Good to see you,
welcome back, Andrés.
welcome back, Andrés.
Life of Meaning · Acton MBA · UFM · 2026
Currently
"He loved deeply, built boldly, and gave more than he took."— My epitaph · the life I am building toward
All sections
Who I Am
Values, beliefs, identity, passions, DNA
My Story
Timeline, doors that closed, fears, epitaph
My World
People, concentric circles, network
My Mind
Dreams, Tiger, lessons, ideas
My Future
Star vision, steppingstone, entrepreneurship
Right Now
Live dashboard · what's on today
Who I Am
Identity · Values · Beliefs · Passions · DNA · StrengthFinder
Who I Am · Values
Who I Am · Class 1–4
Who I Am · All classes
Who I Am
Sports
Activities & interests
Class 9 · StrengthFinder
"What surprised me: Input — I expected something more relational like Empathy. Ideation and Futuristic feel accurate. Analytical is undeniably true. Individualization is perhaps the one I am most proud of."— Juan Andrés · StrengthFinder 2.0 reflection
Who I Am
Who I Am
23andMe · Ancestry
79.3%
European
18.3%
Indigenous American
2.0%
Sub-Saharan African
My Story
Timeline · Doors closed · Fears · Epitaph · Learnings
My Story · Introduction
My name is Juan Andrés Urrutia Siekavizza. I am 26 years old, Guatemalan, and currently pursuing my MBA at Acton — Universidad Francisco Marroquín. I grew up in Guatemala City in a family that taught me the values of hard work, loyalty, and building things that last. My father is my greatest role model and first mentor.
After high school I spent a year in a golf academy in the United States — not because it went as planned, but because the path shifted. That detour led me to study Business Administration in Madrid, Spain, a city I fell in love with and where I lived for five years. I worked in finance and strategy, flew my first solo hours, raced go-karts, traveled across Europe, and grew up.
Today I am back in Guatemala, working in the family business in the automotive and finance sectors, building skills, and searching for my next steppingstone. I believe in intentional living, in learning through experience, in relationships built on trust, and in leaving a legacy — in business, in my community, and in the people I love.
My Story · Life timeline
Class 9 · Closing doors
"There is as much guidance in what does not and cannot happen in my life as there is in what can and does — maybe even more."— Parker Palmer
Class 4 · Inner world
My nightmare scenario
My nightmare is waking up at 50 and realizing I played it safe. That I took the comfortable path — the inherited role, the expected life — without ever testing myself in the arena. That I never built anything truly mine. The wrong turn I could most easily make is staying in analysis mode indefinitely, waiting for perfect conditions that never arrive.
What I am not accepting about myself
I am not fully accepting that I am still in an early, uncertain chapter — and that this uncertainty is not a problem to solve but a stage to live. I sometimes want to have it all figured out already. I need to trust the process more.
My deepest fear
My deepest fear is not failure — it is irrelevance. Not being remembered. Not mattering. This fear, examined closely, is actually useful: it pushes me toward contribution, toward building things that outlast me, toward genuine relationships over surface-level ones.
The three questions that matter at the end
Have I contributed something meaningful?
Was I a good person?
Who did I love and who loved me?
The one that excites me most — and concerns me most
Message in a bottle · to my future self
"Andrés, when you read this it is because you are in a dip — a difficult moment, one where you do not know if the path you are following or the decision you made is right. What I recommend, with my 26-year-old mind in 2026, is this: evaluate your options, evaluate your state of mind. Am I unhappy or happy? What makes me happier today, and what makes me happier tomorrow? Am I willing to sacrifice more difficult moments for what I want to achieve — or can I change course because what I am pursuing no longer means enough to justify living what I am living? You have one foot in the past, one in the future. Live in the present."
— Juan Andrés · April 2026
Class 4 · Epitaph & eulogy
"He loved deeply, built boldly, and gave more than he took."
My epitaph — the life I am building toward
He was a man who cared deeply about the people in his life. More than success, titles, or recognition, he valued love — the kind that builds families, strengthens friendships, and creates loyalty that lasts decades. He believed that who you share your life with matters more than what you accumulate.
He did not want a long life that was small. He wanted a life that was deep. He remained curious, humble, and willing to evolve. He built not just businesses, but opportunities. He gave more than he took. He lived fully, loved deeply, and left the world better than he found it.
Class 11 · Midterm
What this semester taught me
My World
People · Concentric circles · Network · Mentors
Class 8 · Concentric circles
"When the most important people in my life were around me, I didn't realize that was what they were."— Eugene O'Kelly, Chasing Daylight
Key reflection
I invest heavily in Circle 1 daily. Circle 2 deserves more intentional investment — not because the relationships are weak, but because good things require tending. Sebastián has been more present lately, which has been a gift.
Class 8 & 11 · S&S interviews
Juan Pablo Urrutia · Father
Circle 1 · Greatest role model and first mentor · S&S Interview #1
My father is the person I prioritize every single day. He is the model of what I want to build: a man who works with integrity, leads with loyalty, and shows up for the people he loves. Our S&S interview was one of the most meaningful conversations of this course — he told me: "You have to have one foot in the past, another in the future, so you can live in the present."
S&S Interview #2 — The second conversation
A person whose story I did not fully know but whose life I had always admired from a distance
The conversation lasted nearly an hour and a half. What I did not expect: how much this person had overcome — professionally, personally, in silence. The most important lesson: make your own way. Find happiness in what you already have. Stay true to yourself. Define what you want today so you can start pursuing it now — not someday.
Tiger Woods · Role model from childhood
Biography Analysis · Class 11
Tiger transformed golf. He proved that absolute dedication to a craft could change the rules of an entire sport. He taught me that mental focus is trainable, not fixed — and that the dip is survivable. His 2019 Masters win, a decade after his life collapsed publicly, is not a comeback story. It is a resilience story.
Julio Nutt · Golf coach for nearly 10 years
Mentor · The person who shaped my character through sport
Julio Nutt was my golf coach for almost ten years. He showed me what resilience and discipline look like in practice — not as abstract values, but as daily choices made on a course, under pressure, when no one is performing well and you still have to show up. He shaped my personality in golf. And golf shaped my personality in life. He was the kind of mentor who did not just teach technique — he taught character. The version of me that competes, that shows up when it is hard, that does not quit when the round is going badly, is in large part his work.
Class 8 · Network gap
The gap I notice
I have a strong network of peers and a solid set of professional contacts. What I am missing is a mentor outside my immediate family — someone older, experienced, who genuinely cares about my growth and with whom I have the kind of relationship where we call each other regularly. My father fills this role today, and I am grateful. But I want to build a second relationship like that — earned, not inherited.
My network — where it lives
Five most important lessons about clarity
Five most important lessons about listening
Class 6 · Marketable skills
My most valuable marketable skills
Analytical thinking → clear decisions
My most valuable skill is the ability to analyze complex situations and translate them into clear decisions. I see patterns, test assumptions, and need logic before I commit.
Understanding people behind the numbers
I combine analytical thinking with intuition about people — I understand numbers but also the people behind them.
Building trust quickly
I also build trust quickly, which in business is worth more than any financial model.
Personal success stories
Class 6 · What is wealth?
"The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away."— Marcus Aurelius
What is money? Are money and wealth the same thing?
Money is a tool — a means, not an end. Wealth is broader: it includes time, deep relationships, health, and the freedom to choose how you live each day. Someone can have much money and be very poor in what truly matters. For me, wealth means having options — being able to say yes to what matters and no to what doesn't.
What is my relationship with money?
Functional but conscious. I don't obsess over it, but I respect it as an enabler of freedom. Growing up in a business family taught me that money is built with work, vision, and patience. For me it means independence, the capacity to finance my passions, care for the people I love, and eventually leave something larger than myself.
What is the connection between money and my Life of Meaning?
Money alone does not give meaning, but its absence complicates it. My Life of Meaning requires freedom — to choose projects, places, people, and causes. Money is what makes that freedom possible in the real world. My goal is not to accumulate for its own sake, but to build a solid economic foundation that allows me to live with purpose and generosity.
How would I spend my time with no financial pressure?
I would dedicate my life to creating experiences worth remembering — knowing the world, learning from different cultures, developing skills that challenge me. I would invest time and energy in projects and businesses that genuinely move me. I would help people in need and leave a real impact in my community. I would share more time with the people I love, and build a large, united family. Honestly, my life would not change direction — it would change in speed and freedom.
What is wealth according to Emerson?
For Emerson, true wealth is not what you possess but what you are. Emersonian wealth is self-sufficiency — the capacity to trust your own judgment, create from within, and not depend on external approval or resources to live with integrity.
My Mind
100 Dreams · Tiger Woods · Lessons · Ideas · Calling · Ethics
Class 2 · Dream Manager
"A dream is not a luxury. It is the compass that makes the journey worth taking."— Matthew Kelly
Dreaming is the fuel of learning. Without a destination that excites you, the effort of learning becomes empty — pure process without purpose. The learner who does not dream studies to comply; the one who dreams studies to arrive. For me, my dreams are not escapism — they are direction. They tell me what skills to build, what people to seek, what version of myself to construct.
The relationship between learning and dreaming is bidirectional: dreams give direction to learning, and learning makes dreams more reachable — and sometimes changes them entirely. That is not inconsistency. That is growth.
Class 3 · My calling
"Vocation does not come from a voice 'out there' calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice 'in here' calling me to be the person I was born to be."— Parker Palmer
Is a calling the same as a dream?
No — though they are related. A dream is what you want. A calling is what you are built for. The difference is that a calling is not chosen so much as discovered. Dreams can be crossed off a list; a calling cannot.
Finding your calling vs. finding a life partner
Both require patience and self-knowledge, but a calling is not a single fixed destination. It can evolve, and the signs are usually internal — energy, ease, a sense of rightness — not external approval.
What my daydreams tell me
My daydreams gravitate toward freedom — the freedom to build, to travel, to choose my projects. I imagine myself managing businesses I believe in, flying to meetings, spending long weekends in the mountains or at the sea, surrounded by people I love. The themes are: ownership, adventure, impact, and connection. My collage of dreams is built from speed, altitude, open roads, family tables, and cities with soul. Racing go-karts — where discipline, speed, and instinct converge. What that tells me: I do not want a job. I want a life.
Emerson on self-reliance
Conformity is the enemy of the self. Trusting your own instinct — even when it contradicts popular opinion — is not arrogance, it is integrity. For an entrepreneur this is foundational: markets reward those who see something others don't.
Class 11 · Biography analysis
"No matter how good you get, you can always get better — and that's the exciting part."— Tiger Woods
Why Tiger?
I chose Tiger Woods because for nearly a decade of my childhood, he was the person I looked up to most. Every time I picked up a golf club, I thought of him. He was not just an athlete — he was proof that absolute dedication to a craft could change the rules of an entire sport. Tiger brought an intensity, discipline, and focus to the sport that had never been seen before. He came from a modest background and faced racial prejudice as a young Black player in a predominantly white sport — and he changed it from the inside, through undeniable excellence.
The obstacles he overcame
Between 2010 and 2012, Tiger's life collapsed publicly. Personal failures — infidelities, alcohol, the breakdown of his marriage — stripped away the carefully constructed image of invincibility. Physical injuries requiring multiple surgeries kept him off the course for years. In 2019 — nearly a decade after the fall — Tiger Woods won the Masters. One of the most watched sporting moments of the decade. He did not just return; he won the hardest tournament in golf, on the biggest stage, after everyone had written him off. That is not a comeback story. That is a resilience story.
His values & character
Resilience
The ability to absorb failure — personal and physical — and rebuild. Repeatedly.
Discipline
An almost inhuman capacity to train, prepare, and focus. His pre-shot routine, his fitness regimen, his course management — all reflect a mind that is locked in.
Area of growth
Tiger has struggled to be fully true to himself in his personal life. Talent and discipline in one area do not automatically transfer to others. Self-awareness must be total, not selective.
What I take from his story
Tiger taught me that mental focus is a trainable skill, not a fixed trait. He also taught me that the dip is real, and survivable. His years away from golf were not wasted — they were the price of the 2019 Masters. Whatever dip I am in today, the comeback is possible if I do the work.
"The most important six inches on the golf course are between your ears."— Tiger Woods
Class 6–10 · 5 lessons
Class 1 · Ethics of a learner
"Learning is not the accumulation of facts — it is the painful, rewarding transformation of who you are."— Mortimer J. Adler
Adler's two models of education
Adler describes two models of education: one where the student is a passive recipient of information poured in from above, and another where education is active, painful, and self-directed — a genuine pursuit of understanding. My own experience has been mostly the first. School rewarded memorization and compliance. The most fatiguing learning I have ever done was trying to build financial models from scratch with no guidance — failing repeatedly, feeling incompetent, and having to push through. The most rewarding was flying solo for the first time: every lesson earned through real consequence.
Hazlitt on rules of engagement
Hazlitt argues that social order depends on general rules — predictable, consistent, and respected by all. In a classroom, this is no different. Rules of engagement are not bureaucracy; they are the infrastructure of honest dialogue. Without them, discussion becomes performance. With them, it becomes transformation.
Rules of engagement — why each one matters
Class 7 · Unstoppable
"It's not about talent. It's about making the most of what you've been given — and refusing to waste it."— Unstoppable, Cynthia Kersey
What kind of role models do I need?
I missed Class 7 but completed the readings from Unstoppable by Cynthia Kersey. The assignment asked us to reflect on role models — people whose perseverance in the face of obstacles can serve as a guide for our own journey. Eight stories were assigned, each featuring a different kind of person who refused to let circumstances define their outcome.
Most inspiring — "Words Failed Him"
The story that inspired me most was about a man who overcame severe dyslexia to build a meaningful career. What moved me was not the achievement, but the specific nature of the obstacle: his limitation was in the very tool the world uses to measure intelligence. He had to find another way entirely. That kind of creative resilience — finding your path when the conventional one is blocked — is exactly what I admire and aspire to.
Least inspiring
The story I found least compelling was the most transactional one — where perseverance was purely in service of financial success. Resilience motivated only by money feels incomplete. The stories that stuck were those where the person had something deeper at stake: dignity, family, identity, purpose.
The core lesson
The most important ingredient in any extraordinary life is not talent or circumstance — it is the refusal to quit. The stories that moved me most were those where everything external said stop, and the person said no. That is the kind of role model I want to be for others someday.
Class 8 · Fellow travelers
What Class 8 was about — Who Will I Choose as My Fellow Travelers?
This class asked us to look honestly at the people around us — not just who we spend time with, but who we are investing in and who is investing in us. The readings were Eugene O'Kelly's Chasing Daylight — a CEO who was given 100 days to live and used them to close relationships with intention — and Clayton Christensen's "How Will You Measure Your Life?", which asks the same question from the opposite end: not at death, but at the beginning of a career. Both arrived at the same answer: the quality of your relationships is the measure of your life. The experiences were the Concentric Circles (mapping who is truly close), the Name Your Network (mapping the broader professional circle), and two S&S Interviews with people whose lives could teach us something about the path ahead.
"When the most important people in my life were around me, I didn't realize that was what they were."— Eugene O'Kelly, Chasing Daylight
O'Kelly & Christensen
Eugene O'Kelly's final months taught me something I want to remember now, not at the end: the quality of your relationships is the measure of your life. Clayton Christensen's question — "How will you measure your life?" — lands the same way. The answer is never revenue or titles. It is always people.
S&S Interview #1 — Juan Pablo Urrutia (Father)
My father is the person I prioritize every single day. He is the model of what I want to build: a man who works with integrity, leads with loyalty, and shows up for the people he loves. The S&S interview with him was one of the most meaningful conversations of this course. He gave me a quote I will carry: "You have to have one foot in the past, another in the future, so you can live in the present."
S&S Interview #2 — The second conversation
I chose a person whose story I did not fully know but whose life I had always admired from a distance. The conversation lasted nearly an hour and a half. What I did not expect: how much this person had overcome — professionally, personally, in silence. The most important lesson: make your own way. Find happiness in what you already have. Stay true to yourself. Define what you want today so you can start pursuing it now — not someday.
What I will do differently in my next interview: learn to transition between topics without breaking the energy of the conversation. He spoke for 45 minutes beautifully — and I did not want to interrupt. Transitioning gracefully is a skill I am building.
What I will do differently in my next interview: learn to transition between topics without breaking the energy of the conversation. He spoke for 45 minutes beautifully — and I did not want to interrupt. Transitioning gracefully is a skill I am building.
Class 12 · I Will Never
"A principled entrepreneur is sure of her identity before the ethical dilemma presents itself. He doesn't react impulsively, but instead responds out of core principles that he has named in advance for moments just like these."— I Will Never, AFEE
What this class was about
Class 12 asked us to define our ethical guardrails before we need them. The scenario: your boss asks you to falsify an expense report. Easy to say no in theory — but what happens when the pressure is real, the stakes are personal, and someone you respect is asking you to bend? This class forced the question before the moment arrives. The readings — Hazlitt on ethics and law, the AFEE ethical frameworks, and the case studies on greed, slave wages, and the model employee — gave us the vocabulary. The "I Will Never" experience gave us the commitment.
The ethical frameworks — how I think about right and wrong
Relativism
The belief that right and wrong vary by culture and situation — strictly speaking, the absence of an ethical framework. I reject this as a foundation. A life without moral anchors is not a life of meaning.
Utilitarian Ethics
The greatest happiness for the greatest number. Useful for policy and business decisions, but dangerous when it sacrifices individual dignity for collective outcome. I use it as one lens, not the only one.
Justice & Fairness
Rules that apply equally to everyone — process over outcome. This resonates deeply with me. I believe in playing by the same rules for everyone, regardless of who has more power.
Virtue Ethics
Doing what is good for its own sake. Building character through everyday choices. This is perhaps the framework I aspire to most — not ethics as rules to follow, but as habits to build.
The framework I actually use
Hybrid — but anchored in virtue and fairness. I want to be the kind of person who does the right thing because of who I am, not because of what I might gain or lose. My "I Will Never" statements are not rules from outside. They are reflections of who I already am — or who I am determined to become.
The dilemmas — how I would decide
Greed? — The gasoline crisis
I own the last gasoline in the city. Do I auction it to the highest bidder or distribute it another way? My answer: neither pure auction nor pure rationing. I would cap quantity per person, prioritize emergency services and medical needs, and sell at fair market price — not exploit the crisis. The free market has its logic, but exploiting a captive audience in an emergency crosses a line for me. I can make a fair profit and still be a good person.
"Slave" Wages — The factory move
Moving my factory to cut labor costs in half, devastating a town in the process. My answer: No — not without a transition plan. The workers who built the business with me are not a line item. If the move is ultimately necessary for survival, I would give honest advance notice, severance, and help finding new employment. What I would not do is disappear quietly in the night. The third scenario — workers who are prisoners or political dissidents — is an absolute no. No cost reduction justifies complicity in human rights violations. This is not a grey area.
The "Model" Employee — Twenty years of loyalty
A loyal employee of twenty years is now underperforming in a role I indirectly created by recommending the technology that eliminated her original position. Do I fire her? My answer: not immediately, and not without exhausting alternatives first. I would have an honest conversation, explore retraining, look for any adjacent role that could work. If after genuine effort there is truly no path forward, I would part ways with full transparency, generous severance, and an honest reference. What I would not do is keep her in a role where she is struggling and miserable just to avoid the discomfort of the conversation. That is not kindness — it is cowardice dressed as compassion.
My "I Will Never" statements — my personal code of conduct
Boundaries I might be tempted to cross — but won't
The expense report scenario — what I would do
I would not falsify the report. Not because I am afraid of being caught — but because the moment I compromise my integrity on something small, I have already decided what kind of person I am. I would go to my boss and tell her directly: I cannot submit false documentation. If there is a budget issue, let us solve it honestly. If that costs me professionally, it costs me professionally. What it does not cost me is my self-respect — and my self-respect is not for sale at the price of an expense report.
"Lack of clarity is no substitute for courage, and a lack of courage no excuse for poor character."— Ethical Frameworks, AFEE
What Hazlitt taught me — ethics and law
Hazlitt's key insight: law is a circle with the same center as moral philosophy, but with a smaller circumference. Law enforces the minimum. Ethics demands more. The law can compel outward behavior — it cannot compel a good heart. The man who watches a child drown from the riverbank when he could easily save her has broken no law. But he has violated something deeper — the moral obligation that law cannot reach. That gap between the legal and the ethical is where character lives.
Morality is older than any living religion. Ethics is autonomous — it does not need a supernatural foundation to be binding. Whether God exists or not, as William James put it, "we form at any rate an ethical republic here below." I believe this. My ethics are not outsourced to fear of punishment or hope of reward. They are mine — built over a lifetime, tested in moments, and chosen again every day.
Class 13 · Suffering
"Everything can be taken from a man but the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."— Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
Section IV — Trials and Temptations · April 24, 2026
This was one of the hardest classes of the semester — not intellectually, but personally. Frankl's book is not a theory of suffering. It is a testimony of it. Reading it forced me to ask: what is my relationship with pain? How do I respond when things fall apart? And — the question I did not expect — what have my own broken moments already been trying to teach me?
Man's Search for Meaning — my responses
What would I have done in Frankl's shoes?
Throughout the book I found myself trying to imagine it — and it is an understatement to say it is impossible. There were multiple moments where I thought I would have given up. Where I might have done what some of his peers did. But I am judging from the safety of my home, with my life intact. Frankl himself wrote that a man can get accustomed to anything. And I believe that in those extremes, love, compassion, and hope — the forces I have felt most powerfully in my own life — can become survival mechanisms. I would want to believe I have that in me. I cannot be sure. But I would hope.
Have I ever tasted Frankl's despair?
No — not even close. In the modern world, very few people have. Those living in extreme poverty, those fighting in wars. I have not been near that edge. What I can connect is the psychological dimension: I have suffered in certain areas of my life in ways that have taken a real toll over the years. Not physical suffering — but the interior kind, the kind that is quiet and cumulative and hard to name. And what I have done with it is what Frankl would recognize: I looked for beauty, I sought experiences, I came to this MBA, I went to therapy, I kept learning. I kept moving.
How to prepare for the darkest entrepreneurial challenges
Be pragmatic. Know the risks before you take them — not to be paralyzed by them, but to not be surprised. Mentalize for the worst. Know what you are getting into. Write letters to yourself for the dip — so that when it arrives, past-you can reach forward and say: this was always part of it. Train yourself to find hope in dark moments. Keep love close. Keep the people who matter in Circle 1 even tighter when things go wrong. The strongest forces against despair are not strategies — they are people and meaning.
Reflection — Man's Search for Meaning
Was I surprised by my reaction?
Yes — by how personal it became. I did not expect to see my own psychological struggles reflected in a book about a Nazi concentration camp. But Frankl's insight that meaning is a choice made even in unbearable conditions landed differently than I expected. It made my own tendency toward comfort and avoidance feel like something worth examining.
Did it temper my enthusiasm for entrepreneurship?
No — it deepened it. If Frankl could find meaning in Auschwitz, I can find it in a business failure. The loss of a company is not the loss of a life. Whatever dip I face as an entrepreneur, I have already chosen that the dream is worth it.
How highly do I value the freedom to choose what I do with my life?
Enormously. Frankl's book made this visceral rather than abstract. Freedom — to choose my work, my projects, my days, my risks — is not a luxury. It is the foundation of a life of meaning. I cannot build a life I am proud of inside a structure I did not choose. This is one reason entrepreneurship calls me so strongly: it is the form of work where the choices are most fully mine.
The one item I would smuggle into the camp
A photograph of the people I love most — my parents, my family, the people in Circle 1. Frankl survived in part by holding the image of his wife in his mind. That image was real even when everything else had been taken. A photograph would be my anchor to what matters, a reminder that the people I love are waiting, that there is a life worth returning to. It is the smallest object and the heaviest one.
Brokenness to Beauty — my two misfortunes
Misfortune 1 · A love that was not returned
I was in love with my closest friend. She wasn't.
What happened: She was in love with my other best friend — my closest guy friend. I was left holding something I could not name and nowhere to put it.
How it affected me then: It made me insecure. I lost years searching for what I had almost had. I went through some really difficult moments — the kind that are hard to explain to people who haven't felt them.
How it impacts me today: I came out stronger. I found clarity about what I want and don't want in a relationship — what I deserve and what I will no longer settle for. But I am still working through the insecurities it left behind. That work is ongoing.
How I adapted: I adapted because I had to. Not because I wanted to. Until I finally got out — and found my way back to myself.
What it might be used for: The clarity it gave me about love — what it is, what it requires, what it costs — is something I will bring to a relationship and eventually to a family. The insecurity it left is fuel: I am building a life and a version of myself I can be proud of, in part because that period showed me I was capable of more than I was living.
Misfortune 2 · Lost in a golf academy after high school
Feeling out of place, alone, and purposeless at 18.
What happened: After graduating high school, I went to a golf academy in the United States. The plan had been clear — collegiate golf. But it did not go as planned. I felt displaced, alone, and sad. The sport I had loved began to feel like a burden.
How it affected me then: I lost passion for the sport I had dedicated years to. The negative emotions were pronounced and hard. I went through one of the lonelier periods of my life.
How it impacts me today: I found different passions — ones that were truly mine, not inherited expectations. I learned how to go through lonely and sad moments without being destroyed by them. My coping mechanisms got stronger.
How I adapted: I had to, until I finally got out. Madrid. A new life. A door I never would have opened if that one had not closed.
What it might be used for: Every person I will lead, mentor, or employ will go through a period of feeling lost. I know what that feels like from the inside. That knowledge is a gift — not a wound. It makes me a better builder of people and a more patient leader.
Brokenness to Beauty — reflection
Will I find my calling by forgetting or by reflecting?
By reflecting. The uncomfortable truth is that the things I most want to avoid thinking about are often the things most worth thinking about. The two misfortunes above shaped me more than most of my successes. Ignoring them does not make them disappear — it just means I miss the lesson they are still trying to teach.
Do I have more or less to overcome than most entrepreneurs?
Less, objectively. I grew up with love, resources, education, and opportunity. But comparison does not resolve the personal. What I have to overcome is real to me — insecurities, fear of failure, the gap between my vision and my current execution. And frankly, having fewer external obstacles makes internal ones harder to justify — which is its own pressure.
5 lessons from the honesty wristband — what I learned about promises
Class 14 · Temptation
"Attention must be paid to such a person."— Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
Section IV — Trials and Temptations · Class 14
This class hit close to home. Not because I am Willy Loman — I am not — but because I recognized something in him: the gap between who you want to be and who you are, and the quiet fear that the gap might never close. The dilemmas forced me to examine what I actually value. The unfulfilled dreams conversation with my father revealed something I had felt but never articulated clearly: I expect more from myself than they expect from me. And that is not a criticism of them. It is simply who I am.
The dilemmas — what I would actually do
The night of her first dance recital
I would go to the business emergency. I believe you must balance business and personal life — and in this specific case, the emergency is more important. Someday my daughter will understand that what I did that night was for her. So she could have a better life. So that what I am building becomes something she inherits. In different circumstances I would decide differently. But this one is clear to me.
The prenuptial agreement
I believe bringing these conversations into a relationship is important, not threatening. Here is what I could agree to: the past ten years of work, luck, and business are mine. I will share every profit I make from our wedding day forward — 50% on everything we build together: profits, properties, new ventures. But what I built before belongs to me. I will share it generously, but it is mine. I think this gives her security, gives her wealth, and is simply fair. If she would refuse this and demand equity in what I built before we met — that would be a red flag.
Do you follow your child?
Yes — easily. Family is everything to me. Without family you are nothing. I would follow my child without much conflict, because I know that no job will fulfill my life the way that relationship will. Coming home alone every day, far from my child — I would feel empty. This is not a difficult decision for me.
The Justice Experience — when do I intervene?
A father berating a son in public: I would not intervene unless it crossed into abuse — then I would call the police, but never insert myself physically. It is not my place to enter a family relationship.
A scene unfolding in public: I hate the kind of show that erupts from public intervention. I have seen it in person. I would let it pass unless the situation was genuinely critical.
A colleague being treated unfairly by a superior: I would stay quiet publicly. If it was truly important and I was close to the person, I would speak to them privately. But confronting a superior directly rarely serves the person you are trying to help — and sometimes it costs them future opportunities. You have to be smart about which fights you pick and how.
Unfulfilled dreams — the conversation with my father
His definition of success
Financial and personal stability. He chose the path of taking over my grandparents' business, became president and majority stakeholder, and lives fulfilled by what he has built. His dream is to grow the business further.
What he hopes for me
Financial stability and happiness. When I asked what career I am best suited for, he refused to answer — he believes I have several good paths and would not choose for me. That itself tells me something about him.
What the conversation revealed
My parents' picture of my ideal future is traditional: a family, me as the provider, financial stability, perhaps managing a business in my mother's family group. They support me emotionally. But when I speak about my dreams and goals, there is an aura — unspoken, but felt — as if they believe they are good ideas but not quite attainable. I expect more from myself than they expect from me. That is not a criticism. It is just the truth. My father does not project unlived dreams onto me because he does not have many — he lives content with what he has. That is a form of wisdom I respect. It is also a form of limitation I am determined not to share.
My definition of success vs. his
His: financial and personal stability. Mine: making memories, experiencing life, and pursuing your dreams. I believe these definitions have been shaped by our different experiences of life — his upbringing, his path, the world he navigated. I do not think one is better. But mine is mine, and I need to live it.
What I want for my own children someday
This is hard to answer without having children. But I believe in letting them experience life fully — sports, professions, travel, different ideas — and then being there to support whatever they decide they love. My job is not to give them my dreams. It is to give them the platform to discover their own. And to be there when they do.
Death of a Salesman — reflections
What dream drives Willy Loman?
The belief that being well-liked, charismatic, and personally attractive is the key to success and happiness. He believes in a version of the American Dream where popularity and connections matter more than discipline, honesty, or real skill. It is a dream built on image — and it collapses because image is not a foundation.
How would Biff's life have been different without Boston?
Biff had confidence, popularity, and a future before Boston. He idolized Willy. The discovery of the affair destroyed the emotional foundation on which he had built everything. He became directionless — drifting, stealing, unable to commit to anything. What was taken from him was not just innocence. It was the narrative that gave his life shape. Without Boston, he likely builds something. With it, he spends decades unable to begin.
Whose side do I take?
I sympathize with Willy. Not because he is right — he is often wrong. But because I understand him. He genuinely wanted success for himself and his family. He became trapped by his own insecurities, his pride, and a distorted idea of what success means. Many of his actions come from fear of failure and disappointment in himself. I am trying to figure out my own path. I want success and I have not had it yet. I know what that pressure feels like, even at a fraction of his intensity.
What dream am I trying to realize?
Financial freedom and entrepreneurship. I want to own a business, scale it, and build something that lasts. This dream comes from a deep desire for fulfillment — and from wanting to give myself and my family the freedom to live fully: to travel, to try new things, to experience life without constant constraint. It is not just about money. It is about what money enables.
How do I know if my dream is a good one?
If it leads to happiness — not only when it is realized, but in the process of pursuing it. Because I have seen people fulfill their dreams and immediately start chasing the next one, and the next, in an endless cycle. If you cannot find a way to enjoy the journey, the destination rarely satisfies. A good dream is one where the process itself has meaning. I am working on finding that.
The hardest question of the class
Assurance of business success — or three lifelong friendships?
I choose the assurance of business success. Not because friendships do not matter — they matter enormously. But because I know that the absence of financial success would always sit in the background, an unresolved tension that would shadow everything else. Frankl says meaning comes from three sources: a calling or profession you love, a person to love, and suffering. The assurance of a successful business gives me the first. It says nothing about the third. And it says nothing about love — which means I can still find it. If I have a business I am proud of and a partner I love, I have the full picture of meaning. The friendships I can build. What I cannot manufacture is the foundation that enables everything else.
Class 15 · Dissent
"Don't tell yourself 'just this once.' That phrase is the entry point to a series of compromises that pull you, step by step, away from who you really are."— Letter to my future self · Juan Andrés · Class 15
Section IV — Trials and Temptations · Class 15
This class was written in Spanish — the language I think in when something is personal. The theme: what do you do when you are the minority, and what do you do when you are the majority? Both require courage. But they require different kinds.
Dissenter — when I am the minority
A moment I remember — adolescence
When my group of friends was discovering parties and alcohol for the first time, the group dynamic pushed everyone in the same direction — drinking was what made you belong. I was one of the last to try it, and for a time I decided not to. It was not easy or comfortable. It meant staying outside of something that united the group, feeling different, carrying the quiet pressure of not fitting in. What kept me firm was a combination of values instilled at home and genuine fear of disappointing my parents. I did not raise my voice to convince anyone — I simply held my position in silence. Over time, the group respected that.
What I will do in the future as a dissenting minority
If the group moves in a direction I believe is wrong or unethical, my decision will always be the same: oppose it. But how I do it matters as much as the decision itself. I believe in the political intelligence of dissent — not confronting on principle or creating unnecessary conflict, but finding the most effective and least destructive way to be heard. I will analyze the situation calmly, assess the caliber of the problem and the real consequences, then act as clearly and directly as possible — without compromising my values and without burning bridges unnecessarily. When something collides with my integrity, that is non-negotiable. But how I handle it is.
Majority — when I am part of the group
A moment I remember — professional life
A work team agreed to present certain data in a way that, without being an explicit lie, omitted relevant information that would have changed the client's perception. It was a grey area. The majority considered it normal practice — "that's just how it's done." One person questioned it — pointed out that we were not being fully transparent. In that moment, as part of the majority, my initial reaction was to minimize their concern — to think they were being too rigid, that they did not understand the business dynamic. I listened, but not with the depth it deserved. Today I recognize that person was right. And that the majority — myself included — chose the comfort of moving forward over the discomfort of questioning what had already been decided.
What I will do in the future as majority
If someone raises their hand to dissent — especially on an ethical issue — my responsibility is to listen genuinely, not out of courtesy but out of conviction. Dissenting voices in a group are an asset, not an obstacle. An organization that silences its loyal minority loses its best correction mechanism. As a leader, I want to build spaces where dissenting is safe — where the person who raises their hand is not afraid of the social consequences of saying what others do not want to hear.
Reflection questions
Am I brave enough to dissent?
It depends on the caliber of the problem. When something directly collides with my core values, I am the first to step back — I do not need much deliberation. But in more ambiguous situations, where the ethical dilemma is less obvious, I sometimes lack the character to speak up. I tend to weigh social consequences too heavily before acting. To build more confidence, I need to practice dissenting in small situations — building the muscle in low-stakes moments so it is ready when the stakes are high.
How would I build an organization that values dissent?
By creating a culture where the messenger is not punished. That means as a leader I have to model the behavior first — publicly thanking people who contradict me with good reasons, and never taking subtle retribution against those who dissent. It also means creating formal channels where dissent can be expressed safely, without the hierarchy crushing it before it reaches the person who needs to hear it.
Letter to my future self — peer pressure
Andrés,
If you are reading this, it is because you are in a moment of pressure — someone, or a group of people, is pushing you toward a decision that deep down you feel is not right. You already thought about this before, when your head was clear and your judgment was sound. Listen to yourself from that moment — not to the noise around you right now. And remember: don't tell yourself "just this once." That phrase is the entry point to a series of compromises that pull you, step by step, away from who you really are.
Your name is one of the most important assets you have. You have always known this. Doing the right thing is not just an obligation — it is something you are passionate about, something that defines you, that projects respect and strength to those around you. Every time you choose the ethical path, you thank yourself for it. And one day it pays off.
Your integrity standards
Never cause deliberate harm to others · Never lie with bad intent · Never cheat or bend the rules for personal benefit · Never commit acts that violate the law or the trust of others.
And the simplest test: never do something that you would later have to hide or be ashamed to tell someone about. If what you are about to do cannot be said openly, it is because you crossed a line.
The people whose opinion matters most to you
Before making this decision, think of your father, Juan Pablo. Think of your mother, Anna Karina. Think of your grandfather. Then think of your close family. What would they think if they knew exactly what you are about to do? You do not need their approval for everything — but if the answer makes you uncomfortable, you already have your answer.
The challenge
Find the creative solution. Almost always there is a way to remain integral without destroying relationships or closing doors unnecessarily. Political intelligence and integrity are not enemies. If no such solution exists, accept the consequences of the right decision with courage. And keep the big picture: you are not just building this moment — you are building the person you are becoming. Every decision is a brick. Choose wisely which ones you lay.
Reflection questions — peer pressure
What type of pressure am I most vulnerable to?
Social pressure — specifically the fear of how others perceive me. When I feel a decision might affect my image, I start overanalyzing what people will think, what opportunities I might lose, which relationships might get complicated. This is my blind spot and I acknowledge it. Knowing it exists is the first step toward not letting it govern me.
Preventive measures?
Before accepting a job or a partnership, I would ask direct questions about the organization's ethical culture. How does the company handle grey areas? What happens when someone dissents? Who are the real leaders and what kinds of decisions have they made under pressure? The environment you operate in largely determines the pressures you will face. Choosing the right environment is the best prevention.
What is positive about group pressure?
Group pressure is one of the most powerful forces in any organization — and like all forces, it can be used for good or bad. A leader who knows how to read it can use it to raise collective standards, to create a culture where excellence and ethics are the expected norm. But that power must be earned — with credibility, with consistency between what you say and what you do, and with the genuine ability to treat people as individuals. It is not something you declare. It is something you build.
Class 17 · Honesty
"If honesty is not predictably profitable, then being honest becomes a pure moral choice, not a calculation disguised as virtue. And that, paradoxically, gives the decision more value."— Juan Andrés · Class 17 · May 29, 2026
Section IV — Trials and Temptations · Class 17 · Why Should I Be Honest If Honesty Doesn't Pay?
This was the most intellectually demanding submission of the course. The readings — Bhide & Stevenson, Bok, the case studies — systematically demolished the comfortable argument that honesty always pays. They forced the harder question: what if it doesn't? My answer after all of it: I choose honesty anyway. But no longer as strategy. As identity.
My exceptions to telling the truth
What I do NOT accept as an exception
Lying to avoid consequences of my own errors — if I failed, I own it. Omitting critical information the other party needs to make an informed decision, especially in commercial or professional contexts. Lying to advance my agenda at someone else's expense — what the experience calls "hard lies." If I have to lie to win, I don't want to win that way. Lying to people who trust me by the nature of the relationship: clients, partners, close family, my team.
Reflection questions — Exceptions to the Truth
Do I want the people I love to tell me the absolute truth?
Yes — but with judgment. If I'm dressed badly for a wedding, I want them to tell me before the photo, not after. If I'm making a questionable decision, I want a warning, not coddling. The rule I apply to myself is the same I apply to others: the truth is told when it can build something, prevent harm, or respect someone's dignity. Gratuitous truth that only wounds is not honesty — it is cruelty dressed as virtue. With business partners, my standard is stricter: no white lies. If my product isn't ready, I want to know. The cost of comfortable lies compounds into expensive surprises.
Why commit to honesty when my competitors don't?
Two reasons — one practical, one identity. The practical: reputation is the most expensive asset to build and the easiest to lose. Competitors who lie compete in a single dimension — the short term. I want to compete in the dimension they cannot: the long-term relationship where the client trusts what I say. In businesses built on repeated transactions, honesty is not just ethics — it is strategy. The identity reason: if I build my success on lies, that success isn't mine. It belongs to the character I invented to get it. Living as a character is exhausting — you're always protecting the story from falling apart. I prefer slower success built on something real.
My three tests for checking my motives
The beneficiary test: Who does this lie actually protect? If the honest answer is "me," it's no longer a white lie — it's a lie of convenience. True white lies protect the other, not me.
The discovery test: If the other person learned the truth tomorrow, would they feel protected or betrayed? If betrayed — it wasn't a white lie.
The mirror test: Would I be comfortable explaining this lie to the person I most respect in my life? If no — I crossed a line.
If the lie passes all three, it's probably a legitimate exception. If it fails any one of them, the uncomfortable truth is the right path — even if it costs.
The discovery test: If the other person learned the truth tomorrow, would they feel protected or betrayed? If betrayed — it wasn't a white lie.
The mirror test: Would I be comfortable explaining this lie to the person I most respect in my life? If no — I crossed a line.
If the lie passes all three, it's probably a legitimate exception. If it fails any one of them, the uncomfortable truth is the right path — even if it costs.
The Golden Rule — will I practice it in business?
Yes — but as a principle of consistency, not an absolute moral code. The operative question I ask before acting: "Would I be willing to receive what I am about to do?" If no, that's the problem. I don't promise to follow it in all circumstances — there are scenarios where I know in advance I won't apply it, and I name them. But when I don't apply it, it will be a conscious decision, not a rationalized oversight.
The car and my brother — when I was the one being unfair
For several years, my brother and I shared one car. Whenever we had conflicting commitments, I — as the older brother — assumed the authority to decide whose event was "more important." When I concluded mine was, I took the car and left my brother to figure out how to get to his. My family has pointed out that this was selfish. My internal response was always that my reasons were valid.
The truth: I was not considering his perspective honestly. I was running a quick, convenient version of it: comparing the apparent weight of my event against his, deciding mine weighed more, and that sufficed. What I was not asking was the more important question — who am I to unilaterally decide that hierarchy? The asymmetry was not just in the event; it was in the fact that I had made myself both judge and party. He never agreed to that arrangement. I imposed it by default.
The Golden Rule–consistent decision would have been to sit down with him, present my reasons, hear his, and negotiate. If I genuinely believed my event was more important, I should have been able to convince him — or accept that my reasoning wasn't as obvious as it seemed to me. The problem was not that my event was sometimes more important. The problem was the procedure.
The truth: I was not considering his perspective honestly. I was running a quick, convenient version of it: comparing the apparent weight of my event against his, deciding mine weighed more, and that sufficed. What I was not asking was the more important question — who am I to unilaterally decide that hierarchy? The asymmetry was not just in the event; it was in the fact that I had made myself both judge and party. He never agreed to that arrangement. I imposed it by default.
The Golden Rule–consistent decision would have been to sit down with him, present my reasons, hear his, and negotiate. If I genuinely believed my event was more important, I should have been able to convince him — or accept that my reasoning wasn't as obvious as it seemed to me. The problem was not that my event was sometimes more important. The problem was the procedure.
One scenario where I would NOT follow the Golden Rule
With competitors who openly operate with bribes, corrupt political connections, or illegal methods. In the Guatemalan and Latin American context, this is a real risk, not hypothetical. If I apply the Golden Rule strictly to those competitors, I would owe them the same fair play I offer to ethical ones. I will not do that. If I discover a competitor is bribing a potential client, I will report it, use it publicly, and make their life difficult — without asking permission. My reasoning: the Golden Rule assumes basic reciprocity. Applying it to those who deliberately violate it converts the principle into exploitable naivety. But I acknowledge this exception is dangerous — it can become a rationalization. My safeguard: if a journalist or a judge asked me why I suspended the Golden Rule with this person, could I document clear evidence of illegality? If yes, I proceed. If no, I'm not facing a corrupt competitor — I'm facing someone who beat me.
The five biggest lessons from being more conscious about honesty
Case positions
Nick Zane — what I would do
Confront Greg directly Monday morning. Tell him I found out about the relationship with Sue Ralston and the ongoing divorce — information that is material and that the board had a right to know nine months ago. Give him two options: he calls an extraordinary board meeting this week and discloses, or I do. Meanwhile, I call the friend I referred as a potential investor, withdraw the recommendation, tell him I cannot give details now but not to proceed. My fiduciary duty as a board member is not optional. Exactly because Greg is my friend, I give him the chance to act well first. What I would not do: stay quiet and only withdraw the recommendation. That protects me but leaves every other board member in the same ignorance — and the next potential investor without protection.
Conflict on a Trading Floor — what I would do
I do not send the fax without first confronting Linda about the withholding tax information I discovered. I am junior and my political capital is low — but precisely for that reason, my defense cannot be "I followed orders." If this explodes, the seniors survive and I become disposable. My best protection, both ethically and professionally, is not to be the one who materially executed the deception. If Linda insists, I document in writing exactly what I was asked, what I questioned, and what she responded. My core principle: omitting critical information the client needs to make an informed decision is ethically equivalent to lying. That fax is not Linda's act — it is mine, because I send it with my hands.
A Rare Guitar
The principle that ties everything together: am I obtaining my gain from information I built — my expertise, my network, my work — or from information the other side simply does not have? If the first: legitimate business. If the second: exploitation disguised as business.
If a neighbor offers me a rare guitar for $300 not knowing it's worth $10,000 — I stop the transaction and tell them what it's worth. Silence there is not neutral; it is taking advantage. If I later sell to a collector for $20,000 through a relationship I spent years building, that margin is legitimately mine — it comes from my network, not his ignorance.
The test before closing any deal: if the other person knew exactly what I know, would they still accept this same deal? If no — my advantage comes from their ignorance, and I'm in ethically troubled territory, even if legally clean.
If a neighbor offers me a rare guitar for $300 not knowing it's worth $10,000 — I stop the transaction and tell them what it's worth. Silence there is not neutral; it is taking advantage. If I later sell to a collector for $20,000 through a relationship I spent years building, that margin is legitimately mine — it comes from my network, not his ignorance.
The test before closing any deal: if the other person knew exactly what I know, would they still accept this same deal? If no — my advantage comes from their ignorance, and I'm in ethically troubled territory, even if legally clean.
When would I lie to a friend — and when would I prefer a lie?
When I would lie to a friend
One category only: to protect a positive surprise. A birthday, a gift, a proposal. The lie there is in service of the other — not against them. Beyond that, I have no real exceptions. I do not lie to avoid the discomfort of delivering bad news. I adjust how and when I say the truth — not whether I say it. That is not lying: it is communicating with judgment.
When I would prefer to hear a lie
Never. I always prefer the truth, even when it hurts. Not from heroism — from calculation. The uncomfortable truth gives me something I can use: information to decide, an opportunity to correct, clarity about where I stand. The white lie gives me momentary peace that collapses when reality arrives anyway — and then leaves me worse off: with the original problem plus the damage of discovering that the people around me did not trust my capacity to handle it. I want the truth. Including about terminal things. What I ask is that it be delivered with judgment — seated, with time to process, treating me as an adult capable of handling hard information. The decision of what I can handle is mine, not theirs.
Class 18 · Conscious entrepreneur
"The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away."— Marcus Aurelius
Class 18 · Philanthropy, Charity & Giving Back
I worked on the philanthropy side of a family office. I saw how successful families approach giving — how much, to what, and why. That experience shaped how I think about this. Giving is not an afterthought at the end of a career. It is a dimension of how I want to build my life from the beginning.
How much I plan to give — the number
~1%
of annual business revenue · by age 60
A good benchmark for a generous but sustainable commitment is around 1% of annual revenue from whatever business I own. If the business runs at a 10% net margin, that is close to 10% of total profits — a real number, not a symbolic gesture. I learned working in a family office that the most impactful giving is not spontaneous — it is strategic. There are people who dedicate their entire careers to knowing where money creates the most leverage. If I reach the scale where this matters, I want to partner with those people or build something with a specific mission. Education and health are the areas I feel most drawn to.
Philanthropy or charity?
Philanthropy — the smarter form of impact
I would focus my excess resources on philanthropy over charity. If I am going to make the effort to do good in the world — to give time or money — I want to make it count. Charity addresses symptoms. Philanthropy attacks root causes. I want to build something that generates lasting impact, not just relief. This has always been one of my dreams. I am currently focused on building a living, and this is not the moment to launch something large — though I agree with the idea that you can always start small, even now. That is a goal I intend to hold.
The three questions — how giving connects to them
"Did I contribute something meaningful?"
If I was successful enough, it is right to give back. Changing someone else's life for the better is invaluable — both for the person being helped and for the person doing the giving. There is no contribution more human than that.
"Was I a good person?"
Being a good person is something you build during your entire life. Donating at the end does not make you a good person if you were a terrible one throughout. But a life of giving — of impact, of caring about others — is one of the clearest expressions of good character that exists.
"Who did I love and who loved me?"
Helping others who need it is the most human act of love. It extends the circle of who I love and who I invest in beyond my immediate family and friends. Generosity is a form of love at scale.
Steps I will start taking today
"Financial success means you can make an impact in the world and the people around you."— Juan Andrés · Financial philosophy
Business ideas
Life ideas
My Future
Star vision · Steppingstone · Entrepreneurship · Goals
Class 4 & 11 · My star
My long-term vision
I want to build a life of meaning that combines three things: a thriving family enterprise in Guatemala that creates value and legacy; the freedom to explore, travel, and invest globally; and a foundation or initiative that helps people who need it. I want to be remembered as a loving father, a loyal friend, a capable builder, and a generous contributor to my community.
Fixed · Open · Declared intentions
Fixed
City: Guatemala
Where my family is, where my legacy is being built, where the most concrete opportunities exist today. Everything else starts here.
Open
Function
Entrepreneurship, investment, business development, and operational leadership across family enterprise and new ventures
Open
Industry
Automotive/finance (current) · Real estate · Renewable energy · Family enterprise · Possible new verticals
"The next job will not determine your future, even if it feels that way. It is simply one more of a series of experiments that will become part of your life."— Stars & Steppingstones, AFEE
Class 9 & 11 · Steppingstone
Where I am now
Working in automotive finance and strategy within the family group — developing analytical skills, credibility, and institutional knowledge
What I am building toward
Entrepreneurship with real ownership and accountability — launching at least one business experiment within the next 3 months
The one door I have already closed
Passivity. Waiting for the perfect moment. I am done with analysis paralysis.
The door I am keeping open
Real estate, renewable energy, international connections — but Guatemala first. Madrid and the United States remain open for investments, connections, and experiences.
Declared intentions
Function
Entrepreneurship, business development, investment, and operational leadership
Industry
Automotive/finance (current) · Real estate · Renewable energy · Family enterprise
City — Fixed
Guatemala City (primary) · Madrid (future) · USA (open)
On top of Acatenango — looking forward, not back.
Narrowing Further — S&S job search progress
At the midterm, the S&S process asks for one degree of freedom to be fixed. For me, that is clear: Guatemala is the anchor. This is where my family is, where my legacy is being built, where the most concrete opportunities exist today. Everything else starts here. Madrid and the United States remain open possibilities for the future — for investments, connections, and experiences — but Guatemala is the anchor. The search is narrowing.
"The mountain does not care how long you planned the descent. It only cares that you go."— Juan Andrés · Class 11 reflection
Class 11 · Entrepreneur
"The entrepreneurial journey is not about having all the answers. It is about having the courage to ask the right questions — and then act."— AFEE
Why entrepreneurship?
I want to make my own path and build my own legacy. Find something I choose and am passionate about. The possibility of being the owner of my own future — where the upside of my effort belongs to me — is what pulls me most. It is not about avoiding work. It is about doing the most meaningful work I can find.
My greatest strength as an entrepreneur
Analytical thinking combined with a futuristic mindset. I am good at reading situations, industries, and opportunities — and transforming that analysis into strategic plans with a realistic probability of success. I can see where things are going before others do, and I can map the path to get there.
My greatest fear and weakness
Execution. I have not yet jumped in the water. I have spent time planning, analyzing, and learning — but I have not yet launched. My deepest fear is that I never will. That I stay in analysis mode indefinitely and reach the end without having truly tried. This is the dip I most need to push through.
Concrete idea
Solar energy park
Developing a solar project to generate renewable energy. I have been dedicating significant time to planning and learning this space. It combines real impact, tangible asset development, and long-term economic upside. It is aligned with both my analytical strengths and my desire to build something that matters.
The Search Fund model
Builder or operator? Both, depending on the opportunity. Sometimes starting from zero is right when the idea is strong, risk is manageable, and the path is clear. Other times, acquiring a functioning business with existing clients and track record — and applying innovation and strategy to it — is smarter. The Search Fund model has always interested me for exactly this reason.
What this exercise made me realize
The difference between an entrepreneur and someone who wants to be one is a single decision: to act. I have the analytical skills. I have the vision. I have the network. What I have not yet fully deployed is the courage to execute. That changes now.
"Real courage is not the absence of fear. It is deciding that something else matters more."— Class 11
Class 5 & 10 · Plan vs experiments
"The short run and the long run are not different directions. They are different timescales of the same direction."— Henry Hazlitt
Should Katie take the job at Four11?
Yes — because of the people and the flexibility of role. Environment and team matter more than product perfection, especially early in a career.
What should Bob do next?
Resist the instinct to optimize the next mountain. Shift from operator to architect. Invest in mentorship, culture, and family — these are higher-yield investments than another revenue milestone.
Who managed their career better?
Bob — because he committed fully, built something substantial, and experienced the full arc of ambition, success, and recalibration. Katie is still in exploration mode.
Am I more like Bob or Katie?
Katie — I have clarity about the kind of life I want, but I am still turning that vision into something concrete. My drive is directional, not explosive. I want to build something meaningful and sustainable, not just win fast.
Plan or experiments?
Hybrid. Your 20s are for intentional experimentation. By the late 20s and early 30s, it is time to commit to a direction that compounds. Exploration without direction leads to drift; planning without experience leads to rigidity.
The dip I am in
The "clarity dip." I have ambition, skills, and energy — but I am still in the phase between knowing what I want and having built it. The question Seth Godin forces is: is this a dip worth pushing through, or a cul-de-sac? I believe it is a dip. The discomfort is real, but the direction is right. The work compounds. I will not quit.
"The way to find your soul is sometimes to lose yourself, to fall down into your own depths."— Parker Palmer
My Future · Goals
Class 11 · Where I am headed
This portfolio is not just a record of a class. It is a map of a person figuring out who he is and where he is going.
"The next job will not determine your future, even if it feels that way. It is simply one more of a series of experiments that will become part of your life."— Stars & Steppingstones, AFEE
What this semester taught me
Class 11 · Questions
What is the next important step in my steppingstone search?
Execute. Stop analyzing the solar energy project and take the first concrete, irreversible action — whether that is a first meeting, a first commitment of capital, or a first public declaration of intent. The next step is not another plan. It is a move.
Where is the resistance coming from?
From fear of failure and the comfort of optionality. As long as I have not started, I cannot fail — and all doors remain theoretically open. Staying in planning mode feels like progress, but it is a sophisticated form of staying still. The resistance is not external. It is internal. And I know it.
"The mountain does not care how long you planned the descent. It only cares that you go."— Juan Andrés · Class 11 reflection
Class 20 · Final exam · June 19, 2026
"The purpose of life is not happiness. It is to have something meaningful to do."— Viktor Frankl · Man's Search for Meaning
Section VIII — Gratitude and Celebration · Final Exam
This is the course in ten lessons. Not a summary — a distillation. The things that will stay with me long after the readings are returned and the grades are submitted. The Life of Meaning course asked a deceptively simple question at the beginning: what do you want? Over twenty classes, it refused to let me answer too quickly.
The 10 most important lessons from Life of Meaning
Class 1–18 · Appendix
Complete inventory of all deliverables for the Life of Meaning course, Classes 1–10, including their status. Note: Class 7 was missed. All other classes (1–11) have complete deliverables. The second half of the portfolio was submitted as the final project in June 2026.
My Steppingstone
Three scenarios · 10 years · Class 20 · Final exam
Where I am right now · 2026
Finance Analyst
Working in finance in the automotive industry, within the family business. Building analytical skills, institutional knowledge, and credibility.
Where I want to be · ~2036
Scenario 1 · Entrepreneur
Scenario 2 · GM
Scenario 3 · Both
Three valid paths forward — each grounded in who I am today and where I want to go.
Scenario 1
Entrepreneur
Now · 2026
Finance Analyst · Family Business
Step 1 · 2026
Finish my Master's degree
Complete Acton MBA — the foundation of everything that follows.
Step 2 · 2027
Become General Manager
Take a GM role within the family business — learn what it means to lead an organization.
Step 3 · 2028
Find the idea worth pursuing
Identify a passion and business idea with real potential — through experience, observation, and deliberate search.
Step 4 · 2029
Build with dedication and intention
Work on the idea seriously — research, test, iterate, sacrifice. No half-measures.
Step 5 · 2030
Find the funds & key people — launch
Secure the capital and partners to make it real. Execute with efficiency, hard work, and conviction.
Goal · ~2036
Entrepreneur — owning a business I built
Scenario 2
General Manager
Now · 2026
Finance Analyst · Family Business
Step 1 · 2026
Finish my Master's degree
Complete Acton MBA — credential and mindset.
Step 2 · 2026
Choose one of two career paths
Decide between the two options available within the family business in 2026. Commit fully to the chosen direction.
Step 3 · 2027–2029
Become the best at that job
Three years of deliberate mastery — not just showing up, but becoming the best version of that role.
Step 4 · 2029
Expand my network
Build relationships beyond the family group — mentors, peers, industry contacts who open doors.
Step 5 · 2030
Apply for a GM position
With track record, network, and credibility built — actively pursue a General Manager role.
Goal · ~2036
General Manager — leading at scale
Scenario 3
Entrepreneur + GM
Now · 2026
Finance Analyst · Family Business
Step 1 · 2026
Finish my Master's degree
Complete Acton MBA. This path requires the most of all three.
Step 2 · 2026
Choose one of two career paths
Commit to one of the two available paths within the family business — then execute at full intensity.
Step 3 · 2027–2029
Make the solar plant a reality
Find the funds, land, and licenses. Develop the project with the same rigor I apply to everything else — no shortcuts.
Step 4 · 2030
Complete the solar plant development
Deliver the first real business I built from the ground up. Operational. Generating impact and income.
Step 5 · +2030
Apply for a GM position
With a running business and deep operational experience — pursue the General Manager role from a position of strength.
Goal · ~2036
Entrepreneur & General Manager — builder and operator
"The next job will not determine your future, even if it feels that way. It is simply one more of a series of experiments that will become part of your life."— Stars & Steppingstones · AFEE
Una Carta
Gratitud · Class 20 · Life of Meaning · June 2026
"La gratitud no es solo reconocer lo que alguien hizo por ti. Es entender, de verdad, cómo esa persona te cambió."— Juan Andrés · Life of Meaning · 2026
Cami,
Llevamos un tiempo sin hablar, sin vernos. Y precisamente por eso quiero escribirte esto hoy — porque a veces la distancia nos hace ver con más claridad lo que fue importante. Esta carta viene de un lugar real: en mi maestría llevo una clase que se llama Life of Meaning. Es, literalmente, una clase sobre encontrarle propósito a la vida. Hemos leído, reflexionado, entrevistado a personas que admiramos, buscado nuestras pasiones, mapeado nuestras relaciones. El último tema — el de la última clase — es gratitud. Nos pidieron escribirle una carta a alguien que haya significado mucho en nuestra vida.
No lo dudé. De todas las personas en mi vida, te escojo a ti.
Sos, quizás, la persona que más me ha aportado fuera de mi familia inmediata. La que más momentos hermosos me ha dado. La que más recuerdos guardo como tesoros — de esos que uno saca a veces, los mira un momento, y los vuelve a guardar con cuidado porque son demasiado valiosos para tratarlos a la ligera.
Me acuerdo perfectamente el día que te conocí. Llegaste a Madrid de eurotrip, y esa noche terminamos todos en Marieta — tus amigas, nosotros, toda la mezcla habitual de Madrid en una noche cualquiera que no tenía ninguna razón para ser especial. Íbamos en el uber, creo que a Mondays o a algún otro sitio, y de la nada me dijiste que te venías a vivir a Madrid. Y que yo iba a ser tu mejor amigo. Lo dijiste con esa seguridad tan tuya, como quien anuncia algo que ya es un hecho. Uno conoce a mucha gente en la vida, dice cosas, queda en cosas, y después el tiempo se lleva todo y nadie recuerda nada. Pero contigo no pasó eso. Contigo pasó exactamente lo que dijiste que iba a pasar.
Madrid fue para mí una de las épocas más formativas de mi vida. Cinco años que me marcaron de maneras que todavía estoy descubriendo. Yo sueño con Madrid. Lo veo en una película y me transporto. Lo huelo en algún restaurante que se parece y de repente estoy allá. Esa ciudad se me quedó adentro de una manera que muy pocas experiencias logran. Y cuando pienso en Madrid — en lo que fue, en lo que me dejó — la mitad de esos recuerdos sos vos. La mitad de las salidas. La mitad de las cenas. La mitad de las conversaciones que importaron. La mitad de las risas que todavía me alegran el día cuando las recuerdo.
Entonces te agradezco, Cami. No con el agradecimiento de cumpleaños, ese de "te quiero mucho y ya sabés que siempre estoy para vos." Te agradezco de verdad, con nombre y apellido. Te agradezco por cada conversación que me hizo pensar diferente. Por cada momento que compartiste conmigo sin tener que hacerlo. Por las amistades que construimos juntos. Por las risas que no tienen explicación cuando intentás contárselas a alguien que no estuvo. Por haber sido — de verdad, sin exagerar — mi mejor amiga durante años de los mejores de mi vida. Todo eso me cambió. Me marcó en maneras que quizás vos no sabés, y que yo solo empiezo a entender ahora que tengo un poco más de perspectiva.
Gracias por haber estado.
Con cariño genuino,
Juan Andrés
Madrid en el corazón · Guatemala, junio 2026
My Journal
Daily entries · Reflections · Thoughts