Influencer Arthur De Nobrega Teixeira: curious and ambitious

Interview November 2021

I was born in Curaçao. I have 2 brothers and I’m the middle one. Both of my brothers followed the business world. My older brother studied accountancy in the Netherlands and the youngest studied International Business in Canada.

Both my father and my mother gave me a great upbringing and they were very supportive in my choice to become a medical practitioner. My father is a successful businessman, that exemplifies the American Dream, starting from zero and later on becoming successful. He did this based on perseverance and being consistent in his work. This is the model I grew up with basically. My father’s way of thinking had a great impact, which influenced me and later on I adopted this attitude of “You have to fight for what you want, if you want to accomplish something in life”. As for my mother, she was a stay-home mom and she ran the household, always there for her children and very supportive of us, helping out with our homework and making sure all our needs were met. We were also taught to work for what we wanted, contrary to some of our peers, where their parents bought all the things that they desired. Not for us, we had to work for it. My father owns a wholesale company, therefore we either would be filling shelves in the supermarkets or help deliver goods. All of this help evolved me into the person I am today.

I’m happily married and we have a wonderful two year old son. I’m definitely the family man I am today thanks to the example of my parents. Seeing the dedication that both my parents have for the family was one of the greatest traits that I share.

Could you share something about your educational background and your experience?
After finalizing my High School in the Dutch system and doing international baccalaureate at the International School of Curaçao, my original intention was to study in the USA, but it would take more time to graduate and the cost of education was way too expensive, so I decided to study in Costa Rica at a medical school called UCIMED, which is a worldwide highly reputable Medical School.

After graduating as a Medical Doctor in Costa Rica, I came back to Curaçao and started working at local family physician practices as a backup physician. Whenever a physician would go on vacation or any other situation, where they had to be absent from their practice, they would need a temporary physician to cover him or her. So working like this, I had no strings attached, which was great, as I got to work in various areas of the island, which was a great opportunity to get a taste of how it worked, if I decide to buy my own practice one day.

We know you to be an MD with your opinion about the effectiveness of how you have been trained. Can you tell us more about how this all started?
I was always very curious about a lot of things, but especially curious about the human body. I studied physics, biology and math and decided to pursue the career of a Medical Doctor and went to study Medicine in Costa Rica.

My mother tells me that as a boy, I was always eager to discover new things and very interested in science. If I saw something on television related to science experiments, I would try it out myself. I am still very curious, always very interested in new technology and checking it out. This curiosity is a great asset for my profession actually.

What is your BIG WHY or driving motivation to be who you are right now?
Where I am right now in my life is that I want to help people. That is my drive.

After my graduation as an MD, I wanted to give back to the community in a way. When I finalized my studies in Costa Rica, while trying to figure out where and what to specialize in, I had this unique opportunity to teach for a period of 9 to 10 months at the University and here is where I discovered this niche of teaching. It was such a great and beautiful experience. When I came back to Curaçao I opted to stay as a general physician, but soon realized that sitting inside an office prescribing medicines was not enough. Just earning my monthly income and staying very much in my comfort zone wasn’t enough for me to feel fulfilled. I wasn’t happy and after two years of working as a general physician, I got this breakthrough moment and I decided to go back to teaching, as I loved teaching. This was in the form of spreading awareness and health tips.

I called another Influencer you have also interviewed Rudolf de Wit, and explained to him that that I was tired of doing the usual and that I wanted to do more, I wanted to explore my potential. He didn’t hesitate and immediately gave me an opportunity. So I teamed up with him and became part of his weekly Sunday program and also wrote articles for his magazine “Support” every month. Since then, I never looked back. I had the feeling that I was on the right path of what I wanted, which was educating the community and giving information that they can use on a daily basis.

In 2018 I bought my practice, which I slowly turned into a Medical Center, consisting of a psychologist, a child psychologist, a well known lab, a physiotherapist, a diabetic nurse, a diagnostic team specialized in diabetes, midwives, where we all interconnect on a daily basis. I am a big believer in team work and we are open to growing from the feedback we give each other.

“Every week someone else gets a turn on our Facebook page to help educate our followers on how to improve their health with simple tips .”

I started this Facebook page of my practice, where we as a team would do 5 minutes videos consisting of short information that is helpful to the community and is accessible to everyone. Every week someone else gets a turn to help educate our followers on how to improve their health with simple tips. We strive towards cultural changes and we are very much aware that some cultural behaviors will take years to come in effect, but awareness is the first step and that is what we are doing.

For a recap to your question: My defining moment was when I decided to leave my comfort zone after being stuck there for 2 years and Rudolf de Wit gave me a chance to work together.  Up to this date I’m continuously looking for the next thing to challenge me.

What are your thoughts on Alternative medicine?
Regarding alternative medicine, which usually is based on more for the wellness area, I always look into how the patient feels. If the patient is okay and feels happy with the results then I am okay with the alternative medicine. As long it gives the results expected and is not hurting anyone. For our culture’s background, our grandparents relied more on plants and we can still see this method being practiced. I am strict believer in the patient being comfortable and happy when receiving a treatment, either alternative or conventional.

What are your plans for the coming years and when do you consider that you have been successful in your personal and business/professional life, let us say 5 years from now?
First of all, if we are talking professionally, it would be to keep expanding my practice. I want to be able to offer more services to the patient under one roof, that he/she might need to address for his/her pathology.

“I want to offer more services to the patient under one roof….”

If we are talking as an individual, then I do feel that I am already successful. The fact that you keep a mindset of keep exploring, growing and never stand still, then I know I have the right recipe for success, looking at these aspects.

What are the challenges that you are dealing with? And how are you dealing with these different challenges you confront?
Challenges are inevitable and continuous, but it is needed for us to mature and grow. The best way of dealing with challenges and also the most difficult aspect is to acquire the right tools for the job.

Do you use your inner voice to evaluate when dilemmas show up? How does that work for you?
Everybody has an inner voice. There are certain things that I will explore within myself, but sometimes it is better to look for support elsewhere. It is always good to not listen only to the inner voice, but also the experienced voices of others. Look for the right person with the right knowledge and experience. That is what I do.

How are you trying also to keep up with your knowledge and skills levels?
Medical Practitioners are always required to upgrade knowledge and skill levels. So it comes with the profession so to speak.

What are your strengths?
I am determined, passionate, collaborative, and ambitious.

Do you have hobbies or interests that you are also passionate about?
1. I love music. I have been involved in music since I was 10 years old. I used to play the guitar just for fun. I played in a band and even became eligible for a scholarship in music, but never followed up on that
2. I also love reading books on personal growth.
3. I love bodybuilding and I have been doing this for years. It started in my teen years and it became a lifestyle as it taught me how to structure my day and structure my life.

Up to this date I work with timetables, I was obsessed with this idea while being in the university. I believe a great aspect to success in life, is to have structure. Especially in medical school, timing was everything and so was bodybuilding if you wanted to do it right. Scheduling the training, the food and balancing everything else around my studies was a great challenge. Thanks to this bodybuilding lifestyle it helped me being very structured and therefore very helpful until I graduated. All highly successful people I know and read about, all have very structured personal lives. When I graduated, most doctors congratulated me and asked me how I managed to pull it off with the great load of studies and going to the gym every day. Everything you want badly has its price, I did sacrifice a lot, but I succeeded in the end.

How would you describe Arthur in one word or one sentence?
Not one word but: determined, passionate, collaborative, ambitious.  

Who are the persons that have inspired you the most in your life or career?
My father, for his, pursue the American dream.

“My wife is the one that helps me focus on keeping my heart where it is supposed to be.”

My wife is a board member of the foundation “Rescue paws”, they rescue street dogs and give them a second chance at a better life by searching for people to adopt them. They also sterilize the dogs to prevent further offspring. The passion and drive she puts into her talent is second to non, and a reason why I fell in love with her. She’s the one that helps me focus on keeping my heart where it is supposed to be.
I am a big believer in serving others and a life of giving is a lot more meaningful. These traits of her, help keep me in line.

What is a trait that is still a work in progress?
Patience, but to be a general practitioner you need lots of patience, and this is continuously being tested.

Where do you want to be 10 years from now with your career?
I would be doing the same thing, that is keep on growing and keep on helping people.

What would you want your Loved Ones, family, friends, and others to say about you let’s say 20 years from now?
He was always there.

What makes you stay optimistic about the future of Curaçao as we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, recession, and in the middle of growing environmental challenges because of the global warming consequences?
Wherever you are, you have to have hope and be optimistic. Curaçao specifically is an attractive island with lots of talents. Look at how well we perform in baseball for example. Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources yet to develop all kinds of talents and most of us rely upon them to leave the island. But the ones that do get a chance to develop their talents somewhere else are insecure of coming back due to limited resources.

Do you believe that Curaçao is well underway to becoming a wellness island?
Yes sure, I believe that we have a big potential in this area.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?
A big factor that we have to develop and explore in our culture is the lack of love. This is in what we do for our peers, our relationships, our work and so on. The need to have more love, to have our hearts in the right place in all aspects of our lives will greatly affect our success rate in everything we do. If we would unite, we would easily address whatever challenge life throws at us, be it financially, mentally, physically, socially, or emotionally. Addressing this issue is going to be the next big project for me.

One of the 250 Influencers of Curaçao

Arthur de Nobrega Teixeira is a passionate, curious, determined, collaborative, and ambitious Medical Doctor dedicated to serving his patients and the community at large. As a child, he was already very curious about the human body, physics, biology, science, and technology. As a multi-talented person, he loves music, medicine, books on personal development and bodybuilding. Bodybuilding has taught him to structure his life and focus. With this mindset of keeping exploring and never standing still, he keeps on moving and growing. Hard work pays off, as his father as a role model, modeled this attitude of “You have to fight for what you want to accomplish in life”. While staying close to his heart, the inner drive to serve has made him find his next steps to serve the community, where he is actively working with different other health practitioners to create more awareness in the community about multiple health issues. For all his drive to serve, his collaborative innate character, Arthur is and will continue to create big waves in our society. His opinion on the need to develop more “Love” in our culture that will help us overcome all sorts of obstacles, to unite, and his collaborative mindset, makes him stand out. For all this, we deeply love and respect Arthur and we consider him one of the 250 influencers of the islands representing the health sector. Look at the list of the Influencers we have interviewed or reported on, up to now.