Francisco Alvarenga

Full transcript: Francisco Alvarenga on London Real

1:16 This is London Real, I am Brian Rose. My guest today is Francisco Alvarenga, recent graduate of our Business Accelerator. Welcome. Thank you very much, I am very pleased and grateful to be here in this chair. Tell us about you. Where are you from, what do you do?

1:30 I’m from Lisbon, and in Portugal I am a photographer and also I work in the airport in this normal shift work, and as a photographer I have also part of my revenues. Okay. And what was going on in your life that caused you to look into the Business Accelerator? What was going on in your head, even inside, as far as thinking about your future, questioning where you were? Something was missing.

1:59 I knew what, I was just waiting for the right opportunity and the right person to guide me on that, because I was following all the footsteps that great leaders teaches us. I have great references of, grateful for the internet, you can have access to great people and great advice from everyone, and I was following all the footsteps, but still I wasn’t really walking towards my success,

2:29 in my career and financially, so something was missing, something was wrong, and I’ve understood at some point, what I’m missing is practicality. And I was already following London Real on YouTube because I loved this studio, the lighting, and I’ve commented in more than one video like, congratulations for your light, for your studio, I love it, and also the content.

2:55 The great people you have here, so again, congratulations for that. That’s really valuable stuff to put out in the world. And that helped me to hook me up and to understand who I am, and I’ve understood, okay, with Business Accelerators on London Real, I can get my practicality. That’s what I need, so I’m going to do everything I can and everything I shouldn’t do, I’m going to get it.

3:23 And what was the state of your business before? What did you try, or was it going places, or what were you struggling with? Because I am the airport, but I’m still working my way out, safely. I admire and respect my job because it puts my food on the table to me and my daughter, but still I want more than that, I want to follow my passions.

3:47 Photography is a tool that I was made to pursue my passions, and so I want to make that a real business, but something was missing. I couldn’t have that much photo shoots, clients and revenues to have a sustainable business. The problem is not making sale and having client; the difficulty is to have several good clients and to make your business sustainable.

4:10 And what made you finally decide to join us on the Business Accelerator? What was the thing that put you over the edge and you said, yeah, I’m in? I burned a boat. Enough is enough. Life is too short, and I’m a very passionate guy and very intense in my way of living, and if I’m not living in this intense way, passionate, I would be sad.

4:30 And I cry and I smile, I’m human and I love it, I own that. And living a life that doesn’t fills me from the inside out, if I cannot smile and create a reaction of smile on someone else, it’s because I’m not loving enough or giving enough love to the world. So something was wrong.

4:51 And why London Real? Why come on this journey with us? I love London Real. I said it, and I admire lots, the content, everywhere, the people, and precisely there is much more than just a course, it’s about the people, and I’ve understood that all through the course. Business Accelerator because the way things were exposed, the way you and London Real talk about the Business Accelerator make me understand very quickly that I can have my opportunity, I can have the tools I need, the practicality, and to boost my business.

5:28 Hey, in two months from now, I’ll have my business running safely and towards a sustainable future, so I’ve got no reasons; any other reasons will just be BS not to do it. Alright, so you pull the trigger, you join us, and what’s it like those first couple weeks? Like, you get thrown in. A couple of weeks? A couple of seconds.

5:48 Okay, you got 150 people from around the world, you’re uploading videos, there’s accountability docs, you got me on these live calls, going, but going, very passionate and intense. What’s this like? Intense. You just said it, intense, very intense. I went through a couple of breakthroughs doing the course. The first one is when you pull the trigger.

6:09 First breakthrough, we are super excited, we don’t know what’s going to hit us, but we know something really powerful is going to happen, but we don’t know what, so we’re like trembling and pulsing inside. Then we start the course, we have the accountability and everything to keep us on track. We have to trust the process, really.

6:30 Things really happen the way they have to happen, and we have a great team. Team leaders are awesome. And everyone is there to help us. No one is there to bring us down. There is no quick decision. Just, we are just pointing the best of each one of us, and no one is left behind.

6:55 What was your big win for this course? The big breakthrough, where you’re like, wow, I’m really proud I did this. People, people. The people I’ve met and the relationships I’ve created. How can you create relationships with people you never met? Physically away but spiritually very close. There’s something very powerful in the way we connect with people.

7:22 We can be close to each other and do not have a connection, but we can still be far away and have a strong connection. Caused by empathy, sharing the same values, being nice, being lovable, whatever. There’s just this frequency where people can communicate where there is no time or distance that can tear people apart, so it’s really a family. It’s like a mother and a child that can communicate within space and time; the mother can feel when the children is being hurt far away, something happens. That kind of communication is powerful.

8:01 What’s it like seeing these people in real life here at graduation? Awesome. We have all like, you’re real, let me touch you. Let me see your profile. And you guys are doing like crazy stuff, right? You’re training and going on running events and stuff in London? Yeah, because although I’m a photographer as a profession, I use it as a tool.

8:22 My main mission in life that gives me the thrill of being alive is to give value to the world and share the love and awake people towards the light, the positiveness. And I do martial arts, I meditate, I’m a little bit esoteric, spiritual. I have a big background like chemical engineering, I love physics, so we are kind of see a lot of it in that perspective, and so it’s kind of easy to me to walk through all of these point of views.

9:01 Science and spiritual, and to most people, because I also do martial arts, Japanese martial arts and… Renaissance man you are. But my tool is just photography. Tomorrow it can be another tool, but my goal will always be the same: to show love and give value to the world. And if I’m there on the Real, we have that opportunity to put more value into the world.

9:23 When I die, I want to leave this world a better place. That’s my goal. What’d you struggle with on this course? What was the hardest thing? Myself. Always myself. The rest is just resistance; we can accept it and deal with it. I’ve learned about two years ago that money’s not an excuse. This time it’s not, because money and time are just resources.

9:49 Resourcefulness is not an excuse, so the moment we saw complaining about anything, including time or money, we’ve lost. So my struggle is internal; I have ups and downs. I may lose motivation. I’m flanked in life as anyone. I have a daughter, I have struggles in my life. I can start just complaining about my life, what then? There’s no solution, no good solution.

10:26 Well, what are we doing in the next 12 months? Where are you taking your business? What are the goals for the future? You had the whole class, you got 12 months of calls, what are the plans you have? I’m very grateful for being a team leader for my group. So first of all, I will make sure that everyone stays on course. No one gets behind. I’ve been doing that since the beginning, actually.

10:48 So that would be certainly one of my main goals, even if my business does not go the way I want. I might change it, I might rearrange, surely I will adapt. It’s the key, we have to adapt, it’s normal. Things are not perfect, just starting out, doesn’t work, okay, it happens. But people and those relationships, I take it very seriously, because that’s the value we can bring to this world.

11:14 Everywhere, there’s people everywhere, in our business, in our lives, personal lives; what matters is the people. We have clients, the boss, everyone, these are people, human being, so care about them and you’ll be caring about your business. And tell me about you. What if we went down to the street right now and bumped into Francisco who didn’t take this course? How is that guy different than you?

11:40 We’d some vibrating energy inside that won’t, like a little demon that wants to come out but did not, so increases the pressure internally, and that can lead eventually to regret, and that my mind battling life. I’ve managed to face my fears, so I’m not afraid of facing them. I understand them, just imagination, they don’t exist, deal with that, I’m okay. But regrets, oh, I’m afraid of that.

12:14 So I want to make sure I don’t regret anything, and if I, that Francisco, if I saw him today in the street, I would give him a big slap in the face. Why would you slap him? Wake up, man. Final question, for someone who’s on the edge, thinking about taking the Accelerator but just not sure what it’s all about, or doesn’t know if they can do it or do business, or what would you tell them?

12:41 If you really want to live with passion and monetize your craft and your passion and finally be free, what are you waiting for? Do it now. Life is too short. Stop complaining. You’re a team leader, which means I’m expecting you to make sure your team goes through these calls the next 12 months. Push them.

13:06 I’m sure by doing that, you’re gonna push yourself as well. Of course. It’s been amazing having your energy on this course, man. It’s just, everybody feels your vibes. It’s great having you in studio, and again, this is an important weekend, ’cause it’s the time to meet all these people that are gonna just power you through for the next 12 months, 12 years, so welcome to la familia of London Real. It’s been my total pleasure to have you on this course, and let’s do some big things together, shall we? Grateful and blessed for everything, thank you, again, very much.