How to Feel Happy with Where You Are Right Now | Roberto Corona

Is the Smile Collector always smiling? No, of course not. Sometimes I feel lonely. Sometimes I feel as if I were from home in this family. Roberto Corona. Roberto Corona Founder of Collecting Smiles. He traveled across the globe collecting smiles. Life coach and mindset mentor Founder of Collecting Smiles. I realize I'm doing this because I have a bigger reason, like something I put in my heart, because in order to do big things, you have to have a big reason to fight for. This happened recently. It was a big revelation. Why I'm inspiring the people to live their life to the fullest is because.

The oracle is okay, here we go. And the message is, oh.

And then I look up and I realized that she became my bigger vision to do what I do. Yeah. So that's my mission.

Something changed at some point of your life that made you start traveling the world from you having your own business. You lost everything, went to New York also. Something else happened. Like they didn't show up. How did you move forward? Forward in those situations, what made you move forward?

You know when you have your mind, like all over the place because it feels like you're so busy. Yes. You're not present.

Exactly.

You are always, like, connected with things that you didn't finish.

Yes.

So you are like Karina, a heavy backpack of stuff that you never accomplish and you're thinking about that, and then you have the uncertainty of a future that might never come. So you are in this constant battle between. Between the past and the future because your mind is busy.

Yeah.

And we have notification in our phones and we see the notification. And our money now is thinking about that message instead of being here. And when I start traveling, I start to see things differently because everything is new. So your five sense are present. It's like you are that kid again that wants to discover the world. I was that kid when I saw the snow falling from the sky and I was opening my. My arms to receive and. And then everything start to. To be like that. For me, I was more present. I was. I have more clarity of what I want to do. And then that's the reason I realized that from photography, I was able to find a purpose how I can serve through something that I love. And through those stories, I was able to impact other people and connect others.

And. And what helped you. What do you think helped you to. To find your purpose?

You know, at the beginning, it feels like you're not aware. You need to find a purpose in order to. Yeah, yeah. You're not aware. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're not aware. But when you're more present. Yeah. When you're more like here and now, it's like you realize that we are all connected.

Yeah.

We are one, just in different bodies. But. And when you, you are aware of that, you have a more compassionate view of the person in front of you. You stop judging others because you don't know what is going on in their emotional world. And so I become more empathetic and I start to learn about other people's stories. And that helped me to. To understand myself better.

I see.

Yeah. Yeah.

So you've been, you've been Traveling now for 10 years.

Right.

And so around the world, you've been in 85 countries. In 10 countries, which is huge. Like, what do you want to achieve? Why to do all this?

Well, at the beginning, I thought in order to complete my Smile collection, I will portray stories that inspire us to smile from every single country in the world. So that's like, ah, I will complete that collection. But then in the, in the journey, I realized it's not about how many countries I visit and it's not about completing the collection, but the meaningful journey, enjoying the ride. It's not about the last destination. And I learned that in a funny way. I remember I was in Beirut in Lebanon, and this friend wants to show me this beautiful country. And he says, in the same day, you can be in the snow or in the beach. It's like there's so much to. To do. And he invite me to a day trip and I jump in the, in the car and. And then he was driving and talking and I was asking, so how far is the destination? How long until we get there? And he says, patience. Okay. I didn't have any clue how long it will take. It could be one hour, four hours, I don't know. But we were talking about life. It was really cool. And I was seeing everything through the window. I was like amazed of the beauty around. I want to stop everything. Five seconds. But then I asked again, so how long until we get there? And he again, patient. And we start to talk. And then again, distracted by the landscape, the beautiful things that were happening around us. And then I asked again, and then again, patient. So I have that realization at that moment, it's not about the destination, it's about enjoying the ride. Yeah, I don't have to us anymore. And for the first time, I start to be more present and enjoy the beautiful conversation, the beautiful landscape. And then it feels like every. Everything was flowing and. And that was one of the biggest lessons that helped me to appreciate like in order to. To be in service and connected to a purpose, you had to work on yourself first. Be more present and heal the world through your healing journey.

Wow. I love it. I love that. And why do you think people connect with you and your message?

Oh, I believe because there is not many spaces in this moment to be open and vulnerable. People want to see the strong version of you, someone that. That doesn't go through challenges. It's like, if you have a problem, please be really consistent. Don't give me details. But I believe that I'm able to be vulnerable and open from the first contact because I realized that being authentic is my superpower. And that's something beautiful because make other people to respond in the same way. And when you allow others to be open with you.

Are you enjoying our content? Just subscribing help us more than you might think. We will be able to grow the channel, and this means better content for you to level up. Hit that subscribe button now, and let's go back to the conversation. In this journey, what has been your most difficult moments and how did you overcome it?

There are so many challenges. It's like, of course, you know, I become the smile collector, the ambassador of happiness. I have this identity. Oh, people see me smile all the time.

Exactly.

They say, oh, Robert, you have a beautiful smile. Oh, thanks so much. But then I. I think, and I start to. To feel conflicted. It's like, is this real? It says my collector always smiling. No, of course not. Sometimes I feel lonely. Sometimes I feel so far away from home. I miss family. And then I realize I'm doing this because I have a bigger reason, like something that I put in my heart. Because, you know, in order to do big things, you have to have a big reason to fight for even. I've been 10 years doing this. This happened recently was a big revelation. Why I'm inspiring the people to live their life to the fullest is because life is such a precious gift that we are not aware of. And it could be so fragile. So recently I lost one of my nieces to suicide. Yeah. And that was the most difficult chapter of this journey because I was so far away. I was in Estonia, in Tallinn, when this happened. My parents called me. Like, I talked to my parents in a video call every day before going to bed. And that time, they were different. Both of them were like, in silence and says, what's wrong? What happened? And my mom said to me, what happened to Marcia? She take her life. I couldn't understand that. I couldn't Understand that. How come it's not like I remember her dancing and singing. She such a beautiful soul, like a talented girl. And I was so down, so sad, to the point that I couldn't just sleep. I was thinking, like, I'm a fraud. It's like I've been trying to spread positivity and joy to the world, but I wasn't there for her. Like, my own family, she wasn't able to. To find. And I says, I can't feel guilty about this. I don't have the control over this. And I had to work through that. Those emotions. I have to do a meditation. And then when I fall asleep, finally, I was able to see my. My niece. She was smiling at me, and she says, come with me. And she start to run. And I was following her, and she was running fast, and it was so beautiful. It feels so real, like. And then she jumped. And it feels like she become an angel. Like this beautiful light that explode in the sky. And then I look up and I realized that she become my bigger reason to do what I do. Yeah. So that's my mission. I want to prevent other people, other kids to take their lives. But I don't want to come with this saying, hey, let's prevent suicide. No, live life to the fullest. Let's love life. Because when you come from love, you will inspire others to love their life. You will inspire others to do what they love the most and be more happy in the stage where they. They feel, like, comfortable with their own emotion, like, open to share their struggle and what they are going through. Because that will give us the opportunity to release all that tension that sometimes we accumulate because we want to feel and we are strong and we have, like, a. No, we can open, like, be open to our struggles and share what is going on in our personal life and find that support that is needed. That's the call. It's like, we can support each other when we are authentic and true with our journey. There's nothing to be ashamed of.

Wow. Thank you for sharing that. It's very painful. And I'm happy how you transformed that into, like, from pain now into a motivation, a reason to keep going.

Yeah. And I believe that life doesn't end when, like, her energy shift. Now she's in a higher dimension. It feels like through her energy, she's doing so much more. And I become the channel to amplify that message and that power. Wow.

I think when I look at your journey, there were a lot of moments that look like the end of the World. Like when you were robbed, when you went to New York and the couple didn't come when your niece died, but suddenly that happened to be maybe something different.

Right.

What's your thoughts on those events and how it helped you, how it changed?

Yeah. You know that I learned that you don't have to put a label in the events that happen into your life, because when you say this is good or this is bad, this is what you interpret. So I stopped putting labels. And I trust that the journey of life is that it's like, just receive every event of that growing experience, like the gift of learning, and become a better version of yourself. So now I'm more aware of there's no need to judge the event as path, but to use the courage to transform those difficult moments in a life lesson and something that you can grow from. So how I can transform this difficult situation in the invitation to grow and to be better and to serve through this experience. Because I'm sure so many people has gone through this and they need that support and to see someone that transformed that same event and something positive for their lives.

Wow. So basically, you see every event in your life as a gift, right?

Yes. Because when you have that belief, it's like everything serves the higher good, and you just trust the process. You trust the process and you says, what was the meaning of this? Recently, something that happened in Venice. I was traveling with a friend with Lily, and we were in Fieste, Italy. We were checking the. The train connection to the airport, and we noticed that if we stay in that same train, one more station we can go instead of at the airport, to Venice, Italy. I said, okay, let's do a day trip to Venice. And we spent this beautiful morning, like, taking pictures, seeing the city. And then there was this picture Lily wants to have. She says, oh, can you take a picture of me and the gondolas in the back? And we were close to the canals, and there was like, a small stairs that goes to the canal.

Yeah.

And she wants to go down one stair. And she says, oh, but give me your camera so it looks like I'm taking a professional picture. And I says, this is not a toy. I said, it's just for the pictures. I give her my camera. She step in the third stairs, and because it was so slippery, she started to go down. I says, and I go, like, running to her to save my camera. But I was. I stepped in the same slippery surface.

Yeah.

So both of us went directly in. Into the canal, and my. My camera got wet to the Point that never worked. Yeah, again. And I felt like, come on, again. Like you had to think, okay, this is a big investment. But then I. I have this belief there's a reason for this. Oh, there's a reason for this to happen. So I trust the process. Yeah, we laugh about the situation. And then the next destination for me was London. And there actually I was in the NAS summit event in London and I was thinking, I need to take my camera to take some pictures. But I says, okay, I can do it with the phone. And in that event, there was this guy Simon, that give money to the people that have a dream. And he randomly asked, who has a dream? And I raised my hand and I says, what is your dream? And I says, promote emotional occasions through a collection of children's book. Oh, that's amazing. And he takes money off out of his pocket and boom, give me money in the spot. Wow. That's the way the universe is saying, yeah. You are connected with abundance and you have to be open to receive. And then I realized, oh, was time for me to change my equipment because I was able to buy then a new camera that has better features. Wow. And I just need to trust the process. Like, at the beginning I thought, why? But then I said, what's the moment to upgrade my equipment? And if I'm open to the. And there's something else that happened. It's like I have my last deck of cars, the Oracle of happiness. I have some printed smiles and I give one at a time every time I met someone, but I was out of collections. So I have one collection only and I don't want to give more car. So I can keep it to do the experience but not giving away the car. But then when that happened, I decided to give the entire collection to Simon because I thought somehow I had to retribute and give something. And I was thinking, oh, but then I will not be able to keep going with the experience. But the money that he gave me, make me multiply this for 10.

Yeah, yeah.

So I was able to print again the collection and I was have 10 new collections to give away. And that's how the universe works. It's like this is just be open to give and then when with that is genuine, it will come back multiply.

Yeah. I think you mentioned something very interesting, which is you just trust the process.

Yeah.

But I think that's where a lot of people struggle. Like, what have you learned that worked for you? How to trust the process.

You know, it feels like you don't need to judge every situation that happened, because nobody told me that. It's like you have to try to be certain that there is something that is bigger than yourself, that wants the best for you. So if you have that belief, you have that certainty to just, like, release all that tension, because you have something that is beyond your understanding, that is supporting you all the time. Like what happened to us.

Yeah, exactly.

It's like. It's beautiful how serendipities and synchronicity connect us to the point that now we have this beautiful space to talk and.

Yeah. Well, I really, really love that. And for people who are watching us, and first, like I said, the first step is like, okay, how do I find my purpose?

What's.

What's your thoughts on that?

To find a purpose, I. I believe that you have to stop for a second. Because sometimes life is. Is demanding so much energy that is. It feels like there's no time to think about what is coming.

Exactly.

So you need to stop. You need to make a space.

Yes.

Of silence, of reflection, and to connect with something that you love. What is your passion? How you can define something that you are so good at, that doesn't feel like working and put that in service of others. How, through something that I love, I can do a positive impact in others. How can I transform life through something that is so powerful for me that I would love to do it every day, not even thinking that they might pay me for this.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And once you find that, you. You keep value, and that's how you connect with a purpose. Because that purpose is the beautiful thing about living in purposes that gave you the energy needed in order to wake up every day with a reason. That's like the icky guy, like philosophy. You know, they have in Okinawa, in Japan, this philosophy that is four things. You have to find something that you are good at, that you love, that can make an impact in the world and make it better, and that can make the whole thing, the whole circle, sustainable. So you will receive because of the value that you are giving. You are receiving, like, resources to keep going. I. I do believe that you have to be more open. Yeah. To. To the outcome, because most of the time we only looking for money, but the thing is, we want money because money can buy experiences or things. And so it's not the final thing. For example, for me, if I want to travel the world and I say, oh, I need money to travel the world, the truth is, what I need was freedom.

Yeah.

And when you are traveling, you might think, oh, I Need money to book a hotel or a place to stay. But what I really knew was friends that will be hosting me to, to stay with them, love it and say I need money to buy food. You need that beautiful connection that will invite you to be a guest in someone else house and have a beautiful experience. So sometimes money doesn't have to be the last step. Money is energy. You have to be open to receive. But don't put it as the, the last outcome is part of the experience of the process, but it's not the last thing. So when you have the clarity of what you really want.

Yeah.

Then money is not the most important thing at the end.

Yeah. And it was exactly what you said. Like when you were working, when you had your agency for you, you were defining success.

Success. Yeah.

In a way that was not making you happy.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And then this journey showed you that like you went in a journey and you were present and you found your purpose. And then you, you, you put all your energy in, in achieving that purpose. And that's what is giving you all this, attracting all these people to come to you.

Right.

I think a lot of people, they, they, they might have dreams, but a lot of times they are either they work in something that they don't love, but they lack the courage to take that first step.

Yeah. Yeah.

What is your advice for them? Like if they have their dreams, what is the one thing that they can do to take that one step? Because it's easy to say just, just do it. It's not just do it. What's your advice?

You know that dreams are in, in the other side of your biggest fears. So sometimes if something like give you this little feeling of I'm not sure it's too big of a risk.

Yeah.

Probably is a good sign of something that you are about to, to take a leap in your life. Like to pivot to do something that is good for you. But you have to have a plan.

Yeah.

It's not just jam. And the plan has to be connected with taking first a time for yourself to think about it. Because most of the time I do believe that we are stuck in that really demanding lifestyle that you wake up and you are running late for work and then. And you finish and you are so tired that there's no brain for nothing. But you shut down your dream. Watching TV series or a movie or playing with your phone or being in social media, consuming things that keep you distracted of what you really want because you are always running away from that pain of not being yourself. And do something that you love.

Yeah.

So that time that is so important, like, you need to generate first that gap to think.

Yeah.

To create a lifebook, A place where you can write all your desires. And when you write it down, you can have like a really clear path to go for it. If you say, okay, I want to travel, put a date. When? Now. In order to achieve that, what do you need? Okay. I will need to liberate some time. I will need to save some money. I will need. So then you have actionable step.

Exactly.

And yes. It's all about taking actions towards something that inspire you, that mobilize you. But people tend to give up.

Yeah.

When they feel so much pressure. Yeah. Because most of the time we are trying to like, fit in a society that judge us. Yeah. For how we look. So in order to. To impress that society, we start to make bad decisions.

Yes.

And those are the decision that at the end put us in this trap. Like, I had to buy this really expensive thing so I can impress this type of people that really doesn't care about me. And then because I. I made that bad decision of spending so much money in something that watch is not meaningful for. For what I really want.

Yeah.

Now I can do what I really want. Yeah. Yeah.

So nice. So inspiring. Your story. I. I love it. And you know why? For me, something bigger happened. I took a break and it gave me the space and the time to think deeper. And something bigger came when I took that. That break. Yeah. So that's what you. What you're saying. And also myself, I. I was working in a corporate job, which I loved, but there was something missing. But there was a point that I wanted to do something else. And I was doing exactly what you're saying. Telling excuses for myself to run away from the discomfort, which is to take the step towards my dreams. And for me, it happened exactly the same. I lost my job. And that was my ticket. Exactly the same was my ticket to do what? I really love what I'm doing today. And I love what you say it's about. Sometimes you don't need to know the entire path, but you just need to have a plan and just to focus what is in front of you. Right. And that from step to step to step, you start building and it starts compounding. And then you build something really, really, really powerful aligned to who you are.

Right.

For people who have this desire to do something that matters, that something bigger than themselves, then after they know, okay, this is what I want to do, how can I really help Others. What's your thoughts on that?

You know, I. I do believe that everything start with help yourself first.

Yes.

Because in order to help others, you have to be in a good position.

Yeah.

To serve. Yeah. So there is an internal journey you need to start. Yes. Like a healing process. Yeah. For me, for example, was the loving myself more.

Yeah.

To accept myself for who I am. And so I. I can be in a healthy and beautiful state. To serve. Yeah. So for those that are in that quest, I do believe the invitation is to reflect in which are the things that they can work in themselves first.

Wow.

In order to connect with that higher purpose.

Yeah.

And probably that's the purpose.

Exactly.

Is to become the best version of yourself. Because when you start to heal, when you start to release all those past traumas and then you have more clarity of who you are and what you want, you start to take better decisions in your life that serve that better version of yourself and being that better version. Make you a better human being.

Yeah.

That expand that love and generosity. Because now you. You are in. In that form of. Okay, this is my best version. So it's not like you. You have a certain amount of time that is dedicated to service. Like now. It's the integral person that is always like looking how I am doing. A positive income, a positive impact in. In my journey. Wow.

So good. Well, I don't know what to ask you. I'm so. I'm so happy that we have this conversation so inspired by your story.

Yeah. Yes.

That I think now what we can do is. You are giving cards.

Oh, yes. Yes.

So maybe I can. Can I get a card? Yeah.

Yes.

You can explain me how.

Yeah. This is a. A collection of smiles and stories of people I have met during this journey. And each of these represent a beautiful moment of connection with someone special. And there is a story behind. So every time someone take one of these car and says, this is a message that is meant to be to hear for you. So the oracle.

Okay, so here we go. And the message is.

Oh, yes. Oh, freedom.

Wow.

Okay.

Can you tell me the story behind these cards?

Yes. Yes. That was in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. That was the first time I was visiting Africa. And I was so excited because I didn't have any clue what to expect. Even for the first moment. I touched that El Salam airport. I get out of the plane and I was waiting for my luggage and there was this group of Maasai people jumping and doing a dance to welcome you. And they were like. And I was like, wow. This is so, so impressed. I totally forgot about my luggage. And I had. I left the. The airport in a taxi and then I had to come back to. To pick up my luggage again. It's like I was distracted. But the thing is, the first thing I we did with my friend that was hosting me was to get to this beautiful port where you can see the ocean and this. This really beautiful water. And this guy was with this big smile. It's probably because there's not many Latin people that is visiting that place. So I was different. And I was with this doll and. And he was smiling at me and he probably was laughing about the situation of a grown adult holding a doll. And. And then I asked, can I take a picture of you? And he gets so excited because it feels like he. He was chosen. Like he was seen.

Wow.

And he hold Robbie and I can see in his eyes like he become a kid again. He was like just spreading this beautiful energy of joy, genuine happiness. And I asked why you're so happy, why you have this big smile? And he says, look around. Everything that you see already belong to us. Wow. I'm happy because I'm free. I'm free. And then for the first time, the concept of freedom have a different meaning for me. Because yes, of course, it's not about only. And we have the possibility to do this inside we want. It's because generations in. In his family were slaves. And he's a generation of. Of a new.

Wow.

Family that is free. And. And that made me realize that there are so many things that we have for granted. And. And that's the most beautiful gift. To feel free to choose what you want to do with your life. And that's a message for you.

Wow. Okay, cool. I'm gonna. I'm gonna keep it.

Yes, yes, of course. And. And it might be an invitation that someday you come visit Tanzania and have a beautiful experience there. You never know.

Yeah. The freedom. Yeah. To do what I love, but also to. To give value to what we have as. As he did.

Whoa.

I think I could continue here for a couple more hours. It's been so good, but we're coming to the end. And I would like to ask you what is one message that you would like people to get out of this conversation? Only one.

Well, it would be like if you feel stuck or lost, use the GPS of happiness to come back to your well being. That means gratitude, purpose, and smile so you can find that journey back to yourself and to put yourself in service through happiness.

Well, we're coming to the end. And I'm so happy that we did this interview because it happened in a way that I never thought. I met you yesterday in a way that I never thought. I mean, very, very, very unusual. You know, you were in a conference and we connected and my guest today couldn't be present. So you were, you, you came. But the beauty is that it's from these moments that we think like, oh, maybe it's not a good why did it happen to me? This was the gift for me, which was you came and you gave a beautiful message and, and inspiring story to our audience. So thank you so much for coming. It was such a pleasure. And keep sharing more smiles around the world. And the world needs more smiles, more energy, and more gratitude and kindness.

Thanks so much for the invitation. I feel so blessed to be here.

Sa.