One of Luis’ favorite television shows when he lived in El Salvador was Beverly Hills.   After he arrived at San Francisco airport his uncle drove him around Pacific Heights, where all the elites live. Luis, thinking this was what America was like, kept spotting his house. Then his uncle drove to their actual house at 14th and Woodward in the Mission District, where Luis ended up in a bedroom with his step-brother, 2 sisters, and grandmother. By the time, he was 21 he recognized how hard he would have to work to accomplish his dream and that he would have to take responsibility for his own children’s dream to have a stable family. Today, after working 16 hours per day for many years, Luis is realizing both dreams, a beautiful family and running his own coffee shop – First Village Coffee on 123 Main Street, in Ossining, New York. It’s a beauty, the coffee machinery, the art on the walls. And the welcoming environment is like being at home. The coffee is locally roasted, in fact everything is sourced locally. You can find Luis there at 6am every morning, and likely until 6pm In this podcast, Luis talks about how he built his business, about what it takes to make it successful, what he learned from his mother – who owned a comedore (a small in-house restaurant) in El Salvador, growing up during the war in that country, and his humble advice – never give up. My favorite quote from Luis Corena You can’t stop You can’t let your dreams become just a dream And you have to make your dreams come true Sometimes you go through life just wishing This is it This is the one we have. You know, we either go our whole life just wishing – for something Yeah, I get up every morning I want to stay home with my kids I want to go to my kids’ soccer games I want to go to my kids’ graduation But I know, there are people counting on me right now. Whether it’s a muffin, a coffee, or just a “good morning” I am here. If you set yourself goals, you can achieve – what you want to do So, what advice would I give – “Don’t surrender”.