A few days ago we celebrated the 60th birthday of my father in law Biagio Scotto aka Papà.
60 is an important milestone in someone’s life and since he is such an important part of the family we all took a trip to Cape Cod to spend the weekend together. This is really the only thing Biagio ever wants for his birthday, or any day in fact, to spend time together. I’ve celebrated 10 birthdays with him now and while it is hilarious to see him pretend to be excited when opening a birthday gift with yet another shirt or pair of shoes, it’s the smile on his face when each member of the family comes over to celebrate that really makes him happy.
To commemorate his 60 years we had every member of the family say one word to describe Biagio and I was fortunate enough to have the honor of compiling those videos into a 21 minute movie describing one of the most inspiring people you could ever meet. Words like selfless, perseverance, grounded, and faithful are just the tip of the iceberg. He has touched the lives of everyone in this family in so many ways and continually sets an example that pushes us all to be the best people we can be, both when it comes to business as well as and more importantly when it comes to family and friends.
As I write this post from Monte di Procida, Italy, I am reminded of Biagio’s humble beginnings and the incredible journey he has taken since leaving this beautiful place behind. What he has accomplished in his 60 years is nothing short of amazing and his success with Villa Pizza supports not only the family, but thousands of people around the world.
It’s imporant to pass on life lessons to the younger generations so I asked Biagio for some thoughts of wisdom to share on the topics below:
Business: Change in business is constant. You need cooperation, collaboration, and a great team to stay relevant and ahead of your competitors to achieve success.
Family: Family is easy to take for granted, but you always need to work at keeping the family together and keeping the relationships strong. In the end family is the one thing you will always have to fall back on.
Style: Style isn’t just about clothes, its about how you conduct yourself in any situation. Whether or not you’re the leader, if you have style people will notice you in any situation.
His influence extends far beyond the family to everyone that meets him. We are truly blessed to have someone like this in our lives and Bridge & Boro wouldn’t be where we are today without him. I hope that learning a bit more about our family and his advice can help you reach more and become the best version of yourself as well. Thanks for reading and here is a little teaser for next week’s post; I’ll be interviewing Luigi Solito, the son of a Neopolitan tailor, about the responsibility of carrying this tradition into the future.
A presto!
Fabio