In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Michael Manzur, a high‑ticket social media marketing consultant and the top Latino influencer on LinkedIn. Michael opens with a personal resilience story about his high‑school track coach’s mantra “pressure makes diamonds,” explaining how recent personal challenges and support from his “LinkedIn fam” have polished him for his new venture, Siente, a consultancy focused on serving the Latino market. He emphasizes the importance of humanizing brands on LinkedIn, arguing that genuine connection drives alignment and top‑line growth. Michael shares core business philosophy – serve others – and ties it to his Christian faith, noting that service is the linchpin to happiness. He recommends the religious text The Book of Mormon for its lessons on avoiding pride and serving others, and cites a Calvin Coolidge quote on persistence as his favorite motivational mantra. Finally, he directs listeners to connect with him on LinkedIn (Michael Alejandro Manzur) where he posts regular video content.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. This is round 2 for my good friend Michael Manzur. He is a results-driven social media marketing consultant in the high-ticket space and a public speaker and the number 1 top Latino influencer on both of our beloved platform LinkedIn. So welcome to the show, Michael.
My brother, thanks for having me back. I'm excited to be here.
Of course, man. I'm excited to have you back. We'll dive in. First question I have for you, Michael, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know what, last time I was here, I shared a story about pressure, pressure making diamonds. You know, I used to run track. My track coach in high school used to yell at me, keep pushing, keep pushing, pressure makes diamonds, pressure makes diamonds. You know, and I feel like I really internalized that these past few months. I've had a rough go with several personal challenges, and I've really been able to see, you know, through my, what I call LinkedIn fam, you know, my LinkedIn fam, and a lot of close friends and family, you know, the value of that polished diamond, you know, and I'm being polished even now, but I'm very excited that I've been able to get through with their help, and I'm excited to jump into this new venture that I've created, social media marketing consulting. I'm sorry, social media marketing consulting in the high-ticket space. And so it's called— it's a company called Siente, Siente, and it's going to be focused on the Latino space. So I'm really excited to just jump into that and continue polishing that diamond through, you know, through a little bit of pressure.
Yeah, love it, man. And dude, I was actually told that a while back too, pressure makes diamonds, and it's true. So I love it. The next one I have for you, man, as you already know, is what is the most valuable piece of information that we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, so You know, I stick with what I said before, but I would just add to that. What I mentioned before, I talked about being, you know, a media company, a marketer, a consultant, an author, but also a media company. And I think taking that a step further, Tyler, you're really able to see platforms like, you know, that you and me both love, LinkedIn, and be able to see that the humanization of brands, being able to humanize a corporation, however large or small, it allows for a greater level of connection, meaningful connection with your audience, which eventually, you know, drives alignment with your brand. And then if that's what you so choose, you know, top-line growth. So I think, I think just realizing that, realizing that meaningful connection is deeper than just a soft skill. but it truly does drive productivity in the social media marketing space.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
Yeah, it would just be simple. Serve others. I think those who, you know, serve themselves, they shrivel up and die, as I like to say. But when you serve others, you get infused with good feelings of charity. And those really change you. So I would say serve others.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Now, I think last time I was on here, I said something like have faith or be courageous. And I would just stick with that. I think courage is deeper than just a nice pat on the back. It really— what I've learned in these challenging times that I've had in the past few months, courage sometimes is the little voice at the end of the day that says, I'll try again tomorrow. And so, you know, having courage is just pivotal in the business landscape.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
You know what, I'm a believer, I'm a Christian. So to me, the key to happiness goes back to what I mentioned earlier, and it's just service. Service, and this is quotable here, service is the linchpin to true happiness.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Best book I ever read, number one thing I ever learned from it was a book entitled The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It's a religious text. And you know what? It's taught me so much. I think last time I was here, I mentioned the pride cycle and just, you know, how to avoid pride. But I think taking it a step further, when we think about our business productivity, efficiency, and all the things we're worried about, in a business, we should also worry about how that affects others. So if we're not serving others, it goes back to what I said earlier. I think we really do sincerely shrivel up, and in business that means just creating, delivering, and capturing value.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote has always been and will always be this quote, you know, until it changes, but it's this quote by Calvin Coolidge. I believe he was the 16th President of the United States, and he said this: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. What a powerful quote in business and in life. To just be persistent and determined. And if it's a good thing, you can't lose because you're content with your effort.
Yes, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on again. And yeah, man, the last question I have for you before we let you go this time is, where is the best place for people to find and connect with you online? I think I might know the answer, but go ahead.
I'm on the best platform out. It is LinkedIn. And, um, you know, Michael Alejandro Manzur and last name M-A-N-Z-U-R. Michael Alejandro Manzur. I try to post videos twice a week. I'm going to get more routine and fix in that. But, um, those of you who have interacted with me in the past or know me, um, it is such a tremendous pleasure for me to be on LinkedIn and just interact meaningfully with people in my industry, but also with, you know, people all over the world. So it's so amazing.
I agree, man. Thank you so much for coming on again. We appreciate it.
No problem, my brother. Have a blessed day.
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