“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
You have to be "luchadores" (fighters) to make things happen in life. Success does not come easy, and you have to fight to earn it. This was the lesson that my parents taught my brothers and me as children. Through trial and error I slowly became convinced that regardless of talent and aptitude, will and heart can take one very far. Yet I felt constrained in Mexico, where this view is less widely held because classism, racism and corruption still act to predetermine one's fate.
For the past thirteen years, I have run away from the forces that hold down so many people back home; most of those people lack the means to run as I have. I have found shelter in a nation that embraces meritocracy; a nation that has allowed me to reach my dreams and keep dreaming ever higher. I want to keep reaching my dreams, but I also want to stop running. I want to go back to Mexico and dream along with my countrymen. I seek to foster and create the institutions that will allow people's hearts - rather than their class or skin color - to determine their true fate. From improving quality and access to education to helping small entrepreneurs build successful businesses that can compete as world leaders, my end goal is the same: help people believe in the power of their will and heart to improve their lives.
For the past thirteen years, I have run away from the forces that hold down so many people back home; most of those people lack the means to run as I have. I have found shelter in a nation that embraces meritocracy; a nation that has allowed me to reach my dreams and keep dreaming ever higher. I want to keep reaching my dreams, but I also want to stop running. I want to go back to Mexico and dream along with my countrymen. I seek to foster and create the institutions that will allow people's hearts - rather than their class or skin color - to determine their true fate. From improving quality and access to education to helping small entrepreneurs build successful businesses that can compete as world leaders, my end goal is the same: help people believe in the power of their will and heart to improve their lives.
— Ferran Ayala