Three steps to success | Rafael Jimenez | TEDxTijuana

Rafael Jiménez considers statistical analysis has meaning when we look for adequate data. As a result, he urges Mexicans to follow dreams and goals to achieve success.

Today I will share with you

two ideas that are difficult to believe.

I hope that these two ideas,

these two seeds will be planted
and will grow bit by bit

until they become so big
that there is no choice

but to seek a forum like this
to inform all the others

and spread them out.

In my case,

these two seeds
were planted 10 years ago.

And it took living and working
in more that 25 countries

to be here with you today.

Today's topic is '3 Steps to Success'.

This idea isn't very hard to believe.

In fact, it is quite logical.

What is harder to believe
is that these 3 steps

are exactly the same
wherever you may be:

in any country, in any culture,

in any industry, in any job,

for whatever idea that you may have.

Wherever you may be, it is the same.

Why do I say this?

I have worked with people,

from small traders,

leaders of the biggest companies

in the world,

to even heads of state.

In every country that I was in,
I was told the same thing:

"Rafa, it's a very good idea
and it's really great but...

it cannot happen here.

Here in Thailand,
here in Switzerland,

here in the USA and Colombia,

here in Kazakhstan.

"Here, you can't."

"There, yes, you can.
But here, you can't."

So I said, "Well, that's enough, right?

If not here, then where?

What are we left with?

There is one example
that shows how illogical

this idea is, shared by all people

from any part of the world.

Let's think about it.

What is the best medicine in the world?

In Mexico, many would say:

"Well, there is an ointment for the skin

from a laboratory
in Switzerland. It's the best."

"It'll fix everything."

If you apply some here,
your headache will go away."

In Switzerland, there's a thing
called "Schwedenbitter",

which means "Swedish elixir".

They use it for everything.

They use it when they have a headache.

In Sweden, there is an ointment

that retains the miracle of the Mayans

from Mexico.

What are we doing here?

Wherever it is, it is the same.

In any country,

war and large epidemics aside,

there will be the same obstacles,

the same opportunities

and those 3 steps to success

will also be the same.

These 3 steps are

vision,

education

and work.

The vision is what you are going to do,

and where you want to go,

seeing your goals clearly.

Education is about
how you're going to do this.

Beyond primary, secondary
and tertiary education,

we also get professional development
and we get experience.

Work is the "just do it".

There's no way around it.

If we want to develop
an idea or a company,

it will require a lot of work.

These 3 steps are just as necessary

for the success of any project,

wherever it may be.

But as a consultant
in business development,

I would make that first analysis

of what is missing in a project.

Most of the time, 9 out of 10,

only one of these three steps is missing,

and that is the vision.

Unlike what most people think,

it's not the education
or the work that's lacking.

It's the vision.

The vision is that grand dream.

It is the clarity of your goals
and objectives.

It is the strategy that helps you
achieve those goals.

It is the focus that helps you
walk in a straight line.

It is the ambition to grow.

It is aspiring to make an impact.

It is the attitude to endure the bad times

and the composure not to lose it
in the good times.

I mentioned that all these
were equally necessary

but there is one
that is the most important.

And that is the vision.

A clear vision helps us realize

what we're missing
in the learning process

and makes the education
much more relevant.

A clear vision,
with a relevant education,

makes our work much more efficient.

Let's do a quick development analysis

of a project called "Mexico".

I figured it'd be the most relevant issue
here at TEDxTijuana.

Many people say,
or the hypothesis states,

that Mexicans don’t work hard enough.

Classic, right?

We, Mexicans, are lazy.

The image of a Mexican

taking a nap next to a cactus.

But let’s look at the numbers.

Mexico has ranked first
among the 34 OECD countries

for the last 6 years

in the average annual hours
per worker.

Clearly, it’s not a lack of hard work.

The second point:

statistics show that, in general,

the education in Mexico

has to catch up

and there's a lot of opportunity
to improve.

Agreed,

but let's put these numbers in context.

Let's compare them with Switzerland.

Switzerland has a population of 8 million.

I assure you, and everyone will agree,

that we can find from
all 120 million Mexicans,

less than 7 percent of them,

8 million Mexicans that are
equal or better educated than

the entire population of Switzerland.

However,

when we look at the largest
global companies,

Switzerland currently has 8 of them,
at one point even 15.

Mexico only has 3.

When we we look for companies
with the best worldwide reputation,

Switzerland has 3,
Mexico is not even on the list.

What is missing here?
Is it education? No.

We have equal or larger number
of educated people.

For the project "Mexico",
what this country lacks

is more of the vision.

It's the vision to want to achieve
what we propose.

A vision and ambition
to become the best in the world.

Let's create a benchmark
in this analysis,

as we realize that
what we lack is the vision,

and let's see what a country
with a lot of vision looks like.

We don't have to go too far.

1 km from here is the USA.

They have been working for generations

and even created slogans

that they market around the world.

The US has these famous slogans:
“The land of opportunity,"

"The American dream".

It is a type of marketing
for their people.

The children in the US grow up
dreaming of great things.

This marketing is so successful
that people from all over the world,

well-educated and hardworking,
when they have a dream,

think of going to the US to achieve it.

So let me ask you something:

Where is the Mexican dream?

I mentioned that I would give 2 seeds

that I hope would grow strong:

Wherever you may be, it’s all the same.

So let's start here and now

and build the Great Mexican Dream.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)