The Answer is Yes!

by Diego Nascimento*

On two recent trips I had the chance to realize that, in fact, a dream can come true. The first testimony occurred in Seattle (USA), where I visited the first Starbucks store.  A small idea originated in 1971 that made this modest endeavor become a multinational company with the largest coffee chain in the world. The second experience was in Minas Gerais, where I talked with a man who, after facing unemployment and literally sleeping under the stars, learned to prepare tasty sandwiches and in the coming weeks, will open the fourth diner of his brand, generating employment and changing the lives of many people.

Do the two stories have something in common? The answer is yes! If you answered with the word initiative,congratulations! Although there is a range of three decades between the founding of the coffee shop and the restaurant, the entrepreneurial vision essential to this, courage and the ability to try, were characteristic of these two stories. It has been said that every tree has a small seed that needs to be carefully watered and fertilized to have strong roots. Whatever wind blows, it will stand firm.

Many people have the habit of making a list of goals for the New Year. How about adding initiative, determination and focus to your daily work? Do we care for our career like the seed that we read about in the previous paragraph? You do not necessarily need to create a multinational company to put into practice these ingredients. Try to revolutionize your workplace through a good idea stored in your heart or through growing your idea through what I call 24-hour care, where we “put on the team jersey” inside and out.

Perhaps you read this text on New Year’s Eve. Maybe you saw these lines sometime after New Year’s Eve. It doesn’tmatter. Initiative is inside people. Take the first step!

Want to share ideas? Feel free. I’m ready to listen.