People often assume that becoming a surgeon was the defining decision of my life. It was not. That decision had already been made years earlier, long before I ever entered a medical school classroom or held a scalpel in my hands.
It began with my father.
I was born in Mexico into a family that understood sacrifice, discipline, and hard work. My father came from Guadalajara and was one of eighteen children. Poverty was simply part of everyday life. While many of his siblings were unable to continue their education, he became the only one to pursue higher studies and eventually became a physician.
His story shaped mine before I even understood what medicine was. He was the first builder I ever knew.
A builder by nature
Medicine was his profession, but building was in his nature. He could repair almost anything — plumbing, electrical work, construction, mechanics, engineering, design. When something needed to be built, he built it. When something broke, he repaired it. He eventually constructed his own medical office and clinic with the same determination that had allowed him to escape poverty through education.
Looking back, I realize I inherited far more than his profession. I inherited the way he approached problems. He believed there was always a solution. He believed that limitations were invitations to become more resourceful. He taught me that excellence comes from relentless effort rather than circumstances.
He was demanding. Very disciplined. Sometimes stubborn. He expected excellence and rarely accepted excuses. He was not the type of father who constantly praised his children. Instead, he challenged me. He pushed me. He expected more than I thought I was capable of giving. At the time, those expectations often felt overwhelming. Today I understand they were one of the greatest gifts he ever gave me.
My mother provided the balance. She dedicated herself to our family, creating the stability and warmth that allowed my father's ambitions to become possible. While my father taught discipline, my mother taught kindness, humility, and unconditional support.
The day everything changed
As a young boy I admired my father because he seemed capable of fixing anything. I wanted to be like him. But everything changed the day he invited me into his medical office.
I watched him greet patients. He listened carefully. He examined them thoughtfully. He explained their illnesses with calm confidence. Then he treated them. Some arrived frightened. Others were in pain. Many left relieved, hopeful, and grateful.
For the first time I witnessed something that no amount of construction or engineering could accomplish. My father was not simply repairing buildings. He was restoring lives.
Until then I admired what he could build with his hands. Now I admired what he could accomplish through knowledge, compassion, and service.
Without realizing it, I had discovered my life's direction. I wanted to become a surgeon. Not because of prestige. Not because of financial success. Not because of recognition. I wanted to experience what I had just witnessed — the privilege of changing another person's life.
How can this be done better?
As I grew older, I began to recognize another lesson my father was teaching me. He never accepted that something could not be improved. Whether he was building a clinic, solving a practical problem, or caring for a patient, he was constantly searching for a better way.
That mindset quietly became part of who I was. Long before I would pioneer laparoscopic surgery, develop new bariatric techniques, build hospitals, create educational programs, or embrace artificial intelligence, I had already learned the habit that would define my entire career.
Always ask: how can this be done better?
At the time I thought I was simply learning how to become a physician. Looking back, I realize I was learning something much greater. I was learning how to become a builder.
A lifetime of building
Throughout my life I would build many things. New surgical techniques. Bariatric surgery programs. Obesity Control Center®. Hospital CYNTAR®. Educational platforms. International collaborations. The careers of hundreds of surgeons. Technologies that had not yet been imagined.
Every one of those accomplishments began with the same lesson my father unknowingly taught me decades earlier. Build something that leaves the world better than you found it.
My father believed that education was the greatest tool for changing a family's future. He was right. Education transformed his life. His example transformed mine.