Today I turn 44.

Today I turn 44.

And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that from the outside, everything seems fast, easy... even 'lucky.'

But the reality was different.

In 2015, I moved to the United States with a suitcase, many doubts, and one obsession: to build a career that would change my life.

I have worked for companies like Splunk, Adobe, and Microsoft. I obtained citizenship. Today, I can say that I achieved many of the goals I dreamed of.

But nobody sees this:

I invested over 100K in my first year trying to survive professionally in San Francisco. I went through more than 1000 interviews at over 100 companies to land just a few offers. I went through multiple work visas before getting my green card. I had to become extremely good at interviews because I failed many before.

And there were also failures.

Several startups that could never be sold. A 10-year consulting business that only generated about 100K USD in total.

10 years to learn that working hard doesn't always mean building something scalable.

And a key point:

I wouldn't have obtained the O1 visa if I hadn't built community and contributed to the ecosystem.

I contributed to projects like Linux, GNOME, KDE. I gave talks. I participated in conferences. I organized events like WhyFLOSS. I took part in university events, GUADEC, and more.

The most important lesson I learned:

If you want extraordinary results, you have to become the person that companies are looking for.

And it's not about working more hours. It's about providing real value. Solving real problems. Building something that matters beyond your resume.

In the end, if you make good decisions and plan alternatives, you can achieve great results.

I encourage you to pursue your dreams and goals. These were mine. Yours may be different... and that's perfectly fine.