Lionel Sosa (b. 1939) worked as a marketing consultant and was named one of the twenty-five most influential Hispanics in America by Time magazine in 2005. Drawing on his own experiences as well as those of other successful Latinos, his book The Americano Dream illustrates the obstacles that Latinos face and must overcome. One of those obstacles is their heritage. In this passage from the first chapter, Sosa highlights the influences of family and religion that guide the decisions made by Latinx peoples in the United States. These cultural norms, while in some ways beneficial, also deter many Latinx people in the United States from becoming successful as breaking from tradition is necessary to climb the economic ladder. Earlier generations used tools of colonialism, such as religion, to maintain strong family ties; however, those same tools were used to keep those generations subservient. Sosa called on the new generation of Latinos to shake off this colonial mentality