We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ricardo Jattan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ricardo, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I would have to say that resilience has always been one of my strongest qualities that I owe to my mother. I have always known her to withstand and recover quickly from her difficulties through life.
While in one’s lifetime there are many stages, I admired her to continue on to make our lives better, and to do her very best of not repeating a tumultuous past.
She has instilled in me the importance of emotional strength to cope with misfortunes and to always challenge myself to continue to move forward despite many obstacles.
I have been able to utilize this very important value within myself and the many adversities that life threw my way – always continuing to strive for positive outcomes.
It has always been important to me to make something of myself and to endeavor to be self-reliant, and I reflect daily on my journey and what it means to endure.
I have always taken full responsibility for my life and my choices, and while many others may lay blame on unfortunate circumstances, I hold myself accountable for who I truly am today.
Change comes from within and the importance for practicing self-reflection.
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?
I am a Production Designer in Film, TV, Commercial and Theater and owe my success to not only perseverance, but to so many talented individuals along my journey who have inspired me along the way. My voyage has been surreal, watching images in my head come to life on set, and to have the opportunity to spend my life doing what I love most, and to meet new people and try new things, to venture around the world and yet remain grounded.
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?
Determination: I think that having determination is nothing short of the quintessence to increase anyone’s chances of being successful in a specific thing or to achieve a particular goal. It is a strong commitment to make decisions, to reach conclusions or to ascertain a situation. I have always felt this to be very important in my life or anyone’s for that matter. This is a personality trait that I have always been very proud of.
Empathy:
I always believed that a compassionate, connected work environment is always good for any success. And I always strive for that because I am often tasked with making difficult decisions that can easily impact the people I work with. It is so very important that the individuals working with me feel seen and heard as a strong foundation to build relationships. When we empathize with others, there is a deep understanding which leads to trust, respect and commination all key components.
Adventurous
As far back as I can remember, I have always been adventurous – it’s a description you will find many use when referring to me. I enjoy all the opportunities to explore by not being intimidated by new challenges and the motivation to try new things and meet new people. I find this has always been a great way to expand my mind and build up my character. New environments, new work assignments packed with life lessons.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Now that I am older, and while I can mention many individuals in my life that have mentored me along the way, only one I can truly say will always stand out in my mind as a true inspiration and motivator.
My father meant the world to me; I compare him to none, as a dad, as a husband, as a friend and as a grandfather. He taught us everything we needed to know, helped us with anything we struggled with, but knew when to let us fail. This to him was one of life’s most important lessons and I realize now that it was harder for him to teach it, than for us to learn it. I have fond memories of him growing up, and his priority to his family was first and foremost.
Dad always instilled in us the importance of an education, the importance of being the best we can be at anything we did – and to take pride in our work – however little – however big.
I have a deep respect for him and admire his struggles to come to Canada all alone, live in a room at the YMCA, find a job, a place to live and send for my mom and his three children to build a better life for us.
But he was more than just my father, and when I reflect now on his triumphs and despairs – he continued to persevere.
I will forever feel that need to continue to make him proud, continue to strive for the very best that life has to offer and always keep in the back of my mind, that because of his courage and determination, we are all in a better place today as his qualities live within us.
His character was admirable, and a lot of who he was has influenced me throughout my life – whether it be to lend a helping hand emotionally or physically, to teach, to listen or simply to share laughter.
I do miss him like no other, and spend many nights thinking about him and appreciate the honour of having him in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://2019.ricardojattan.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-jattan-75920011/
Image Credits
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