An example anyone can follow to shake off the demands of contemporary life and set themselves on the path towards a healthy, healing life.

In November 2019, Pedro Correa leaped to fame with a speech at the University of Leuven, Belgium, that immediately went viral, shared on social networks worldwide.

What is the key to his success? Like many of us today, Pedro Correa wanted to know the meaning of life. He seemed to be leading a “successful” professional and family life, judged by society’s standards. Yet he was simply unhappy. In his speech, he talked about how he suddenly realized how uncomfortable he was in his own skin and the path he felt he had to take to rid himself of the tyranny of social diktats. He argued that the key to lasting happiness lies not in competition, but in the quest for a harmonious lifestyle in accordance with our own core values.

Pedro Correa does not claim to be exceptional. He just wants to show us by his own experience that it is possible to change. He is not promising instant recipes for success, like some psychologists and experts. Instead, he takes his readers to the very heart of his own life, and his account is all the more persuasive for being wholly sincere. Simply put, empathy is what sets our feet on his path.