HOST: Ovi Vasquez, author of six books, and National Inspirational Keynote Speaker. Born and raised in rural Guatemala off-the-grid, worked for Apple, Tesla, Salesforce, and Uber. Learned English in two years, graduated from high school in three years, earned a bachelor's in management, in two years. He is a TEDx speaker and a social entrepreneur. 

GUEST: Dr. Nicholas Valenzuela empowers and inspires teens and young adults to identify and achieve their life and career goals through coaching that uncovers unique strengths, nurtures talents, boosts self-esteem, and reduces negative self-thoughts, stress, and anxiety. Over 20 years, he has transformed countless lost, unfocused, and unmotivated youth into visionary, inspired individuals with action plans for success via his "VIA Success" © process. He has guided students to admission and graduation from top universities, including Ivy League schools, Stanford, USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and others. Holding a PhD and Master's from Stanford University as a Fulbright Fellow, Dr. Valenzuela taught college courses before advising C-level executives in strategic planning at Fortune 100 Silicon Valley firms like Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Seagate Technologies, and Maxtor. Today, as a sought-after motivational keynote speaker, he shares insights and wisdom from his journey from the barrio to the boardroom to inspire the next generation.

Find our guest at:  dr.nicholas.valenzuela@gmail.com
Find our host at:  https://www.ovinspires.com  

Keywords
leadership development, mentorship, self-knowledge, communication skills, purpose, overcoming adversity, AI in education, dyslexia, critical thinking, vision, behavioral skills, career support network, why questions, human interaction
Summary
In this podcast interview, Dr. Nicolás Valenzuela shares his inspiring journey from a challenging upbringing in Texas, marked by poverty and lack of role models, to earning multiple degrees from Stanford and advising Silicon Valley executives. Motivated by a teacher's discouraging words and positive influences like his mother and Mr. Joe Bernal, he overcame dyslexia and ADD to achieve success. Now dedicated to mentoring youth, educators, and parents, Dr. Nick emphasizes self-reflection, asking "why" to discover purpose, building communication and leadership skills, and leveraging AI as a thinking partner while prioritizing human connections to combat issues like teen depression.
Takeaways
* Know yourself and your values to create a life vision and purpose.
* Ask "why" to uncover motivations, then "how" to achieve goals.
* Communication and leadership skills are essential for success and building networks.
* Overcome adversity by drawing on positive influences and proving doubters wrong.
* Dyslexia and ADD can enhance creativity; focus on strengths like right-brain thinking.
* Incorporate AI in education to free time for human interactions and critical thinking.
* Build behavioral skills to maintain self-worth beyond job roles.
* Educators should teach self-examination, leadership, and critical information consumption.
* Find mentors by admiring local people who have time and interest in you.
* Use free resources like Khan Academy, TED-Ed, and YouTube, but apply critical thinking to avoid misinformation.
* Prioritize human connections over excessive screen time to reduce depression.
Titles
* From Adversity to Mentorship: Dr. Nick's Journey
* Discovering Purpose and Overcoming Challenges
* Leadership Through Self-Knowledge and AI
Sound bites
* "You are destined for greatness."
* "We cannot impact people at the deepest levels until we know them at the deepest levels."
* "Find your purpose in life. Why were you born?"

#OVinspires 

#LeadershipMessengers

#leadership

 #community