My Story - Chapter 4: Called to serve and coming back to the real world

There are some things that direct our lives. Values, beliefs, purpose and events that define who we are and where we want to go. One of the values ​​that has always been present in my life is the spiritual one. When I was born, my family was already a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I grew up going to church every Sunday, reading the Book of Mormon and over time I gained a personal testimony of the things that were taught, of God and Jesus Christ. I learned from an early age at church things like service to others, how to seek comfort, inspiration and strength in God during difficult times, as well as how maintaining certain moral standards in my life could bless me physically, mentally and spiritually. Undoubtedly these teachings were present in each of the stories written in this blog.

You may have seen or heard about Mormon missionaries, or the Elders. They are those young men (or women) who are seen in the streets walking in pairs, in a white shirt, tie and a small black plaque on their chest. Every young man in the church when he turns 18 (it was 19 back at the time) is called to serve a full-time mission. This mission lasts 2 years and we are required to leave everything behind and focus 100% of the time, effort and talents in favor of this service. It consists of teaching people about the gospel of Jesus Christ, helping those in need, supporting members of the church and also seeking constant personal and spiritual development. It is a selfless service, which is why we leave behind jobs, college, girlfriend or boyfriend, friends, family, hobbies, everything. It is a time completely devoted to serving people. The young man who wishes to serve a full-time mission sends the paperwork to the church headquarters in Utah showing that he is physically and mentally capable of doing it. Papers are received and evaluated by a committee headed by church leaders and each young person is assigned to a place in the world where the church is available. I have friends who went to South Africa, Holland, Argentina and so on. It is worth mentioning that men and women can serve, the service is not mandatory and is performed only once in life.

Ever since I was a child I have always had the desire to serve a full-time mission for the church. I was 19 at the time and things were getting better at Africa and my idea was to work there for a few more months before sending my paperwork to the church. Until one day, a Sunday, one of the leaders of the church that I admire so much challenged me not to wait any longer and just accept the calling to serve. Leaving everything behind and going to this 2-year service is a decision that comes up against different barriers for each individual. For some it is because their parents do not support it, for others it is because they are in the middle of college and so on. For me, the biggest challenge was to ‘abandon‘ a successful professional career that started very early and was on the rise. I took a deep breath and accepted. I did all the necessary physical exams, filled out the paperwork and sent it. I was called to serve in the Brasil Brasília mission.

I quit from the agency after almost 1 year working there (and received full support from everyone on the team, which made me very happy). After about a month making preparations, I packed my bags and left.

My mission was one of the most intense and extreme experiences I have ever had in my life. I have been extensively tested physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. There were days when we walked more than 24 miles a day, when we faced storms or even became very sick. Days where we faced people making fun of us, rejecting us and even those who had the desire to change and be better people but did not take the necessary step for change. Hard work and frustrations were part of our daily reality.

During the two years of service, missionaries move between cities within the designated mission area. Our area covered the Distrito Federal, some cities in Goiás and Tocantins. I went through cities from the richest to the poorest, as well as a short stay in Tocantins (a freakin sun).

I never forget some extreme experiences that marked me. In my mission I almost got shot when a bullet hit a gate 2 meters away from me. I was even robbed and 'unrobbed' (yes, the thief regretted robbing us and returned our stuff). The church members in the region used to give us lunch through a calendar coordinated amongst them. I remember that the simplest lunch I've ever had, made with a lot of love and affection by an elderly lady in Taguatinga, was rice and beans only, with a juice full of those little ants inside. I remember my companion asking me, “What now? Do we drink it? ”. I said: "Just drink it and trust you will be fine!". I never forget the faith of that lady who, despite not having everything, gave us everything she had. And I am forever grateful for this wonderful lunch we had.

I taught about the principles of the church inside the most fancy houses in the Plano Piloto to the simplest houses in Brasilia's satellite cities. One of the most humble houses I entered was made with tiles stacked and nailed together, where the floor was of hard and uneven dirt. Poor lighting and basic sanitation. It was heartbreaking, but we were happy to be there and help even those people even if it was just a little that we could do.

Speaking of happiness, despite the difficulties, there were certainly many happy and fulfilling moments. I could see the lives of several people change. My missionary companions and I played with the children on the street, we cried with a lot of people, laughed with many of them and created a connection of love and affection for all. I still have friendships from that time and I only see blessings and good things from this service that I did during the two years.

It is impossible to tell everything that happened in just one post, but you can already get a sense of how significant this work has been in my life. I usually say that those 2 years were my life college. And I don't regret it for a second.

2 years flew by and it was time to come home. Things have changed a little in the real world. In fact, they had changed a lot. The digital universe was constantly expanding. Social networks like Facebook were starting to become a hit, smartphones were more popular and internet connection was getting faster. The digital world was here to stay. After 2 years out of the market I was feeling lost. I didn't know where to start and I took the time to find out about the main things that had happened in advertising and in the world. After this adaptation period, I started to reach out to my advertising friends to look for job opportunities and put myself back in the market. How grateful I was when I received positive responses from all of them, and I had the opportunity to do some interviews at various agencies through referrals.

I mentioned at the beginning of the post about values ​​and purpose that govern us. When I returned, I received a very good proposal to return to work at Africa. However, in my mission, one of our goals was to help people with alcohol dependence who had their lives destroyed because of drinking. After the mission I decided that I would never again work directly or indirectly with advertising for alcohol beverages. I don't drink, I never drank and that is a very important value for me. I thanked for the proposal, but declined it.

Although many interviewers admired the volunteer work I had done, it was very difficult for them to hire someone who had been out of the market for 2 years. I received several NO, but I continued my job search until a job opening showed up at F.biz. This was the same agency that my brother had worked for a few years in the past and the job opening came to me through not 1, but 4 friends who were working there. I did the interview and it was not easy. I was interviewed by the Head of Planning, the planning director and even the planning manager for whom I would be working with. I did my best at the interviews, but something that made all the difference was the way my 4 friends advocated for me to those agency leaders. They decided to give a vote of confidence and I was hired. What happened next was almost 3 years working and learning a lot from amazing teachers and masters of advertising. That was my return to the market, and I couldn't have come back in a better way.

The time at F.biz built my entire planning and professional career base that I carry into my life until today. The team was amazing and I was also able to apply several things I had learned on the mission in my work as a planner. The fact that I spent hours and hours a day talking to people on the street, getting inside their homes and dealing with families from all stages of life made me an 'anthropologist' by experience. At F.biz, we did a lot of amazing work where we went out into the street with a camera in hand and talked to people to gather perceptions and insights about the brands we worked with at the time. The photo I am on the skateboard above was taken when we went to Praça Roosevelt in São Paulo to interview skaters for brand planning for Netshoes. I ended up riding with them and getting a lot of interviews.

If you read the previous posts you may be wondering about the blog. Well, after these two years I ended up being forgotten in the blogosphere. I tried to resume a personal blog that didn't work out well, my blogger friends were already on another level in terms of popularity and then I decided to abandon the blog project at that moment to focus on my personal and professional growth. After all, I wanted to study and go to college. And speaking of college ... ohhh..let’s keep it for the next post.

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I wish I could list all the lessons I learned during this period of my life, but maybe in a next opportunity. In the meantime, here are some of the key learnings that may apply to your life as well:

• Volunteer. It is something that brings benefits in every way. You will have the opportunity to help people who need the most, will learn from them and your worldview will expand. You will learn to value more the things you have and the human being. Voluntary service for others breaks thousands of bias and help you develop attributes such as compassion, empathy and love for others, regardless of who they are.

• The power of genuine and strong networking. I know that talking about networking is cliché. Everyone knows the importance of getting in touch and creating good relationships in the professional world. But I learned about genuine and strong networking. Not the one that you exchange business cards or pat your co-workers on the back. For me, you build genuine and strong networking when you build genuine and strong work. Your work, your results and the way you relate to your colleagues build your image. And a strong image builds better relationships. So, for me, the key to good networking is doing a good job, always being kind and collaborative with people and growing with them. Much more than happy hours, exchange of favors or fake smiles.

• The work ball is made of rubber. When I left everything behind I wondered if I would ever get a good job again. I had grabbed a unique opportunity with my blog, and I didn't want to miss it. I once heard a talk that mentioned an analogy about the 5 balls we juggle in our lives: the spiritual, family, health, education and friends. The thing is that all of them are made of glass and can break, scratch or crack, except for the work ball. This one is made of rubber and will bounce back every time it falls. Even after 2 years away, the ball came back to me and will keep coming back, no matter what happens.

Acknowledgments: Rogério Castro, Gelson and Miriam Pizzirani, all my companions and friends from the mission, Rafael Camanho, Marcelle Santos, Mariane Rodriguez, Marcela Geoffroy, Fernando Diniz, Vinicius Piccolo.