An Immigrant’s Journey to F.I. w/Juan Fernandez – Episode 023

Listen in to this episode as Chris and Debbie have an entertaining and informative conversation with Juan Fernandez, an immigrant from Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Juan tells us all about:

• growing up in a hardworking, middle-class family that emphasized education and valued responsibility
• his family-centered upbringing in which, “what happens to one family member, happens to every family member.”
• his parents’ focus on saving for the future (“Money doesn’t grow on trees.” “Save, save, save because you never know what might happen.”)
• the abundant, booming Venezuela of his youth where, “all you could see were opportunities.”
• scarcity mindset
• what he learned from seeing his father lose his job of 19 years and how it continues to influence him today
• how he was able to get his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Venezuela and the U.S., debt-free, through scholarships, fellowships, and becoming a research assistant
• why he decided to stay in the U.S. after graduating
• his financial motivations and reasons to work toward financial independence (FI)
• the ways he continues to improve as a husband, father, and employee

You’ll want to check out Episode 22 to learn about Juan’s marriage performance reviews if you missed it. You’ll be glad you did!

We leave you with this thought: 

If we are to trust the great Google machine, we can believe that Abraham Lincoln said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” It was also him that said, “You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.” Though Abraham Lincoln didn’t come up in our conversation with Juan (imagine that), I’m left to wonder if he takes some influence or inspiration from the historic leader.

Juan learned early on, through watching the trials his dad went through after devoting 19 years of his life to a company and then losing his job, just how vital self-reliance is. Perhaps this lesson in being dispensable, along with the work ethic and responsibility his parents instilled in him, is what drove him to find a way to learn and work in the U.S. when his options appeared to be limited. Maybe it’s also what motivates him to continue to work toward financial independence and seek out ways he can grow and improve in his personal life.

What I learn from Juan, is that options are out there and the choices are mine to make. Though the path may not be clearly lit in front of me, the answers I seek appear if I keep searching. Those answers and options only expand when I take ownership of my life, its path, and have a vision for my ultimate destination. Staying open and curious along the way doesn’t hurt either.

I cannot say this enough, I CHOOSE MY LIFE. I choose it. If I am a victim of it, I choose that too. Only you get to decide if you choose yours. Once you make that choice, consciously, the possibilities are endless. There may be some necessary time spent unraveling some of the unconscious choices made out of feeling a victim then building and growing what’s needed for the future envisioned, but after that, look out!

What do you want out of your life? What do you dream of for your future self?

In answer?  The words of Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass,

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere…”

May you find the vision for your life that you seek, today friends. May you find the energy and agency to begin taking the first steps in making what’s in your heart a reality. May you, once and for all, realize that the choice is yours, as it has always been. AND in choosing your life, may you find that the possibilities expand beyond anything you could have ever dreamed. Because, after all, you’ve got just this ONE LIFE. Why not choose to truly LIVE IT! today?