We had the good fortune of connecting with Patrick Van Negri and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Patrick, how do you think about risk?
Risk had been a significant foundation for anything I achieved in life. Risk if fun and rewarding. I know what your thinking: “but what if I fail? Failure was not worth taking the risk.” you might say. I completely disagree. Failure is even more rewarding if done correctly. You will never learn from success as much as you will from failure. Risk is the main ingredient for both instances; I see it as a win-win play. When you are thinking about it deep enough and thoroughly – there is nothing to lose. What is the alternative? Play it safe and live an average life? A life where you will not positively impact others? A life where you will not inspire and motivate others? A life without a legacy? In my book, absolutely not! You have to take a risk, all kinds of risks, from micro risks to macro risks. I love risk; not only it makes life interesting, but also it gives me a “high” that no drug in the world can achieve. It makes life exciting and worth living. Once you realize that, your entire outlook, not only on risk, but life in general will change. It is like a domino effect, but it trickles down the fear, regret, and wonders “What if?”. I find that pretty impressive, and once you go through it and see it with your own eyes, you will take your life to the next level—a level where nothing is impossibles and where risks and the fears are the fuel to achieve success.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am excited about learning something new every day and getting better at my craft that leaves a positive and valuable impact on others. I love learning on my own and from scratch because it allows me to develop my own unique style. It might not look like it, but I put tremendous hours and effort into every creative, both for photo and caption, because I know every creative I put out it can add value to someone’s life. We are talking about thousands and hundreds of thousands of impacts you can make, and I hate when most influencers post mindlessly and post just because “my followers did not hear from me in a couple of days”. I am basically in it 24/7, and I live off feedback and comments. The biggest lesson I learned that you always, in every sense, have to provide value in any form or shape. I am in a constant challenge every day because my competition is doing many fraudulent and non-ethical activities, and I have to combat organically and with providing more value. On top of that, social and digital media, technology, algorithms, and the internet are constantly evolving and changing, so you have to be alert, focused, and creative – and that keeps me super excited! The constant change, evolution, and development, in a sense, trying to put me out of business with innovation. However, nothing beats the experience of waking up to a thank-you message from someone who’s life changed after visiting my profile on social media or my website.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a topic and something that I am still exploring and crafting. I take great pride in giving the best advice and most knowledgable and educated decisions. I planned on writing about this in forever for my website, but I do not think I am prepared to do so yet. It would vastly depend on who I am taking with me. What is that person like, and what does that person enjoy the most. Being the foodie and hedonist that I am, and Miami being Miami, I would do the following:
First, hit the beach and Ocean Drive, that one is classic, and that one is what people think of first when they think of Miami Following that, I would hop on a couple of day pool parties and enjoy a couple of cocktails. Anything from Fontainebleau, SLS, 1 Hotel, Delano, Mondrian, The Standard, Nikki Beach, and the list goes on. If you want to chill and enjoy the sun and the view, you can definitely hit any of those hotels and enjoy a cocktail. Still, I would add Le Sirenuse at Four Seasons Downtown + Surfside, Faena, Mandarin Oriental, The Biltmore, and Sugar at the East hotel as well. Talking about bars (and some of them are restaurants too / serve food), I would take them to The Broken Shaker, Sweet Liberty, Ball & Chain, Lagniappe, and The Living Room among many others.
Next up, I would first take some cafecito at Versailles and some pastries, and walk towards Little Havana and enjoy the history and culture among some more coladas & cortaditos. We would eat proper Cuban food at Cafe La Trova and after that enjoy one of the best ice-creams in Miami – Azucar. For Dinner, I would go to Sugarcane, KYU, again Le Sirenuse, Mandolin, Edge, Michael’s Genuine, Quinto la Huella, Yardbird, Pubbelly, Los Fuegos or Planta For more excellent food I would visit Bachour, Eating House, 1-800 Lucky, and Byblos
Wynwood would definitely be a staple to walk around, have some drinks, food, and coffee, such as Zak The Baker and Panther Coffee, and enjoy all the art and other surprises Wynwood offers.
You can’t miss shopping, walking, drinking and eating all across Miami Design District Depending on what time of the year it is, I would love to take them a Miami Heat game or Dolphins and Marlins game. I would also show them the Vizcaya Musem, and take them to enjoy the tranquility of Key Biscayne and its peaceful beaches. In terms of nightlife: LIV, Story, and Space are good choices However, there is a lot of exploring I am due to make, so for more updated information, please visit my IG stories and my website.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I was blessed that I was surrounded by positive, loving, and encouraging people from all walks of life at every step I took. Starting with my parents, who supported me blindly when I said I wanted to live in the USA. Even if I said I want to travel to Mars, they would do anything to help me get there because they know I would eventually get there. To my first English teacher in Iowa, that helped me with school and transition to the States and took me as a part of her family. What unconditional love that is, and her entire family is like that. All the way to my girlfriend: who was with me when I had nothing and her whole amazing family. They make me feel complete in Florida, 12 thousand miles away from my family and friends in Croatia, just as my Iowa family. There are my friends and other family members that influenced me to be who I am today. And funny enough, the TV and the internet. The Hollywood industry inspired me to go and get the “American Dream” and the internet gave me access to learning anything I want to master and connect with likeminded people and push forward.
Website: https://www.patrickvannegri.com/
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