my mentality,changed what I was doing, felt
more comfortable with myself asa person to accept where I was
going.
But that first few years werehard because the person I
thought I always was was nolonger the person I was becoming
(11:37):
.
And that was a hard pill toswallow at the time because I
kept trying to make medicinework.
A hard pill to swallow at thetime because I kept trying to
make medicine work.
I kept trying to be a scientistor a doctor or a physical
therapist or something and itjust ended up not being the path
that was really meant for me, Ithink, at the time.
But yeah, it was hard having togo there and switch everything
(12:00):
up because that's what I alwaysthought I was going to be.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yeah, so then you go into.
You mentioned your job, right?
They weren't giving you thatraise, they weren't giving you
what you wanted.
And what happened after that?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
COVID.
So I literally got hired, putin my two weeks notice and then,
like my second week of my, lastweek of my current job, they
were closing down all ouroffices.
So they were literally tellingus hey, you can't work from the
office, no, you have to workfrom home.
We're closing this down.
And so I'm just like do I stillhave a new job?
I'm kind of nervous, likeeverything.
Covid is apparently becoming abig thing and this was a smaller
(12:51):
startup company.
I wasn't getting all thebenefits that I would normally
have gotten at the job I had.
I was getting paid more, but Iknew I'd be learning and doing a
lot more that I took that riskto.
You know, I had to weigh therisks and say, hey, this is
going to be a better option forme because I'll learn A, b, c, d
, e, f, g and at the end it didhelp out.
But at the moment I was takinga risk.
(13:13):
I was losing some benefits.
I wasn't getting 401Ks andthings like that that you would
normally get at most jobs, andthe company was small in the US.
It was just starting off in theUS because they've been in the
UK for years and they werestarting off.
So I'm starting my first weekof work and I'm like, do I have
(13:33):
a job?
I'm calling the recruiter, I'mlike, do I still have a job?
And they're like, yeah, you'restill hired.
So, thankfully, that worked outand I worked with them for
about two years as well, upuntil I got the current job I
have now, where I did get calledby once again.
A recruiter hit me up and I gotthe job I have now and it was
kind of a mix and it wasinteresting because it's like
(13:54):
you know how sometimes you dothings and you don't realize the
puzzle pieces they'll fill infor you to make a complete
picture.
And this job I jumped to gaveme these skills that I never had
before.
That when this new job aroseand came to me, it was all the
pieces I just had learned, hadfilled in the gaps from what I
did before and I was kind of aperfect candidate for this job.
(14:17):
And there was talks from thebeginning of, hey, this is a job
that we're eventually going towant to move you to a manager
position and grow this and dothis stuff.
And since I've been here, thepodcast has helped, but since
I've been here, it's given methat insight, you know, of what
I can put into it.
There was also kind of a thingthat happened in between the
(14:41):
last job and the middle job withmy health, where my health kind
of had kind of a health issuescare that kind of kicked my
butt a little bit to changemyself.
So that's also with that.
I think with the website, thepodcast has kind of helped me
reevaluate and be tougher to youknow, knowing what I want as a
career and knowing what I wantmoving forward.
(15:02):
So I've had a lot moresuccesses in my current job than
I've had in any other job I'veever had, and not just
financially like just career,and I feel more in charge than I
ever did.
And if I didn't take that riskof jumping to that new company,
I think I never would have hadthose missing pieces and I would
(15:22):
have still felt in a slump.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
And it was a risk because when COVID, when COVID
was starting, I feel likeeveryone was kind of like in a
scramble.
I feel like people didn't knowwhat to expect, what was going
to happen and yeah, likechanging jobs, right, like right
at the start.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
That must have been like scary, like oh my gosh,
like what's gonna happen and Ijumped right to a smaller
company too, right like it'slike I don't know if this
company is going to do well,period.
I don't know if they would behere in three years or not not.
Like an established companythat's dealt with very things,
covid messed up a lot ofcompanies.
So I didn't know what I wasdoing and while I did talk to my
(16:04):
wife originally about thoserisks initial inherent risks
initially because it was achange and it was a change in
the way we're dealing withbenefits that whole COVID
through a whole extra it wasscary.
I didn't know.
You know, the first few monthsI'm like what's going on?
And then things were reallyslow for a few more months after
that and then eventually thingskicked off and actually they
did pretty well during thosetimes with COVID, but the first
(16:27):
few months of it was really slow.
There was a lot of did I do theright thing?
Did I do the right thing?
Thankfully, the people therewere great.
I have nothing negative to sayabout working there.
They were great people.
Once again, they showed me alot of love and support, love
and support, and also theyrecognized the value.
(16:48):
I think even up to this daythey're still always like well,
if things don't work out, comeback to us.
So like they recognize thevalue of me as an individual
there and they were alwayspushing me to say oh, we can
take you to this position and Ithink you're good for moving up
to this level, and so that madeI mean that just changes your
whole outlook and how you feelat work.
You're happy to be working witha company that makes you feel
(17:09):
good, as opposed to just showingup for work.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, yeah, and I feel like everything kind of
just fell into place, like yousaid, right, Because that
position prepared you for thenext position, so it kind of
just all like worked out at theend.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Yeah, I mean thankfully, you know, like I
said, it could have gone anyway.
I'm glad it went the way it didgo.
But I mean, I think one of thethings I've learned while
interviewing people is the fearof risk that prevents us from
doing anything.
You know, whether it's applyingfor a new job or applying for a
(17:49):
job you don't think you'requalified for, or going to your
boss and asking for a promotion,lots of times we don't say
anything and we stay quiet andwe go four or five years never
getting a promotion becausewe're afraid to take that first
step.
And it's something, as with allthings, that takes practice.
You're not going to becomfortable the first time, the
(18:10):
first time, I even like tellingyour.
For me, telling my boss that Iwas going to leave for another
company was scary.
Like I didn't have the galls tofeel comfortable coming in
there and saying, hey, I found anew job, I'm leaving.
I felt like I was disappointingsomeone.
I felt like I was talking to mydad and I remember the first
time I was leaving for a new job, I literally felt like I was
(18:32):
going to tear up in that meetingjust for no reason.
I did nothing wrong, but itjust felt like I was talking to
my dad, telling him I wasquitting college or something
like that, and it's like, no,this is a job, they don't really
care.
This is a business.
At the end of the day, you'regoing to give your place in two
(18:56):
weeks, or someone else is goingto come in later, or they're
going to fire someone.
If they need to save $10.
It doesn't matter.
I shouldn't feel that way.
But with all things, it takespractice.
You have to work at it to feelcomfortable.
So being able to work atdealing with risk is what I
think has helped me.
Now I'm more vocal.
Even my first review at my newjob, I was literally right from
the get-go like, okay, I tookthis job because I was told I
(19:16):
was going to a manager position.
What's the plan and what do Ineed to do to get there?
From day one at this new job, Itold them exactly where I was
going, what I wanted, and I'mholding them accountable to what
I expect, because I'm not.
I don't feel like and it takes,I think, with as you advance
your career.
You feel, but for me I just Idon't feel like.
(19:36):
I feel like I'm the asset Takecare of me to move forward, as
to be forward Like I needed thejob.
I think I could find someonebetter if I needed to, and the
next company is going to take meeven further.
Everyone's a stepping stone tosomething bigger, and I'm I feel
less nervous and scared oftaking those risks than I used
to.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Yeah, yeah.
And then also I feel like justchange in general like is super
scary for a lot of people andpeople get comfortable in where
they're at and it could be scaryright To like make a change or
take the risk like you'retalking about is a big fear.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
It affects more people.
It affects some people better,more than others.
Some people are morecomfortable leaving and saying
I'm going to switch and do thisand jump to that because they
have a really, I think peoplesome people have really good
risk reward calculators in theirhead where they can calculate
how big the risk is versus whatthe potential reward is and they
can be more logistical with it.
Well, a lot more people aremore emotional with it where
we're like I'm probably moreemotional with it.
(20:44):
My wife is definitely a lotmore emotional with it where
they'll stick with a company anda lot of us will do that.
We'll stick with a company foryears, never getting any
promotion, any raise, becausethe idea of leaving to a new job
is scarier, even though youmight have been hired to be an
assistant, but by the timeyou've been there 10 years
you're running half the companyand you could really literally
be a business owner running acompany.
(21:05):
But you won't take that riskbecause you're comfortable at
where you're at, even though,realistically speaking, you've
probably been given morechallenges and become more
capable of doing more than whatyou have from the start.
But it's different anddifferent is scary.
I work IT.
People hate change.
We can't upgrade a program, wecan't upgrade a software.
We can't download something, anew program, for people to use
(21:27):
without there being hesitation.
So it's just a natural feeling,I think, for people to be
afraid of making those changes.
It's like I said, with allthings, you've got to work on it
.
I and it's like I said with allthings, you got to work on it.
I'm not an expert, I'm notperfect, I'm not the most
successful person in the world.
Yet I've just believed hardcore, and especially lately, like I
(21:49):
said, since I had my healththing that I don't know how much
time I have left in this worldand I need to be able to make
squeeze as much juice from thefruit as I can and I can't sit
around hoping somebody squeezeit for me.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Yeah, yeah.
And I feel also like whenyou're in a job for so long and
then you start feeling like youhave some, like you owe some
kind of like loyalty orsomething to these companies,
and so I'm also thinking likethat could be another factor too
for people to feel maybe evenbad about changing or taking
(22:30):
risk.
Right, like people may feellike they owe something you know
to these companies, but at theend of the day, like you said,
like are they giving you thesame bag, like they'll replace
you, right?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I think there's.
I mean corporations are thereto make money, period.
I mean, I think one thing wealways need to remember is a
company's there to make money.
That's their most importantthing, whatever happens.
And one of the most, I guess,successful ways of being able to
keep people around is makingthem feel like family.
Some companies do it betterthan others.
Some companies do it by youknow labels only, and some of
(23:07):
them do it where you actually dofeel like family and they go
out of your way and they giveyou all this stuff.
Especially small companies tendto feel more family oriented.
Because you're dealing withfive, six people, you know it
does feel like a family.
But big companies will tend tobe more along the lines of
saying we are a family, we doeverything for a family, but, by
the way, don't call out sick orotherwise we'll get fired.
(23:28):
You know what I mean.
So it's like no family is goingto kick you out because you
called out sick one a coupletimes a week.
There is, I think, a shiftlately in the concept of loyalty
within the workforce forindividual people, where we are
no longer feeling the pressureof the idea of loyalty being you
(23:51):
stick with the company forever.
The loyalty is I'm going to dothe best I can while I'm at this
company and you are going toget the best of me while I'm
here, but when I'm leaving myloyalty has been paid.
I don't owe any loyalty.
My loyalty is what I leave atthe end of the day, not what I
leave when I'm about to go toanother company.
(24:12):
That's going to value me better.
Because a lot of companies, likeI, said the same thing with my
job.
If I had gotten a 10% raise a10% raise I would have probably
been the happiest person in theworld still staying at my job.
And now they were offering menearly a probably like 50% raise
from what I was making when Ileft, and that was still not
(24:35):
enough to bring me back at thispoint of where I was.
So you know, little littlethings sometimes for us would
make us happy, and the companieswon't even give us that.
That you know you have torecognize that.
We have to realize that, yeah,loyalty can only get you.
So far I've had friends whowere quitting jobs and they,
they got that loyalty cardthrown at them and it's like,
dude, I've been asking for araise for 10 years.
(24:56):
You're telling me to be loyal.
Now I'm like where were youguys four or five years ago when
I was asking to be promoted,you know, or when we had the
money?
The thing always for us is ifwe leave and they hire someone
else, it's probably gonna bemore expensive to hire a new
person and to keep you and trainyou into that position, and for
some companies that's not worthit.
(25:17):
There's new companies are doingbetter with it.
I think there are somecompanies that are a lot more
willing to invest in theircurrent employees than focus on
the outside, because theyrecognize that shift in
mentality and some of us getlucky to work there.
Some of us don't.
At the end of the day, you know, there's a lot of reasons and
things that you can do to becomemore successful.
(25:39):
Not all of them have to beleaving your company and going
somewhere else, but sometimesit's as simple as hey, you're
asking me to do too much work.
I need to get somethingbalanced here, because I'm not
getting paid to do this.
Either I'm going to get paidmore or you've got to balance it
more, and for some peoplethat's good enough.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Don't make me do the manager's position when I'm a
supervisor, because that's notmy job.
I'm not getting paid for it.
So you know you just got topick for yourself and speak up
and set boundaries right withpeople and take those risks that
we're talking about.
Like, what do you feel helpedyou get to this point?
Like, maybe for people thatstruggle with that or they're
stuck you know somewhere wherethey're thinking about, maybe
this isn't for me right, maybe Ineed to make this change, but
like, what would you say tosomeone like that?
Like, what kind of helped you?
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Yeah.
So I think my path and otherpeople's paths, it's going to
probably be a little bitdifferent.
And so I'll kind of chop it upa little bit, Because for me
obviously a big turning pointwas just being tired at my job.
But the most recent motivator,like I said, I had health issues
during COVID where I got sickwith.
I got sick with COVID, ended upin the hospital for Christmas
(27:08):
of my 39th birthday, right aftermy 39th birthday.
Then I found out I had diabetesand then, through my diabetes
testing, found out I had earlystages of cirrhosis of my liver.
Diabetes testing found out Ihad early stages of cirrhosis of
my liver.
So the idea of not knowing howmany years I had left on this
world really forced me to kindof look internally and say what
(27:30):
is the legacy I want to leavewhen I get out of here?
And it's what helped me, drive,drove me to start the podcast,
because I always had it as anidea but I didn't have the balls
to do it.
You know, I was always afraid.
Once again, it was afraid ofrisk and that kind of helped me
and I think that was a bigmotivator to help me jump
(27:52):
forward at a much quicker ratethan I might have normally have
done it if it wasn't for thefear that, hey, I might not make
it to my daughter's high schoolgraduation, or I need to figure
out a way that, if I'm not herefor another in five years, will
they have enough money and willwe be able to live a good life
until then, you know.
So, yes, that was a big, bigfactor for me and it's kind of
(28:17):
like the slow, like the train,being fed up with, not feeling
the value and fearing theconsistent emotional toll of not
keeping up with the Joneses.
You know like seeing everybodyelse feel like they're getting
more successful and I'm feelingleft behind, started that
locomotion to start driving.
You know what I mean.
(28:38):
The health just kind of helpedme that locomotion to start
driving.
You know what I mean.
The health just kind of helpedme press the gas a little harder
to move a little faster, andthen listening to other people
talk about what they wentthrough because no story of
success.
You see these stories ofsuccess, you think they're here
and they end up here, but,realistically speaking, there's
a lot of ups and downs alongthat journey and recognizing
(29:01):
that I wasn't the only onefeeling the same way, even from
the people who I was looking upto and listening to their
stories, and they're telling methe struggles they had, the
importance of how their lifechanged once they started going
to therapy, because they werehaving emotional breakdowns.
And seeing the vulnerability ofother people and listening to
them helped me realize that itwasn't an impossible task for me
(29:26):
.
Other people are going throughsimilar things and I can do it
as well, and now that I had themotivation because of my health,
and now I can recognize howother people were doing it, I
just started putting it intoplace and so I kind of was you
know, I do stuff and I thinkabout maybe people were doing it
.
I just started putting it intoplace and so I kind of was you
know, I do stuff and I thinkabout maybe I should do this,
and I was like, okay, you know,like what would Jesus do?
(29:46):
Kind of feeling.
But like what would the peopleon my podcast do?
What would the people Iinterviewed do?
Like I don't want it to feellike I'm just like advertising
my podcast because for me it'shelped me personally as an
individual grow.
But my podcast because for meit's helped me personally as an
individual grow.
But I think that's an importantthing.
A lot of people that we talk totalk about mentorship and being
around other people.
(30:07):
You know, if you surroundyourself by people who are
successful, they keep going forthings that will bring
themselves success.
It's hard not to learn from it,it's hard not to improve
yourself, it's hard to be aroundsuccessful people and not
continue to be successfulbecause it's just what you're
around.
You know, if you're aroundpeople who are unsuccessful,
it's more likely that you'llprobably follow along.
(30:28):
And I mean I grew up in thehood we knew a lot of dudes that
had potential, that wasted itaway because they hung out with
other people who sold drugs anddid crimes and got into fights
and did all this stuff.
And sometimes it's reallyimportant to see you know who
you're around.
So you know, I think for theperson who isn't me listening,
that's looking how can I changemy life?
I think the first step isalways recognize that you're
(30:53):
capable of change.
You know, understand that hey,there is stuff that I can do to
get better, that hey, there isstuff that I can do to get
better.
I think this is standard acrossthe board in all mental aspects
of life where you have to justbe able to admit to yourself
that you have an opportunity toget better and change what you
want.
So once you recognize that,then the next question is you
(31:14):
know, what can I do to do that?
And just start looking aroundand figuring out, you know, try
to identify what your problemsare.
What is the issues?
You know, my job isn't givingme a raise.
Isn't the issue right?
Because no job is going to giveyou a raise.
Their job isn't to give you araise.
Their job is to make money.
So the issue is I haven'tpushed my top to let them know
(31:37):
that I want to get a raise bythis certain point.
Or, if they don't give me thatraise, I have to be open and
willing to look for somethingdifferent.
Or when I do apply for the job,I can't be afraid that I'm
unqualified.
I need to do it.
So I think for that, like justbeing able to tell yourself this
is what I'm going to do, andrecognizing that there was
(32:00):
initial risk in all of that, youcould go for that.
You could go tell your boss youwant a promotion and he's not
going to give it to you, andthen you can still apply for a
job and not get hired at adifferent company.
But you can't let that stop you.
You know you took a risk andthat's progress.
And one of the big things Ilove saying is progress is
progress.
You know, recognizing thatyou've made some changes and
(32:21):
you're working towards beingbetter is just as important as
actually making those changes,because those little bits of
progress, those incrementalchanges, are going to make you
better in the long run.
I love the book the CompoundEffect that talks about
incremental changes in your lifethat will build up.
You know you can't run amarathon tomorrow, you can't go
(32:43):
outside and run a whole marathonwithout ever training.
But if you start off walking ablock, then eventually walking
two blocks, and then eventuallyrunning two blocks, then
eventually running a mile,you're going to get better.
If you improve yourself by 1% aday, you've improved yourself
by 365% by the end of the year.
So I think just being able torecognize that hey, I have, like
(33:04):
with all things, I have anissue, there's something going
on, I need to make a change, andthen being proud of the little
changes you're making andbuilding from those is going to
take a long way.
We're not going to go andyou're not going to be the CEO
of Microsoft in three months,you know.
But all things have to taketime.
Everybody, everybody deals withfailure.
(33:25):
Everybody is going to go upsand downs in their progress and
their success.
You know, don't let that tearyou down, but just recognize
that you're making littlechanges and eventually,
hopefully, things will fall intoplace for you.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
So I love that, I love all that and I love that
book.
I've actually read that booktoo.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
The compound effect yeah, it's uh, yeah, it's really
good when I was doing my wholeself-help thing, I found, um, a
lot of books and stuff you readare very, very similar, uh, to
what they want.
And I was the only one.
I was like, whoa, this one likemakes sense.
You know, everything else waslike oh, you got to do this
change and you got to do that.
And I'm like okay, okay, allright.
(34:01):
And then some of it's like verymental, but I was like that one
like that makes sense.
Just little changes can reallyhelp.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Where can people find you andyour podcast?
If they were more interested inyou know?
Speaker 2 (34:23):
learning more interested in you know learning?
Yeah, definitely, yeah, uh, youcan find me.
Uh, we have a website,wwwsuccessinspanglishcom, that's
spanglish with a g, um, we alsoall social medias as success
inspanglish and our podcast ison all major platforms.
So you can find me on spotify,apple, youtube, um, where we're
at.
And, if you want to look me up,I'm on LinkedIn too.
So, raul Lopez, you know, feelfree to check me out.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Awesome.
Well, I really appreciate you,Raul, for coming on and just
sharing all your wisdom, Likeit's been a great conversation
and I know it will definitely behelpful to somebody you know
listening to just kind of getstarted on their own journey,
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Yeah, definitely I'm working real hard at trying to
build a community of resourcesand you know, I'm always happy
to talk to someone ever.
I'm not an I don't ever claimto be a success expert, I'm more
of a success observer.
But I've been observing,observing, observing a lot of
people lately.
So you know I'm always happy togive some advice.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
Okay, well, thank you for coming on to the podcast.
I appreciate your time.
Sure, no problem.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for being here today and just talking with
me and taking time out of yourday to be here.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Where are you from?
Have you been on podcastsbefore?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
No, I mean I host my own podcast, but I haven't been
really on another podcast talk.
Currently I live in Connecticut, but I'm originally from Rhode
Island and lived the last 12years in Houston, texas.
So I'm back up north dealingwith the cold, but originally
from Peru.
I was born in Peru, came to thecountry when I was about three,
(00:36):
but I've lived most of my lifehere in the States.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Okay, cool, I'm in California, so I think I'm
dealing with the opposite.
Right now, the weather here isreally hot.
Yeah, are you from CaliforniaIn LA area?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
No, always from California, Buenos.
Aires.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, cool yeah.
So it's like 97 right nowoutside.
It's really hot.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, we got a heat wave thisweek week, but it's like barely
hitting 90, so everybody'sgoing crazy, right?
Speaker 1 (01:10):
okay, um, so you said you have your own podcast.
What's?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
your podcast yeah, my podcast is called how do you
say success in spanglish?
Um?
So it's a podcast where Iinterview, uh, people of color
who've gained different levelsof successes, so they can kind
of talk about their journey andexplain their story to the world
.
I kind of had this moment offeeling kind of slumped in my
career, like I wasn't goinganywhere with it, and so I
(01:36):
wanted to kind of get better.
So I went into like theself-help aspect of things,
started looking at books,getting, you know, try to
improve myself my life and kindof get better with things, and I
got I started listening to theaudio book for Shoe Dog, the
story about the guy who startedNike, and I kind of got caught
up in a moment in it.
(01:57):
That kind of threw me off forthe rest of the story.
And it was you know all thereviews that talk about like
this is a great story, greatunderdog story, this is great
motivational story.
And it was you know all thereviews that talk about like
this is a great story, greatunderdog story, this is great
motivational story.
And when I got to a point wherewe were talking, where we're
listening, early on, you know,he decided to like spend some
time in Hawaii and sellencyclopedia before he decided
(02:17):
to start working and at thatpoint he wanted to start his
shoe factory.
He talked to his dad.
His dad gave him some startupfunds, was able to get him
connections because he knewpeople in Japan who knew people
that had a factory and got thedoor open for him.
And I'm like that wasn't likean underdog for me, because
that's not the life I lived.
That wasn't what I could relateto.
(02:39):
I was a poor kid that grew upundocumented.
For most of my life my dad wasa truck driver.
If I wanted to start a business, I would have had to learn how
to do it and the only thing mydad knew for me to improve my
life was go to college.
That was the only answer I had.
So I felt like there wasn'tenough representation for our
people, people of color, in thesuccesses that we've gained and
we've gathered throughout ourtime to present it to the world.
(03:02):
So I kind of wanted to presentthat and I started the podcast.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Oh, nice, yeah.
So you were reading this bookand it didn't really feel like
you could relate to the person'sbackground and story.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah, it's supposed to be motivational and it's like
man, if only I had a dad thatknew people that could connect
me to a factory, I could be thenext Nike as well.
So it threw me off and I feellike for a lot of us, sometimes
our stories are very unique inwhat we go through and so it's
hard to, you know, empathizewith people who have had certain
(03:37):
privileges that you don't have,and so I want to be able to
present our story so that, youknow, hopefully it helps people
going through some situations.
A lot of us are trailblazers,doing this for the first time in
our family, so I think we needto be able to tell those stories
.
And since success is differentfor everybody, you know, not all
of us are going to be the ownerof Nike, so you know, different
levels will provide differentsuccesses.
(03:58):
So that's one thing I've beenlearning.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Sounds very interesting and, yeah, I'm going
to be checking out your podcasttoo and listening to it.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Thanks yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Yeah, it sounds really cool.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yeah, I appreciate it .
Thankfully, I've been gettingsome very interesting guests and
I'm reaching out to more andmore people, so it's growing.
The insight has been, I mean,while I'm doing this kind of to
present to the world, I'm takingit in and absorbing what I'm
learning and it's been helpingme out in my career and my life
(04:29):
as well, allowing me to takemore risks and be more advocate
for myself, more moving forwardat work.
So it's been great.
It's helped improve my life alot as well.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, yeah, cause you learn a lot from the people
that you talk to just bylistening to their story and
even maybe finding similaritiesto their story, like things you
have in common, like I feel likeyou can learn a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, it's hard to what's it called like guilty by
association.
It's hard to like be aroundpeople and not absorb some of
what they do.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So you mentioned that there was a turning point for
you.
So you said you felt like youwere down in a slump right in
your career.
What were you doing at the time, like, what was your career
Like?
Can you share a little bit moreabout that?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, I had a—I mean I mentioned I grew up as an
undocumented immigrant for mostof my life.
So we're immigrants from Peru.
We came to this country.
I was three when we came tothis country and we stayed here
illegally for most of our lives.
Hardcore blue collar, you know,keep your head down, go to work,
work hard and eventually thingswill work out kind of mentality
(05:38):
which I think when you get to acertain point in different
careers and especially whenyou've driven your whole life,
to kind of be pushed to do moreand have more.
And you know, go to college, goto college.
You want to get successful.
You don't want to do the work Iwant to do or something.
My dad always told me like hewas always fearful, he's a truck
driver.
(05:58):
He wouldn't even teach me howto like jump in a truck and turn
it on and drive it, which islike, you know, for anybody who
watched that Schwarzeneggermovie where he was a truck
driver over the top.
You know you always wanted tobe that your dad is a truck
driver, to jump in the front ofthe seat and drive, and he would
never do it because he wasalways afraid that I would enjoy
it and not want to go tocollege.
So he always had a fear ofderailing me from being more
(06:22):
successful than I think what hehad, derailing me from being
more successful than I thinkwhat he had.
So when I got to college andstruggled and you take a big hit
from, I guess, your self-esteemand thinking, oh, this is going
to be easy, I'm going to dogreat, my whole future is ahead
of me.
I was supposed to become acardiologist.
That was my goal to go topre-med and I had to drop out of
(06:45):
pre-med early on.
And then eventually you startyour career and it's like I'm
making barely $35,000 a year andI owe $60,000 in student loans
and all the promises I wasexpecting from college is never
quite hit.
And then it just slowprogressing and then you, you
deal with.
I've been fortunate to besurrounded by a lot of people
(07:06):
who have done successful thing.
A lot of you know I'm in aLatino fraternity, so I've I'm
surrounded by a lot of Latin menthat have, you know, gather
successes and watching theircareers skyrocket and blow up.
And I'm still feeling leftbehind, where I'm struggling and
I'm asking for a raise, apromotion, being promised
something for years that justnever occurred you know that
(07:27):
little carrot dangled in frontof you and you just try your
hardest that eventually I had torealize that the same path I
was going to wasn't leading mewhere I wanted to.
You know, I was doing the samething, I was keeping my head
down and working hard, but I wasmissing something and so I
decided I needed to improve.
There must be something I'mdoing wrong If what I'm doing, I
(07:52):
think, is right and it's notgiving me what I need.
I need to make a change.
So I decided to take a risk andjump into a different career
Not career path, but like adifferent job that would give me
more resources and started thatwhole self-help aspect of my
life.
And, like I said, through that Ithink I started kind of
(08:14):
understanding better and givingmyself rules.
And you know, I started tellingmyself like, hey, I can't sit
in a job for eight years hopingto get promoted.
I need to come in knowing thisis where I want to go.
And if I'm not getting it bythis point, I got to kind of
take the risk and not be afraidto leave if I have to.
So but yeah, I was justslumping.
(08:35):
I was literally at a job foralmost eight years, promised a
promotion, kept telling me to dothis and do more, and after all
of that, I was.
All I was told was you weredoing great and we would give
you a promotion, but we can't.
So we'll give you a $500 bonusfor the year.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, what kind of job was that?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Yeah, I was working, I work IT.
So I work in IT, various ITdepartments, mainly as a admin
for CRM systems, and so I wasworking at a law firm at the
time and.
I mean, I like working there andI love the people.
It's just, you know, and it'sfunny because the job I have now
they actually asked me to comeback at that point and couldn't
(09:18):
afford me.
You know, had they kept me witha little bit more, I probably
probably would have still beenthere, you know, busting my tail
and doing well.
But you know it was anopportunity I had to take that
kind of put me out of that realm.
Eventually it worked out in theend.
So I'm glad I took that risk,but it was kind of a bit to go
(09:38):
there.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, at the time when you were going through, you
said you were going to schooland you felt like something was
missing, like you kind ofstarted questioning right, like
is this even for me, or at leastthis path that you were taking,
and do you feel like at thattime you were kind of following
(10:01):
what your parents wanted you todo, or was that something you
wanted to do?
But then it changed.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yeah, it was kind of a mix.
I mean, like I said, my parentswere very big proponents of
college, so college was my onlyway.
I didn't know any other option.
You know it was I have to go tocollege.
I have to do well enough inschool to get into college.
I need to do well enough to beable to afford college, because
we couldn't afford college, soit was the only path I knew to
(10:32):
get there.
I think we're all well.
My parents weren't pressuring meto any specific field, right,
and my parents were verysupportive of the changes I made
.
There was still a pressure tobe the best and do the best and
I was really good at what I didin school until about college,
and so being a doctor was kindof what I wanted to do.
(10:53):
And then you get hit with thattidal wave of your dreams that
you've had since you were three.
Since I was like three, four,I've always wanted to be a
doctor.
My whole life I wanted to be adoctor.
Then I get to college and Ijust get destroyed.
It completely threw me off,dealing with anxiety, panic
attacks, you know it took me afew years to kind of get into
the groove, especially once Iswitched from the medical
(11:16):
pre-med field to kind ofrecognize what worked for me and
I kind of changed my mentality,changed what I was doing, felt
more comfortable with myself asa person to accept where I was
going.
But that first few years werehard because the person I
thought I always was was nolonger the person I was becoming
(11:37):
.
And that was a hard pill toswallow at the time because I
kept trying to make medicinework.
A hard pill to swallow at thetime because I kept trying to
make medicine work.
I kept trying to be a scientistor a doctor or a physical
therapist or something and itjust ended up not being the path
that was really meant for me, Ithink, at the time.
But yeah, it was hard having togo there and switch everything
(12:00):
up because that's what I alwaysthought I was going to be.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yeah, so then you go into.
You mentioned your job, right?
They weren't giving you thatraise, they weren't giving you
what you wanted.
And what happened after that?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
COVID.
So I literally got hired, putin my two weeks notice and then,
like my second week of my, lastweek of my current job, they
were closing down all ouroffices.
So they were literally tellingus hey, you can't work from the
office, no, you have to workfrom home.
We're closing this down.
And so I'm just like do I stillhave a new job?
I'm kind of nervous, likeeverything.
Covid is apparently becoming abig thing and this was a smaller
(12:51):
startup company.
I wasn't getting all thebenefits that I would normally
have gotten at the job I had.
I was getting paid more, but Iknew I'd be learning and doing a
lot more that I took that riskto.
You know, I had to weigh therisks and say, hey, this is
going to be a better option forme because I'll learn A, b, c, d
, e, f, g and at the end it didhelp out.
But at the moment I was takinga risk.
(13:13):
I was losing some benefits.
I wasn't getting 401Ks andthings like that that you would
normally get at most jobs, andthe company was small in the US.
It was just starting off in theUS because they've been in the
UK for years and they werestarting off.
So I'm starting my first weekof work and I'm like, do I have
(13:33):
a job?
I'm calling the recruiter, I'mlike, do I still have a job?
And they're like, yeah, you'restill hired.
So, thankfully, that worked outand I worked with them for
about two years as well, upuntil I got the current job I
have now, where I did get calledby once again.
A recruiter hit me up and I gotthe job I have now and it was
kind of a mix and it wasinteresting because it's like
(13:54):
you know how sometimes you dothings and you don't realize the
puzzle pieces they'll fill infor you to make a complete
picture.
And this job I jumped to gaveme these skills that I never had
before.
That when this new job aroseand came to me, it was all the
pieces I just had learned, hadfilled in the gaps from what I
did before and I was kind of aperfect candidate for this job.
(14:17):
And there was talks from thebeginning of, hey, this is a job
that we're eventually going towant to move you to a manager
position and grow this and dothis stuff.
And since I've been here, thepodcast has helped, but since
I've been here, it's given methat insight, you know, of what
I can put into it.
There was also kind of a thingthat happened in between the
(14:41):
last job and the middle job withmy health, where my health kind
of had kind of a health issuescare that kind of kicked my
butt a little bit to changemyself.
So that's also with that.
I think with the website, thepodcast has kind of helped me
reevaluate and be tougher to youknow, knowing what I want as a
career and knowing what I wantmoving forward.
(15:02):
So I've had a lot moresuccesses in my current job than
I've had in any other job I'veever had, and not just
financially like just career,and I feel more in charge than I
ever did.
And if I didn't take that riskof jumping to that new company,
I think I never would have hadthose missing pieces and I would
(15:22):
have still felt in a slump.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
And it was a risk because when COVID, when COVID
was starting, I feel likeeveryone was kind of like in a
scramble.
I feel like people didn't knowwhat to expect, what was going
to happen and yeah, likechanging jobs, right, like right
at the start.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
That must have been like scary, like oh my gosh,
like what's gonna happen and Ijumped right to a smaller
company too, right like it'slike I don't know if this
company is going to do well,period.
I don't know if they would behere in three years or not not.
Like an established companythat's dealt with very things,
covid messed up a lot ofcompanies.
So I didn't know what I wasdoing and while I did talk to my
(16:04):
wife originally about thoserisks initial inherent risks
initially because it was achange and it was a change in
the way we're dealing withbenefits that whole COVID
through a whole extra it wasscary.
I didn't know.
You know, the first few monthsI'm like what's going on?
And then things were reallyslow for a few more months after
that and then eventually thingskicked off and actually they
did pretty well during thosetimes with COVID, but the first
(16:27):
few months of it was really slow.
There was a lot of did I do theright thing?
Did I do the right thing?
Thankfully, the people therewere great.
I have nothing negative to sayabout working there.
They were great people.
Once again, they showed me alot of love and support, love
and support, and also theyrecognized the value.
(16:48):
I think even up to this daythey're still always like well,
if things don't work out, comeback to us.
So like they recognize thevalue of me as an individual
there and they were alwayspushing me to say oh, we can
take you to this position and Ithink you're good for moving up
to this level, and so that madeI mean that just changes your
whole outlook and how you feelat work.
You're happy to be working witha company that makes you feel
(17:09):
good, as opposed to just showingup for work.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, yeah, and I feel like everything kind of
just fell into place, like yousaid, right, Because that
position prepared you for thenext position, so it kind of
just all like worked out at theend.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Yeah, I mean thankfully, you know, like I
said, it could have gone anyway.
I'm glad it went the way it didgo.
But I mean, I think one of thethings I've learned while
interviewing people is the fearof risk that prevents us from
doing anything.
You know, whether it's applyingfor a new job or applying for a
(17:49):
job you don't think you'requalified for, or going to your
boss and asking for a promotion,lots of times we don't say
anything and we stay quiet andwe go four or five years never
getting a promotion becausewe're afraid to take that first
step.
And it's something, as with allthings, that takes practice.
You're not going to becomfortable the first time, the
(18:10):
first time, I even like tellingyour.
For me, telling my boss that Iwas going to leave for another
company was scary.
Like I didn't have the galls tofeel comfortable coming in
there and saying, hey, I found anew job, I'm leaving.
I felt like I was disappointingsomeone.
I felt like I was talking to mydad and I remember the first
time I was leaving for a new job, I literally felt like I was
(18:32):
going to tear up in that meetingjust for no reason.
I did nothing wrong, but itjust felt like I was talking to
my dad, telling him I wasquitting college or something
like that, and it's like, no,this is a job, they don't really
care.
This is a business.
At the end of the day, you'regoing to give your place in two
(18:56):
weeks, or someone else is goingto come in later, or they're
going to fire someone.
If they need to save $10.
It doesn't matter.
I shouldn't feel that way.
But with all things, it takespractice.
You have to work at it to feelcomfortable.
So being able to work atdealing with risk is what I
think has helped me.
Now I'm more vocal.
Even my first review at my newjob, I was literally right from
the get-go like, okay, I tookthis job because I was told I
(19:16):
was going to a manager position.
What's the plan and what do Ineed to do to get there?
From day one at this new job, Itold them exactly where I was
going, what I wanted, and I'mholding them accountable to what
I expect, because I'm not.
I don't feel like and it takes,I think, with as you advance
your career.
You feel, but for me I just Idon't feel like.
(19:36):
I feel like I'm the asset Takecare of me to move forward, as
to be forward Like I needed thejob.
I think I could find someonebetter if I needed to, and the
next company is going to take meeven further.
Everyone's a stepping stone tosomething bigger, and I'm I feel
less nervous and scared oftaking those risks than I used
to.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Yeah, yeah.
And then also I feel like justchange in general like is super
scary for a lot of people andpeople get comfortable in where
they're at and it could be scaryright To like make a change or
take the risk like you'retalking about is a big fear.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
It affects more people.
It affects some people better,more than others.
Some people are morecomfortable leaving and saying
I'm going to switch and do thisand jump to that because they
have a really, I think peoplesome people have really good
risk reward calculators in theirhead where they can calculate
how big the risk is versus whatthe potential reward is and they
can be more logistical with it.
Well, a lot more people aremore emotional with it where
we're like I'm probably moreemotional with it.
(20:44):
My wife is definitely a lotmore emotional with it where
they'll stick with a company anda lot of us will do that.
We'll stick with a company foryears, never getting any
promotion, any raise, becausethe idea of leaving to a new job
is scarier, even though youmight have been hired to be an
assistant, but by the timeyou've been there 10 years
you're running half the companyand you could really literally
be a business owner running acompany.
(21:05):
But you won't take that riskbecause you're comfortable at
where you're at, even though,realistically speaking, you've
probably been given morechallenges and become more
capable of doing more than whatyou have from the start.
But it's different anddifferent is scary.
I work IT.
People hate change.
We can't upgrade a program, wecan't upgrade a software.
We can't download something, anew program, for people to use
(21:27):
without there being hesitation.
So it's just a natural feeling,I think, for people to be
afraid of making those changes.
It's like I said, with allthings, you've got to work on it
.
I and it's like I said with allthings, you got to work on it.
I'm not an expert, I'm notperfect, I'm not the most
successful person in the world.
Yet I've just believed hardcore, and especially lately, like I
(21:49):
said, since I had my healththing that I don't know how much
time I have left in this worldand I need to be able to make
squeeze as much juice from thefruit as I can and I can't sit
around hoping somebody squeezeit for me.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Yeah, yeah.
And I feel also like whenyou're in a job for so long and
then you start feeling like youhave some, like you owe some
kind of like loyalty orsomething to these companies,
and so I'm also thinking likethat could be another factor too
for people to feel maybe evenbad about changing or taking
(22:30):
risk.
Right, like people may feellike they owe something you know
to these companies, but at theend of the day, like you said,
like are they giving you thesame bag, like they'll replace
you, right?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I think there's.
I mean corporations are thereto make money, period.
I mean, I think one thing wealways need to remember is a
company's there to make money.
That's their most importantthing, whatever happens.
And one of the most, I guess,successful ways of being able to
keep people around is makingthem feel like family.
Some companies do it betterthan others.
Some companies do it by youknow labels only, and some of
(23:07):
them do it where you actually dofeel like family and they go
out of your way and they giveyou all this stuff.
Especially small companies tendto feel more family oriented.
Because you're dealing withfive, six people, you know it
does feel like a family.
But big companies will tend tobe more along the lines of
saying we are a family, we doeverything for a family, but, by
the way, don't call out sick orotherwise we'll get fired.
(23:28):
You know what I mean.
So it's like no family is goingto kick you out because you
called out sick one a coupletimes a week.
There is, I think, a shiftlately in the concept of loyalty
within the workforce forindividual people, where we are
no longer feeling the pressureof the idea of loyalty being you
(23:51):
stick with the company forever.
The loyalty is I'm going to dothe best I can while I'm at this
company and you are going toget the best of me while I'm
here, but when I'm leaving myloyalty has been paid.
I don't owe any loyalty.
My loyalty is what I leave atthe end of the day, not what I
leave when I'm about to go toanother company.
(24:12):
That's going to value me better.
Because a lot of companies, likeI, said the same thing with my
job.
If I had gotten a 10% raise a10% raise I would have probably
been the happiest person in theworld still staying at my job.
And now they were offering menearly a probably like 50% raise
from what I was making when Ileft, and that was still not
(24:35):
enough to bring me back at thispoint of where I was.
So you know, little littlethings sometimes for us would
make us happy, and the companieswon't even give us that.
That you know you have torecognize that.
We have to realize that, yeah,loyalty can only get you.
So far I've had friends whowere quitting jobs and they,
they got that loyalty cardthrown at them and it's like,
dude, I've been asking for araise for 10 years.
(24:56):
You're telling me to be loyal.
Now I'm like where were youguys four or five years ago when
I was asking to be promoted,you know, or when we had the
money?
The thing always for us is ifwe leave and they hire someone
else, it's probably gonna bemore expensive to hire a new
person and to keep you and trainyou into that position, and for
some companies that's not worthit.
(25:17):
There's new companies are doingbetter with it.
I think there are somecompanies that are a lot more
willing to invest in theircurrent employees than focus on
the outside, because theyrecognize that shift in
mentality and some of us getlucky to work there.
Some of us don't.
At the end of the day, you know, there's a lot of reasons and
things that you can do to becomemore successful.
(25:39):
Not all of them have to beleaving your company and going
somewhere else, but sometimesit's as simple as hey, you're
asking me to do too much work.
I need to get somethingbalanced here, because I'm not
getting paid to do this.
Either I'm going to get paidmore or you've got to balance it
more, and for some peoplethat's good enough.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Don't make me do the manager's position when I'm a
supervisor, because that's notmy job.
I'm not getting paid for it.
So you know you just got topick for yourself and speak up
and set boundaries right withpeople and take those risks that
we're talking about.
Like, what do you feel helpedyou get to this point?
Like, maybe for people thatstruggle with that or they're
stuck you know somewhere wherethey're thinking about, maybe
this isn't for me right, maybe Ineed to make this change, but
like, what would you say tosomeone like that?
Like, what kind of helped you?
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Yeah.
So I think my path and otherpeople's paths, it's going to
probably be a little bitdifferent.
And so I'll kind of chop it upa little bit, Because for me
obviously a big turning pointwas just being tired at my job.
But the most recent motivator,like I said, I had health issues
during COVID where I got sickwith.
I got sick with COVID, ended upin the hospital for Christmas
(27:08):
of my 39th birthday, right aftermy 39th birthday.
Then I found out I had diabetesand then, through my diabetes
testing, found out I had earlystages of cirrhosis of my liver.
Diabetes testing found out Ihad early stages of cirrhosis of
my liver.
So the idea of not knowing howmany years I had left on this
world really forced me to kindof look internally and say what
(27:30):
is the legacy I want to leavewhen I get out of here?
And it's what helped me, drive,drove me to start the podcast,
because I always had it as anidea but I didn't have the balls
to do it.
You know, I was always afraid.
Once again, it was afraid ofrisk and that kind of helped me
and I think that was a bigmotivator to help me jump
(27:52):
forward at a much quicker ratethan I might have normally have
done it if it wasn't for thefear that, hey, I might not make
it to my daughter's high schoolgraduation, or I need to figure
out a way that, if I'm not herefor another in five years, will
they have enough money and willwe be able to live a good life
until then, you know.
So, yes, that was a big, bigfactor for me and it's kind of
(28:17):
like the slow, like the train,being fed up with, not feeling
the value and fearing theconsistent emotional toll of not
keeping up with the Joneses.
You know like seeing everybodyelse feel like they're getting
more successful and I'm feelingleft behind, started that
locomotion to start driving.
You know what I mean.
(28:38):
The health just kind of helpedme that locomotion to start
driving.
You know what I mean.
The health just kind of helpedme press the gas a little harder
to move a little faster, andthen listening to other people
talk about what they wentthrough because no story of
success.
You see these stories ofsuccess, you think they're here
and they end up here, but,realistically speaking, there's
a lot of ups and downs alongthat journey and recognizing
(29:01):
that I wasn't the only onefeeling the same way, even from
the people who I was looking upto and listening to their
stories, and they're telling methe struggles they had, the
importance of how their lifechanged once they started going
to therapy, because they werehaving emotional breakdowns.
And seeing the vulnerability ofother people and listening to
them helped me realize that itwasn't an impossible task for me
(29:26):
.
Other people are going throughsimilar things and I can do it
as well, and now that I had themotivation because of my health,
and now I can recognize howother people were doing it, I
just started putting it intoplace and so I kind of was you
know, I do stuff and I thinkabout maybe people were doing it
.
I just started putting it intoplace and so I kind of was you
know, I do stuff and I thinkabout maybe I should do this,
and I was like, okay, you know,like what would Jesus do?
(29:46):
Kind of feeling.
But like what would the peopleon my podcast do?
What would the people Iinterviewed do?
Like I don't want it to feellike I'm just like advertising
my podcast because for me it'shelped me personally as an
individual grow.
But my podcast because for meit's helped me personally as an
individual grow.
But I think that's an importantthing.
A lot of people that we talk totalk about mentorship and being
around other people.
(30:07):
You know, if you surroundyourself by people who are
successful, they keep going forthings that will bring
themselves success.
It's hard not to learn from it,it's hard not to improve
yourself, it's hard to be aroundsuccessful people and not
continue to be successfulbecause it's just what you're
around.
You know, if you're aroundpeople who are unsuccessful,
it's more likely that you'llprobably follow along.
(30:28):
And I mean I grew up in thehood we knew a lot of dudes that
had potential, that wasted itaway because they hung out with
other people who sold drugs anddid crimes and got into fights
and did all this stuff.
And sometimes it's reallyimportant to see you know who
you're around.
So you know, I think for theperson who isn't me listening,
that's looking how can I changemy life?
I think the first step isalways recognize that you're
(30:53):
capable of change.
You know, understand that hey,there is stuff that I can do to
get better, that hey, there isstuff that I can do to get
better.
I think this is standard acrossthe board in all mental aspects
of life where you have to justbe able to admit to yourself
that you have an opportunity toget better and change what you
want.
So once you recognize that,then the next question is you
(31:14):
know, what can I do to do that?
And just start looking aroundand figuring out, you know, try
to identify what your problemsare.
What is the issues?
You know, my job isn't givingme a raise.
Isn't the issue right?
Because no job is going to giveyou a raise.
Their job isn't to give you araise.
Their job is to make money.
So the issue is I haven'tpushed my top to let them know
(31:37):
that I want to get a raise bythis certain point.
Or, if they don't give me thatraise, I have to be open and
willing to look for somethingdifferent.
Or when I do apply for the job,I can't be afraid that I'm
unqualified.
I need to do it.
So I think for that, like justbeing able to tell yourself this
is what I'm going to do, andrecognizing that there was
(32:00):
initial risk in all of that, youcould go for that.
You could go tell your boss youwant a promotion and he's not
going to give it to you, andthen you can still apply for a
job and not get hired at adifferent company.
But you can't let that stop you.
You know you took a risk andthat's progress.
And one of the big things Ilove saying is progress is
progress.
You know, recognizing thatyou've made some changes and
(32:21):
you're working towards beingbetter is just as important as
actually making those changes,because those little bits of
progress, those incrementalchanges, are going to make you
better in the long run.
I love the book the CompoundEffect that talks about
incremental changes in your lifethat will build up.
You know you can't run amarathon tomorrow, you can't go
(32:43):
outside and run a whole marathonwithout ever training.
But if you start off walking ablock, then eventually walking
two blocks, and then eventuallyrunning two blocks, then
eventually running a mile,you're going to get better.
If you improve yourself by 1% aday, you've improved yourself
by 365% by the end of the year.
So I think just being able torecognize that hey, I have, like
(33:04):
with all things, I have anissue, there's something going
on, I need to make a change, andthen being proud of the little
changes you're making andbuilding from those is going to
take a long way.
We're not going to go andyou're not going to be the CEO
of Microsoft in three months,you know.
But all things have to taketime.
Everybody, everybody deals withfailure.
(33:25):
Everybody is going to go upsand downs in their progress and
their success.
You know, don't let that tearyou down, but just recognize
that you're making littlechanges and eventually,
hopefully, things will fall intoplace for you.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
So I love that, I love all that and I love that
book.
I've actually read that booktoo.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
The compound effect yeah, it's uh, yeah, it's really
good when I was doing my wholeself-help thing, I found, um, a
lot of books and stuff you readare very, very similar, uh, to
what they want.
And I was the only one.
I was like, whoa, this one likemakes sense.
You know, everything else waslike oh, you got to do this
change and you got to do that.
And I'm like okay, okay, allright.
(34:01):
And then some of it's like verymental, but I was like that one
like that makes sense.
Just little changes can reallyhelp.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
Where can people find you andyour podcast?
If they were more interested inyou know?
Speaker 2 (34:23):
learning more interested in you know learning?
Yeah, definitely, yeah, uh, youcan find me.
Uh, we have a website,wwwsuccessinspanglishcom, that's
spanglish with a g, um, we alsoall social medias as success
inspanglish and our podcast ison all major platforms.
So you can find me on spotify,apple, youtube, um, where we're
at.
And, if you want to look me up,I'm on LinkedIn too.
So, raul Lopez, you know, feelfree to check me out.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Awesome.
Well, I really appreciate you,Raul, for coming on and just
sharing all your wisdom, Likeit's been a great conversation
and I know it will definitely behelpful to somebody you know
listening to just kind of getstarted on their own journey,
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Yeah, definitely I'm working real hard at trying to
build a community of resourcesand you know, I'm always happy
to talk to someone ever.
I'm not an I don't ever claimto be a success expert, I'm more
of a success observer.
But I've been observing,observing, observing a lot of
people lately.
So you know I'm always happy togive some advice.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
Okay, well, thank you for coming on to the podcast.
I appreciate your time.
Sure, no problem.
Thank you so much.
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