Sean Lourdes

Always prioritize, it shows how disciplined you are as a person in general. It’ll make your life easier.

 

Sean Lourdes is the founder and president of The Lourdes Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for the disadvantaged youth of the world.

From a young age, this experienced entrepreneur has committed himself to making a difference with the next generations. Raised by a successful business mogul & faith filled mother, Sean has focused his efforts on building the Lourdes legacy while mobilizing compassionate philanthropists to join a new movement of change.

His first great venture to create hope in the youth of America were the two huge events with the Dalai Lama in Los Angeles.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

The idea came to me in a dream and with the help of a few of my friends that were actors. They were doing charities that helped to serve different causes, and I wanted my voice to be heard in something that I was passionate about. I believe that the youth is our future and I would like to spread as much positive education as possible to ensure that the future is bright, the planet stays green, and the animals are thriving. Overall, I wanted to help create our society’s compassionate leaders of tomorrow, which are our youth.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My typical day starts with a vegan breakfast, which reminds me to stay compassionate towards animals and our future. I then begin working on my projects from wherever I am in the world. I am currently in Dubai, so I start my day working from here, through emails, meetings, and phone calls. My day is productive by making a list of things that need to be accomplished and tackling them. I also like to forecast a 6 month plan in advance and do things each day to accomplish each goal. I feel inspired by world travel and feel more productive waking up to a new sunrise.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Everywhere I travel in the world, I get inspired to create new ideas. I think of something, then I do everything in my power to bring it to life. Being inspired by local businesses around the world allows me to find some niche in the market that doesn’t exist in America and I learn the steps in how they created it and try to make it better and then introduce it to a new market. I am lucky to get access to some of the world’s most exclusive and hard to find locations/ experiences and I enjoy sharing that with the public.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Veganism excites me. I have been studying veganism for ten years. I have been vegetarian for five years and vegan now for three years. I truly believe this is the healthiest and most sustainable way of life.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I’ve been doing this for a long time now. I’m a serial entrepreneur and a lot of responsibilities come with it.
As I was learning about business and sole ownership, I had a hard time prioritizing my tasks in order to make everything work in harmony. This is the habit that I have now developed and it’s making me a better entrepreneur, knowing when and how to execute my tasks and for how long. Entrepreneurship is all about discipline.

I’d also say that waking up very early every day has made me a more productive person and entrepreneur, it gives me a lot of time to finish up my projects for the day so I can spend the rest of the day with my family which is my number one priority.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Business wise, I’d say: believe in your investments. The markets will go down again but they will always go back up. Just look at history, real estate, and the economy- it will all just keep going up.

Life wise, I’d say: Never underestimate your ideas, they have all the potential to be great. Always listen to what other people have to say, learning will only make you smarter

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

This is not business related but I think that it’s related to my constant mission to create compassion in this world.

No eating meat and animal products. You don‘t need it to survive, it’s not healthy and we’ve been lied to by the meat industry. We have been brainwashed to thinking it’s a necessity of life; IT’S NOT. Ever since I stopped eating meat, my energy has tripled, I have gotten into better shape and I focus better.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Whenever it’s possible, be nice. It’s always possible. You never know who you’re going to meet throughout your career and where they or you will be positioned in certain moments. Being a nice person/citizen doesn’t cost you anything and actually earns you a lot of respect among people.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

One strategy I like is putting your hard earned money to work. For example, put your money into a stock portfolio with a good financial advisor, then get a credit line backed on your stock portfolio to fund a new business idea. This way your money is making excellent return and paying your business debt for you automatically, while you are also making money in your business.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I trusted the wrong people. That led me to a lot of bad press, bad references. I understand that not everyone is going to like you and that there’s a whole lot of other people that will be very happy for your success. These situations taught me valuable lessons; now I handpick the people I work with and it’s worked amazingly.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Investing in veganism or create a business that has to do with veganism. What is it? I’m not 100% sure yet but this is the future and by investing on this, we’ll be a step ahead. It’s also about creating a culture around sustainability and animal awareness. We should take advantage of this current trend and exploit it to its fullest since there’s a lot of market for it.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I remember coming up to a traffic light and seeing a homeless man walking up to my car. I sometimes have these feelings to give, so I put a hundred dollar bill in his Big Gulp cup from 7 Eleven. The look on his face was priceless and I can only hope that this creates a ripple effect for positive change. I love what Lao Tzu says: “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” I only hope that this helped that person take the first step.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Remember I talked about being productive? I found this free online tool called “Trello” which makes you create a board with all of your tasks prioritized. It allows you to add your team to these workplaces so you can assign and discuss about different projects in one place. Tagging these tasks with different colors gives me a lot of control over my workflow since I’m very good associating priorities by colors.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

How to Win Friends and Influence People & How To Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. It gives you real life examples and I thank a lot of my success to that book.
Nowadays, being influential is essential and my mission is to leave a mark in our society. Winning allies, friends and connections is all I am about. I get to learn from people, they get to learn from me and it’s an endless learning process while growing my circle. This book gave me the tools to take advantage of my social skills in order to succeed in the scene.

What is your favorite quote?

My favorite quote is “the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” (Helen Keller).

Key Learnings:

● Always prioritize, it shows how disciplined you are as a person in general. It’ll make your life easier.
● Trust yourself and be careful who you work with, take risks and money will follow.
● Live for now, not for later. There’s a lot to do for people today, become a pioneer in some valuable matter so you can influence others.

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