Entrepreneur Angelo Xuereb this week launched his autobiography, ‘Angelo’ at The Palace in Sliema. The book was launched on his 60th birthday to a selected audience, the media and business associates.
Addressing the guests Mr Xuereb said that “there are three main reasons why he has decided to write this autobiography prior to his retirement. Firstly because he has no idea when he is going to retire, secondly because the facts about some of the most important experiences in his life are still extremely vivid and thirdly because he wanted his experiences and successes to be an inspiration to other young and budding entrepreneurs.”
Mr Xuereb added that “the overriding message in my autobiography is that one should not lose hope when faced with challenges. Without doubt, what spurred me on most in my career is the satisfaction of overcoming challenges, because I believe that the bigger the challenge, the stronger and the more satisfaction I got. I have always cherished Winston Churchill’s words of wisdom that ‘kites fly highest against the wind not with it’. I have always believed that life is one big challenge and if you lose hope you will be neglected and forgotten. For this reason I have always tried to be creative, determined and full of perseverance. I have always looked at the cup half full rather than half empty. I always believed that ‘action speaks louder than words’ and ‘to be a winner requires hard work and to be a loser requires no effort whatsoever’. Success is attained by that extra effort more than your competitor, similar to when an athlete beats his competitor with a fraction of a second.”
The autobiography, comes with the endorsement of the lateral thinker Edward de Bono, who describes the book as an interesting and fascinating account of Angelo’s life from its simple beginnings to its great success. Other endorsements come from renowned personalities including President Emeritus, Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, former Judge Joseph Galea Debono, Prof. J.J. Cremona, former Chief Justice and Vice President of the European Court of Human Rights, Hans Günter Huniar, former Mayor of the City of Neuburg on the Danube, Bavaria, Germany and Joseph Vassallo, a Hollywood film actor and producer. The book was written by Mr Xuereb and edited by Charles Micallef St John. It was published by the UK-based Book Guild Publishing, an independent publishing house.
The autobiography not only documents Angelo’s successful career, but highlights the obstacles that a young entrepreneur was faced with in the post-war years in Malta. At a time when Malta’s independence from the British should have prompted the government to encourage enterprise, it is ironic that many obstacles were deliberately put in place by various entities. However, petty bureaucrats were never able to keep Angelo down for long, and the tale of how he built his way to success will inspire and budding entrepreneur.
All proceeds from the book will be donated to charity.