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Editors’ Note:
The American Dream! One of the things we love about living in Ecuador
is meeting new people and hearing their unique stories. Gary
and
I met Lucilla and Pablo Alcivar in Ibarra, Ecuador. We were
admiring their Toyota Land Cruiser, Gary’s dream vehicle,
when
they came out of a store and we began to talk.
We took an instant liking to them and they invited us to travel to
Atacames, a small Ecuador beach town, to see some real estate they had
for sale. Two days later we were bouncing over the
pothole-filled
back roads that take you from Ibarra to the northern coast of Ecuador
to Esmeraldas and then south to Atacames.
This was the beginning of a wonderful relationship with them that
expanded to include their son Antonio, who has lived for over a decade
in the U.S. His most recent dream involves returning to
Ecuador
to continue investing in Ecuador and building beach condos.
I Wasn’t Thinking of
Getting Rich
My name is Antonio Alcivar and I am 34 years old. After I
graduated from high school I wanted to attend a military academy in
Ecuador. On the day I was supposed to register for the academy, we found
out that a crucial document was missing. The whole family
made a frantic search for the paper and I was very frustrated and upset.
We never found the document, and a few days, my life's direction was
changed forever. When I was
20 I
decided to go to the United States. I just wanted to make
some
money, buy a house. I wasn’t thinking of getting
rich.
I ended up in the Bronx in New York City. I was
alone, no
job. My mom had taught me how to wash dishes but I
didn’t
want to do that. I got a job in construction, removing the
trash. The company only paid me $40 a day. I
learned how to build. It was really hard work.
Then I said, that’s enough. Something had to change.
I took six months to learn English by taking classes, reading books,
meeting people, and watching
tv.
The Building Crew
Wouldn’t Do
What I Told Them to Do
When I went back to construction, they made me a foreman because I
could speak English and Spanish and there were so many Spanish
workers. But I was young and inexperienced and nobody would
do
what I told them to do. I
had to fire half the crew and hire a new crew.
After that, things were better.

I heard about Amway and the promise of wealth. I believed
it. I started with only one person and my down line grew to
20. I wore a suit. Guys on the construction site
would
laugh at me, say, “Here comes the millionaire.”
Every day I would put on my suit at 4 p.m. and
go to meetings. Sometimes I would travel around the country to take
seminars in how to sell. I did well. But then I had
to make
a choice between Amway and the construction business. I chose
construction over Amway. The
day I decided to quit Amway was the day I decided to dedicate all of my
time to construction.
That was at the age of 23. I made lots of mistakes.
I bid too low on several jobs, worked really hard and ended up with no
money after the jobs were done. People really liked me but I
stayed poor!
I went to school, learned business skills and financial
planning.
With a plan, people didn’t like me as much, but I sure was
getting better!
But I was still alone. I asked myself
, “What am I doing
here and what is my purpose in life?”
In those days I was searching for God. In this
seaching I found a
Christian faith. I did not agree with all the rules and
decided
to continue my search.
I studied the Mormon’s teachings, got
baptized.
Next came
the Muslims, reading the Koran, but they teach a strict faith and I did
not agree with that. I
got
enough religion to decide for myself that there is one God in all
religions. People need to believe in something. Religion
gives
people what they need in a specific moment but the price could be that
you lose yourself.
I Give and the World Gives Back
I don’t live in the world, I make my world. I am
creative. I give and the world gives back, like a big elastic
band. The more
I give, the more I receive back to me.
There is one God, a God for everyone, and that force is what I call "a
strong energy."
After I learned how to get enough energy, I noticed that I could feel
the energies of others, whether
they were positive or
negative.
The negative energy of others can get into your system. This
can
cause you problems and you can have difficulties because of
it.
So I started to be more selective about who was around me.
Most
of the time I was alone.
When
you are good with yourself, that is most important of
life. Then
you
realize that each of us is here for a purpose. There is
something
each of us must do.
You can learn
to feel when someone really needs you and when they
don’t.
Sometimes in my experience in New York, people would come up to me on
the street and
ask
me for money. Many times people would want this money to buy
drugs. Other people would ask me for legitimate
help.
I would take these people into a restaurant and tell
them
to order whatever they wanted to eat.
I have talked to my family about these things---about life,
religion. I ask them what they want. They just want
peace. To find peace, the answer is Spirit. I can
give my
parents or others the key, but they must open the door to Spirit
themselves. I can’t push them and I
don’t.
The Stress of Life in New York
Can Break You
New York City is a tough city where the system of work and life can
break you if you are not open for change. I remember a day
working on Honeywell Street in the Brox when I heard a couple gun
shots. When I asked what happened, a tenant told me that
another
person had died in the street.
In my experience, many imigrant couples get divorced after arriving in
the United State because their lives lack the freedom of their home
country. Both work up to 15 hours each day, come home
tired, and don’t talk to each other because they need their
space. Then
sometimes the wife starts thinking her husband is having an
affair. But the other woman really is a job!
I Listened to Myself
"the Little Voice in
My Head"
During my commute between construction sites I enjoy the silence of my
car to think. I
ponder life and let my thoughts speak; I listen to the "little voice in
my head." I think about my life, my questions, and the
answers
always come.
This struggle
can make you strong, wise.
When I see a carpenter in action, smiling, doing it
right. . . making a perfect wall or perfect door. . . I know
he’s
a professional. I know that he loves his job.
About the future, I want to move back to Ecuador, my own country, and
teach people what I have learned. I want to invest in
Ecuador, to
build things here. My dream is to develop real estate
projects throughout my country. I
have been constructing my first beach
condo
in
Atacames for two years. When I ran out
of money,
I stopped
building for seven months, then started again. It is now complete.
I know it
isn’t about
making money, it’s about being happy, being peaceful.
But I know I can make money while I am doing all of that. As
soon as I
teach my two brothers, Alberto and Pablo, how to run a company in, I am
going to spend more time in my beautiful country.
Looking
for Beach Condos? Find
out how Pro-Ecuador can help.
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