Life hack #1 - Surround yourself with greatness

A month ago, I had the privilege to be invited to the VIP visit to the Riegl manufacturing facilities in Austria by no one else but Johannes Riegl Jr. himself. We have build a true and honest friendship over the years, but this trip has been a life enriching experience worth sharing.

As a typical latin, I was one of the last to confirm my participation. I was ready to book my air travel after committing, but before I could even look at alternatives to get to Vienna, I had business class round ticket in my inbox. The day came, I got on the plane, and call it energy or serendipity but I don’t recall a trip meeting so many interesting people along the way. Our conversations were about how to make the world a better place, how educate our children, how to lead in the workplace. I am mean these are deep conversations to have with random people you just met, but the energy was so intense from the mindset prior to meeting with CEOs, CTOs, owners, VPs of worldwide leaders from my industry.

As soon as I landed, I was also received with a Royal treatment, got to the VIP terminal napped for half an hour in a lounge while my luggage was retrieved and put on my ride to the Palais were I would stay for the next couple of days in Vienna.

As soon as I arrive, I meet at the lobby my good friends Lisa McConnell and Patrick McConnell while they made their way out. We got into another deep conversation on topics that were troubling me and it made me feel so in peace to know that I was not alone facing these situations. I felt empathy which brings to my first reflection:

No matter who we are, how famous or anonymous. We are all humans with feelings, problems, ideas, experiences and solutions. We can enrich from all and we can help to some degree anyone as long as we first have empathy.

In order to fight jetlag, I decided to go for a stroll through the streets of this legendary city with so much history. I got to see the Klimt golden collection, walk through amazing parks and enjoy the sunny weather. I realized how people were so happy about being outside. I took the time to enjoy the trees, art, laughs of people without devices surrounded by the timeless greatness of the city.

Get immerse in inspiring and different environments to fuels the soul and the mind into a creative state. Alternate perspectives to problems reveal simple solutions just by taking a different angle, this may also spark innovation of your craft.

By the next day, our crew got bigger, Aussies made it so I was no longer the only loud one. We became mates in no time with an Austrian phrase that will bound us for life: “Hallo Susse, wie gehts es dir”. A pickup line that got us into a very healthy pronunciation competition judged by the locals. Ben Killigrew (PhD) was the absolute best at it, but if you ask Peter Rullo or Glenne Blyth I had a better intonation. Thank you Johannes for the fun German nano-class. You could tell that we were not here to f*ck spiders, Aussie saying that means, avoid wasting time and get to business.

People appreciate when you make an effort to communicate in their own language, slang, customs, allowing to build meaningful rapport through humor.

Within the playful ambiance you tend to forget that you are surrounded by extremely bright individuals that when you take an opportunity to have a one on one your mind gets blown away by the exchange of good practices and possible joint business that can take place. As was the case with Samuel H. . Turns out the zoo in Vienna is in a building, yep a 13 story high building with an amazing view of the city. Great place for a drink and exchange of good practices.

When you meet someone great, take the time to know them and exchange an honest and transparent conversation. Turns out that by enriching both angles a new approach may emerge benefiting both.

The trip had many more highlights, but I wanted to share these takeaways from the first 48 hours as it was more than just a business trip. There was more than just technical briefings. There were more than industry insights. There was a high density of genius rare to find, and even rarer to be a part of. Hanging out with people like the ones you want to become truly ups your game and you get a chance to bring more than just good tequila to the party.

Thank you all again for making this trip such an eye-opening experience!

Now here is a call to action for you that made it all the way to the end:

Life hack challenge

1. Think of a person you admire, reach out and invite him or her to an epic place for lunch, coffee, or a drink. You will be amazed by the takeaways of that exchange.
2. Upload a picture of that exchange in the comments and tag the person you went with.
3. If you were tagged to this article, it means you have spend time with someone who looks up to you. What an honor!

Surround yourself with greatness: great people, great places and great thoughts and you will end up with a great life.