The event was hosted by Antonio Lyon ’09, CEO and Founder of successful start-up U-Glove, and Hiram Hernandez ’03, an equally successful independent business owner/financial adviser for Eagle Strategies, LLC.

The amount of knowledge brought to the table by these two FIU alumni was unfathomable.

Mr.Lyon had a lot to say about risk and decision making. He shared that he took a leap of faith, leaving a company to start his own business. He spoke about the importance of having a clear view of the worst case scenario possible, before making any decision.   He also shared about the importance of living life with purpose.  He asked all the participants to identify how we define and measure success; making me really think about whether or not success can be solely determined by monetary gain or not (hint: it’s not).

One of my biggest take-a-ways from the breakfast came from a fellow panther from the dozen student participants, Adeel Sobani, President of Beta Alpha Psi, a prestigious FIU honors organization for financial information students and professionals. He said:

“Never make a promise when you’re happy, and never break a promise when you’re angry.”  

This resonated and taught me that getting emotions involved when making decisions is illogical, since your head is clouded with a bias and inclination, resulting in a poor outcome.

Mr. Hernandez had quite a bit of knowledge to share as well and summed it up in three “golden nuggets”:

1) Take risks now because you can.
2) Know the difference between your goals and desires.
3) Know the difference between your identity and your role.

Personally, it was a mind-opening experience that could not of been possible had I not been a member of the FIU Student Alumni Association.  Dining with 12 Panther events are hosted by FIU alumni on a monthly basis to help SAA members engage and network with successful alumni as well as with other students.  The next Dining with 12 Panthers is scheduled for July 23, 2015 at 6PM. For more information visit the SAA Page in the coming weeks.

Special thanks to our marvelous hosts Hiram & Antonio!

–Adrian Rahimi