Although Mike only holds a high school diploma and a semester\u2019s worth of college education, he holds more integrity, wisdom, and real-world experience than most of us do today. Through his talk and the Q&A session that followed, Mike offered several tips and insight as to how he was able to get to where he is today.<\/p>\n
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1. Use Your Disadvantages to Your Advantage<\/strong> 2. Develop a Plan<\/strong> 3. Be Simple & Be Aware<\/strong> 4. Break the Glass Ceiling<\/strong> 5. Don\u2019t Invent. Copy.<\/strong> 6. Fail. A Lot.<\/strong> 7. Stay Motivated<\/strong> 8. Appreciate & Be Grateful<\/strong> 9. Be SUPER<\/strong> 10. Pay it Forward<\/strong> <\/p>\n And with that, I leave you with a photo of me with bunny ears from the silly, personable and humble man himself: Mike Fernandez.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Thank you to our student writer Michelle Jin ’17 for her review of guest speaker, Mike Fernandez – and great photo!<\/p>\n
\nMike described himself as having Attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder, but rather than talk about how it hindered his performance, he talked about how he was able to use it to enhance his performance. He explained that it provided him with the incredible ability of multitasking- he was able to not only review, but also understand several financial statements in a very short period of time.<\/p>\n
\nAs a result of Mike\u2019s ADD, he began to develop 7-day plans where he would map out his week from Monday of one week to Monday of the next week. This plan allowed him to be focused on achieving a specific goal within given time constraints, while also giving him the flexibility of changing his goal the next week.<\/p>\n
\nMike describes business to be much simpler than we complicate it to be. Broken down, business can be classified as a bunch of small decisions. These decisions are influenced by our knowledge and perceptions, and Mike emphasizes that it is imperative to be aware and understanding of whom you are working with. He explains that most of his clients and workers now are ones who have worked with him in the past, and that it is important to align business and customer incentives to be successful.<\/p>\n
\nWhen asked about his experience with discrimination, Mike responded that he felt like he had two choices: to either be stepped on or to prove that he was better than those who looked down upon him. He compared the situation to be much like that of a glass ceiling. \u201cBreak that glass ceiling. You decide if it can be broken or not.\u201d Mike emphasizes that despite what others say, we as individuals have the right and the potential to change our own future.<\/p>\n
\nMike advises young entrepreneurs to take the ideas and mistakes of previous entrepreneurs into consideration before trying to make it out on their own.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cPush yourself to the point where you\u2019ll fail and you will learn a lot in life.\u201d Mike always focused on what was going wrong with his companies rather than what was going right. He always wanted to know what was going wrong and how to improve on his failures. Although 23 out of the 25 companies he invested in could be considered successful, he considered most of them to be failures because he did not reach his ultimate goal.<\/p>\n
\nWhen asked how he stays curious, Mike responded that he keeps moving. Everything he does serves as a reminder that he is building up his own story and making his father proud.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIn this country, if you can make it, you can make it anywhere.\u201d Mike says that he appreciates the United States and all that it has to offer more than others. He reasons that coming from his background and social status in Cuba, he is really grateful and blessed to be in the U.S. today. Putting his own perspective on a popular idiom, he says, \u201cThe grass is always greener where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n“S<\/strong>acrifice – U<\/strong>rgency – P<\/strong>assion – E<\/strong>xecution – R<\/strong>esults” Mike promotes the idea of being SUPER<\/strong>– that is, sacrificing your time to address important consumer concerns, prioritizing and completing tasks quickly and efficiently, being passionate about what you do, executing your ideas, seeing the big picture and satisfactory results that come along with it, and then helping others.<\/p>\n
\nMike\u2019s publisher David Lawrence was also present at the talk, and he explained that Mike had projected to see about 500 copies of his book Humbled By The Journey, but in reality sold over 20,000 copies. Originally, Mike did not even want to write his own story, but after the sale of his books, Mike donated all of the proceeds to provide for early school preparation for children.\u00a0 He encourages all of us to also pay it forward, connecting with others and then spreading the wealth. \u201cGiving is really a learned experience. You need to learn to give, because the natural instinct is to keep.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Fernandez_Jin](\"https:\/\/blogs.holycross.edu\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/04\/Fernandez_Jin-Bunny-Ears.png\")
<\/a>Reflecting on Mike\u2019s talk, I concur that we are extremely lucky to be in the U.S., where we have so much freedom and opportunity that we often take for granted. We are especially fortunate to be attending a school like Holy Cross, where students are constantly paying it forward and being men and women for others. I hope that all of you are as inspired by Mike as I am to break that glass ceiling of yours and to form your own meaningful relationships, companies, and future.<\/p>\n