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If you say it was pure
luck, you’d be right.
But luck will find you
when you are in the
right place at the right
time. For years, I had
worked at my own book
distribution company
selling books to schools,
training trainers,
writing teachers’ guides
and meeting people who
didn’t have the
necessary tools to
succeed in this market.
As my partner and I
turned the nearly
bankrupt company we had
purchased into a success,
I learned valuable
lessons that I turned
first into workshops,
then into books and now
again into workshops.
After I wrote How to Get
a Job in the U.S., Guide
for Latinos (Cómo
conseguir trabajo en los
Estados Unidos, Guía
para latinos—Sourcebooks,
Inc., idem all my non-fiction
books), I developed
networking workshops to
teach Latinos a key
element in the mix to
find a job and move up
in their careers. I also
developed programs to
help job seekers
understand how to
conduct a successful job
search in the U.S.
Suddenly, a lot of doors
opened, I was doing
interviews on TV, radio
and newspapers; and the
platform to talk about
issues relevant to
Latinos expanded. I
realized that I was in a
great position to
deliver valuable
information to a huge
number of people and
decided to make use of
it.
My next book was about
education. I knew the
system well from my
years in educational
book distribution, and I
also knew how much
Latinos needed to
understand the system in
order for their children
to succeed in this
country. This was a very
important step for them
to crack the American
code.
Help your Children be
Successful in School,
Guide for Latino Parents
(Ayude a sus hijos a
tener éxito en la
escuela, Guía para
padres latinos) gave me
a chance to consult with
school districts and do
workshops for trainers
who in turn trained
parents. At these
workshops, parents learn
about topics ranging
from school logistics to
what they can do at home
to encourage the
development of academic
skills.
 Thanks
to this book I was able
to get a story in The
New York Times and on
WNBC about Latino parent
involvement, a crucial
issue that is now part
of the national dialog.
It was during the
research for my first
book when I met Arturo
Poire, the co-author of
my newest book, The
Latino Advantage in the
Workplace, and a senior
executive in human
resources. He and I had
long conversations about
certain positive
characteristics that
most successful Latinos
share, and the fact that
these characteristics
can be traced back to
their culture became our
interest.
But what about second
and third generation
Latinos who had lost
touch with their
“latinidad”? Could they
tap into these traits?
We concluded that many
people may not know
about these positive
cultural traits,
therefore, Arturo and I
decided to write a book.
Our goal is to help
Latinos reconnect with
their roots and
important life values
such as flexibility,
cooperation skills,
ability to establish
loyal relationships and
others that can be used
as an advantage in the
workplace.
These, we decided, were
the elements that all
successful Latinos
shared and we felt
everyone would benefit
from becoming aware of
them. A new book was
born, and with it a new
opportunity for me to
get out there and offer
Latinos more secrets to
achieve success faster.
Beyond the huge amount
of work that comes with
writing and promoting a
book, I believe that the
biggest difference
between the orange
sheets of my first
novels and the books I
write now is that if I
spill chocolate milk on
my manuscript, I have a
backup on the computer
and I don’t have a big,
dark stain on my only
copy for the rest of my
life.
For more information on
the author visit
www.latinastyle.com
By
Mariela Dabbah |
