In Search of My True Calling, Luciano Volpe, Toronto, Canada

There are people who just stumble into a job and suffer through it until they die or retire. Whichever comes first. Others find a vocation that truly expresses and fulfills their inner self early in life. For others it takes longer. Luciano Volpe, my guest today, falls into this latter category. He got his MBA at the University of Toronto and for the next two years he worked as a management consultant, a job that made him feel miserable. Then he went into business development where he lasted four years. In 2007, he started a small international business expoting maple syrup to Italy. This business, SLV International,  has grown exponentially and  now, both exports and imports food and other items to  and from South East Asia, Mexico and the EU.
Most importantly, and this is when things become interesting, in 2011 Luciano founded a not-for-profit company, Inspire North. In 2020, he shifted Inspire’s focus and started the podcast Behind Greatness.  
In our conversation we touched on many subjects including Julius Cesar and Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy, widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. I asked Luciano what he would do if given $100 million. He said he would help struggling artists. We had a most stimulating meeting. 
If you like this podcast, pl  remember to check the subscribe button just underneath it. 
There is no cost or obligation involved  on your part but it helps me gain a larger audience.

Next week my guest will be  Stephen Gyllenhaal, film director, father of  actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and actor Jake Gyllenhaal. He is also a published poet and the founder of the Identity Development Institute in Los Angeles. Please tune in.

If you liked this podcast

• please tell your friends about it,
• subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and/or write a brief note on apple podcasts,
• check out my blogs on Psychology Today at

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/contributors/thomas-r-verny-md