Influencer Mark Curiel
In this week’s blog (2nd of May of – 9th of May) we interviewed Mark Curiel; we will invite you to our next MYM Book presentation on the 10th of May 2022; we will invite you to our next Webinar: “Alegria, E efekto di palabra rib abo felisidat”. We will invite you to our next Personal Journey “Emoshon, kiko e ta?” our 13th, which starts on the 14th of May. We will share some short videos based on “Grief, Maya Angelou’s autobiography, John C. Maxwell’s levels of leadership, the benefits of breastfeeding and the benefits of family”. We will upload one of these videos every day on our facebook.com/share2uplift page.
Mark, could you share with us some information about your family life?
I was born in Curaçao and after a few days was brought to my grandmother from my mother’s side and was raised by her and my grandfather. I went back to my mother when I was 16 years old and soon after that left for Holland for my studies. I have two other sisters, one older and one younger than me. I am married and we have two daughters, both with God’s will finish their studies this year. I have known and been married to my wife for 35 years, as we met when we were at the secondary school level. Family is very important to me, and even the children have a role to play. Family is the pillar to constructing a stable society in every aspect of our society, be it emotionally, socially, or spiritually.
“Family is the pillar to constructing a stable society…”
How important were your grandparents in letting you become who you are right now?
Very important, as they have laid the foundation of the person I am right now in all aspects like responsibility, finances, punctuality to be on time at meetings, and how to deal with the continuous commercial pressure on us as “customers” to buy products. They taught me that if we needed to sit on a potato crate to sleep with peace of mind, we will do that until we have enough money to buy a chair. Helping me escape the focus on external material things, instead of my inner peace.
My grandmother gave me the loving care of a mother which is of vital importance for a newborn that just arrived in this world. I can even remember clearly, how she used to play with my ear wattles and put me on her lap as a baby. This memory is unique, as I know that children usually can remember things from 4 years onward. But I can still remember this. My grandfather was an honest worker, who walked his talk and he also played an important role in my life. He taught me moderation and to talk when needed. Furthermore he was a person that when people tended to go over the limit, he would express this loud and clear. My grandparents had 7 children and I was their first grandchild who stayed with them. My grandfather was on the verge of retirement and he decided to invest his time in me. He supported me when I went practicing sports and taught me that as the head of the family you need to support your family and your children. I remember him reading the Bible for my grandmother that because of her diabetes was unable to read and he used this word to describe what this was all about: “servant-hood”. These lessons I understand completely and I always asked myself “why” I am doing things that I do right now, also with regards to other things that I see. Like when I came back to Curacao I have noticed that fathers are not involved in the birth of babies. This is important for the newborn and the family. This was not understood at all at first. I have tried to transform this and slowly but surely this is changing. Not involving fathers is one of the reasons why our community is the way it is right now.
Another example of this is, why do we take the babies away from the mothers and put the newborn in a bucket of “cold water”? These are important elements in the early stages of a newborn’s life with major consequences. And I don’t want others to go through the things that I have gone through.
Could you share something about your educational background and your experience?
After secondary school, I went to Holland to study Laboratory Education, but after a few months, I noticed, that this is not want I wanted. So after a career choice test, I was advised into studying something in the social sphere. After 4 years of my Nursing study, I was called for conscription, which I tried to avoid, but in vain, and served as a nurse from 1995 on, for 3 years instead of the originally intended 9 months. I signed up for longer as in those days I worked at Medical Service Training Center as the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina broke out. So I was teaching recruits that were sent to the war zone moreover to intubate, how to get an IV and how to set up a mobile hospital and run it, the working conditions were attractive after we fought to get a re-scaling to become sergeant-major in rank, and I learned a lot. I learned to deal with discrimination in the army, and jealousy, while still keeping my focus on my goals and I learned to deal with grief. The soldiers experienced the death of civilians and children and this put me in a position to learn how to comfort, instruct, and motivate people to get over the grief.
“I learned to deal with discrimination in the army, and jealousy, while still keeping my focus on my goals…”
During my studies I got acquainted with obstetrics, I was fascinated by experiencing how a human being can primarily develop and after some months leave another humans beings body. So I went to work at Dijkzicht Ziekenhuis in Rotterdam and worked there for 3 years in the department of gynecology, doing that I gained clinical experience as a professional. After that, I went to work at a hospital in Leiden (LUMC) in the department of gynecology for three years, and here my experiences with counseling parents who have lost a child came in handy and I used this time to go more in depth regarding this matter.
Where did you continue your career after Leiden?
My wife was hired by ADC in Curaçao and I got a job at SEHOS in the Obstetrics and Gynecology ward and we came back to Curaçao.
Working in Curaçao was a cultural shock as not everything that I thought I could share, was appreciated when I offered it. At first, I thought this is not going to work. But then I learned to live with the motto: “It is as it is”. It has nothing to do with the other persons, but it was all about myself. I stopped getting annoyed. I have discovered in my self-reflections that in my life cycles, after every 3 years I need to do something different to continue my personal and professional growth, adding knowledge and skills to my backpack. In 2008 I got the opportunity to study and graduated in 2010 in Advanced Nursing Practice, a master’s degree. I kept working in the same department as a Nurse Practitioner and shared as much information as possible, intending to bring about positive changes in the care and also explaining to HRM what I was doing and explaining the importance to have a position within the organization aimed at sharing information in the organizational structure. This was honored in 2012. I kept doing my work and in 2019 I applied for the position of “algemeen manager”, after going through an assessment, that I have at the moment in CMC, but I didn’t get it early on.
This had happened before btw, that I have applied 6 times for different positions in the past 10 years and I didn’t get the position, but I now believe that there is a reason for this because it wasn’t meant to be at that time at least. Each rejection has a reason that is not always understood, but you have to stay focused in improving yourself and keep trying until you have reached your moment. But by the end of 2019, I was approached and offered the position I have at this moment. They had my assessment so I appeared to be the right person for this position. I am the General Manager of a service line responsible for ICU, operating theatre, central sterilization, day care and short stay, policlinic departments anesthesiology, dermatology and plastic surgery. I have about 180 employees that I am responsible for.
Can you expand a little on your leadership skills development? How did it all start?
I got acquainted with John C. Maxwell via my wife. I started reading his books and I learned that you can influence an organization independently of the formal position you hold in an organization. Leading by example so that others can see which direction you are heading. I started to implement Maxwell’s growth and leadership principles. When I got the chance to replace the head of the department I was giving the colleagues the space to do things based on their insights and by doing that I was deploying their talents more optimally, as I was tapping into their intrinsic motivation. This change was totally new since it wasn’t a style of leading a team.
We know that you are also active as a musician and in other extra curriculum activities?
Music is part of my family, it is in the DNA of our family (family Frans) and it started early on. I started singing during a Christmas celebration. But it took off when the four of us, my sister and two cousins of the same age trained, developed ourselves, performed and we would translate songs in Papiamentu. This while some of our elder family members were performing in the Cave di Neptune with the Polyglots.
When I was 13 years old, I also started to play instruments with Viviënne Frans and other family members during my adolescence years. I was an auto-didact in all the instruments I played and once I knew the basics I would follow some touch-up courses for the final touches. I always pushed myself over the edge and out of my comfort zone.
Music became an integral part of me, which continued when I went to study in Holland and was part of different popular musical groups and performed in the church.
That seems to be a very busy schedule, how do you manage this all?
Back in Curaçao, I continued to be part of groups in choirs but also with my own family, that is my wife and my two daughters. We did this for 8 years until my daughters went to Holland for their studies. During these years, I became aware of the essence of music. It is a way to connect with God, as it inspires and I have outgrown the phase to show off and now I respect the adagio: “Less is more”. It is an important release point in my life. It is also important for those who listen to it, it eases people’s pain when they are sad. It touches the heart and soul. I practice this at least one to two hours a week. This is what helped me stay strong during the Covid pandemic. I am now less active in playing music compared to when we just came back from Holland. I was working shifts and played a lot until one of my daughters asked me: “Papa what you are doing out there, can you do it at home instead?”. This was a defining moment because I drastically lowered my hours spend outside of my family circle and started spending more quality time at home with my family. One of my daughters went to Holland when she was 16 years old. If I hadn’t listened to her I would have missed out on valuable quality time with her and the rest of the family. So my family always pushed me and that is why I always say that children also influence the family.
Simply His Concept – Mi ta entregá mi mes (video 2013)
I am now less active in playing music compared to when we just came back from Holland. I was working shifts and played a lot until one of my daughters asked me: “Papa, what you are doing out there, can you do it at home instead?” This was a defining moment because I drastically lowered my hours spend outside my family circle and started spending more quality time at home with my family. One of my daughters went to Holland when she was 16 years old. If I hadn’t listened to her, I would have missed out on valuable quality time with her and the rest of the family. So my family always pushed me and that is why I always say that children also influence the family.
Any other extra-curriculum activities that you want to mention?
Yes, one more and that is sports. I became with our team World sub champions in Baseball when I was a youngster at Garry Indiana, Chicago. I played in the Little League and Senior League and after beating Venezuela we went to Garry Indiana. But the past 25 years I didn’t touch a ball. Of late CMC started a softball team and I am getting involved again in sports.
One last extra-curricular activity is creating awareness through information to parents that are expecting a baby. I am so aware of the consequences of good nutrition and the connectedness for newborns for the rest of their lives. You can wake me up in the middle of the night to explain this to parents. I have a Facebook page (Royal Care) on Facebook page on Breastfeeding in Papiamentu, with lots of videos and information and I continue to inform society on this subject matter. I coach parents on pregnancy, preparing them for the birth of their child and after the birth. Unfortunately, the world underestimates the value of this phase in a person’s life.
We know that you are good at giving support to patients and families of patients when they are confronted with their grief, these coaching abilities where do they come from? Did you follow a course on this?
This has been a red line all of my life since I was studying to become a nurse. This was part of the curriculum. As I worked at the hospital in Leiden I had the opportunity to apply this a lot and hone my skills in doing this, helping parents that had just lost a child, dealing with their shock. This I developed based also on what I learned from my grandfather. He taught me to” Talk when you need to talk, if you don’t need to talk just be present. When you need to add something, you will do just that. That will be the right moment.
As a nurse practitioner, as I would visit the parents, I have learned given the limited time I have to share that vital piece of information so that they could continue to move to the next phase in their lives. This ability during the years was fruitful based on the feedback I get from parents. We, workers in healthcare, need to become more aware of the role we play in grieving, we play a crucial role in this.
“Awareness through information is so vital…”
What is your BIG WHY or driving motivation to be who you are right now and do what you are doing now?
In my position as General Manager take care that if someone is to be operated, everything needs to be in place.
The person being operated on is not the patient only, it is a chain of people that are co-dependent on this patient. We need to be aware of the number of people we are offering service to. This requires us to give it our best.
The importance of family from the moment a mother becomes pregnant, this is also my BIG WHY. Awareness through information is so vital, that is why I want to go the extra mile as I am so aware of the consequences of good nutrition and the connectedness for newborns for the rest of their lives.
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?
Five years from now the operating room will function smoothly, we are not there yet. Changes in the ways of thinking of people take 10 years to change. So 5 years from now we would be much have made improvements and be at a better place than where we are now, I am not blaming anyone, it is just the way it is. Our professionals have not been prepared for this, they don’t have all the competencies to be at the required level yet. I hope to be a grandfather 5 years from now and I hope to be able to influence the next generations, this is important to say not one single person but to influence generations.
What are the challenges that you are dealing with? And how are you dealing with these different challenges you confront?
The time it takes to bring about changes in the attitude and belief systems of people. But I also tell myself that not bananas in a bunch of bananas ripen at the same time. So don’t get annoyed any more because of this. We come to our jobs to work. According to me, the client comes first. But the needed change requires time and not everyone is at the same level of understanding. That is how it is, as I now understand that lots of people don’t know their purpose in life, they don’t understand why they are where they are, and through dialogue, this can be explained, the concept of what I call “purposeful living”.
Do you use your inner voice to evaluate when dilemmas show up? How does that work for you?
When an issue surpasses my capacity to deal with, I connect with the Higher Source, the Supreme Being, and ask him to join me.
How are you trying also to keep up with your knowledge and skills levels?
I read books regarding all kinds of subject matters, I serve the media and internet. At this moment I have some gaps in my curriculum and I am assessing what I need to invest more time in, like ARBO (company medical service) at my workplace. What can we do in prevention so that we prevent employees from becoming sick? We did a course regarding leadership and I was reading the book the 15 levels of leadership and I wanted to keep on reading books in the same pace but I lost some momentum reading books. This I want to pick up again.
What are your strengths?
Humor, tranquility. Humor helps to soften the pain, as it takes the focus off something negative. Problems are there because there is a solution. As people talk to me about a problem, I am thinking of a solution. Offer solutions that are not always possible, but I don’t like to think of problems only.
Do you have hobbies or interests that you are also passionate about?
Music and sports. But always educating people on the importance of breastfeeding, not only because of the nutritional value but also because of the connection between the mother and the newborn.
If you as Mark would meet a stranger on the bus (let’s say in Miami or Bogota Columbia) and they would ask you to introduce yourself, what would you answer?
I am Mark Curiel, I serve people.
How would you describe Mark in one word or one sentence?
A person that tries to add value.
Who are the persons that have inspired you the most in your career/life?
My grandparents, my teacher of the elementary school and my wife, because of her steadfastness.
What is a trait that is still a work in progress?
Ability to connect to the workforce, I would like to be able to connect more easily with them. As they are always busy during work, there isn’t so much time available to connect with them.
What was a defining moment in your life?
The moment my daughter told me: “If what I am doing outside of the home if I can’t do this at home”. I could adapt and change my ways, as my life ran like a train. But the fruits of my work would be wasted if I wouldn’t listen to and act upon the feedback from my daughter.
Where do you want to be 10 years from now with your career?
If I am still at CMC as a General Manager, I would love to see my service line be accredited and work on a higher level. But my influence would be bigger than my service line only. With God’s will, I would have my company in place offering coaching and evidence-based quality home care.
What would you want your Loved Ones, family, friends, and others to say about you let’s say 20 years from now?
That I have contributed to generations to come.
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?
We have a beautiful island and we have all the potential, not minerals, that one can imagine. Our biggest potential is the human warmth of people. This human warmth you might not experience in Miami or Holland. That is why I am optimistic.
Contact info
Email: maxcuriel@gmail.com
Instagram: Mapecur
Facebook: mark Curiel
Facebook Page: Royal Care Curaçao
Facebook Page: Simply His Concept
One of the 250 Influencers of Curaçao
Mark is a multi-faceted, driven, empathic, compassionate, caring, spiritual, housefather, coach and grief counselor, musician, and manager who applies leadership principles in his work at CMC as a General manager. He is furthermore dedicated to the promotion of breastfeeding and he is a lifelong learner. Over the years he has developed “patience” as he applies the principle that: “Not all bananas in a bunch, ripe at the same time”. This means that not everyone has the same awareness and is willing or able to accept what he stands for. Having worked and experienced different workplaces in Holland and Curaçao has helped him fill his “backpack” with lots of knowledge and skills, because of his curiosity and ambition to care for patients, future generations, and clients. Of late he has been scanning for the needs of patients and employees, to determine his next upgrades to become an even better Servant Leader aiming to influence not one person but the next generations. For all these reasons we deeply love and respect Mark, and we consider him one of the 250 influencers of the islands representing the “Leadership, Educational & Care-sector ”. Look at the list of the Influencers we have interviewed or reported on, up to now.
The goal of the core group of Share2Uplift for 2022
The goal of the Share2Uplift movement is to: “Identify 250 leaders from all walks of life to connect, align and create impactful changes in all walks of life, which includes intergenerational collaboration by the end of 2022.” We will use interviewing Influencers, meet-and-greet events, “train-the-trainers”-programs on “Emotional Mastery” and “Intentionality “as national intervention strategies, to reach this goal on top of our goal to scale up the possibilities to connect, align and create impact via a virtual platform. We believe that by collaborating with Miguel Goede on the virtual Vision 2030 platform, we will accelerate the possibilities to connect the diaspora and others elsewhere in the world and on the island willing to constructively create impactful changes in Curaçao, to join.
As Share2Uplift, we are fully trying to align with this thinking of Center for Curriculum Redesign to promote this agenda in our educational systems and workplace. So, in that sense, we fully support any initiative to make our educational system 21st-century proof.
Share2Uplift aligners are those that:
– Create an inspiring vision of the future;
– Motivate and inspire people to engage with that vision;
– Manage the delivery of the vision;
– Coach and build a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision.
These criteria are now being polished. We also consider these 5 values the most important ones for Share2Uplift aligners. They are:
• Peace from within;
• Compassion;
• Respectfulness;
• Integrity;
• Responsibility.
As we will progress towards this goal, we will update you on the progress.
Next MYM-platform session via Zoom
Our next MYM-platform session will be on the 10th of May (the 2nd Tuesday of the month) via Zoom, where we will present the books ‘What happened to you?’ and the book ‘Pioniers van de welvaart ‘.
‘What Happened to You?’ will be presented by Ivan Kuster.
Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and ‘What Happened to You?’ provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand.
“Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our very lives.” ― Oprah Winfrey
This book is going to change the way you see your life. Have you ever wondered “Why did I do that?” or “Why can’t I just control my behavior?” Others may judge our reactions and think, “What’s wrong with that person?” When questioning our emotions, it’s easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It’s time we started asking a different question.Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” Here, Winfrey shares stories from her own past, understanding through experience the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma and adversity at a young age. In conversation throughout the book, she and Dr. Perry focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves. It’s a subtle but profound shift in our approach to trauma, and it’s one that allows us to understand our pasts in order to clear a path to our future opening the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way.‘What happened to you?’ will be presented by Ivan Kuster.
‘Pioniers van de welvaart’ will be presented by Miguel Goede.
In ‘Pioniers van de nieuwe welvaart’ gaan Kees Klomp en Nadine Maarhuis dieper in op de betekeniseconomie, die alsmaar groeit. Ondernemers als Tony’s Chocolonely, Dopper en De Vegetarische Slager zijn succesvol bij een groot publiek en in alle hoeken van de samenleving is belangstelling voor ondernemers met een maatschappelijke missie. Maar een financieel gezonde business runnen die tegelijk sociale en ecologische meerwaarde creëert is niet altijd gemakkelijk. Welke dilemma’s ervaren de pioniers van de nieuwe welvaart bij het bouwen van hun missiegedreven bedrijven? En hoe tackelen ze die? In dit boek vertellen impactondernemers openhartig over hun pieken en dalen en delen ze de lessen uit hun praktijk. Parallel daaraan schetsen Klomp en Maarhuis de essentiële elementen van de betekeniseconomie. Dit boek is daarom verplichte kost voor beginnende én groeiende pioniers – maar ook voor leiders in gevestigde bedrijven die de omslag naar maatschappelijke impact willen maken.
‘Pioniers van de welvaart’ will be presented by Miguel Goede.
Date: 10th of May
Time: 7.00 – 9.00 PM
Entrance fee: Free
Subscribe by emailing us: sixtaivan@gmail.com and we will send you the Zoom link so that you can participate in our presentation of this book.
New workshop of 15 weeks in Papiamentu on Emotions Personal Journey 13
Starting 14th of May 2022
Gran majoría di nos komo ser humano, ta pasando diariamente den un fluho konstante di diferente pensamentu i emoshonan. Esaki ta konta mas aún awor ku nos ta den e gara di COVID-19. Emoshon ta nos kompas interno. No tin emoshon malu ni bon, emoshonan tei pa guía. Nos tin ku atende ku nan i no neglishá, reprimí ni suprimí nan, pa nan no kausa efektonan negativo despues ku ta inesperá. Emoshonan por ta un insentivo pa nos desarojá e potenshal inlimitá ku kada un di nos tin komo persona.
Nos ke yudabo den desarojá esaki, dor di ofresé bo un “personal journey” di 15 siman:
• maestría di bo emoshonan;
• kon di deshasí di emoshonan atrapá;
• biba un bida mas intenshonalmente;
• skucha bo intuishon mas mihó pa asina bo por ta mas kreativo i
• kon di laga loke bo a sinja bira un kustumber i transformabo komo persona.
Tuma kontakto ku un di nos ku ta e 3 fasilitadornan pa inskribi for di tempran:
Haydee Hermans Soul Garden na telefón: 5639848. E-mail: soulgardenCuraçao
O’dennis Daal Master Your Mind na telefón: 5130409. E-mail: odennis.daal@mymcur.com
Ivan Kuster Uplifting BV na telefón: 6986437. E-mail: ivan@upliftingCuraçao.com or sixtaivan@share2uplift.
Personal Coaching tips
We will share some short videos based on “Grief, Maya Angelou’s autobiography, John C. Maxwell’s levels of leadership, the benefits of a breast feeding and the benefits of family”. We will upload one of these videos every day on our facebook.com/share2uplift page.
Resources:
Losing a Child: Grieving the Loss of a Child – YouTube
Maya Angelou – Civil Rights Activist & Author | Mini Bio | BIO – YouTube
5 Levels of Leadership | John Maxwell (Short Version) – YouTube
The Health Benefits Of Breastfeeding – YouTube
What are the health benefits of breastfeeding? – YouTube
Importance of Family And Recreation | Environmental Studies Grade 3 | Periwinkle – YouTube