My dad was born in Cerritos, San Luis Potosí, a small town where his single mother raised six children. He left school early to work and help support the family. From the stories he told us growing up, two things were always clear: he never wanted to work for someone else, and whatever business he started was never enough for long. He got bored quickly and moved on to the next idea. In Mexico, he ran a traveling movie theater, tried different sales ventures, and even owned a couple of taxis, which he left to his brother when he moved to the United States.
Starting over in this country was much harder. He didn’t know the system or the language, and yet he was just as dissatisfied with working for others as he was with renting an apartment. By then, he had a wife and two young children, and he knew that neither renting nor lifelong employment was the future he wanted.
Then an opportunity appeared. A small building in our neighborhood—with a grocery store on the first floor—went up for sale. After more than twenty years of hard work in the U.S., my dad had saved enough to buy it in cash: $40,000. We moved into that building when I was five years old, and years later, I would get ready for my wedding in the very same place.
Only as an adult did I fully understand what that moment represented. The courage it took for a migrant who started with nothing in Chicago to put every dollar he had into a business he knew nothing about. When I think about how many resources and opportunities I have today—and how often fear or lack of knowledge makes me hesitate—I feel humbled.
My dad was ambitious. Even without all the information, he dared to act. That decision allowed our family not just to survive, but to thrive, and it supported our extended family along the way. Had he waited for certainty, he might never have discovered what he was capable of. And still he could have done more if he would have had the education and been familiar with the system needed to invest, buy more properties and save for retirement because he had the right mindset.
Mindset shapes our decisions. It can paralyze us with fear or move us into action. My dad was about 48 years old when he bought his first home and found the business he would run for over 30 years. A business where he was king. Where he could talk to the customers as long as he wanted and loved what he did. And it all began when my dad bought a house.