Most entrepreneurs dream of Alejandro Mendieta Blanco (Alex) did it at the age of 24 and won such an award, which entrepreneurs wish to add to their trophy room. It was the coveted ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award”.
Since the ten years have passed, it is time to know what the then 24-year-old entrepreneur of the year is doing now and how life has treated him in a decade.
Facing Ups and Downs
Leaving home and coming to Australia, a foreign land, at the young age of 16, Alex Mendieta is not unfamiliar with challenges and tough times. He didn’t know a single word in English and nor did he know anyone in Australia, yet it was his sheer hard work and dedication that has paid off, and today he is crowned as one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our times.
Although he was facing such a difficult time, something a 16-year-old boy is not expected to face, years later, when he was interviewed by Money.inc magazine and asked about those time, he replied that he would not change a single thing about those days because it made him tough as nails and appreciate and value that things that he has now. He further added that “nowadays when I have any seemingly big problem either in life or in business, all I do is remind myself of those times and makes me realise I have no real problems.”
Indeed, what a beautiful learning it is for all of us to aspire to be something one day!
His story of struggle stands out against those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths or overly protected by their rich parents. The latter is usually lost and have no desire to go out of their cocoon and achieve anything substantial in life. And here was a 16-year-old boy who grew up with financial crunches and decided to make the best out of his life.
The Harder you Work, the More Victorious You Will Be
This is the first lesson in the business book that the upcoming entrepreneurs should memorize and hold. Today’s world of social media portrays a very wrong image of the business and only shows the victory and hides the struggle. Hence, every young entrepreneur thinks that they will immediately make it to the top with its glamour quotient as soon as they start their business. Every young entrepreneur overlooks the sheer hard work and dedication that one needs to have to make it to the top. After talking and going through the lives of fifteen different entrepreneurs, we have realised that one thing that is common among them is their hunger and determination to make it big. It is this determination that keeps them going and helps them overcome every obstacle in their journey.
Getting the Riches
We have all heard that famous quote which read, “getting rich, it’s easy, but staying rich is not.” When Alex was asked about the same in an interview conducted by Men’s Health, his reply contradicted this entire quote. He replied, “if becoming rich was easy, everyone would be rich.” He then goes on to explain his point of view “I don’t think getting rich its easy at all, and by that, I’d like to stress the point that just because you know someone that made some money and lost it and never got back up again, they do not classify as rich! That was merely a lucky accident. I real rich person has a mindset and a set of skills that the poor simply don’t possess, and because of that, they can survive and thrive any ups and downs life throws at us”.
Alex in Recent Times
A decade later, Alex has introduced a lot of changes in his life and personality. His motto in life has become “work hard and play hard from all work and no fun.” He also enjoys a very flamboyant lifestyle, making many people jealous. In one of his latest interviews conducted by OK, titled “Interview with the Colombian Playboy,” Alex very frankly puts across that there is no point in making so much money when you don’t get to enjoy it. He further added, “some years back… and it hit me like a slap on the face, I was, very rich but I found myself unhappy. I had spent all of my short life just working! And completely to enjoy enjoying life. So I went back to the drawing board and figured out I could not just work hard but also play hard. So I rearranged my work times where now I can work 70 hours weeks and still party my ass off and do tons of fun enjoyable things.”
The future is there to tell us what more achievements and controversies he will be adding to his kit as time goes!
Comments are closed.