I. Show us an activity you enjoy doing. Tell us how you think it contributes to your personal and professional development

IE Business School - Master in Management Application

Activities I enjoy doing

There are two activities that I enjoy the most, and it was really difficult to choose only one, so I decided to talk about the two of them, which are:

• Running and playing sports

• Travelling with family

Running & Sports

• Since I was a child I was motivated by my parents to do exercise, specifically running, since they always run together and even completed the NYC marathon in 2006.• The sports that I enjoy the most are:

Soccer, Basketball and Tennis. In high school I was the captain of the basketball and also competed in the Track & Field team.• I enjoy team sports as much as I enjoy

individual sports. They both have unique characteristics that contribute to my personal and professional development.

How does it contribute to my professional & personal development?

• Metaphor for life: For me, sports and exercise are the best metaphor for life, you can`t be the best or the most fit person overnight, you have to fight for it and train really hard to achieve your goal.• Sense of competition: It is good to have that intention that you want to be the

best and win every game, but it also teaches to be humble and accept your defeats.• I believe sport contributes to my personal development and growth. It teaches

teamwork and fair play. It builds self-esteem and opens doors to new opportunities.

How does it contribute to my professional & personal development?

• Sacrifices: Through sports I’ve learned that sometimes you have to sacrifices: a couple of times a week I train at 6:30 am. It is hard, but is really worth it and the benefits are enormous.

• It also boosts my confidence and I when I run in the mornings I get very inspirational and sometimes the best ideas come to my mind while I`m running.

Running & Sports

Travelling

• Another activity that I really enjoy is travelling with my family and getting to know different parts of the world.

• I’ve had the pleasure to have visited many countries in South America, North America and Europe, and each trip teaches new and different lessons.

• My family and I, we always try to arrange time to travel for vacations a couple of times a year and we take so much out of each vacation experience.

How does it contribute to my professional & personal development?• Opportunity to gain new inspiration: You’ll go home with new ideas, solutions,

and new ways of approaching previous problems. Travelling improves my entrepreneurial spirit by seeing unique and new business ideas around the world.

• Traveling also gives you time to rest and refresh: Stepping away from the office and daily routine at home will give your head some time to relax. The mind will be renewed and this will be evident in the work produced when returning to the office.

How does it contribute to my professional & personal development?• Exposure to new cultures teaches new values and perspectives: knowing

different parts of the world and how each culture has different values teaches us to be more open, tolerant and respectful with everybody.

• Effective Planning and Time Management Skills: lots of research needs to be done prior to a trip. Flights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, budgeting, and supplies, needs planning before a trip. From catching planes and trying to see all the sites, travelling involves calculation, prioritizing, to-do lists, and setting goals.

• Developing Greater Communication Skills: being able to adapt to different people. Interacting with people from different areas of the world will certainly make you a better listener and communicator.