Dear Friends & Partners:
Fifteen years ago I made a decision –in retrospect, the most important of my life. I would dedicate my life to making a positive impact in the lives of other people. This decision led to the formation of Taller del Exito Group, a company dedicated to one mission: To inspire positive change in people and provide the means by which individuals and organizations could pursue their goals and achieve success. And, as all of you know, this is what I have tried to do through the books, workshops and presentations that have given me the opportunity to interact with millions of people from all over the word.

However, as I have shared with organizations and corporations on many different occasions, my most important commitment is to make a difference in our great Latino community here in the United States. I don’t have to give you any statistics, as most of you know them better than I. Today, we have the opportunity of playing a paramount role in building the Latino community of 2050, when one out of every four Americans will be of Hispanic origin.

A few months ago, during an interview, I said that Hispanics were not the “largest minority” as media outlets were loudly proclaiming. In fact, I said, we are the second largest majority in the country. And although some journalist missed the point I was trying to make, I believe in it resides the essence of what will determine where we’ll find ourselves as a community in 2050. The greatest challenge we face is to help our people change their attitudes and self-image; to empower them to dream bigger dreams and, above all, we must empower them to become the architects of their own success.

To this end I have founded LIDER: Latino Institute for Development, Education and Responsibility, an organization committed to one ideal: Empowering Latinos to achieve their American Dream and become successful role models to future generations of Americans.

Our love for this community and our commitment to its success have brought us together before for many different projects and ventures. LIDER will focus on three specific projects for public libraries, Latino community organizations, and Latino students in higher education and we welcome contributions and feedback from professionals and "lideres" from these and other sectors. I look forward to working with all of you along this powerful and exciting journey.

Sincerely,

Camilo Cruz
President