Sports
Eduardo Becker: Sport, Purpose, and Life After Globo
Discover how former Globo executive Eduardo Becker redefined success and found purpose through sport and nature, inspiring with his book 'Out of Office'.
In the podcast 'Na Roda do Stemma', Eduardo Becker shares his transformation journey, leaving a 25-year corporate career at Grupo Globo to pursue a life more aligned with his values. He explores how endurance sports, travel, and the search for a greater purpose led him to write the book 'Out of Office'. An inspiring conversation about the courage to step out of one's comfort zone.
On the podcast "Na Roda do Stemma", host Gisele Gasparotto welcomes Eduardo Becker, a former Grupo Globo executive for over two decades, for a deep conversation about his journey of transformation, which culminated in the writing of the book "Out of Office". Eduardo shares how he traded a consolidated career for a life more connected to purpose, nature, and the challenges of sport, addressing the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone and redefining what success means.
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The Courage to Redesign Life Post-Corporate
After 25 years of a successful career at Grupo Globo, Eduardo Becker felt a growing unease. The decision to leave the corporate world wasn't an isolated "trigger" but a five-year process of reflection and planning, both financial and familial. He questioned the "you have to" imposed by society: work, earn money, own a house, a car. Eduardo realized he had already achieved all of this, but was looking for something more: to give back to society and his family what he had achieved, and to live the rest of his life with a new sense of purpose.
Eduardo points out that many people called his decision "crazy," especially for leaving a director position at Latin America's largest media company. However, he meticulously planned the transition, including moving to California with his family and taking a course at Stanford, an experience that kept him busy and facilitated adaptation to the new routine. For him, discomfort and the risk of the unknown are fundamental for personal growth.
Sport as the Axis of Transformation
Since childhood in Teresópolis, Eduardo always had a connection with cycling. After a "workaholic" and sedentary period in São Paulo, sport re-entered his life in an impactful way. An informal challenge with a friend who practiced adventure racing led him to buy a mountain bike and participate in his first race. This experience ignited a passion that guided him through various endurance disciplines.
Memorable Challenges in Cycling and Triathlon
Eduardo recounts his preparation for L'Étape in France, a legendary cycling event he embraced without full awareness of the challenge, having only trained for 30 minutes at USP. This experience, which included iconic climbs like Alpe d'Huez, was a turning point. Later, already living in the US, he signed up for Ironman Hawaii, his first triathlon, even without knowing how to swim properly, showcasing his audacity and desire for new limits. These sports experiences not only brought discipline but also a new perspective on stress management and the meaning of effort.
Balancing a 24/7 corporate life at Globo with training required extreme discipline. Eduardo woke up at 5 AM and had a bike in Rio and another in São Paulo, always fitting in his workouts. This routine, though tiring, was essential for his well-being, and he noticed how his work team began to respect his time dedicated to sports. He criticizes the culture of "workaholic pride" and the lack of vacations, arguing that it's possible to have hobbies and a balanced life with discipline and self-management.
Redefining Productivity and Purpose
The move to California and the return to Brazil solidified Eduardo's vision for a new way of living. He no longer seeks a specific career but a "work portfolio" that includes investments in companies aligned with his values (longevity, sport, technology, and social impact), mentorships, and, especially, his involvement with Outward Bound. This experiential outdoor education NGO has become his primary dedication, focusing on developing self-confidence and resilience in young people through expeditions.
Eduardo emphasizes the importance of presence and being attentive to daily "signs," something that the Caminho da Fé and the Caminho de Santiago profoundly taught him. He understood that productivity can have multiple synonyms, far beyond corporate metrics, including time for study, family, and self-care. Living outside Brazil, especially the attention parents dedicated to their children at school events, reinforced his commitment not to neglect important moments with his family.
The Impact of the Book "Out of Office" and the Call to Adventure
The book "Out of Office" is a reflection of this journey, compiling notes from travel diaries Eduardo kept since childhood. He wasn't aiming for a bestseller but a book that would inspire people to break free from inertia and explore the "many lives within one." The central message is that "it's worth putting down your phone for a bit to skin your knee," encouraging connection with nature and the pursuit of experiences that, though challenging, promote deep growth.
Eduardo highlights the importance of accepting life's unpredictability and sporting events, transforming difficult moments into learning experiences. He believes the greatest current challenge is self-management and self-discipline to maintain his new routine, ensuring that work and leisure choices align with his values, avoiding a return to the lifestyle he abandoned. The satisfaction of seeing Outward Bound's impact on people's lives is the greatest reward of his new path.
Eduardo Becker's story is an invitation to all who seek to re-evaluate their priorities and have the courage to tread a less conventional path, where success is measured by the fullness of experiences and connection to one's own purpose. His journey demonstrates that, with planning and discipline, it's possible to redesign life and find a reward far greater than material possessions. After all, life is short, and it's worth living it fully, seeking evolution through discomfort.
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