We Got Mojo!: Stories of Inspiration and Perspiration

By Raul A Deju

Thirty-five of my BFF and I decided last year to write snippets of our lives, reflecting on how we used our mojo to survive and thrive. Many of us escaped adversity in our home countries, including the genocide of the Killing Fields in Cambodia, the Cuban Revolution, and the brutal life in the rural mountain villages of Per. Others in my list of BFF escaped the equally harsh demons of drug addiction, while others survived poverty, racism, war, and all forms of discrimination. However, nothing could stop any of us in our aim to lead a successful life with no sulking.

None of us considered success the result of becoming rich and famous; instead, to us, success meant bettering ourselves, bettering the world, innovating where we could, and creating businesses, such as Charles Schwab, EnergySolutions, Yahoo, HBO, MTV, Nickelodeon, parts of the Virgin Group, and many others. We have accomplished our goals through passion, leadership, and perseverance without sacrificing our values, and we continue to do so today.

The book contains our stories in our own words, and just like Napoleon Hill did in his famous book Think and Grow Rich in 1937, we have analyzed our life trips and derived the twenty rules that we have consciously or unconsciously followed to achieve our individual success. The stories represent three dozen lifetimes of successes and failures, or perhaps we should call them learning steps. Through it all, we have used our mojo to the max and still do so today.

We truly got mojo, and these are our stories of inspiration and perspiration.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524525828

Raul A Deju

Dr. Raul A. Deju, a native of Cuba who migrated to the United States in his early teens, is the founding director emeritus and a supporter of the Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership (IEL) at John F. Kennedy University in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is currently a senior partner at Brightstar Capital Partners, a New Yorkbased private equity partnership, and CEO of Deju Management Advisors Inc., an advisory and consulting services firm. He has served in executive positions at the top corporate level (CEO, COO, or Division President) at multiple companies, including International Technology Corporation (now Chicago Bridge & Iron), URS Inc. (now AECOM), Waste Management (both domestically and internationally), Isadra Inc., Headwaters, and EnergySolutions. Dr. Deju has served as an adviser to a prior Secretary of Commerce and a prior US EPA Administrator. He is the author of six other books and over two hundred peer-reviewed articles. His first book, Regional Hydrology Fundamentals, was published in hardback by a major publisher in London and New York when he was twenty-five years old. He was named one of the top twenty-five Latinos in the San Francisco area and received commendations for his Latino philanthropy as well as numerous other recognitions. Dr. Deju has been involved in over $5 billion of equity capital being monetized through various liquidity options. (Bios of the contributing authors written from the lead authors perspective can be found at the end of their respective chapters.)

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Raul A. Deju.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016911561

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5245-2584-2

                Softcover        978-1-5245-2583-5

                eBook             978-1-5245-2582-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 07/19/2016

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

Section 1. Assimilating into a Nation of Great Diversity

Chapter 1 Peter Pan Went to Neverland, but Pedro Pan Brought Me to the United States

Chapter 2 Finding Our Common Humanity

Chapter 3 Breaking Through the Storm: A Sunrise to Success

Chapter 4 From Survival in an Andean Village to Survival in Silicon Valley

Chapter 5 Turning Human Energy into Accomplishments

Section 2. Opening Doors through Innovation and Education

Chapter 6 Which Road to Take in School?

Chapter 7 From the Texas Fields on to Saving Lives

Chapter 8 A Serendipitous Journey

Chapter 9 My Journey from Mining to the Moon and Back

Chapter 10 From Berlin Brat to International Lawyer and Professor

Section 3. Mojo Secrets

Chapter 11 My Mojo Secret: Charting My Course and Building Blue Oceans

Chapter 12 Six Mojo Secrets that Sir Richard Branson Learned from Nelson Mandela

Chapter 13 Generating Mojo through Grit and Persistence

Chapter 14 When You Think It’s Over, You Have Just Begun!

Chapter 15 A Critical Corner Turned Brought Me Purpose and Focus

Chapter 16 Using Mojo, Not Feasibility Studies, to Create Dynamic Success Stories!

Chapter 17 The Paddle and the Shield: Lessons of Teamwork from Military Legends

Chapter 18 Change Is What Happens on the Way to Somewhere New

Chapter 19 My Secret Sauce: How Can I Help You?

Chapter 20 If You Want to Hear God Laugh, Tell Him Your Plans!

Section 4. Igniting Your Passion

Chapter 21 Finding What Ignites My Passion

Chapter 22 Passion Drives Me to Serve

Chapter 23 Meeting Unrecognized Needs: A Surefire Way to Finding Your Mojo!

Chapter 24 Coming Through the Storm: Inspiration and Priorities after Hurricane Katrina

Chapter 25 Living on Purpose

Section 5. Leadership and Tenacity: Dealing with Adversity

Chapter 26 Never Accept Defeat and Stay on the Moral High Ground

Chapter 27 Team Mojo

Chapter 28 Know Your Reason Why

Chapter 29 Making Use of Life’s Hardships to Be of Service: A Story of Grace and Perseverance

Chapter 30 Walking the Mojo Path with Sisters at My Side: Discovering That You CancerVive Against the Odds

Chapter 31 Authentic Leadership: The World Is Your Apple

Chapter 32 Man Your Battle Stations!

Chapter 33 The Perfect Club

Chapter 34 When in Trouble, Take Charge

Chapter 35 The Little Red Engine That Could

Section 6. Make Room for Giving

Chapter 36 Following Your Heart—Igniting Your Passion to Serve

Chapter 37 Let Gratitude Lead You to Your Calling

Chapter 38 Finding Your Own Road: Turning Away from Entitlement and Toward a Life of Service

Chapter 39 Creative Self-Trust The Story of the Intuitive Writing Project

Twenty Rules to Keep Your Mojo and Succeed

Note: For those of you who watch NCIS on TV, these twenty rules of mine are my version of Rules for a Successful Life, just like Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs has in the NCIS show his own special rules. By the way, he has a lot more rules than I have!

What Reviewers Are Saying about We Got Mojo! Stories of Inspiration and Perspiration

More reviews on the back cover

This is an extraordinary book with important lessons for life. The book is filled with personal journeys of three dozen remarkable folks, proving that anyone born or able to find their way to the US has won life’s biggest lottery. Dr. Deju shows how hard work, courage, persistence and an unquenchable desire to succeed will ALWAYS lead to success. This is the American Dream.

Douglas Doan, Founder and Chairman,

Hivers and Strivers, Angel Investment Group;

West Point and Harvard Business School Graduate

"You hold in your hands a book of stories of courage in business leadership. Just like you and me, the authors of these stories faced obstacles and crises—the sort that test your mettle and bring tears and angst to the forefront, keeping you up at night. How they overcame these fears because they believed in their purpose is what ultimately led them to succeed. This is a book that will help you find the courage to overcome those same obstacles all leaders must face in order to be a leader."

Drew Mendoza, Managing Principal,

the Family Business Consulting Group Inc.

Amazing heartfelt work! This beautiful compilation of stories is a must read not only for everyone who is struggling today to find their way through life’s minefield but also for those of us that have found our way through—albeit temporarily, since life’s struggles are never totally behind anyone. I found the stories uplifting, yet upsetting at times, as I recalled my own struggles out of poverty. It is important to remember the circumstances that long ago lifted us from trying times and to use those memories to inspire us to become the catalyst for the success of others.

Ken Kilroy, Senior Partner, Brightstar Capital Partners;

Cofounder and CEO, Unity Investment Partners and Trailhead Advisors; named one of the

Power 25 top wealth managers in America

This compilation of real stories about how to succeed in America should be a ‘must read’ material for all those who are determined to not just dream about a better life, but to make their dreams a reality. These stories prove that all you need is the plentiful opportunity found in this country and to have lots of Mojo to change not just your life but the life of those around you. Dr. Deju has mastered telling the American story of success with this book. Very inspirational!

Lupita Colmenero, Publisher, El Hispano News, and Executive Vice President, Latina Style

"Raul Deju and the contributors of his book, We Got Mojo! have given us something of real meaning. Intimate personal stories were shared throughout that provided revelations and inspiration. I was pulled from one uplifting chapter to the next! It is clear that this book was meant to serve others, and it has done so beautifully."

Dr. Tamara Monosoff, #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author and Creator of the Author-to-Income Formula

"We Got Mojo! is one of the most important books you will read this year. The rich and varied stories in this remarkable volume demonstrate that the American Dream is alive and well. Each extraordinary story offers invaluable lessons on how to live a truly great life."

Dr. Anne E. Cunningham, Professor, University of California,

Berkeley; Author of Book Smart: How to Develop and Support Successful, Motivated Readers

Only an extraordinary man, such as Dr. Raul Deju, would have such extraordinary Best Friends Forever. Through this book, the reader gains 36 new BFF including Dr. Deju. All of them share their inspiring stories, their lessons learned, and their heartfelt views on life. The effect of these stories is poignant and thought-provoking and ultimately provides us with wisdom, given as only a BFF can, to improve our lives.

Dr. Debra Bean, President, John F. Kennedy University

The Authors

(in order of their chapters inside the text)

Dr. Raul A. Deju (lead author) and his thirty-five BFF

Erica Courtney

Edited by Cale Finta

Other Titles by Dr. Raul A. Deju

• Regional Hydrology Fundamentals

• The Environment and Its Resources (coauthored by A. P. Baez, R. B. Bhappu, and G. C. Evans)

• Extraction of Minerals and Energy: Today’s Dilemmas

• Nuclear Energy and the Use of Nuclear Materials (coauthored by Harry Babad)

• Nuclear Is Hot (coauthored by Harry Babad and Michael Deju)

• Planet in Conflict: Balancing Energy Needs, Economic Growth, and Environmental Quality (coauthored by Tapan Munroe)

Bio: Dr. Raul A. Deju

image1.jpg

Dr. Raul A. Deju, a native of Cuba who migrated to the United States in his early teens, is the founding director emeritus and a supporter of the Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership (IEL) at John F. Kennedy University in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is currently a senior partner at Brightstar Capital Partners, a New York–based private equity partnership, and CEO of Deju Management Advisors Inc., an advisory and consulting services firm. He has served in executive positions at the top corporate level (CEO, COO, or Division President) at multiple companies, including International Technology Corporation (now Chicago Bridge & Iron), URS Inc. (now AECOM), Waste Management (both domestically and internationally), Isadra Inc., Headwaters, and EnergySolutions. Dr. Deju has served as an adviser to a prior Secretary of Commerce and a prior US EPA Administrator. He is the author of six other books and over two hundred peer-reviewed articles. His first book, Regional Hydrology Fundamentals, was published in hardback by a major publisher in London and New York when he was twenty-five years old. He was named one of the top twenty-five Latinos in the San Francisco area and received commendations for his Latino philanthropy as well as numerous other recognitions. Dr. Deju has been involved in over $5 billion of equity capital being monetized through various liquidity options.

(Bios of the contributing authors written from the lead author’s perspective can be found at the end of their respective chapters.)

To my dear kids and grandkids (Michael, Raul Jr., Lisa [daughter-in-law], Raul III, and Sofia),

I started as a scientist as the space program was being launched and have seen a half a century of unbelievable progress ever since. As I write the words in this book, the five of you are part of the next two generations that can make sure that the advances of our civilization in the next fifty years are as awesome as for the past fifty and bring mankind to a better standard of living, with great respect for one another, in peace, and carefully protecting our planet. I hope the words here guide and inspire you for all your lives. May your BFF be as good as mine are.

To my wife, Shari Lynn,

You are my partner, my best friend, my wife. I am excited and privileged to have spent most of my adult life with you, sharing the beauty of living. I look forward to a great deal more time on this fabulous ride. You are the best; you are the love of my life!

To my friends,

Since coming to America, you, my BFF, have constituted the most supportive family anyone can hope to have. To those of you who have contributed to this book, many thanks and hopefully many more years of enjoying each other. I really appreciate all your incisive contributions, your wisdom, your kindness, and the moments we spend together. To those that we couldn’t include here, there is always a future book. I love you all!

The author’s proceeds from this book have been

donated fully to the Disabled Veteran Business Alliance to assist service-disabled veteran entrepreneurship.

Foreword

For anyone who thinks they are at a disadvantage, the book you are about to read, We Got Mojo! Stories of Inspiration and Perspiration, is a guiding light toward success. Dr. Deju, the lead author, has identified key traits that can give anyone the inspiration and desire to achieve many of the things they could only dream about.

Dr. Deju has chronicled from his own experience and that of a number of individual contributing authors the key traits that inspire individuals toward success. This is a book that, whether you are a disadvantaged individual or a senior executive, will inspire and motivate you to put in the extra amount of effort, to achieve positions such as president, chairman, and other significant leadership roles in any enterprise.

On a personal note, for me as a reader, he identified and helped me understand how this inner-city kid could go from being a telephone installer to becoming President and CEO of a major utility company. He has success patterns spelled out, with an emphasis on good mentoring, nurturing, and looking for success in all the right places.

Charles Chuck Smith

Retired President and CEO

AT&T West

Vice Chair of the Board

University of San Francisco

June 2016

Introduction

Success

So what is success? Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines success as the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame; the correct or desired result of an attempt; or someone or something that is successful: a person or thing that succeeds. Notice how easily in our society we tie success to money, fame, and social status. Yet many of us know wealthy or famous people who are unhappy despite their riches. Is that really success? I say no. As for me, I prefer my own definition of success as having been able to take the steps to lead a happy life on this planet, with comfort, moral support, true values and a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. As I enter my seventh decade, I can more analytically reflect on the success I have had (by my definition), with some failures or, better yet, learning steps along the way.

Friends of mine from time to time over the years have suggested that I write my biography as an inspiration to others that success is achievable even when everything is working against you. My answer has always been the same: My bio is not that interesting, and I am not that unique. But then it occurred to me that clearly my success has only been possible because of the gaggle of friends that has helped me, guided me, set an example for me, and inspired me through the journey we call life. It is for this reason that I came up with the idea of writing a book that instead intertwines the stories from my life at various stages with the stories of some of my BFF (best friends forever) who are even more exciting and provide a more diverse framework of the trials and tribulations of life and how one can chart a course that leads to success. And this is how this book was born.

My BFF

Pretty much all my life, as an only child, I have surrounded myself with a myriad of very diverse and uplifting friends. I believe that a broad base of friends of different ethnicity, ways of life, approaches to problem-solving, background, faith, and life history provides the diverse framework that gives anyone the proper outlook to succeed in the world. My BFF who coauthored this book are truly such a diverse bunch. Fifty-four percent of them are women, and 46 percent are men. Not quite evenly split. Their ages include every age group from the thirties to the seventies. Twenty-three percent are minorities, 23 percent are veterans, and 14 percent are immigrants. Two traits that include an overwhelming percent of my BFF are (1) that over 75 percent of them extensively practice a philanthropic outlook in life (my kind of folks!) and (2) 80 percent of them came from poor or very poor families (they learned entrepreneurship early on).

One thing that is also clear from all my BFF is that they are all high achievers and have made it through awfully difficult conditions that would have stopped people with less grit and tenacity. Their adventures have ranged from escaping genocidal regimes or dictators to leaving a mostly illiterate village and migrating to the United States alone to become a world-class scientist in the area of nanotechnology, or recovering from a sniper’s bullet in the Middle East and rebuilding his life after nearly two years of multiple surgeries.

Many of my BFF and I have been part of the leading innovative forces that have led to the creation of many major modern enterprises, such as a number of the Virgin brand ventures, Smule.com, Esurance.com (sold to Allstate), Interwoven.com (sold to HP), Rioport.com (they pioneered Apple’s MP3 player), Appurify.com (sold to Google), Trusper.com, Telepathic.com, Digitsz.com, Box.com, Facebook.com, Pinterest.com, Waste Management, International Technology Corporation (now Chicago Bridge & Iron), URS (merged with AECOM), EnergySolutions, Self Health Network, Headwaters, PSC, Isadra, Shoreline Pacific, the first made-for-pay-TV movie and the first interactive pay-TV series, MTV, Nickelodeon, Yahoo!, RECON, Overture, NetChannel, AOL, Electric Minds, Outlook Ventures, Charles Schwab and Co., and Haykin Capital, to name just a few.

My military BFF include the General who led the coalition forces for the Iraqi invasion, the first female graduate as an Army Scout Helicopter Pilot, an enlisted member of the US Navy who is now the CEO of her own roofing company in the Midwest despite her significant disability (she is a quadriplegic), and a number of Army, Marine, Coast Guard, and Air Force veterans, all of whom I consider the salt of the earth.

Analyzing Success

What we did to frame this book was to ask thirty-five of my BFF to provide us a blog-size four- to seven-page story of their life that gives the reader an idea as to how they dealt with success and failure and how they got their mojo to make it through. We used the Merriam-Webster definition of mojo (a power that may seem magical and that allows someone to be very effective and successful) and asked each contributing author to give the readers their recipes to successfully put their mojo to work.

Thirty-five of their chapters are included here, together with four chapters that define four periods of my life. Each chapter is self-standing and written in the personal style of each of my BFF. They all provide insightful points as to how they succeeded and what they learned from their failures. Some of the chapters cover an entire lifetime, while others focus on specific parts of each of my BFF’s road trip through life that were particularly important to each of them.

The book is structured into six sections in order to present the stories in an organized fashion. Section 1 deals with those stories from my immigrant friends and me. Section 2 highlights the role of education in my own story and the role it played in some of my BFF’s lives. Section 3 covers ten mojo secrets that my BFF and I uncovered through our lives. Section 4 deals with how to ignite your passion, while section 5 covers the role of leadership and tenacity and provides a framework for dealing with adversity. Finally, section 6 includes the stories from some of my BFF who have established meaningful and effective charitable giving entities.

In 1937, Andrew Carnegie, the successful industrialist, met a journalist named Napoleon Hill, who interviewed over five hundred rich industrialists and wrote a best-seller titled Think and Grow Rich. This book became, for years, the guide as to how to succeed and become rich, based on the principles that Hill derived from his interviews. Well, we have included in each chapter of our book the pointers that each of our coauthors feels to have been responsible for keeping their mojo up so they could succeed, not necessarily become monetarily rich, but instead morally and emotionally complete. Then, we analyzed all the data from all our BFF, and in the last section of this book, we have included twenty rules to keep your mojo and lead a successful life. These rules combine my own rules with those of all my BFF, all put into one list. For those of you that watch NCIS, the popular TV series, the main character, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, talks about his list of rules for life; and in many episodes of the series, you see him mention one rule or another. Well, we will give you our rules at the end of the book. I urge you to make our twenty rules for success your own. They will make a difference.

We hope you enjoy our stories. I expect they will inspire you through all the drops of perspiration we have shed in our collective lives.

Dr. Raul A. Deju

June 2016

San Francisco, CA, USA

Section 1

Assimilating into a Nation of Great Diversity

The land in America flourished because it was fed from so many sources—because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.

–President Lyndon B. Johnson

Significant Reflections on the Benefits of Immigrants Coming to Our Shores

I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.

—President George Washington

America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged immigration most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.

—President James Madison

Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.

—President John F. Kennedy

What we need to do is to have a sensible approach to immigration. It needs to be open. It needs to be non-dogmatic and non-bigoted. We need to be firm but reasonable in the way we deal with the problem of illegal immigration. And we need to try to get as many of our immigrants who want to do so to become citizens as quickly as possible so that the American people will all see that this is a part of the process of American history, which is a good one for our country.

—President Bill Clinton

Fitting in America

Chapter 1

Peter Pan Went to Neverland, but Pedro Pan Brought Me to the United States

Raul A. Deju

Cuba—the 1950s

In the early 1950s, I led a peaceful life in my hometown of Havana, Cuba, where I grew up sheltered by a loving family and friends. As most children of the Cuban professional class were, I was isolated from the turmoil of government corruption and brewing revolutionary forces. In 1951, when I was five years old, I had no idea that a budding revolutionary named Fidel Castro was already attempting to overthrow a dictator on the nearby island of the Dominican Republic. Instead, I was focused on starting kindergarten in a Catholic private school run by nuns, just two blocks from my home.

By the end of the second week in kindergarten, the Mother Superior came to our classroom and asked every kid to say what they wanted to be when they grew up. This was the first time anyone had asked me that question. After all, I was only five, and unfortunately, I was the first kid to have to respond to the Mother Superior, and the only thing that came to my mind was that I wanted to be a garbage man.

As a child, I would see the garbage trucks driving down the street with a guy walking on the sidewalk side by side with the truck, throwing the garbage cans to another man in the open bay of the truck. Heck, it looked like fun! What I was unprepared for when I answered the Mother Superior was the response that came next. It was like a category 5 tropical hurricane hit me. She grew irate and told me I had no ambition and that I needed to focus on becoming a doctor or a lawyer and not a garbage man.

She then sent me to a side blackboard and asked me to write the word ambición, which is Spanish for ambition, twenty times and called my mother for a chat after school. At age five, that was quite a shock. In fact, I could barely write my letters, and ambición was a totally foreign concept to me, as was thinking what job I wanted to have some day. Ugh! I didn’t even know I would have to work someday. On top of that, when she saw I was left-handed, she had me try to write the words using my right hand. That failed miserably, and of course, I am still left-handed.

When my mother came with my father to talk to the Mother Superior, I promised all of them I would work hard for my future, which I certainly did. After finishing kindergarten, I attended first grade before skipping second grade and moving on to third, fourth, and fifth grade and eventually skipping sixth and seventh grade to move on to high school, where I earned straight As. What no one, including myself, knew at that time was that by age twenty-six, I would publish a book (my second one—I did the first book a year earlier) in New York called The Environment and Its Resources, which in part discussed how to properly deal with the management of garbage and other wastes, and that by age forty-one, I would be serving as president of Chemical Waste Management West, part of Waste Management, the world’s largest garbage company. I must have had garbage in my veins already when I told the Mother Superior that I wanted to be a garbage man. The Mother Superior, if she lived today, would probably be smart to read Bill Wiersma’s chapter in this book (chapter 23), as she truly flunked professionalism, but let’s not deal with that for now. For sure, she sparked my mojo when I was five. From then on, I have always known the importance of making commitments and listening to others.

While I was skipping second grade, Castro was already fighting in the eastern hills of Cuba and had started the July 26, 1953, revolution. However, few in Havana gave him much attention. Meanwhile, I was totally focused on school, swimming, baseball cards, friends, and family.

As I entered high school, the Castro revolution became more visible. Revolutionary supporters began to throw Molotov cocktails and various incendiary devices in the middle of theaters, churches, and social events to disrupt day-to-day life. On a couple of occasions, at late afternoon events, we were surrounded by revolutionary sympathizers and had to slip out through back doors and run away. Terrorist events began to take a toll on the life of Havana, essentially destroying the tourism, entertainment, and shopping industries.

Five years later, as 1958 came to a close, we were not shocked when the government of President Fulgencio Batista collapsed and was replaced by the revolutionary forces of Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl, and the legendary Marxist Che Guevara. Still, as 1959 started, I could not conceive the personal impact that Castro would have for me and for my family.

As Castro took over the government of Cuba in 1959, change became radical and rapid. People deemed antirevolutionary were tried, and many were convicted to die in a firing squad only days after their trial. It is estimated today that over eighty thousand people were killed in the firing squads over various years. Food shortages were the order of the day, and Block Guardians, who worked as snitches for the revolution were sanctioned by the new government to guard against those citizens that could have democratic ideas, and were thus called worms.

Students in private schools were generally deemed unworthy and were routinely harassed. For example, if we wore our school uniforms to travel on a public bus or attend an event, we were often yelled at or called gusanos (worms). Many churches were shut down, and entertainment centers and restaurants were also closed, as food was in short supply.

It was in the middle of this turmoil that the US government, in coordination between the CIA and the Catholic Diocese of Miami, began to evaluate some options to allow young Cuban students to come to the United States to complete their education. The program would eventually be called the Visa Waiver Program but was informally known as the Pedro Pan program. From December 1960 to October 1962, around fourteen thousand Cuban minors arrived alone in the United States by way of weekly flights, the largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere. The Pedro Pan program was a one-way ticket with no return.

My parents became aware of the option to have me be part of this program and worked with a family friend, David Berenguer, who was the president of the Coca-Cola Company in Cuba. He knew Mr. James Baker, the headmaster of Ruston Academy (an American school in Havana), who had organized a network of Cubans and expatriates to help get children to Miami. When children arrived in Miami, they entered the care of the Catholic Welfare Bureau, which was created by Father Bryan Oliver Walsh, a young thirty-year-old priest. Minors were relocated with remote family and friends who were already in the United States or were cared for by the Catholic Church and various nonprofits in thirty states.

When I was finished with eleventh grade in Cuba, my parents finally told me that over the past two months, they had received permission for me to be part of the Visa Waiver Program. They prepared me to travel to Miami, where I would be provided a new start away from the revolution with the help of the Catholic Church, as well as the help of our close friends, the Mendez family and the Dargelo family. My parents also assured me that they would come to Miami at the first opportunity, but they had no idea if they could come to the United States or when.

I was beyond shocked; my foundations were rocked. I was a young teen who had never been away from home, and now I was going to leave and go to Neverland where there was no return, just like Peter Pan. I spoke very little English and had no parents to live with in the United States, just family friends. Furthermore, my grandmother, whom I was very close to, was dying in Havana.

A few weeks later, we were notified that my date of travel would be fixed and could not be changed. I now had all my exit papers from Cuba and flight reserved in just a couple of weeks. I was scared but did not show it. Amazingly, my grandmother passed away seven days before my scheduled departure. She was buried, and two days later, I left Cuba and have not returned since.

As a Cuban colleague of mine, Carlos Eire, who wrote a book entitled Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, once said, I am waiting for snow to fall in Havana before I even consider visiting my homeland in the future. I still want to remember it as it was and not as it is now. The firing squad still evokes nervousness on my part.

The few days before my departure from Cuba, I was a zombie, in total shock, but I recognized the need to adapt and not complain. As we drove to the airport in Havana, it dawned on me that this was the first flight I would ever take and that it would be the first night I would sleep away from my parents. I boarded the DC-8 Pan American Airlines Super Constellation, a super noisy four-engine plane, for a short flight to Miami, where I would be processed by the US government and the Catholic Welfare Bureau. As I shed a flood of tears, I was committed to not let this bring me down. I would succeed no matter what.

I would find my purpose. I had mojo! I did not know it then. Little did I realize that the fourteen thousand plus Pedro Pan kids would be the beginning of the Cuban exodus of over one million Cubans who would migrate to the United States from Cuba over the next quarter century, nearly one in five of the island’s residents at that time.

Landing in America

Upon landing in Miami, I was cared for and nurtured principally by family friends, Catholic nuns—who taught me English—and by some of my high school teachers. My playbook was simple: (1) learn English so I could thrive in America; (2) finish high school, as I had only one school year to go; (3) find a college that would take me; and (4) get my parents to the United States. This was my plan, and now I had to execute.

My first eleven months away from Cuba were spent in Miami, and I truly learned the power of friends. Many people helped me by giving me rides, making calls on my behalf, teaching me English, and giving me clothing and shelter. To all of them, I am deeply indebted. I will never forget them. My successes are shared with them. My mojo carried me through. I also learned the importance of having some short-term goals that would allow me to see the direct results of my actions. Finally, I learned the importance of accepting that drastic things happen in our lives that we can’t control and that we must be ready to charge ahead rather than wasting time sulking and complaining. In a later chapter, you will see the same comment from Richard Branson when