Meet Cesar Gutierrez

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cesar Gutierrez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Cesar , appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?

I’d like to think about discipline as a self-love form: it’s the relationship I have with myself so it’s the key to achieve the goals I set in my professional life as a software engineer but also my competitive one as an Adult Champion Irish dancer.

For me, it’s related to the habits, lifestyle and decision-making process that allows me to build a “core” from which I can gather strength on those days where I don’t feel like performing, without reaching a point of punishment, and in the end, keeps me on track towards the path I’m taking in my life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Professionally speaking, I’m a software engineer focused on Microsoft technologies with 10+ years of experience in the field. I’ve worked in projects related to industries that include Healthcare, Legal Services, eCommerce, Finance and Traveling, collaborating with people from Mexico, Colombia, USA, Germany, Belarus and India.

My journey as an Irish dancer has allowed to represent Mexico internationally since 2022 in championships across North America and Europe. In 2023, I became the first Mexican Adult Champion Irish dancer participating in the Great Britain Irish Dance Championships, placing within the Top 5 dancers from the competition and getting the best score from judges in one of the 3 rounds. I’ve been learning Irish dance since 2017 at Mexican Institute of Irish Dance (MIID) with the only Mexican that has been part of Lord of the Dance cast as a teacher: Luis Sanchez.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

– Resilience: Between injuries and placing below my goal, Irish dance has taught me how to deal with situations that require patience to heal and looking at the whole picture to acknowledge progress. It’s ok to feel sad because we tried our best and still, not succeeded or achieve what we wanted, especially in conditions where we can’t control all the variables that determine the outcome; however, a bad result doesn’t define you as a person and it can be turned into a plan to improve in the areas we need.

– Commitment: Stick to the plan you design to achieve a goal. While we all have responsibilities with ourselves and our social circles, we must determine priorities and work towards the activities that will allow us to reach what we want. We need to take into account everything around us before designing how our days/weeks will look like so we can feel we are making progress. Having a goal in mind can help to keep motivation in the right place but the journey on a daily basis is going to determine how success will taste like, because we are committed to the process.

– Communication: Success does not happen in the day you achieve something, it’s built from the journey and the support system you have around. Your people gives sense for your stories to be shared. Feedback is the key to make adjustments to our plans and it’ll give your mentors and superiors the scope of work to be done. It’s important that we built trustworthy connections, so we get the support, encouragement and help we need to keep going. There are steps that will rely entirely on our own but having people that cares about us, definitely makes a huge difference in the long run.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

The education I got as a kid is reflected in the path I’m living as an adult. I definitely don’t come from a wealthy family and there are some struggles that we have lived to reach the point we are today, but my parents showed me the way to keep going, acknowledging the worth in every opportunity that comes my way and preparing myself for what I want to become. Both of them were determined to give us the best they could despite circumstances, and as a grateful son, I know that everything I am now is because of them so I want to make them feel proud of me while they are still around.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gutman_dancer
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ing.cesargutman
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/issccesargutierrez
• Twitter: https://x.com/cesar_gutman
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CesarGutman