You can make it!

On this first day of July 2021, amidst the COVID pandemic, I was promoted to Operations Director at New Fortress Energy, a renowned multinational company, headquartered in the United States of America, active in the gas and energy sector, and among other things that I could do to celebrate I decided to simply leave a message of hope for the next ones, that yes it is possible to get there, it sounds cliché, but yes you can! And in many cases, it's not even that difficult, just work hard, seriously and with pleasure. It was like that with me!

I had a very troubled life, because of this family “destructuring” so common these days, my mother married 3 times, had 3 children, 2 of them with my father, and my only father and mother sister, Danielle, who God rest her soul, died at the age of 3... My father also remarried 2 times and had 1 other daughter.

My parents separated, my mother tried life as a cleaning lady abroad, I stayed with my dad, then I went to live abroad, in the United States with my mom, where I had my elementary education, my mother died of cancer afterwards and I came back to Brazil, I lived again with my father, then I lived with my grandmother, my grandmother died, I lived in Fortaleza, I lived in Santa Catarina with my great-aunt, as a favor with friends and relatives, I slept on the floor, in the hammock, on mats... crazy dog running after me and my father! That's only until I was 16, with my dad holding on the way he could, but life was never easy for us...

Well, I'm not going to go over all my genealogy and my defeats here, but there were countless, I was also a very unruly child, maybe trying to take all this disgrace in stride.

But I had opportunities, my uncle Georges Barthel, yes he has the same name as me, he taught me early the value of work, and at age of 14 I started working as an office clerk in his architecture firm in exchange of a minimum wage and payment of my English course, which made all the difference in my life!

Since then I've been a Waiter, Vendor, Salesperson, Assistant Manager (from a sports shoes store), and then my change began! I saw that I liked commerce and had an ability to deal with human relations, and went to study International Relations and Foreign Trade.

With the money earned in the store I paid for my college and I already spoke English, but then... man, you can't work in a store, reach goals and go to college! At least not do it well, and besides, what specialization would I have at the end of college if I stayed in the store? On "sales of international sneakers"? I looked for a business and university integration center (CIEE) and got a job in the area as a Foreign Trade Assistant on a Freight Forwarding company.

From there I was a Customs Broker, Maritime Agent, Operations Manager (of a Maritime Agency), Regasification Assistant (of a Shipowner), Regasification Manager, Operations Manager, and now Operations Director.

I certainly never gave up, I continued studying, dropped out of college a few times, but always came back, and graduated, I also never stopped learning and specializing, taking courses, had my MBA, and never stopped being interested in what I do, maybe that's the difference between me and most of the people I competed for a vacancy with, many were more “intelligent” than me, others had more opportunities and “studies” than me, more time, but few were so dedicated, enthusiastic and passionate about what they do.

I never had many friends because of the constant changes of address, and certainly no one ever believed I would get very far in my career.

My dear cousin Juliano Cavalcante, who recently deceased by the damned COVID, once wrote to me: "You had the toughest and cruelest childhood of all Grandma Hilda's grandchildren... But you survived... and you became a source of pride to me..." hearing this from an older cousin who worked in the same field as me is in itself very gratifying, but knowing that this cousin also went through his own challenges and knowing that you are someone else's pride is even more rewarding, yes, I did go through difficulties, but I do not deny that I had by my side people who helped me and sheltered me along my journey, without which I would never had made it.

So, I want to leave here my thanks to all these people, and ask everyone to help that friend or acquaintance of yours who is currently experiencing difficulties, but struggling to change, who is working, who is studying, struggling for a better life, give him/her a bed, a push, any help is welcome, together we are stronger. Friend, you can count on me, I'll do what I can! Also, I will continue to do my best around here to motivate others around me, as for my dear cousin, God rest his soul, and may you keep moving forward fighting for your goals!