How much of who you are is actually you, and how much has been shaped by a culture you don't even realize you're swimming in?
In this episode of The Audacity! Podcast, Amanda is joined by her fiancé, Antonio Varela, author of Americano, for a fascinating conversation about the invisible cultural forces that influence how we communicate, lead, work, build relationships, and see the world.
Born in Mexico, raised between Mexico and the United States, and having worked and traveled around the world, Antonio shares how experiencing different cultures firsthand led him to become fascinated by the behaviors we often mistake for personality.
They dive into individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, cultural attitudes toward time, workplace dynamics, vulnerability, gender roles, leadership, and why someone else's behavior may make a lot more sense once you understand the culture behind it.
At the heart of the conversation is one powerful idea: What if we became curious about people before we judged them?
Because sometimes the beliefs shaping us are so deeply embedded that we don't even realize they're there.
As the story goes: two young fish are swimming when an older fish asks, “How's the water?” After he swims away, one young fish turns to the other and asks, “What the hell is water?”
Maybe the first step toward understanding ourselves—and each other—is realizing we're already swimming in it.
📚 Read Americano by Antonio Varela:
Amazon: https://a.co/d/0dtitTkR
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/americano-antonio-f-varela/1150073380?ean=9798898330682
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