A Point of View by Paul V. Montesino

Crossroads

By Paul V. Montesino, Ph.D., MBA, ICCP.

The approach of a new year always makes us think about new directions, new possibilities, what I call crossroads. The benefits of walking and running are not necessarily about how far you go on your route, but on how many crossroads you encounter on your way that tempts you to go in a different direction. I’m sure you have examples in your life that attest to that statement.

Crossroads give you an opportunity to leave the downtrodden, the unproductive, the defeated roads you have been traveling up to that point and take an alternate direction that could let you thrive, perhaps be different, more creative, and successful.

As I look into the decades that make up my life on this cruise ship called Earth that travels constantly around the sun, I can see those moments that gave me a choice, some I took, and others I ignored. I’ll try not to bore you with the details but will give you a few that were critical. It might help you remember your own.

One early moment in my life was when I was a junior High School student. There was a literary academy in our school headed by a priest named Jose Rubino S.J., a Jesuit, who was a ghostwriter of Diario de la Marina, one of Havana Cuba’s most recognized newspapers. In addition, the Father was also a correspondent member of the Spanish Language Academy.

I had never been to the academy, but a couple of friends had, invited me to attend one of its sessions and I accepted. Whether it was participating in oratory debates or writing and presenting papers of scientific, literary, or current events and controversies, the experience gave me a completely different outlook of intellectual life. I got caught in its tentacles. From that point on, I couldn’t stop dreaming and writing my ideas to a point that during the past ten years as a writer and publisher of e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers, and audio-books at Amazon has provided me with an opportunity to mention and thank my literature professor for giving me a new perspective in life, a crossroad so to speak, one that made me take a different path.

But that wasn’t the only one. In 1959, like most Cubans tired of the recent years of conflict between the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and the idealists inspired by the Castro revolution, I thought I was walking in the right direction. One day, however, I happened to attend an exhibit of small electric cars at the vestibule of the National Bank of Cuba, when the “Maximo leader” of the revolution, Mr. Castro himself, made his noisy and bombastic entrance surrounded by a retinue of heavily armed security guards.

I expected to see the presence of a true leader I had never met but encountered instead the selfish, narcissistic expression of a lunatic, revolving unsecured eyes on his bearded face included. He wouldn’t let anybody speak, never mind contradicting his ideas. It was evident that our nation was in the hands of a mad man that would lead us to a tragic end. I had planned to remain in Cuba until that crossroad moment and decided to take an alternative route into exile in the United States. The years since 1959 to these days are my best evidence, the tragedy continued, but not to its end.

There have been many other crossroads in my life, personal and professional. There was the decision to stay in Miami, FL, when I came from Cuba or move to Boston. Once in Boston, one important decision was to complete my college education or not, another to leave the banking industry after thirty-four years and become a full-time university professor. I’ve always looked at those crossroads with acceptance, interest, and even gratitude. If someone offers you a hand with an invitation to change direction, don’t refuse it. Give it your consideration. It might be a truly creative moment in your life. Let’s be honest, didn’t you find yourself facing a crossroad the first time your significant other smiled at you? And what did you do? I bet I know.

We’re given a living will that some don’t recognize or appreciate fully: time. Thousands of minutes and seconds are deposited in our life’s bank account to use as we please. The decision we face is whether to tap that treasure to make a difference to benefit ourselves, others, or both. It’s sad to let it go to waste. Once it’s used is gone never comes back. This is one savings account that pays no interest; it actually depreciates. Look at the time fortune you can no longer access. Opportunities are gone; future plans have gone, maybe even the possibilities are no longer available. Grab what’s left, run with it, and try to use it wisely and generously. After all, that’s the true wealth we have in the world. It’s not money, possessions, college degrees, applauses; it’s the inevitable tic-tac sound of the hands of the clock as it marches on.

And that’s my point of view today. Happy 2022!