When it comes to resilience as a man, husband, and father, it’s a critical skill that we often overlook, but yet, it’s so vitally important. Today my guest shares unforgettable, vivid stories of growing up on the streets of Venezuela, constantly in survival mode and fighting for his life until the age of 15 where he ultimately moved to United States and fulfilled his dream of becoming an FBI agent. Today you will learn how we can tap into the limitless power of resilience and perseverance despite our upbringing and challenge. 

Anthony Arismendi is a former FBI agent with a highly decorated and distinguished career spanning two decades of undercover and special operations against drug cartels, gangs, organized crime, violent criminals and terrorist organizations. 

Thanks to this background, Anthony joined the FBI and has worked as a member of the SWAT team, as a supervisory agent in two field offices and at FBI headquarters, and as a unit chief in the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division. He is currently the President and CEO of ARIXMAR and a sought-after speaker, sharing his compelling and motivational story with public and private organizations across the country.

What You’ll Learn

13:19 The Importance of Perception

Anthony Arismendi talks about the importance of how one perceives the things that happen to him as a child. This comes after telling his story of growing up in a chaotic environment in Venezuela where he was always in survival mode and then his perspective changed when he moved to the United States.

14:22 1000X Better

Anthony Arismendi says that while in the United States, a person ripped off his father leaving him with nothing and his father left him to try to see how he could solve the problem, for Anthony Arismendi it represented a lot of uncertainty, his brother stayed with his girlfriend but he had to start living as a homeless person and without being able to say anything to anyone. The uncle of one of his friends became aware of Anthony’s situation and helped him. What helped Anthony Arismendi the most with this situation was that he always had in mind that the worst scenario or place in the USA was a thousand times better than any place in Venezuela, for him, having that contrast helped him to survive all the adversities that were presented to him growing up.

24:42 Life Lessons

Anthony Arismendi talks about how what he has lived through and the lessons he has learned he has tried to pass on to his children, but not only to them. He shares a story about a friend of his son’s who had attitude problems and how his dad went missing in action and his mom had to raise him. Anthony Arismendi gradually “trained” him and in the end the boy was in a high rank in the Marines because he had a favorable impact on him.

30:11 College Struggles

Anthony Arismendi tells a story of when he was in college, he was in the library thinking he had no money to pay for the next semester and didn’t know what he was going to do. He picked up a book, opened it to a random page and there was a portrait of one of his ancestors who fought in the revolution in South America. Reading about all this, Anthony Arismendi knew it was a message to him from beyond telling him that he could not give up and that there could always be a way to solve things. Know that if you want to change things you must get involved and take action.

45:27 Success & Motivation

Anthony Arismendi talks about success and how what his mother taught him helped during his experience at the academy.

1:02:55 Parenting

Anthony Arismendi talks about a very important parenting tip: give your children wins, but also let them know that you can’t always win at everything. Society must stop giving trophies for things that do not deserve it, children or teenagers must acquire tools that make them value themselves and know that after a good effort there is recognition.

Anthony Arismendi’s Links

• Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/anthonyarismendiofficial 
• Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/anthony.arismendi/ 
• Website-https://outsideragent.com/about

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