By Lucy Castillo

Everyone asks me the same questions.

“How can I get a job like yours?”
“You’re so lucky.”
“It must have fallen from the sky.”

And every time I hear that, I think the same thing:

Nothing about my career fell from the sky.

What people see today is the result of years of starting from zero—and being willing to do the work most people don’t want to do.

I Didn’t Arrive Knowing Everything

When I arrived in Europe, I didn’t know how to do everything.
I didn’t even know how to iron properly.

In my first household, my employer noticed it immediately. Instead of criticizing me, he did something that changed my mindset forever: he hired professional ironers to teach me.

That moment stayed with me.

Because it showed me something essential—this work isn’t about pretending you know everything.
It’s about being open to learning.

Today, ironing is something I genuinely enjoy.
Back then, it was simply another skill I had to build from scratch.

Cleaning Floors and Changing Diapers Was Part of the Journey

Yes, I cleaned floors.
Yes, I changed diapers.
Yes, I earned a minimum salary.

And I never felt above it.

You don’t enter high-level environments without first understanding responsibility, routine, and discipline.

I didn’t come to Europe expecting to work with footballers.
That came much later.

Before that, I worked for families who taught me structure, respect, and emotional control. One of them was a well-known political figure in Spain at the time. From that household, I learned far more than domestic skills—I learned how high-level personalities think, behave, and manage pressure.

Those lessons were priceless.

The Person You Are at the Beginning Is Not Ready for the Top

This is something many people don’t like to hear.

The version of me who arrived in Europe over twenty years ago could not do the work I do today.
She didn’t have the flexibility.
She didn’t have the emotional intelligence.
She didn’t have the adaptability.

Those qualities come with time, mistakes, and lived experience.

I made errors.
I mismanaged money.
I had moments of immaturity.

But I never stopped investing in my growth.

Experience doesn’t arrive overnight.
It shapes you slowly—if you allow it to.

Initiative Is Not Requested. It Is Expected.

There is a big difference between someone who is simply present and someone who truly supports.

A real personal assistant doesn’t wait to be told what to do.

You don’t wait for someone to say, “Can you clean?”
You don’t wait for instructions to show care.

If I see a new mother—breastfeeding, exhausted, alone in a new city, without family support—I don’t need to be asked.
If I notice someone unwell, overwhelmed, or emotionally drained, I act.

I ask:
“Would you like a coffee?”
“Can I make you some tea?”
“Do you need anything right now?”

When my client’s partner has been sick, I’ve never hesitated. I prepare what’s needed and bring it upstairs.

Not because it’s written in a job description—but because that is what real support looks like.

Initiative is one of the most important skills in this profession.
And it cannot be learned from theory alone.

This Work Is Not About Tasks. It’s About Awareness.

Being a personal assistant isn’t about luxury travel or appearances.

It’s about reading the room.
Understanding emotional states.
Anticipating needs before they become requests.

You don’t earn trust by doing only what’s expected.
You earn it by doing what’s needed—especially when no one is watching.

That is why high-level clients are selective.
And that is why this work cannot be improvised.

Nothing About This Career Is Random

You don’t wake up one day and decide to work with high-profile clients or footballers.

Life doesn’t hire you like that.

You are prepared through years of process:
learning discipline,
learning empathy,
learning initiative,
learning humility.

Only after that does trust appear.

And trust—not ambition—is what opens doors.

Final Thought

If you want a job like mine, ask yourself this:

Are you willing to start from zero?
Are you willing to learn what you don’t know?
Are you willing to help without being asked?

Because this work isn’t about status.
It’s about presence, awareness, and responsibility.

That’s why nothing about my career fell from the sky.
It was built—quietly, patiently, and with purpose.

— Lucy Castillo