Why Cultural Intelligence Is What the World Needs with Vicky Ferrer

Jordan Mendoza (00:02.419) Hello everyone and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. My name is Jordan Mendoza. I'm your host and I've got a very special guest today. Her name is Vicky Ferrer and I'm gonna have her tell you a little bit about who she is and what she does today. Vicky Ferrer (00:18.476) Well, thank you first of all, Jordan, for inviting me to your podcast. I'm really honored. I am Vicky Ferrer and I have two missions in life. The first mission is I'm a financial strategist. I'll be telling you a story about the tragic thing that happened to me. And I help people or educate people to protect themselves, individuals and families. The second mission I have is I'm a personal power and public presence coach. I've been doing it in the Middle East since 2003. And now I'm here in the US and would like to pursue that mission to help business entrepreneurs, professionals, women. Whoever you are who feel that you can't communicate your business or you can't communicate about what you want the world to learn about, I'm here. So thanks Jordan. Jordan Mendoza (01:17.383) Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for sharing. And my favorite part of the show is really taking a rewind and getting deep context into my guest's story, their journey, really see what they're made of. So if you can share with the audience, you know, where were you born and raised? And then what kind of kid were you? We'll talk about the formative years. So elementary, middle and high school years. Vicky Ferrer (01:39.715) Well, I'm proud to say that I was born in Manila, Philippines. And well, I was a quiet kid. was always, you know, I studied in Catholic schools. So I was like, I like to conform, but I realized that later on it didn't help me. So as a student, I was an A student and I love drama. So I was always like the president of the drama club. Not that my life is all drama, but as a drama student, I used to write plays, I used to direct plays, and that was my passion until later on. So yeah, coming from the Philippines, it was memorable. I loved my life there, but somehow, know, destiny asked me to move to the Middle East. And that's another story. Yeah. I'd love to share my ups and downs because I want all of us to learn from these lessons. Jordan Mendoza (02:45.447) Yeah, yeah, no, it's great. Whatever you're able to share, I know it's going to help our listeners, A, get to know you better, but also just see that if you can do it, so can they. So let's talk a little bit about, so you finish up your Catholic school through high school, I'm assuming, and did you decide that you wanted to go to college? If so, what did you end up doing there? And then I'd love to find out how you ended up in the Middle East. Vicky Ferrer (03:11.384) Yeah, well, I took up my university degree in De La Salle University in behavioral science. But before that, because I was so interested in drama, was recruited by Philippine Educational Theater Association to come up on stage plays. And of course, I also was in a TV series called Balintatau. don't know. Maybe the baby boomers remember that, but I'm sure the younger generation say, huh, what's that? And I pursued my university degree in behavioral science. And then after that, years later, I took up my master's degree in development communication. And I believe that, as I said, destiny, we had the recruitment agency, my dad and I. who was at that time a former commission and election chairman under the senior Ferdinand Marx was the past president. And from there, I decided, I think I'm going to pursue behavioral science. And after I graduated, believe it or not, Jordan, I worked in a scuba diving company with the Boobit Key. And I started scuba diving until I earned the degree of assistant instructor. were scuba diving with then General Fidel Ramos and things like that. It was really memorable until I said, OK, I guess it's time to move on. We established a recruitment agency where we sent Filipinos to the Middle East, my dad and I and my brother. And one of those days, somebody, a Jordanian came to our company and he wanted to recruit staff and he ended up that he also recruited a wife. And that was me. So I was married to a Jordanian and that's why I ended up in the Middle East. A lot of colorful experience in the Middle East. Yeah. Jordan Mendoza (05:29.766) That's great. That's great. Well, I'd love for you to share some context on scuba diving. So I've been snorkeling personally. I've never been scuba diving. So just, guess, for the audience's sake, what does it take to get that level of certification that you achieved? And what's the process? Because being underwater is different than being above water. So was it challenging for you to learn it? And then What was it about it that excited you the most? Vicky Ferrer (06:02.358) That was a funny part because I didn't know that I was going to get into scuba diving. I was recruited by my classmate. says, hey, I'm having this company, so join us. And more or less, I was forced to take up the course. But it was exciting because going underwater, it's such a beautiful. life like you think I wish I was just living underwater because you know I'm just with a fish and something colorful and you cannot imagine how how this this life was all about because it was dangerous and and we were taught that when the sharks come don't do anything Hopefully you don't have blood or you don't cut yourself because they will definitely rush to you. The peacefulness Jordan, and sometimes you say, I don't want to go back on the water. I just want to stay here. And so for those who are planning to go for scuba diving and the process, well, you start with the basic and then the advanced and then the assistant instructor, I did it with Padi. Philippine Association of Divers, or not Philippine, Association of Divers. And it was really a good one. We had a contract with PADI to teach the students. And we loved hot night diving. And that was something really that was memorable. And I'm thankful that I had the opportunity because now, I can talk to my children and my grandchildren and say, hey, you know what? I was a scuba diver. And they would say, really? Yeah, I was. And whatever you feel like doing in life and you're still scared, go for it. My partner, he's 75, and he said, I'm going to go zip lining. And he just did last Saturday. said, Vicky Ferrer (08:13.23) Are you really serious about zip lining? said, yeah, because when else will I do it? So a lesson for all of us, as I said, if you feel like doing anything, go for it. The earlier, the better. I was asking my partner, why did you have to wait until 75 to go zip lining? I you had all the time. He said, well, it's now or never. So that's it, folks. Go for it. Jordan Mendoza (08:35.229) There you go. Yeah, great advice. Yeah. And something that I'll definitely attempt at some point, I went snorkeling in the Gulf of Mexico during a tropical depression. That was not a good idea. Vicky Ferrer (08:41.847) Yeah. Vicky Ferrer (08:48.11) Well, if you're going to the Philippines, Jordan, if you plan to go to the Philippines, there are beautiful spots over there for snorkeling and probably learning a few basic steps of scuba diving. Why not? Jordan Mendoza (09:02.695) Yeah, absolutely. Why not? so the next thing I wanted to ask you about is, you start doing recruitment for the middle East and then you, you said you got recruited then to, marriage, do a relationship. So you ended up moving to, did you move to Jordan or where was it in the middle East? And had you been there previously? And did you know anything about the language or the culture? I mean, this is, you know, my name is Jordan. I've never been to Jordan. Vicky Ferrer (09:11.694) Mm-hmm. Vicky Ferrer (09:21.954) Yeah, well on my husband... No. Jordan Mendoza (09:31.954) You know, so I, I, know that there's some beautiful places there. Petra, I believe it's got some really, really beautiful places that you can check out from a scenery standpoint. And there's probably so much more culture, so many more incredible places there, but just talk a little bit about what it was like visiting there for the first time. And then what made you, obviously you fell in love and you start a relationship there. which ultimately probably ended up having you move there. So I'd just like to find out about your experience. What'd you enjoy most about it? And then I believe when we talked offline, you also speak fluent Arabic as well. So what was it like learning that language as well? Vicky Ferrer (10:17.984) It was, I'm always thankful to God that he gave me this opportunity to, you know, experience life in the Middle East. you know, coming from the Philippines, we're pretty much at that time taught to be humble, to be polite, and just say yes, even if you want to say no. And that was my persona coming from the Philippines. But when you, when I landed in the Middle East, the first... of country we landed in was Bahrain because he was working at that time. People had very strong personalities and you come up with different nationalities. Hey you, go here and come there and there was no please. You know in the Philippines where we're taught we say please. So I had to be strong at one time. I cried because I couldn't answer back. I couldn't respond back because We were taught again in the Catholic school that be polite. And my husband said, so why are you crying? Why don't you reply back? You're allowed to reply back. You have to go with your conviction. And so I started learning Jordan not to be a Filipina, but more of a global citizen. Why? Because I had to accept the culture. had to be with them. go with the flow, because if not, I'll disappear, I'll evaporate. And so yeah, I started learning different nationalities from Bahrain. We moved to Qatar. And in Qatar, I spent about 20 plus years in Qatar. I had to learn the language because people would, you know, my husband would start socializing with people. They won't talk to you in English. All of them are Arab. And just because of me, they would love to talk in English. And so I made an effort. I started watching movies, talking to children to learn the language. And of course, the food. I love Indian food. I started mixing with different nationalities because at that time I took up the leadership position in Toastmasters International. I was a toastmaster since 1999, founder of the first. Vicky Ferrer (12:40.76) club in Jordan. And then when I moved to Qatar, I founded also about five Toastmasters clubs. And until I became the district director, Jordan, in Toastmasters International, having seven countries, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain. People were saying, you're a Filipina, you're an Asian, you can't make it because you know, these other nationalities, they will ignore you, they will take you for granted. But I proved to myself that if I wanted, I can do it. What's wrong with us Asians? What's wrong with Filipinas? We should be proud. And I was the first Filipina woman who became the district director. And later on, During my time in the Middle East, I became the region advisor, giving trainings on leadership and communication. And I handled Europe, I handled UK and Ireland, South and West Africa, and of course, the whole of Middle East. For me, it was such an honor and I was humbled because I was given the opportunity to do so. And with the Arab community, we were friends because I spoke conversational Arabic. Some incidents were kind of funny because sometimes we're in the elevator and they would speak in Arabic and they would start guessing, you think she's Korean? You think she's Japanese? No, no, she's too thin. Her eyes are slanted upwards. I'd let them talk until the elevator door starts opening and I start talking to them in Arabic and they really are shocked. Lesson of the day is please. Don't talk about the person who's in front of you or on your side because they may understand the language and if you're talking badly about them, that's not good. So we learned these lessons and I love my experience in the Middle East because it gave me a colorful perspective. You know Jordan, We have now a saying that yes, we have emotional intelligence. Vicky Ferrer (15:05.602) We love that in the work environment, but there is such a thing as cultural intelligence. We have to really, if we're working in a diverse team and we're dealing with different nationalities, what's wrong if we accept, we appreciate, and we try the culture, we try the food? This is something that is important in the world and business environment today, cultural intelligence. So yeah, it was amazing. Jordan Mendoza (15:35.722) Yeah, yeah, I love it. Yeah, I appreciate you sharing your experience. I know that there's so much value just personally traveling several places in the world and, you know, been building a company out in Europe for the past three plus years. And so I know, when you get diverse cultures, I'm the only American on a team where everyone's from, you know, Belgium or the Netherlands, and they all speak French and Dutch. And so I've been learning French and I've been learning Dutch and it's so important. to get integrated, like you said, into other cultures because, yeah, you never know who's gonna be saying something about you in the elevator. And it is fun when you start to speak it and understand because it does give you a leg up. And I didn't actually realize that I speak Spanish because my dad had a landscaping business for 40 years. I had to learn Spanish to speak to the guys because... mostly employees for were from Spanish speaking countries. And I always in the States, everybody always speaks Spanish to me because of my last name. And so they see Mendoza, they start speaking Spanish. And so it's been frustrating really for a lot of times. But once I actually started to understand it and could communicate back, it was interesting because the people that if I were to go to somebody that speaks Spanish, typically the instant is I don't speak English, right? But if you start speaking Spanish to them, all of a sudden they start speaking English because they actually appreciate when you make the effort and the attempt. I love that you said that too. And we do have to get that, you know, global intelligence. It is important to invest in culture and not just for yourself, but like you said, you're able to pass down these experiences from everything from, you know, scuba diving to, I've used to run all of these different countries, all over the world. And so it gets you to have an appreciation for their food, for their language, for the way that they view life, the perspective. So yeah, I love that you had that experience for, you know, really two plus decades, almost three decades, it sounds like. So what was the next step in your journey? You know, that just mentioning what you were able to accomplish there, that's enough to get a lot of people excited. Jordan Mendoza (17:55.069) but I know that that wasn't the end of your journey. So when did you end up leaving the Middle East? And then what was it that brought you to the States? Vicky Ferrer (18:03.682) Well, you know, about 15 years ago, my husband passed away in Jordan. Thank you. And I said it was time to move on. So I have two daughters here in California and both of them said, mom, I think it's time for you to move on and come to the US. So they petitioned for me and thanks to America, I think in less than nine months, was... Jordan Mendoza (18:09.449) I'm sorry for your loss. Vicky Ferrer (18:33.558) my green card was approved and I used to come to the US and you know just stay for six months, seven months. The reason I had to keep going back to the Middle East is because there were some, you know, after my husband's death I had to arrange for some papers and things like that and my other children were also in Jordan. until they all moved out. I have five children, Jordan. And so with that, I said, I'd love to come to the US and get my citizenship. And with the grace of God, I got my citizenship last March 13. And what I decided was yes, to continue my mission as a coach. In the Middle East, I love coaching women, especially, because they say, oh, my husband can talk for me. or my children can talk for me, but you know, hey, we are empowered and we have a story to tell. Let's talk about your ups and downs. The world wants to listen to you. The same with businessmen, businessmen who would want to give business presentations, but it was all about statistics. It was all about figures. It was all about data that, do you know if your audience can understand what you're talking about? We always have a saying, Consider your audience as 13 years old. So simplify your language, number one, Jordan. Number two is share stories. People love to hear stories. People love entertainment. So even if you're doing a formal presentation, hey, entertain them a bit. Add some humor, because that's how it is. And so with that, I said, I'm going to continue to do that in the US. And this is. actually how we met Jordan. I was also talking about the two missions in life and I am doing it passionately. The reason is, as I did mention to you before, that my husband passed away with no life insurance and I have five children and I want to educate families and individuals. Please, please protect yourselves today. Don't wait for tomorrow. Don't let what happened to me happen to you. Vicky Ferrer (20:59.574) And in terms of coaching, if you want to enhance your communication, if you want to enhance your business presentation, I'm here always to support any one of you. Because I always say, when I'm coaching someone, hey, I want you to be better than me. This is my goal. And they said, really? I said, yeah. Because it's a sense of self-fulfillment, satisfaction when you see that. These people, these people that you're coaching, your students are better than you. So that's my story, Jordan. Jordan Mendoza (21:37.937) Love it. Love it. Appreciate you sharing that and What I'd love for you to do is give some folks, know, there's listeners out there who have some of those aspirations You know, they want to be on a guess on more podcasts. They want to speak on more stages Maybe they want to launch their own podcast, but they just you know They have a problem finding their voice or getting their word. So what? Vicky Ferrer (21:39.502) Thank you. Jordan Mendoza (22:02.182) What three things could you share that could be helpful for anybody at any level, whether they're ground zero, they're a mid-level speaker, or even if they've spoken on a few stages, what would be some three tips that could help them increase their abilities? Vicky Ferrer (22:16.748) Well, the first thing is be determined if you really want to do something, you go for it. Create a plan. How do you, you know, there many skills that you can learn even for free. Sometimes you don't need coaches. Go for free and LinkedIn, there's so many. And thirdly, be consistent. See, sometimes you say, I like to do this during New Year's Eve. or during your New Year's resolution, then after two weeks, I don't want to do it anymore. Because if you really want to succeed in life, regardless of age, I'm going to be 72. But I believe that as long as God has given me the strength and power and the mental and physical capability, why not? Nothing is late. No matter how young you are, no matter how old you are, age is just a number. But if you have the ability, the mindset to do what you wanna do, go for it. Don't delay it because maybe tomorrow we're not sure whether we're gonna be here on earth. That's why the lesson for me Jordan, if I wanna say I love you, if I wanna say, I like what you're doing, I say it immediately because I always say, what if I don't see him anymore? What if I don't see her anymore? So this is my advice and I'm sure. your life will be much better. Not only that, you are going to be a role model for the others around you because they will look up to you. Jordan Mendoza (23:55.441) Love it. Love it. Great advice. And another thing I'd love for you to share, might be listeners out there that, you know, hear this advice that you gave, like, hey, you need to become a global citizen and have global intelligence. you know, what would you give advice wise for someone that's trying to learn a new language? You you got put in this situation yourself where You said you started asking questions, so that could maybe might be one of your tips, but I'd love just a handful of tips for someone that they they're maybe in a new culture, maybe they're in a relationship where someone from another culture and they're really trying to just get this information in and have it stick. What would your advice be? Vicky Ferrer (24:40.746) started talking to children and you know children three years old four years old they use simple words and I also watched movies movies that okay maybe there there's like subtitles but I tried to understand the the words and talk to the people like if you want to learn Korean talk to Korean And they would love to do like an exchange deal. Usually they'd say, okay, Vicky, I'll teach you, know, the hangul, they call it. Yeah, I'll teach you the language, but can you also speak to me in English? Okay, let's do an exchange deal. It was fun. And we have sometimes we would exchange food. I'd say, okay, I'll show you my Filipino Arabic food, because I'm good at cooking Arabic Mediterranean food. And they would, you know, share with me their food. this is a way to reach out to community. Let's not just, because I see other people who just focus on their own community, Jordan. And it's sad because once they talk to other nationalities, they kind of like freeze and say, Vicky, I don't know how to talk to these people because I just got used to my own community. But the world is a big community and reaching out to somebody. whose language is maybe he doesn't even speak in English, but if you try and teach him and you teach each other, this is something that you're doing good for the society. This is what I believe in. Jordan Mendoza (26:15.964) Yeah, love it. That's great advice. So as we get close to wrapping up, I want to make sure we can point folks to the best place to find Vicki. So if you can share where's the one place you want people to go to reach out to you after they hear your story and your advice. Maybe there's folks that want to reach out to you for your speaking services. Maybe they want to make sure they don't make the mistake that you had by not having the policies in place. So where's the best place for someone to reach out? Vicky Ferrer (26:46.338) They can email me, it's easy, victoriaferrer790 at gmail.com or they can send me a WhatsApp message at 714-206-6383 and you are all more than welcome. Even if you tell me, Vicky, you know, I just want a short tip from you, short advice. I would love to do that. Just reach out to me. I'll be happy to meet you. Jordan Mendoza (27:17.094) Awesome. Well, I appreciate you, Sharon. And you know, you've definitely blazed a trail on a few different fronts, you know, growing up in one country and then going to another country for, you know, almost three decades. And now you're in the States, a U.S. citizen. So you've blazed a trail. Vicki, keep up the great work. I know people are going to get value out of your story and your journey. Is there any final parting words you'd like to share with the audience? Vicky Ferrer (27:43.406) Well, you know, it's just a few days now, like what, 22 days before 2026. Let's all decide what are we going to do next? What's the next step? And what are the things that we are going to remove from our mind so that we could move forward? Sometimes we have struggles, sometimes we have resentment, sometimes we have pain. How do we ease that? Because you know, at the end of the day, no one can help you accept yourself. Believe me. Therapists and all, therapists will say, I can give you advice. Psychiatrists will say, I can give you meds. But at the end, if it is your determination to help yourself, please do it now. Don't wait for tomorrow. As I always say, find your protection. Find your niche. Find your mindset, especially 2026 is coming very soon. Jordan Mendoza (28:46.248) Awesome, Vicki. Appreciate you sharing today. Thanks so much for coming on the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. Vicky Ferrer (28:47.566) Thank you. Vicky Ferrer (28:51.544) Thank you. Yeah, same to you, Jordan. Again, my appreciation and more power to you. God bless you. Jordan Mendoza (29:00.381) Yes, my pleasure. God bless you.