20 MAY. 2024 · Wine is made from grape must, which undergoes a natural fermentation process through the action of yeasts that transform the sugar present in the grape into alcohol and carbon dioxide. When there's no more sugar in the liquid, the yeasts die and the fermentation ends. So the grape came into this world to either be eaten or to be turned into wine. If it's eaten, well, its mission on earth is over. But if it's turned into wine, its life will be prolonged for many, many years, and in the best cases, for centuries. This transformation is a very tough process for a grape. And you'll soon understand what I'm trying to say here.   The process of turning grapes into wine involves harvesting the grapes, or "vindima," (as we say in Portuguese) at the right time. It cannot be too early or too late. Then, the way they are transported is crucial to prevent them from being bruised or crushed. Otherwise, the next stage, fermentation, might start prematurely. But before fermentation, the grapes are crushed. After that, they move on to the fermentation stage. Alcoholic fermentation occurs when microorganisms called yeasts transform sugars into ethanol (alcohol), energy (heat), and gas, along with secondary products. This process happens differently for red and white wines. Once fermentation is complete, the filtration process begins. The goal of this phase is to separate the solid phase in suspension from the liquid phase by passing through a porous surface that constitutes the filtering layer, intended to retain solid particles. Finally, there is the aging and bottling of the wine. Here is the wine. If we translate this to my life, let's say I am in the final stage of fermentation. In other words, I am transforming my sugars (ghosts) into alcohol (my second life). The same processes the grape undergoes happened to our heroine today. Her name is Cristina, a widow, with three children, who turned the loss of her husband 30 years ago into something wonderful. Just like wine. But like the grape before turning into wine, Cristina went through hell and back. Today, the hero’s cape will be worn by a woman: Cristina, sweet like the Portuguese wine Casa Ermelinda Freitas Trincadeira Reserva Tinto. Absolutely fantastic!

13 MAY. 2024 · Many times, if not always, the plans we draw up are not the plans that God wants for our lives.  That's what happened to Isabel. That's what happened to me. No, I don't have cancer, but life also threw me a curveball. Most likely, I have more than 6 months of life left, although nothing is certain. If you listened to episode 10 of my podcast, you'll hear my story from when I was born until today. I always aspired to higher dreams and goals. One of those dreams was to turn my old company into a major multinational. I was born in July, and according to the zodiac horoscope, my sign is Cancer. These are people who value family a lot. In 2023, I divorced from my former partner, stopped living with my daughters, and a month later, closed my company. I lost the house where I lived, I can't have anything in my name or I lose it. I live in fear of opening the mailbox because a seizure or a court letter could suddenly appear. I live alone, and three weeks ago, I lost my father. However, I can assure you that I've never felt as peaceful as I do now. To get here, I had to be at the bottom of a black hole, without light, cold, damp. Alone with my thoughts. It was during those times that I began to rebuild myself. Not to reclaim what I lost because it's no longer worth it, but to become a more mature, confident, and secure human being. God put people on my path who helped me in this process. Because there is no self-made man. And yes, I'll repeat myself, I'm at peace with myself. If you go to my personal Instagram and Facebook page, you'll find many photos of the sunrise. Almost every day, I go running. I always see the sun rising on those days. Such a beautiful spectacle that I try to capture with my phone so that you can feel a tiny part of what it's like to witness this spectacle (for free). You can't imagine the pleasure I have in watching it from the front row. I have other pleasures in life, like this podcast, or being with my daughters, or watching them play volleyball or basketball. Or opening the door of my house at the end of the day. Hearing the birds' orchestra early in the morning. Talking to more experienced people in life. Or meeting Isabel Veloso and her life story. Turning pain into gratitude. Turning pain into serving others. Living life in the present! Yes, I wish my material problem were solved. It will be, I can guarantee you that. It's just a matter of time! I would love for my daughters to live with me. But they're fine, and if they're fine, I'm fine. I would love to have a big company. I will, in the medium term future. I would love to be able to pay all the people my company owes. It will be done in due time.  I would love for my father to be alive. He's not, and he won't be back, but I will continue to use his smile and kindness towards others. I found peace within myself. I found this love for life within myself. Just like Isabel Veloso, this podcast is also a celebration of life... that renews itself every week so that all of us, including me, can be even happier.  Just like Isabel Veloso, it's through transforming pain into joy that I plan to live the rest of my life. There's no need to search for the Holy Grail because it resides within me.

6 MAY. 2024 · Since January of this year, we've been constantly talking about people who have contributed to making the world a better place. Even if it was their own world... Almost all of these heroes, whom I deeply admire, started from the place where they were born and raised. In the last episode, we talked about a King. King David, and today I'm going to talk about another king. Not a king with the royal title, but a king who, although he has already died, continues to transmit his faith to his Brazilian brothers and sisters, and beyond. The three-time Formula 1 champion, one of my heroes since the late 80s, the great Ayrton Senna. He was always someone who brought great joy to the Brazilian people. Firstly, with victories in Sunday races after lunch (in Portugal's time zone) and then, after his death, providing conditions for everyone to have the chance to succeed in their lives. One of Ayrton's dreams was to help his people so that everyone could have the same opportunities to succeed in life. The right to have a future and to have hope. To change the scenario of Brazil. His sister Viviane Senna turned this dream into reality with the creation of the Ayrton Senna Institute. In 2024, this institution celebrates its 30th anniversary and works to transform thousands of lives. This is what greatness is all about... continuing the dream of a racing champion but also a champion of life. It has been 30 years since his death on May 1st, but his legacy is very much present in Brazil and also in my heart. Ayrton for me is a flower that will always be placed on my Wall of Hope, and like him, I want tomorrow to be much better than today. I hope to convey to you the energy that he transmits to me every day. As beautiful as my beautiful Madeira Island.

29 ABR. 2024 · There's a story of Buddha where a huge number of disciples were meditating, seeking spiritual enlightenment. It only happened with one, who when he discovered what it was to be an enlightened being, began to laugh. The disciple whom no one gave anything for. The same thing happened with today's hero. I mean, he's the reference hero of this podcast. Our young David. Who became the King of all Israel for 40 years. The prosperous reign that made Israel a great country. If you ask an Israeli to tell the story of King David, you'll notice the pride with which they speak of their King. If you go to Israel, you'll see all kind of things in honour of his King: King David Hotels, King David Souvenirs etc. Even the star on the flag of Israel is related to David. One of the theories about the Star of David is that: According to Jewish tradition, this symbol was engraved on the shields of King David's army warriors. I've already talked about him in the first episode but I think he deserves more than just one episode. The more I read about David, the more impressed I am with the legacy he left us. Not only me but all of us. He slew Goliath, fought the Philistines, and became a very powerful king, leaving his succession to another all-powerful. He was the most successful king in the history of Israel. Today it's him, once again. Ladies and gentlemen, His Royal Highness King David.

22 ABR. 2024 · In today's episode, I'll tell a story of a 17-year-old Brazilian girl who understood the true meaning of success in life. To reach this conclusion, she had to go through a very painful process that she has not yet finished. It seems it's always like this: we have to "kill" ourselves to reach the treasure. In this girl's case, she literally had to "kill" herself to discover that true happiness lies in serving others, not being served, that it's the little things that bring beauty to our journey on this earth, not the grand moments, and finally, feeling grateful for being here. This last part may be difficult to understand in the case of Isabel, our heroine today. Isabel Veloso, her name, is 17 years old, Brazilian, and a beautiful girl. Unfortunately, she will only live for another 4 months (according to doctors) because she has an incurable cancerous tumor. But even so, let's make the most of these 4 months of her life left to learn from her what it means to live with purpose. We have a lot to learn from her. It's her that I'm going to talk to you about today... https://oncoexperts.com.br/artigo/como-e-feito-o-autotransplante-de-medula-ossea https://www.cuf.pt/saude-a-z/linfoma-de-hodgkin My personal Instagram account: @favelosacamara Isabel Veloso Personal Account: @isabelveloso

15 ABR. 2024 · I'm tired. I was away from Madeira Island last weekend, so I didn't have time to prepare today's episode like I usually do. However, I have this commitment to you, so I made this episode, although shorter than usual. So, I removed the part from the episode "My Story" about why I'm doing this, why I'm making this podcast and create this new one. Making this podcast has also given me strength to overcome my Goliath who is currently challenging me. I appreciate all of you who regularly listen to my podcast, and I sincerely hope it also helps you in your daily life. In the final part, there's an excerpt from Brad Pitt that explains my gratitude to you. Thank you once again!

8 ABR. 2024 · In the first episode, I said I would talk to you about stories of people who overcame great and enormous challenges in their lives  and, as Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book "facing enormous, overwhelming adversities, produces greatness and beauty." For me, these people are heroes. If it were not for them, I would not be doing this podcast today. Today, I'm going to talk about someone who, although I didn't spend much time with him, left a mark on me. And I only realized that years later. He passed on unique values and ways of living life, leaving me with the commitment to continue her legacy for others. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us. But I am sure that his spirit is around here influencing the lives of other people. I'm going to talk about my basketball coach from the 1989 children's basketball team, where he was my coach and how he galvanized a team to focus on that year's regional basketball title.

2 ABR. 2024 · Easter B.C. was meant to celebrate the liberation of the people of Israel from the clutches of Pharaoh by Moses. So at this time of year it was customary among the Jewish people to sacrifice a lamb. In the Christian religion, Easter is celebrated to remember the death of Jesus. The death of the "Lamb who came to save the World." And it is Him that we will talk about today in this episode: Jesus Christ! My greatest beacon. I deeply believe that Jesus walked on this Earth. I fully believe that He was also divine so that God could teach us to love one another. To teach us what love is. The message is so impactful that it changed the trajectory of humanity until today.

2 ABR. 2024 · I know a guy that us these principles into his life. Well start to use… He does not call the 5-step process but he’s facing reality, continues to dream and continues to have big determination. Not the reality his faced for the last 46 years, but the one his now facing in his life, right now. His name is… me! I really want to share my story with you, today, in this episode. I hope by the end of it, you’ll find out why I’m doing the weekly based podcast and the true meaning of telling you about these stories. I’m feeling uncomfortable doing it but I fell I have to do it. I hope I’m not doing another mistake. But if I don’t go for it, I will not know the result. And I’m very curious on that… Today is my turn. I truly hope you enjoy.

2 ABR. 2024 · Carlos worked for 25 years in an mortuary of one the hospital in Portugal. One of his duties was to bring the dead body’s and place them in the freezer, waiting for the family to say they final Fairwell or waiting for authorization to place in a coffin for his funeral. In subconscious level of the mind, the depression and hurt would start to appear, without him noticing. A couple months later we would start drinking… every day… at the same hour. In the mortuary… with his work companions… He recalls: “It was like drinking in a pub, like normal people do after work. We had so much laugh, until one day…” But you know that we’re talking about heroes in this podcast. And Carlos used his drinking problem not only for helping his community to have a better understanding of what was his life for 25 years in that place but also to help others who are helpless facing the alcohol and emotions.