If you have been to the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference the past few years or attended the CUNA Young Professionals Conference, Antonio Neves needs no introduction. If you haven't had the chance to hear from Antonio - be sure to do it (as soon as you are done reading this interview)! Antonio is an author, success coach, leadership speaker and podcaster known internationally. He encourages young professionals by asking the hard questions and encourages us to keep going. He loves to engage with young professionals on many platforms be sure to connect with Antonio today and check out his upcoming "The Best Thing" podcast on Wednesdays.
He also has a free webinar he will be hosting on October 28th on 10 Ways for Credit Union Young Professionals to End 2020 Strong. Space is limited so claim your spot now! We were so excited with Antonio said yes to doing an interview. Check out our chat below!
What has been the biggest positive change in your life that resulted from this pandemic?
Prior to the pandemic, I traveled quite a bit for speaking engagements all across the country. I was on the road non-stop. This meant not spending a lot of time at home with my wife and our toddler twins. The biggest positive change that resulted from the pandemic is this extended quality time at home that otherwise would not have happened.
Love it. What have you seen that YPs need to work harder at with adapting and pivoting in today's new normal?
The biggest things YPs can benefit from is being flexible. Everything is great when all is running well. But frankly, you truly find out who you are when things break. To succeed during this time, it’s all about being prepared. Preparation is key. People like to say they’ll “wing it.” I like to say, “winging it is easy when you’re well prepared.”
That is great, I'll have to remember that! Since you help coach YPs, who do you look to for advice and mentorship?
I’ve been fortunate to build strong relationships over the course of my career from early on. I regularly would conduct informational meetings to learn about others and their story. Then what I would do is instead of asking them to be my mentor, I would start treating them like one and stay in contact every month or so with updates or questions. In my experience, I’ve found that there are definitely key people you need in your life to make it better. People are willing to help you, but we must be willing to ask for help.
Love that analogy. We are super excited about your newest book. What are you most excited about with this book and what made you want to write it?
The genesis of Stop Living On Autopilot comes from me realizing a few years ago that I was going through the motions in my life and career. Things weren’t bad but I was on cruise control. I had stopped doing the things that got me to where I was. I was no longer bold, courageous, and fired up as I once was. So, I did some specific things to get back on track and asked myself some really tough questions. The book shares key lessons that have worked for me, organizations that I work with and people I coach.
That's great, can't wait to read it. What did you see as the biggest obstacle for YPs prior to the pandemic? Has that changed with the pandemic?
The biggest obstacles for YPs prior to the pandemic was probably taking for granted the easy access they had to colleagues within their organization. They could see them every day, go out for coffee, have casual conversations and get to know people better. With so many working remotely now, people are realizing how they didn’t take advantage of this access to people and how challenging it is to connect now.
So true! We have been loving your 10 minute mentorship podcasts. Turning it on you, what would be the advice you would go back and give your younger self?
The advice that I would give to my younger self would be to be willing to put yourself out there more. It may not always work out as you like, but you’ll have fun, learn some key lessons and have some interesting stories to tell.
Antonio has a new book coming out - Stop Living on Auto Pilot: Take Responsibility for Your Life and Rediscover a Bolder, Happier You - that you can preorder now.
Connect with Antonio :
CUltivate is people helping people with our mission to spread the word, connect the people, and give an outlet to share your stories. Know someone in the industry we should interview? Drop us a line at CultivateYP@gmail.com#CUltivateTheMovement