Renewing Yourself Daily
Interview with Valeria Gatti, Career Consultant, Author, and Blogger
by Maria Teresa De Donato
I have known Valeria Gatti for some years, even if only virtually. We got in touch via social media and immediately realized we could work well together. We, therefore, began a long-distance collaboration based on mutual respect, trust, fairness, and esteem, supporting each other in our respective activities.
The relationship, over time, although professional,
also became friendly.
What fascinates me and, at the same time, I appreciate
a lot about her is that she enters your life with profound humility, almost on
tiptoe, apparently maintaining a certain detachment, but then, slowly, almost
timidly, she lets you discover her rich and equally varied world.
Having said this, I wish you all a Happy Reading!
MTDD: Hello, Valeria,
and welcome to my Blog and Virtual Cultural Lounge. It's a pleasure to have you
here with us today.
V.G.: Thanks
to you, Maria Teresa. I'm happy to be here.
MTDD: Valeria,
after my introduction, would you like to introduce yourself by telling us a
little about yourself and, above all, answer the question, "Who is Valeria
Gatti?"
V.G.: Well, let's say that after your presentation, my
motivation skyrocketed! That would be enough for me, but if you want to know
something more about my personality, I can tell you that I am a curious person
and that I also really like silence; that I like music even if I don't know how
to play; that I am always super active and that to recharge I love curling up
on the sofa in the company of a good book. In short, I am full of
contradictions! I have been fortunate in the professional sphere: I have had
the opportunity to learn many tasks, and even if many experiences have ended, I
have understood that what matters is having lived them and the legacy they left
me.
MTDD: Some time ago,
I enjoyed reading and reviewing your beautiful book Culinary Diary of a Mother
in Quarantine (Edizioni Convalle). I greatly appreciated it, and to define it
simply as a recipe book is highly reductive and, in some respects, even misleading.
For me, it is, in fact, "a book of recipes, but
also growth, personal development, sharing, love for life..."
For those who have not read it and do not know its
content and purpose, would you like to explain how the idea of writing it came
about?
V.G.: Thank
you. I remember your words with pleasure. "Diario" is currently in a
restyling phase. I'm working on it, and I hope to be able to propose it to the
public in this new guise soon. I am not able to be more precise now, and I
regret it.
The book was born out of a need. They were the worst
months, the darkest ones, the ones that, looking back on it today, left us with
a feeling of helplessness. In those months, I was working on a
"homemade" project: I intended to recover my family's recipes, which,
as happens in the best cases, passed down doses, cooking times, and ingredients
orally, or at most, on a few pieces of paper. The isolation caused by the
pandemic pushed me to look inside myself and look for memories, and while I collected
recipes, I also collected pieces of myself. Thus, "Diary" was born.
MTDD: Would you
like to share at least one recipe with our readers and delight them with a
phrase from your publication that reflects its spirit?
V.G.:
Gladly! As you know, and as I have often stated, I am not a chef, and the
recipes are simple; they are family ones, not very elaborate, but still rich. I
propose a tasty and quick one. The ingredients are: short pasta (penne or
fusilli), courgettes, spreadable cheese, parmesan or parmigiano reggiano, salt
and pepper. Let the salted water boil, and add the pasta. To prepare the sauce,
cut the courgettes into thin strips and sauté them in a pan with EVO oil and a
little water. At the end of cooking, we drop the pasta onto the courgettes. We
complete our dish with a sprinkling of cheese, pepper, and a drizzle of oil.
The motto of this book always remains: your kitchen is
you, and it is the expression of what you believe in. I think this message
contains everything I wanted to say.
MTDD: I agree. For years, you have been managing your Bood
Food blog, on which you also published the review of my books AUTISM from a DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVE – Cesare‘s Successful Story (De
Donato & Tommasini, 2019) HUNTING for The TREE OF LIFE ( De
Donato & Sinkko, 2020) and Racconti di Vita e Dintorni (De Donato, 2022),
and Tales of Life and Surroundings (De
Donato, 2022).
How did
creating this blog come about, and what goals do you aim to achieve?
V.G.: The
idea was born from my passion for reading but, above all, from the need to
create a virtual space in which to meet readers, authors, publishers, and
anyone looking for a break, beauty, and happy moments. Thank you for asking me this
question, and I would like to take this opportunity to refer you to a short
article I published in January
(https://bood.food.blog/2024/01/31/rearrange-renew/). I had the opportunity to
review many of the articles I wrote, and although I am not a fan of triumphal
messages, I wanted to pay homage to the many people who have chosen Bood the
Blog. As I said before, our experiences leave us with a legacy, and we must
grasp their values. Well, thanks to the blog, I have accumulated a wealth of
words, thoughts, and emotions that I never thought I would receive. But it is
the people, the ones behind the books we read, who are precious. Friendships
were born - some virtual, as you said - made of respect and closeness, which,
believe me, are not at all obvious.
MTDD: I think exactly like you. I, too, had the same
experience and met real friends, even if only virtually. You recently published
a new book.
Would you like to tell us what it is and share some
details without revealing too much?
V.G.:
Gladly! I'll try to be brief because it's a project I care a lot about. The
book is called "Tessferh - Journey into Ancient Egypt" and is
suitable for reading by children aged 10 and up. It's a fantastic story: the
protagonist is a twelve-year-old girl, Bianca, who lives in Varese and who is
called to Thebes in Ancient Egypt to defeat Merneith, an evil scribe intent on
making all hell happen. The narration is entrusted to the Goddess Tessmeth, who
has lost part of her powers. I can tell you about her that she doesn't resemble
any known deity: she is humble and clumsy, she makes mistakes, and she tells
her doubts to the reader, involving him in the adventure.
MTDD: How did you
end up writing this book? What inspired you?
V.G.: The idea came from my daughter, now eleven years
old. She is passionate about Ancient Egypt, and one day, she started telling me
a story. I liked it immediately but did not think it could become a book then.
She told me other details in the following days: settings and characters. I
proposed drawing them – another passion of hers – and when I sat beside her,
looking at them, I found myself in a brainstorming session. Over the months, we
worked together on the draft: I wrote the text, and she
developed the drawings and cover. I might dare to say that, for the first time
in my life, I became a ghostwriter... Jokes aside, it was nice to enjoy such
quality time. She brought us together and made us discuss things like never
before, but I believe she will always remain in our memories. As I said before,
this is a heritage I will preserve.
Writing the text allowed me to hide between the lines
some concepts that I consider fundamental for readers: friendship, courage,
trust, and affection. Then, there is the relationship with
teachers and family members. Finally, a note goes to History and Art, which
allowed us to let our imagination fly: two school subjects which, in our case,
have become friends.
MTDD: Great experience! I'm happy for you and your
daughter. Although you currently also write (books and the web), you are an
expert in business administration and social media. Your passions are art,
literature, cinema, and the dissemination of culture. In recent years, you have
become an expert consultant in Orientation and Career.
Would you like to talk to us in detail about how you
came to this choice and why?
V.G.: I had
a long career break. During that period, I often thought about how many women,
like me, had to change their professional prospects by choice or obligation. I
imagined myself looking for work, juggling ads, social media, and skills that
change daily and leave you further behind. I asked myself what I could do for
myself and the people who feel lost. With awareness and after doing some work
within myself, I returned to the books: I recently became an Expert Consultant
in Orientation and Career Guidance Processes, as you said. It was challenging.
Studying as an adult, especially for us women, forces you to organize your time
in a super-effective way, and you also have to learn to manage the unexpected
because it's not a given that you can do what you had planned; maybe that day
your child has the flu, or the iron breaks and you have to rush out and buy a
new one, but the satisfaction you get when you learn new things is
unparalleled. Today, I don't feel like I've arrived: I continue to study, and
I'm now approaching this profession. I hope to improve myself and create a
network of trust and seriousness. One step at a time, in short. As they say,
"Rome wasn't built in a day".
MTDD: For those
who need to become more familiar with this professional figure, could you
explain what your business consists of and what type of support you can give?
V.G.: Of course. Thank you for asking me this
question. Counselors like me are professionals who can help people at many
stages of their lives. Orientation is no longer just a phase limited to the
transition period between one school and another; fortunately, it has become a
concrete help in all our lives. We are a mirror in which the person who chooses
us sees himself, his potential, talents, and values. We make ourselves
available to the person to follow him in all phases; we can help in drafting a
CV or in personal branding through extensive networking and reputation work;
together with the person, we work on their Skills Balance, which is an
effective tool for understanding the values and the path to take; we push
people to bring out their dormant or, sometimes, unknown talents; we provide
the person with a complete look at the relevant sector and career prospects. In
short, we work at 360 degrees to allow the person to know themselves, learn
self-evaluation techniques, and move towards a conscious choice for their
professional and personal well-being.
MTDD: What are, in
your opinion, the biggest challenges of this profession, and, above all, what
are the ones encountered by the people who come to you or who you assist?
V.G.: There is a common denominator among people who
choose consultancy. In fact, I could say at least two. The first common element
is worry. Whether it is a choice or a compulsion, when we are at a crossroads,
it is normal to feel a disorientating sensation. It couldn't be otherwise: we
can be very good at planning our lives, but the outcome doesn't always depend
on us. With good work built with trust, we can make the most of our worries
because this emotion helps us understand our priorities and allows us to
discard what we consider useless. The second element that I find common to
those who rely on a consultant is the need to put order and accept change. We
live in a society that gives us no respite in many respects. Sometimes, it is
more difficult to identify what needs to be kept and what can be archived,
perhaps temporarily, alone. Alone, sometimes, it is more difficult to accept
that a change can push us to know a part of us that we didn't know existed, and
it's easier to get there when you have someone you trust who helps you look at
things differently.
My biggest challenge is becoming a point of reference,
a guide. I chose these studies precisely because many times I thought that if I
could count on the help of a guide, I would have been able to react
differently—proactive and positive—in front of the many closed doors and
obstacles that I found along my path.
This is one, but there are many others. Although I
cannot speak for my colleagues, some are valid for every human being. Everyone
must understand their value and talent, reach the awareness of accepting their
own limits, and work to fill the shortcomings, if any. It is also important to
disseminate lifelong learning (also based on age, which, especially in Italy,
is a relevant fact), culture as synonymous with freedom and dignity, and constant
training of life skills considered indispensable today.
These are all challenges that I believe are valid for
consultants and those who rely on consultancy because we are the company. Yes,
we are here now, and it is from us that the change starts.
MTDD: I agree with you. As you know, I have also been
carrying out 360-degree coaching activities for decades, as well as other types
of consultancy, and having lived in the USA for almost 30 years, I immediately
understood that it is essential to stay up to date regardless of age and sector
to which it belongs. Every year, therefore, I also regularly take refresher
courses in various disciplines. Italy has imported this trend from the USA for
many years, but the world we live in requires continuous training courses and
keeping up with modern technology, which becomes obsolete in the blink of an
eye. I'm happy to know that you, too, are working hard: ultimately, it's about
challenging yourself... and this helps, however, to improve and grow as people
and as professionals.
Regarding your activity as a Social Media expert, what advice would you
give to all those who use them, considering that in addition to being extremely
useful - today, it is almost impossible to avoid their use - they are equally
dangerous?
V.G.: Hot topic, Maria Teresa. Even in this case, there is
a lot to be said. I will divide my answer into two parts in the hope of being
able to summarize my thoughts. Social media are precious in the business
sector, and today, they allow us to do things that were unimaginable until a
few years ago. Think about us authors: we can communicate with our readers
scattered everywhere. I find it fantastic.
Social media are like a vast square where we all have
our say: we can communicate with everyone, but our voice will only reach a few.
Crowding, noise, or disorientation caused by many voices are limits and
obstacles to overcome. This is why today, those who want visibility to rely on
original, engaging communication that allows them to reach their target
audience. As the business aspect is a revolution, marketers know that with
specific actions, they can involve their audience where the audience is. The
growth of the social phenomenon continues, and I believe that, even in the next
few years, there will be innovations to follow. Social media are increasingly
becoming places of entertainment; again, in business, this can be a positive
aspect.
Regarding the strictly personal use of social media,
awareness and respect must become an obligation for our well-being. For our
human relationships, when I see people sitting in a restaurant or on a bench
who, instead of talking to each other, scroll their feed, well, they don't make
you feel immense sadness. It's dangerous, you're right, because there is the
risk of getting confused, of getting lost. The social world is not fake, as we
often hear. Behind every account, there is always a person who, at that moment,
feels emotions, whatever they are. It would be nice, in the future, if we
started to do some healthy digital education among kids, even at school and in
parallel with existing cyberbullying projects: as a parent, I'm worried about
the fact that our kids are often put in that famous square that I mentioned
before, without really knowing the place, the space and without them having
understood that they are there, without protection, because the screen does not
protect, even if sometimes we are convinced of the opposite.
MTDD: Renewing
yourself daily is the title I wanted to give to our interview because your
quote on social media inspired me.
Before concluding, I would like to ask you: How
important is it to renew yourself daily for Valeria Gatti?
V.G.: If there is one thing I have understood in
recent years, it is tough to say that you have reached the top. The journey
must be constructed with stages and stops. Still, you will never be sure to
avoid an unexpected event that leads you to change your initial route—knowing
how to exploit emotions (for example, intuition, which for a long time was
closed in the box, the locked one, but which has enormous potential), training
experiences (which some call errors but I consider fundamental for the growth
of the person ), the healthy madness of never stopping even when everyone
around you tells you to. Well, for me, this is what renewal means.
MTDD: Thank you,
Valeria, for participating in this interview and providing the information you
provided to our readers. I hope to have you as my guest again in the future.
We wish to remind those who want to buy your
publications, follow you, or contact you how they can do so.
V.G.: Yes,
of course. You can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and on the
page Bood Il Blog.
Thank you, Maria
Teresa. It was an honor to be your guest. Your questions were perfect: they
allowed me to make my world known.
