Do you remember when David went to King Saul saying that he could defeat the beast? The courage on running towards Goliath when everyone else was so afraid of him. Courage is something that you need to work on during your life. The levels of courage rises up at the same pace as the level of the difficulties that we encounter in our path. And David was used to defeat Lions and bears with his sling and removing the sheeps through his mouths with his hands. So, for him, Goliath was another lion or bear. The same thing happened to our little princess warrior. She was in a team which she was the most the less valuable girl. She had to prove to herself and to her coach that she was special (like she had 5 when was riding her bike without the small wheels on his back). she broke her ankle, she was almost defeated by her fears. But when the time was to face them, she open her harms and embrace them as a true present from the divine. A few months later, her club team went to Lisbon to play the Portuguese national championship. And like it happened in Albufeira, our hero was one of the best players, finishing on 3rd spot. But not only the basketball skills got improve. Also her grades were reaching levels of a true MVP. And what a true example for all of us. You wonder by now who’s the girl. Can you guess who is the MVP? My daughter Maria. My MVP. My hero.   

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What is success? Having millions? Owning a big house, sports cars, a private jet, or paradise islands? Winning many Olympic medals? Holding championship titles?   For a long time, I deeply believed that happiness was at the end. When I reach my goals. I based my life on that.   "Tomorrow I’ll be happy," was what I thought.   Because of this way of viewing the world, I would wake up trembling, nervous, anxious—very, very anxious. There were times when I had to run to a bathroom because my nerves were so intense that they affected my digestive system.   My life was about chasing the carrot, just like the donkey in the cartoons.   I never thought that to be happy, all you need to do is grow...   I’d like to simplify this comment even more, but simple things are the hardest to say or do.   Well, have you noticed those people who are successful, like our heroine Rebeca? They are grown, mature people. They know why they are here and that life is not meant to be lived in a painful, heavy way but rather with joy and lightness. Difficult is not the opposite of joy.   What do I mean?   Everything Rebeca said about wanting something, asking God, the universe, or life (whatever name you want to call it), and from there, things start to fall into place—it's the purest truth. There’s just one trick to it all: you have to stay alert and sharp to what comes into your life. And this is the million-dollar answer.   Be attentive to the people who cross your path, to the challenges, to the people who suddenly appear and say something you’ve been seeking an answer to for days. The “things” that pop up out of nowhere when you’re browsing the internet. Even the tiny little things. Those tiny little things that help you grow.   Believe me, nothing happens by chance. Because everything Rebeca said is true. I’m proof of that.   So, success isn’t when you reach the end, but when you’re on the journey.   As if every day you’re taking lessons on how to surpass yourself, how you can evolve. In the end, how you can be better than you were yesterday. It’s as simple as that.   Sail with your goals ahead and leave the “how” to someone else. This was very comforting for me when I discovered it!   Has it been all smiles? No. I have days that are real challenges. Days when I reach the end and think, “How am I going to solve this?” But then I stop worrying, knowing that one day the solution will appear. I just have to be true to myself and everyone else.   I call this my Faith.   Faith because I’m certain I’ll get there.   Faith because everything that appears in my path has a purpose for my growth.   At this moment, I no longer wake up anxious or feeling like vomiting. Quite the opposite. Light and happy.   Now I completely understand Rebeca when she says her life isn’t one of suffering. Difficult, yes, but not suffering!   That’s why she is a champion to me. And not because of the medals. The medals are a consequence of this way of living.   That’s why the Olympics should not be seen as a competition, but as something bigger than that. Resilience, overcoming challenges, humanity.   That’s why I love the Olympics (and I didn’t even know it!).   Let’s wrap up this episode because the week is starting, and many lessons will be taught over the coming days, so that tonight, when you lay your head on the pillow at the end of the day, you’ll feel that you are a better person than you are right now listening to my podcast.   Let’s go!

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It’s not the "12 Rules for Life” by Jordan Peterson but 5 little ones which are very easy to remember but, at the same time, very tough to implement. The 5-steps are:
1.      Setting goals
2.      Finding obstacles and fall down.
3.      Analyzing the roots of the problem which you encounter in.
4.      Create a bunch of solutions for those problems.
5.      Implement those solutions and moving forward.

According to Ray Dalio if you do this, you’ll reach levels of success even higher. And, for him, that’s the key for a happy life.

Also, he says, for you to implement this into your life, you have to be brutally honest with yourself (accepting reality as it is) and with others.

Dream big and determination to accomplish them.

Wouldn’t be great if everybody applies into their lives? I know, more or less, what Kobe did through is life. He’d spent five hours in front of a screen watching the game he already played. In some cases, just hours after he played it. Like you have heard, his determination was something quite out of the ordinary.  Can you imagine the mental toughness to watch the tape of the finals game that he lost just hours after? For me, I don’t think I could to it. I couldn't watch the tape right after the end of the game. I would take a couple of days to be able to it.

Facing the reality as it is and having an extraordinary open mind is something that we’ll continue to work on. That’s what Ray Dalio suggests in the 5-step process of his book. In other words, what he has written is no more than facing reality as it is, plus dream big and determination. Having these 3 ingredients combined together, you’ll have success.

And oh boy, how this person - Kobe and Dalio - had a fulfilling life.

I know a guy that use these principles into his life.

Well start to use… He does not call the 5-step process but he’s facing reality, continues to dream and continues to have big determination. Not the reality his faced for the last 47 years, but the one his now facing in his life, right now.

His name is… me!

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Where was the most decorated Brazilian woman in Olympic history born? Like Jesus, in a very humble place: in a favela on the outskirts of the great Brazilian city, São Paulo, on May 8th, 1998.   She and her seven siblings were raised by their single mother, Rosa. Yes, raised in the poverty of a favela.   From an early age, Rebeca's natural and exceptional talent for gymnastics was recognized.   Her training center was two hours from home. No, not by car! On foot. She walked there with her brother to train.   Two hours traveling to the center and two hours back home. Whether it was sunny, rainy, hot, or cold, it didn’t matter. It was mandatory to go, regardless of the conditions.   Until one day, her brother got her a bicycle. But since money was tight, the bicycle was second-hand. Well, not exactly second-hand… it was recycled. In other words, it was likely on its way to the scrapyard when they bought it. A few patches here, a few patches there, and voilà... they had a bike.   Rebeca started training at the age of four at the Bonifácio Cardoso Gymnasium through a social sports initiation project by the Guarulhos city government, in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region.   This was because her aunt noticed that she was always doing gymnastics tricks at home, and according to her aunt, Rebeca seemed to have a knack for it. So, she encouraged her to join that city project.
The brasilian who has more gold medals

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I launched this podcast to help you face whatever challenges life is throwing at you right now. But above all so that I can find the strength to achieve the giant that stood in front of me I also do this to believe in faith again. That all this will be useful to become more humble, stronger and more determined. I'm doing the same thing Kobe did, after losing the NBA Finals and getting back on his feet again. I had to learn to like myself again, I had to not care about what others might think or talk about me. I had to learn to believe in myself, that I can be much better than I was before, living a true life. Whose first 46 years were done in reverse. I started to discover that you had superpowers. And that I was helping people even though I didn't know I was. I started being true to myself. And, finally, I began to see reality as it is and not as I would like it to be. For the first time in my life, I’m starting to have joy in being alive. And what a blessed person I am. Brad Pitt said in a speech he gave a few years ago that what matters is not having achieved our goals or having loved the path we've taken. But what is important is the people who walk this path with you. That's why I dedicate this episode to all the people who were with me and those who showed up recently. Thank you very much to all of them because what I am today is also due to you who crossed my path. Before I say goodbye, I'd like to leave you with Mike Tyson about living life. Thank you all, without exception!

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David and Goliath is nothing more than a story in which the Davids of this world are confronted by Giants. And by giants I mean, armies, England National Teams, bullying school mates, terrible misfortunes. Everything you can imagine as terrifying!! And when confronted by these enormous opponents, should I play by the rules of the game? Should I give up, run away or face him? Should I submit to fate and see confrontation as a fatality in life? From the start, David already knew he was going to beat Goliath when he decided to face him. He was used to kill Lions and Bears that attacked his flock of sheep. Large animals. Nothing new to face this type of opponents. Then David faced Goliath, not following the so-called conventional rules of the time. Goliath was expecting man-to-man combat. And it was with this idea that when he saw David he thought that the Israelites were making fun of him. A shepherd, the lowest of professions at the time, fighting a noble warrior?! – “Am I perhaps a dog that you should come at me with a stick in your hand?” If David fought in this way, he would most likely die at the Goliath hands. King Saul had David wear the armour and helmet because he also thought the battle had to be a one-on-one battle. By the rules! David used his sling to knock Goliath down and then with him on the ground cut off his head. David used “his weapons”. On the other hand, Goliath was a giant. Have you ever seen a tall person moving? Look at the tall NBA players (the tallest of all). Tall people are not agile people. They are slow. And they are not the best players in the league. Their job is to rebound the ball. To block the shot. Not running after a small guy, dribbling the ball trough the pitch! They simply cannot! According to the Bible, Goliath was 3.5 meters long. A huge man who in turn needed help to move around. A slow guy like the NBA’s tallest guys! When he saw the stone heading towards him, he most likely thought – oh-oh! Game over! I’m f****!!! Being giant isn't really an advantage. And giants are not what we think they are. What we think is the strength of enormous superiority, is in did the cause of its weaknesses. In reality, we look at the giants as owners of great power and the Davids as fragile, small and weak. Impossible to beat a Giant! How we’re seeing things in the wrong way, just like King Saul did and everyone else who was in that day, in the Valley of Elah. Being David and facing enormous challenges that life gives us can lead us to opening doors that we would never have thought possible to open. Being David and facing enormous, overwhelming adversity produces greatness and beauty, as Malcolm Gladwell wrote. All upcoming episodes tell a story of people – rich or not, famous or unknown – who faced enormous adversity and were forced to face them. The next episodes will show that the powerful and strong are not always what they appear to be. I will continue what Malcolm Gladwell started 10 years ago and continue to prove to everyone that Goliath is not the giant he thought he was!

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I like public speaking. It's one of my passions. When I started, I made tons of mistakes. I said many "ums," made lots of grammatical errors. My stage posture was anything but correct. I had no vocal variety and sometimes lacked projection. In other words, I wasn’t loud enough. That was two years ago. What did I do to improve? Well, the first thing was not to give up. Then I started watching speeches on YouTube by renowned speakers, observing how they did it. I used these "notes" when I went on stage. After two years, my oratory skills have become fantastic. I mean, I’m not the best in the world, for sure, but I feel so at ease that everything flows when I’m speaking. Have you listened to the episode "My Story"? There, you can hear my story. If it weren’t for my story, my journey, my battles, I would never have created this podcast or become a better person. Could surgery help? Of course. Just the simple fact of getting rid of anxiety at that time would have been a great achievement. But would I have discovered what was behind the anxiety? Would I have discovered what I didn’t like about myself and all the other imperfections I had inside? Maybe yes, maybe no. Who knows? I don’t want to, nor am I dismissing surgery because it apparently saved lives. But now I ask: did that person who was addicted to drugs completely solve their problem? The real reason they used drugs? I don’t know… maybe yes, maybe no. As I mentioned before, while surgery isn’t available for everyone, we’ll have to face our Goliaths. We’ll have to be strong, courageous, resilient. We’ll cry a lot. We’ll question a lot. Some people won’t be able to take it. Others might say, “That’s life,” and resign themselves to the fact that there’s no other way. The advice I can give is: don’t give up. No, it’s not easy. Who said it would be easy? Has all this sacrifice been worth it? This "fight" with my Goliaths? It has, very much! Those people I mentioned, who were born in the 1940s and emigrated to escape war and seek a better life… ask them if it was worth it. Most will likely say “yes.” That it was worth it. That they would do it all over again, the same way. Yes, me too.   Stones? We’ll find many on our path. The difference lies in what you do with them. I’ll keep picking them up and building my castle. My Taj Mahal. Just to end on a small note: don’t forget, Nothing Happens By Accident!

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Last Monday, at the end of the day, I was watching a news program that I have loved for a long time: 60 Minutes.

It’s a program that is essentially a storyteller.

And what fantastic stories it has!

In that episode, they talked about a medical scientist, a neurosurgeon who, through a non-invasive technique, “cured,” or rather, stopped the progression of Parkinson's disease.

All this through the use of high-frequency ultrasounds that “straighten the person.” Also in that episode, they talked about a case where the doctor managed to make a drug-addicted person become “cured.”

They even spoke with this person, asking if he had relapsed or if he was truly clean.

I was simply amazed. At the point that science has reached.

Since I am a dreamer, I immediately began to imagine scenarios where we could use this to cure many of the world's problems.

This could revolutionize the world.

The way we can live our daily lives. We could banish the problems of drugs, alcohol, and all existing addictions from the face of the earth. Wouldn't that be fantastic?

Now you ask, what does this have to do with the Island of Madeira?

And I tell you, everything!

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Have you ever noticed that the wealthiest people in the world are excellent communicators? In the Netflix documentary about Donald Trump, it was said that many of his clients came in with a preconceived idea, and after talking with Trump, they ended up buying what he wanted them to buy. Okay, you can say he's manipulative.

Let me give you another example. Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group. In 1985, Sir Richard Branson began running marketing campaigns that were totally different from what was being done at that time, just to put the Virgin name in every corner of the world.

I'm not saying I have to ride in a hot air balloon at 250 mph between Japan and the Canadian Arctic, breaking the time record just to get my message across. No! Much simpler and less exhausting than that. Just like Shakespeare conveys in his sonnet "The memory of his beloved's love is so powerful that it makes him feel as though he possesses..". So, I just have to use my strengths to make the world listen to me. What are those strengths? Empathy and being genuine.

My sling! We feel the energy when we're around genuine, sincere, and empathetic people. I've had several situations in my life where people enjoyed being with me and I towards them. If I can convey that good energy, why not try it with my teams? I have nothing to lose! That's what I thought, and that's what I did last week. I laid it all out. I communicated everything that I discussed with my colleague at the beginning of January. And let me tell you, it was awesome!

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Here is the one the most beautiful myths about love and trust. Not only love and trust but other lessons on we can take to our dally lifes. 

Are you confindent in you? 

Is your faith bigger than anything else?

Do you trust your talents and gifts?

Orpheus played the lyre and was an excellent poet.

Whenever he played and sang, nature and people were captivated by his music. It was his superpower.

He fell madly in love with Eurydice.
One day, she was by a river when she was bitten by a snake, leading to her death. Orpheus was desperate and heartbroken.

He went to the underworld with his music and lyre to rescue Eurydice.

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