On Thought Leadership, Value Proposition and cacao

Creating a life value proposition is a tough job, but not impossible. Starting from your cultural background, your values and your present work or studies, you can define your passions and your interests, including hobbies, sports and leisure time. It is part of your life business strategy. It is the best way to satisfy your needs and make your wishes come true. As Kaplan and Norton say, “satisfying customers is the source of sustainable value creation”. If you make yourself, you can make others happy as well. This is happiness sustainability. Check this video on sustainable happiness. Fill in the blanks….happiness is…..

Your value proposition is based, as in business strategies, on a review and analysis of benefits, costs and values that you can deliver to yourself, and to prospective people that you wish to include in your life circle. It is also a positioning of value, where Value=Benefits –Costs (your sacrifices).

To be a leader, and a thought one, you need to nurture yourself with food 🙂 and with good thoughts, based on the international spirit of human life on Earth, on the interconnectivity, on a shared-responsibility life approach, and on the co-creation and cooperation of us people on this planet (pragmatically speaking, technology is helping us to see  a bigger picture, connect dots and have access to thoughtful, clear and super-fast information, but watch out for timely, effective and UNBIASED pieces of news and research! Learn to filter and sum up!!!)

By acting like observers, with a marketing eye, we will always make the right decisions for our life.

Speaking of happiness, and connecting it usually to Nutella (very Italian style) and cocoa, I wish to share a mug of chocolate with you!

Cocoa seeds are used to derive products like Cocoa powder, chocolate and cocoa butter. The botanical name of cocoa is Theobroma cacao. In Latinized Greek, the word theobroma is broken down as “theo” as in “god” and ”broma” meaning “nectar” or food. Theobroma cacao was used in the early days in Mexico and was first used to make cocoa butter as early as 1695. Chocolate containing cocoa are rich source of procyanidins which are useful antioxidants. In history, chocolate was discovered for Europeans in 1519 by Hernán Cortez in Mexico. Montezuma, the last Aztec ruler, personally consumed some fifty “pitchers” of a chocolate drink each day and had two thousand “pitchers” prepared for members of his household. It gave strength, so it was said; it gave courage, wisdom. Rare aphrodisiacal powers were attributed to it (as was also the case later in Europe). Cortez took beans of the cacao tree back to Spain with him for the court to taste and ponder, and for a hundred years, chocolate was a Spanish “secret.“. Later on, and close to Honduras, Christopher Columbus and his crew discovered chocolate in 1502, when they captured a canoe at Guanaja, one of the Bay Islands of Honduras,  that contained a quantity of mysterious looking “almonds”. Examples of cacao (or cocoa) beans, along with other agricultural products, were brought back to Spain at that time, but it seems the beverage made from cacao was introduced to the Spanish court in 1544 by Kekchi Maya nobles brought from the New World to Spain by Dominican friars to meet Prince Philip.

Under the courts’ request, France later established cacao plantations in the Caribbean, while Spain developed its cacao plantations in its Venezuelan and Philippine colonies.

In the image here on the left: The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue.A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food." Montezuma II  (1502-1520)

According to the International Cocoa Organization, global consumption of cocoa will exceed production by 17.000 tons in 2015. The world´s largest cocoa producers are Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia.

                   Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia flags

And what are the health benefits of cocoa?

• It boosts your mind and mood with positivity, enhancing the production of various feel-good chemicals in the brain, notably serotonin (so-called feel-good brain chemical)and dopamine;
• Good for the cardiovascular system, helping to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, reducing the risk of high blood pressure, and even the risk of cancer.
• Acts like an antioxidant, rich in polyphenols,

 Super cardio protector and anti-depressant powers!

Book tip: No miedo ( No fear)– Pilar Jericò

Songs Playlist:

Lean on– DJ Snake &Major Lazer, featuring MǾ

Bailar en la cueva– Jorge Drexler

Cheerleader- Omi (Feliz Jaehn Remix)

Anoche soñé contigo– Kevin Johansen

Un zombie a la intemperie- Alejandro Sanz

Mi nuevo vicio– Paulina Rubio, featuring Morat

Santa Maria Da Feira– Devendra Banhart

Te odio los sabados– Raquel Sofia

Adelante– Esteman featuring Carla Morrison

Pasión- Rodrigo Leão & Lula Pena

Derezzed– Avcii & Daft Punk

and this song is dedicated to my brother and to my dad! Cacao Meravigliao– Renzo Arbore

…..and to me, Happiness is…sharing Joy with my readers and the international community! the world, we are united! Sharing is caring!

In the cover image: women working in cacao plantations in ivory Coast
Source, the Guardian: http://bit.ly/1GRTVYK

January 26 2015: on Love and Life Planets

January 26th is to me the very first day of my Year. 26 days after the Gregorian Calendar’s New Year. 

In addition to being India’s Republic Day, celebrated on this date of 1950, and Australia Day, which commemorates the establishment of the first European settlement at Port Jackson, now part of Sydney, in 1788, I will fast forward on time and tell you why this date has a special place in my heart ( and I am also quite fond of India and Australia, so many places to discover!)

It is a time of spiritual awakening, reflections and a cold energizer, for whom is living in the northern hemisphere now ( and it is cold, trust me). Fueling on life, the first 26 days are somewhat analytical, where everyone seems to be observing days coming by and organizing activities, workload, courses, family trips, trying to set everything ready, because, deep inside, we know that we, as human beings, are subject to many change of plans, life, mindsets, surprises and unexpected events along the 365 days that we call “a full year” and that labels our time here on the planet.

With that said, every January is full of chocolate, family, boots and smiles, meeting new people and embracing new challenges. To me January 26^th is also a special day to remember.

In my short life experience, two people that indelibly marked my life are Roberto and Giuseppe. Two wondrous friends, born on the same day on the opposite sides of the globe. Brazil and Italy. January 26^th. 10 years difference more or less.

Two great friends that truly connected me to the world and made me feel I was attached to Earth with my feet.  The two weights that balanced my crazy Libra sign.  Two people who never met, but who have so much in common. First of all, the Smiles.  Smiles of people who know the real meaning of life, who make efforts everyday . People devoted to work and to family, who deeply love life and celebrate it every day despite the hustle and bustle. Two people who, when they meet you, welcome you to their world with a huge smile and hug that you could never forget. They start by giving you chocolate, pocket coffee in Italy and sonhos de valsa in Brazil, to taking your hand to their civic responsibilities for building a better world, all to way to opening their hearts to you, showing you the way of how to love and piano piano, to train you.

The training period can be long or short, depending on timing and circumstances. You may perceive it as deep suffering or extreme love, depending on your maturity level I would say. The final goal is the same though: they teach you what they know about human love and make you generate it into others. Like a light and a fire that never goes out and stays inside you forever. Without you even realizing it. They build the roots in you and you learn by looking at your teachers, your role models and examples of love in front of you.

It is so tough when you do not see them, because in our mind we think that if something or someone is not there, physically with you, it or she/he does not exist or is doing something else therefore she/he already forgot about you. Life is hectic and crazy busy, with time differences, seasons, politics, world happenings and personal life achievements and roads to take. However, even if you do not see, they are always there, close to you.

For you to imagine them, they both look like Roberto Benigni in a way, their tremendous sense of humor involves you, they make you laugh and they are able to turn misfortunes into fun moments. They care about you, as if you were a sister or a close member of their family. They trust you and they give you their full encouragement and support. They never ask for anything, also if they are suffering,  and this is when their training comes into your life. If you are able to listen and to understand them, you can do it for others as well. They test you, so that you can see and exercise the art of love, and, as life goes by, you put in practice their life lessons, enshrined in your soul, and which will permanently stay.

Giuseppe used to tell me “Paradiso ( my last name), please get down to earth, don’t be so idealist!”. With this said, he has always tried to protect me from the bad side of the world, where wars, deaths, envy and jealousy predominate. He has always wanted to see me happy and fully satisfied with life, spreading  kind words and meaningful and positive actions.

Roberto used to tell that love is invisible to the eyes, and it is in the actions.  He showed me that we are all part of the same humanity and we MUST take care of every person. We are all interdependent and no one should feel abandoned or excluded. We are here to help one another, and solidarity is that what keeps us together.

Both of them taught me that unity strengthens us. If we are together, we can move the world forward for the better. WE can move mountains, change behaviors, teach love, care and happiness.

I would have so many stories to tell you, so many moments, so many minutes spent with these two incredible people. But as I believe in love and world interconnections, I will leave you with two songs that remind me of them, and which I hope you will listen and enjoy as I always do. Hopeful and confident that one day I will meet them again, despite the kilometers that keep us apart (for the moment);  that they too will get the chance to meet one another and hug; and that you, who are reading this post, can have the chance to meet them. A new world encounter. Ready to open our hands to the infinite possibilities that life gives us.

Ti sento– Ligabue

Oração ao tempo– Maria Gadù

And this is my song for you Roberto & Giuseppe:

True Love– Coldplay

Happy Birthday! Buon compleanno!!! Feliz Aniversário!

A huge hug from Ostia-Roma! ( picture taken 2 days ago 🙂 )

Grazie di tutto!! Obrigada por tudo!!