Boring-fancy business terms convert your childhood struggles into "skills." Use them for your benefit.

"What have you done to my computer??? It was working perfectly until you used it!" My dad cried over the phone.

Oh no, not again.

If you were a teenager in the nineties, you probably didn't have a computer at home. That was for the rich or super geeks.

And if you did, you probably had the home computer.

Those times sound like the early Pleistocene now that each family member has their own laptops, but it wasn't that long ago.

Then, there were middle-ground children like myself, who heard their parents say how privileged we were to have a home computer, but my right eyebrow was raised so high that it blended with the root of my hair.

At the very minimum, calling that thing a computer was flattering. My brothers and I used to call our home, "the computer's cemetery." The place where every struggling computer at my dad's office came to die after a dedicated life of service.

Let's say it was a fancy retirement for the old ones when they bought a brand new one for the office.

My fingers were stronger than Popeye's arms, those keyboards were so stubborn, that it was like typing on a classic Olivetti.

Oh! And don't get me started with the one with a green, blinking screen.

My eyes got so dry, that they felt like sandpaper, and my eyelids scratched them like razors whenever I blinked. I had a bottle of artificial tear drops as a peripheric device.

Of course, when a computer finally died, it was our fault.

My family keeps things like... forever? So it's common to hear these statements, "we've been using this washing machine for 40 years since your grandparents met, you use it once and you break it! Can't you be more careful?"

Of course, once you are blamed for breaking any dinosaur at home, its ghost will chase you forever. These new machines are horrible, they are not made to last. That good ol' machine was the best thing since sliced bread. It was a real good one that never gave any problem! If only Caaarmen (stretching vowels and one tone higher) hadn't broken it 20 years ago!

When something like that happens, I preach to my parents about the beauty of the Buddhist non-attachment to material things, but they tell me very politely to go and fry asparagus (the Spanish equivalent of f*ck off).

Unity is the only defense. My brothers and I reached a silent agreement. We don't use anything older than 5 years at their place.

Imagine my horror when my dad's 2-years-old laptop didn't work.

I was doomed. I was totally in the blaming zone (anything that happens within a month after you use one of my parents' things is, and will always be, your fault). I used Chrome for one hour on his laptop to work on the LinkedIn 30-day sprint three days before, and his Microsoft word wasn't working now. It was clearly my fault.

The computer was frozen. He couldn't even reboot it. It didn't react to any stimuli.

9 reboots with security mode later, at the end of a 70-minute WhatsApp video call, where I repeatedly asked my dad not to point his camera to the window but to his screen, I dared to ask, "dad, when was the last time you changed the batteries to your Bluetooth mouse????"

He never did in two years ??????

We all have more skills than we believe

If anything of what I wrote rings a bell, trust me, you have what it takes to have a business. Lemme use some fancy coaching-business-words here:

• Getting your work done in times of adversity is called resilience.
• Doing your homework without the proper tools is adaptability.
• Using dying computers teaches you to be careful, and appreciate what you have. It builds gratitude.
• Taking the blame for the air around you brings you humility and patience
• Helping your old parents with their computers' frustration teaches you patience, tolerance, generosity, and compassion. Also, it feels good to help others.

Imagine if your boss had half of those skills. Imagine how good a boss you can be if you practice those abilities.

Sometimes we obsess about titles or fancy business schools to have a paper hanging on the wall that says we manage the skills we learned at home.

I challenge any Harvard professor to spend a month at my parents' and then teach me soft skills with a Powerpoint presentation. I bet you the only words we would exchange afterwards would be "I feel you" while hugging for 10 minutes.

I made two documents to help you build your business and personal brand. One is a free downloadable with the marketing strategies we should avoid if we want to be successful. The other reveals the 5 skills we want to have to be kick-ass entrepreneurs and leaders.

Are there any other skills you learned in life that any business would kill to have?

Thank you for reading. Please, share this Newsletter if you think it can help your friends :)