I am what I am because…
Román Rodríguez Márquez
CEO of Helados Holanda
UNILEVER DE MÉXICO
“Our roots mark a large part of who we are today, but never set a limit for us to continue
evolving, to discover every day who we want to be.”
I remember perfectly the feeling of being about to face my rival in a Greco-Roman wrestling final, that moment when you know that everything depends on you, on your physical and mental preparation, on that inner strength that has to be demonstrated with the skills you have acquired, with the right technique to be applied at every moment, according to the circumstance that demanded each movement of your own and your rival’s… This same feeling today is manifested in every moment of my personal and professional life in which I have full recognition that most of my achievements and failures have depended on this preparation that I have developed since I was a child, at every stage of my life, with great strength of mind and spirit and with full awareness that I will give the best of me in every “final” that I have to face.
I am what I am thanks to this awareness and recognition of facing life like this: final after final, fight after fight.
Today, being the father of three beautiful children, married and in love for 27 years, holding the position of my dreams, it is clear to me that every moment that has built my life has contributed in a remarkable way to be who I am, that the roots instilled by my mother and my brothers are always present in me, that every professional role I have had the fortune to play has fostered in me to always want to do things in a way that positively impacts my environment: today I realize that every time life presents you with the opportunity to be and be for someone, the commitment to yourself to be the best version of you is spectacularly motivating. I can say that you are who you are because of the self-commitment to be better for who you see in the mirror every morning and to be able to expand and share that reflection to others, whoever you have the opportunity to touch.
The root
My childhood is full of exceptional moments, with some shortcomings like many of us, but full of other things that were priceless: my mother, my brothers, sports, the war band of my elementary school, my friends that I still have today from high school, all this to learn to grow always in a healthy environment and with challenges that every day were becoming more, today are part of my essence in everything I do. In my roots it is clear that the most important thing was always to take advantage of what I did have to then join efforts and collectively do something wonderful.
I have always been grateful to my mother for having instilled in us such great values that today are the DNA that governs me: love, discipline and faith, a wonderful conjunction that only has room for error if one is responsible for overthrowing any of these values…. With this, I want to tell you that my roots are very solid because I have never renounced them, because I have always defended my essence that combined with the values plus a special seasoning of striving to be better every day, present you with an almost infallible recipe to achieve happiness and fulfillment in whatever you do or in the path to pursue your dreams… My roots are always present in me, they are an important part of what I was and what I am today, but they will never have a limit if it is to determine a better future and leave a legacy to those who will come in a few more generations, to prepare a better future.
Who was I?
To say that everything was always positive in this path to who I am today is difficult to say and believe it and so it was…. They say that the darkest hour is always before dawn and what a good truth… and in my case it is no exception!
Like many beginnings in the search for personal and professional growth, there were several failures, at school, with friends, in sports, at work, in life as a whole; But all these moments of -error/learning- have definitely helped me to build a vision of how important it is to recognize them, as much or more than the triumphs, but even more important, not to let any of them (triumph or failure) determine your course, from both and even more from the mistakes you have to learn, you always have to capitalize on each of them and continue, continue in the relentless pursuit of evolution, even if in the same we have some mistake again; so constantly and always evolving. Not to let failure impose its natural law is a central part of constant growth, to become aware, internalize and capitalize on learning, in a consistent way, taking action whenever it is necessary to take it.
Who I was is not who I am and certainly not who I will be or who I want to be tomorrow; the constant must be evolution, transformation. Who I was was always full of dreams and illusions that are still there today but now renewed or transformed into a current reality. For those dreams to take shape today or have already been realized, there are always exceptional beings that come into your life to help you fight for them, you just have to recognize them and do the impossible at every moment so that they stay, because they are part of you, of your life, of your mornings and your tomorrows! Thanks to my exceptional beings – Kari, Alexa, Erick and Jois – is that I keep fighting every day to try to be a little better than I was yesterday, in constant inner challenge, personal, without giving up my essence, but faithful to my dreams and illusions now in a collaborative way, together, which by far, tastes better!
In the professional field something similar happens, along the way there will always be many opportunities to do something great, to go beyond what is the established role, always aligned to the values of the organization and the team… And why not say it, there are also exceptional people who will be willing to contribute to your development, today I am who I am in my job because there were people who placed their trust in me and gave me the opportunity to show and enhance my capabilities.
Who am I?
Today I can say that I am a full man, in love with life, my family, my friends, my work, my essence, my nature, who enjoys every moment at the highest level of intensity, convinced to give the best of myself at every moment and, above all, that I have a tireless will to live!
Who I am surely is someone who has been impacted by so many people I have been fortunate to meet, who recognizes and is proud of his roots and who professes with much love the values instilled in him.
Who I am today is a constant evolution of who I was, who step by step has tried to live with strength every struggle I have had to face.
Who I am today has a lot of that child who loved to play in the street until it got dark or until the ball went flat.
Who I am today is someone who still has dreams and illusions but also fears and mistakes….
Who I am today lives with full awareness of wanting to change any situation always in favor of improving and starting with myself.
Who I am today is grateful for opening my eyes every morning, feeling the water in my body when I take a bath and then understanding that I have one more day to do incredible things:
Who I am today is a person who with complete humility wants to leave a better world for those who will live in the future.
Who I am today wants to always look at the stars, with my feet firmly on the ground and my arms open to embrace and help others!
Who do I want to be?
Today I want to forge my future and the future of those I love with the actions that rule my present, with what I can do today!
I want to be someone who, despite my age, will never grow old enough to stop dreaming.
I want to be someone who continues to enjoy every moment, every second, who always has the will to live.
I want to be someone who brings something positive in every gesture, in every word.
I want to be someone who has the courage to continue recognizing his mistakes and even more, the courage to face them and correct them.
I want to be someone who with his actions, more than with his thoughts helps to build a better world.
I want to be someone who ends up exhausted every day, someone who at the end of the road ends up with many scrapes and scars, worn out in body and mind, but always satisfied for giving everything in every second of life!
I want to be someone who contributes to my family’s happiness and can leave them a better future in every way.
Who I want to be… Is an evolved version of who I am today.
I am who I am.
