El Corazón - The story of “Why”

How do you return to civilization, to feverish New York City, and to an all-consuming new job after spending months in the jungle? These are the questions I’ve been thinking about a lot since I published One way to Happiness last fall.

Well, the answer might disillusion you with its effortlessness: “Be your true self!”

One thing I learned in the Mexican jungle is that life is too short to pretend to be someone you are not. This realization is at odds with how many of us live our lives—we create different constructs for how we would like to be perceived by others than for how we see ourselves for who we truly are. We build divergent (and sometimes complete opposite) versions of ourselves in the social, professional, and personal realms. Just check some Instagram accounts to see how we want ourselves to be seen and understood vs. how life actually is, hence the well-coined term “Instagram vs. Reality.”

Back to the original question: How can you maintain the integrity of your ethos after radical transformation? Any personal journey of self-actualization (sorry, back to Maslow) starts with redefining your identity, values, and belief system. By living your value set, i.e., “What you do is who you are” (Ben Horowitz), values become virtues, and paths become self-evident. By dropping the walls of our abstract personas, concatenates, or better amalgamates (no more imaginary IG projections!), you can unify the various versions of yourself around a clearly defined purpose. The crux of it is to remain true to yourself and to the world around you.

So, I have tried to do exactly that. My value set was clear: a day composed of unconditional love, authenticity, accountability, and perseverance, which I wouldn’t separate based on the environment or context in which I found myself. With me, what you see is what you get, and that’s the exquisiteness of being one’s authentic self.

It’s harder done than said, however. Never in my professional life have I been so exposed by sharing my essence in such an unswerving way. How has it been possible? Let’s rewind a bit and go back to the wilderness.

While talking to trees in the jungle of Quintana Roo and doing a great deal of thinking about existentialism and a way of living in harmony with nature, I received a phone call from Ralph Pardo, CEO of Hearts & Science. I must admit, it was odd—days of solitude teleport you to a special place of pure consciousness, and taking a phone call from a humanoid was rather unexpected and intriguing. 

The first 30 minutes of our call were unforeseen. We talked about egalitarianism, the epistemology of corporate culture, and what that really means outside of PowerPoint slides. He shared his purpose, vision, and mission statements (I bet you’ve seen one or two throughout your career!). Ralph shared his values, his concept of tribe, which he lives by, and how he promotes candor at Hearts. Ralph believes the true meaning of “hierarchy” at work isn’t driven by rank but rather by the magic trifecta of reciprocity, empathy, and intelligence. Speaking about spirituality, a sense of community, and impartiality in one sentence is seldom done—and I found it refreshing. Of course, it all started with Scott Hagedorn, who redefined an old-school agency legacy with a new way of thinking and entrepreneurial spirit. Hearts incubated brilliant, high-density talent and cherry-picked great humans to join the Omnicom family. Undoubtedly, I was drawn to Hearts from that very moment.

So, why Hearts? Call me stereotypical, but throughout my entire career, I was mainly focused on competence as the primary dimension of success simply because it worked across geographies and cultures. I thought, “Why change the formula of success, right?” Wrong! By embarking on my spiritual journey and filling the void of psychic energy, I felt with a unified, holistic persona focused on “el corazón” (no pun intended), I could suddenly see many different, worthy dimensions of success. Connecting with your inner spirit and discovering your true essence makes you whole, changes your frequency, and attracts different opportunities to your life in work, friendship, and love.

Hearts & Science, as the name suggests, comprises two realms—conscientiousness and competence. Beyond the wordplay and linguistic semantics, the duality has a more profound philosophical meaning: an egalitarian tribe fused with an impeccable culture that completely aligns with my own values and beliefs—a true and rare find!

The reality of work during the pandemic, when you spend 12 hours a day on Zoom calls, is that lines between professional and personal lives are blurred. There is no room for duality; in fact, dichotomy distorts your identity, which is unhealthy in the long term. We are yet to understand the full dehumanizing impact of a virtualized work environment that lacks the power of kinetic energy, of being in the same room with one another and sharing a handshake (or hug). Staring at your own avatar in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen for 60 hours a week is something our brain is not used to. Reorganizing neural networks (thank you, neuroplasticity!) with your self-image is yet to be comprehended and certainly has underlying side effects.

A job definition in my definition is simple—it’s a sacrifice of your most valuable commodity, time, in expectation of future expansions (prosperity, triumph, recognition, wealth, etc.). Spend your time wisely, with the right people going in the right direction. Have a North Star, and define what’s right for you via life’s Purpose, Mission, and Values. My attempt on the latter is below:

Vision: To inspire humanity to live in harmony with nature

Purpose: Thrive through sustainability

Values: Unconditional love, authenticity, accountability, and perseverance

Mission 2020: Create a tribe to impact community by traveling Mexico coast to coast 

Mission 2021: Integrate newly obtained value set in corporate environment by doing, not saying

Lastly, I would like to share the most recent liberating and redemptive career experiment I have undertaken, which occurred during Hearts’ “All Hands” meeting last month. With leadership’s blessing, I was able to share this very story at scale—a true testament to being part of the right company, with the right ethos and values.

What are yours?