Interview with Roberto Cerrada

Roberto Cerrada

BEING is more important than HAVING

With his slogan, Message, not just words, Roberto Cerrada shares his life story so far, which at 50, he claims he is halfway through and still has much more to give, helping people find ideas worthy of being shared.

Who are you?

I am one of the atypical baby boomers. Due to my curiosity about technology and computers from a very young age - I was barely 18 when I had my first computer in 1980 - I was always at the forefront of the revolution that brought the digital age in a 1.0 dominated world of that time dominated by radio, television and paper newspapers .

After failing several times in my ambition to enter the academy to become a fighter pilot, I landed in the world of economics more for studying an easy career than for having any passion for business. However, those first years in business school and the last in marketing school, together with my curious nature, made my passion for communication and business grow into the obsession it is today.

Entrepreneur from the start, I never consented to working for others - although I did for short periods of time - I have been participating in business for more than 30 years with experience as an entrepreneur, businessman, business consultant and finally mentor of speakers, which has led me to develop a varied experience of successes and above all of failures, my own and those of others, which has undoubtedly shaped my character and the identity for which I am now recognised: “El Maestro Cerrada”

I have had 35 years of continuous learning and I hope that will continue for as long as I live. 35 years of learning which has resulted in three books - a fourth being written; hundreds of conferences, seminars and trainings in 23 different countries, from Chile to Japan, through almost all of Latin America, the United States, Central Europe and of course my native Spain where I have almost always lived and more than 300 clients who have gone through my business mentoring programs.

What is the single best piece of business advice which helped shape who you are now and Why?

If I had to highlight a single lesson from the 35 years of my exciting journey, perhaps it would be that the difference between business success and failure, the difference between businesses that succumb or those that barely survive has nothing to do with marketing, sales or communication, but rather with The Message…

For me, the message is what makes it possible for a company, a professional or an entrepreneur to easily dominate the market and have a future in the market. Because people no longer buy products, they don’t buy services, they don’t even buy benefits ... What people want to compare is something that, in addition to being useful to them, provides them with being part of something bigger than themselves, that is, being part of a movement , or a tribe. And to become a tribe one has to have a message worthy of being shared.

How do you take care of yourself on a holistic level?

Something that I discovered not long ago - although I sensed it - is that if you want to achieve anything in life, you have to stop trying to influence what is outside and begin to deal with influencing what is inside yourself.

The exercise of introspection, of sincere dialogue with oneself through meditation, has allowed me not only to be aware of the limitations, but also to begin to believe in my potentialities, in my capacities, making my beliefs little by little, transforming and increasing my capabilities.

And to make this become a habit, there is nothing better than scrupulously following some rituals. Meditating every day, writing my daily acknowledgments, fixing the bed as the first activity of the day or writing down my five successes before going to bed, it has undoubtedly helped me and continues doing so to become the being I aspire to reach before my final day catches me by surprise.

What is your favourite quote and why?

“In today’s world, stop selling products or services to start selling your idea is the best way to get people to want buy everything you have”

It’s my own quote. More than a quote it is my statement, my mantra, the central axis of my worthy idea that changes the way we understand business and sales, makes it more human and frees us from the fierce competition, stress and tension of having to persuade anyone to buy our products.

And this excites me so much, because I clearly see a promising future where we have definitely stopped competing as a way of life that only

historians talk about in their history books. And a feasible future because I firmly believe this future is not only possible, but is very close. Because I believe in the new generations of men and women with new values where BEING is more important than HAVING.

Because I firmly believe in those professionals, male and female entrepreneurs, businessmen and women who are replacing the values of the ego with the values of love, because we all have the right and the privilege of being able to live with tranquillity, calm and peace, enjoying every moment of our existence.

And this future is about to be a great reality that will change the way we understand and relate to the world.

How do you remember your childhood and early background?

I think I was a pretty happy kid. I had a childhood any child of this time would envy. Living in the countryside, within an aerospace research centre, in a protected community, gives one possibilities of play and therefore of enjoyment that a city boy would only have in his best dreams.

And although that is the friendly side of the coin, there is a sour side that has to do with the feeling of absent parents due to demands or decisions of a society where they had to make a mark and that it has undoubtedly taken me years to recognise, forgive and overcome.

But it is precisely that balance between the limits and the empowerment which is necessary and allows us development to find the balance where everything grows better.

What are you most passionate about and why?

I’ve always been more passionate about things than people, don’t ask me why. Perhaps education, the environment, what one breastfeeds as a child or the culture in which they grew up is leading us in one way or another.

But maturity also has its advantages over youth, and as the years go by, fortunately your values change and you realise what really matters. And what matters has more to do with people than with things. Thus, in the equator of my life, when act and relate to the environment. It is the world of ideas where transformation begins and what better place to activate that transformation than with an idea that I can convey in the best space: The stage.

To become a tribe one has to have a message worthy of being shared

What is your vocation?

My vocation has come from helping people achieve and now I am helping them do as I have done, create an IDEA WORTH BEING SHARED that accompanies their products and services, we can accelerate the dream of a future where frustration only appears in history books.

We all want to belong to something bigger than ourselves and our accomplishments. Businessmen and businesswomen, male and female entrepreneurs and professionals made it possible for humanity to have a simpler life, But now we have the responsibility of creating those movements where people feel fuller, where they can perform better and for that. we need a MESSAGE, an IDEA WORTHY OF BEING SHARED that makes our businesses more human and gives them a greater purpose.

And hence my mission and my obsession to help these professionals, entrepreneurs and businessmen and women to create their idea, shape it and transform it into a speech, in a conference that allows them to travel the world with authority, to disseminate those ideas. that will make the life of your clients more fulfilling.

Hence my conversion from business consultant to Authority Speakers Mentor.

How do people know whether or not they have that idea to share?

Our message, our idea, is nowhere to be found, it does not exist, because if it existed it would no longer be ours, someone would have created it and implanted it in our little heads.

Ideas have to be created from our Genius Zone and that’s where you have to dive. The good news is that we all have that zone of genius where we can dive to create a unique, genuine idea worth sharing.

And this is the first step, learning to dive to discover where we can create that unique idea.

You can follow Roberto here: www.instagram.com/robertocerrada