Reflections of a Black Tiger: Lessons by the Stripe

What Echoed In Me When Jorge Spoke of His Journey

Listening to Jorge R. Gutiérrez speak felt like hearing an echo of my own story through another artist’s roar. Every word about failure, rejection, and rule-breaking struck something familiar in me. It wasn’t just what he said. It was how he lived the truth that the journey is the reward. Jorge talked about being born a puma, earning stripes through every fall, every fight, every mistake. To me, that spoke to what I’ve been calling the Black Tiger. Similar to him I dreamed of being a Panther, but when I was young people always called the Tiger (Year of the Tiger from Eastern Astrology). However, my vision of the Black Tiger is the self-made creature that survives the dark, earns its light, and keeps evolving toward the Panther.

Gutiérrez’s father taught him that courage isn’t the absence of fear. He said it is being afraid and fighting anyway. That hit hard. I’ve lived by that without even knowing it. My father even pointed it out to me a few times but I didn't understand what he meant back then. Because my courage has never come from confidence. It has mainly stemmed from not having another option but to keep moving. Like him, I learned to fight bigger battles. Not just because I wanted to win, but because I wanted to grow. Subconsciously I knew that I can only become who I’m meant to be when I’m willing to lose for something that matters. But also I learned to pick my battles.

Jorge said his father told him that every experience, good or bad, becomes a stripe. I see that now in my own journey. My stripes are every failed project, every rejection, every “you can’t.” They don’t fade. These stripes mark the territory I’ve crossed. The scars become proof of life, proof of growth, proof of the signal. And as Jorge said, when you can take fear, pain, or failure and turn it into fuel, you become unstoppable.

His willingness to break rules for good reminded me why I built this Signalproof for myself in the first place. I didn’t call it Signalproof at that time. Ironically, “Cheat for justice,” is what his grandfather said, and I understood that line deep in my bones. I just spoke about breaking the rules but understanding the consequences first. Because sometimes the world’s rules are made to keep us small, to make us ask for permission to create. But breaking the rules isn’t rebellion. In some cases it is a revelation. If done without care or ignorance, then it can be a hindrance instead. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that creativity has no border, no nationality, no box. Unless we agree to put ourselves in one.

Lastly, it really resonated with me how Jorge owned his neurodivergence. When he discovered he was autistic, he didn’t see it as a flaw. He recognized it as the source of his focus, his vision, his ability to see the world differently. I’ve often wondered the same about myself. Maybe I’ve always processed life through a different signal frequency. I know my dyslexia has played a role in my way of thinking and not knowing what it was until I was an adult seems similar, but I think there is something more. Maybe the reason I can create frameworks, universes, and systems out of chaos is because my mind is wired to connect patterns others don’t see. That realization doesn’t isolate me. It explains a lot about me.

The Black Tiger symbolizes that truth. The white stripes come from being alone, fighting through the noise, surviving the silence. The Black Tiger learns to walk unseen but never unheard. And one day, when all the light and darkness merge into one seamless being, that’s when the Panther emerges. Not as something new, but as something whole.

Until then, I still have more stripes to gather. Like Jorge, I’m learning to enjoy the process, to wear my stripes with pride, and to turn every fall into form. Because at the end of it all, the goal isn’t to win. It’s to leave a legacy and become a part of the art. That's why I Get Signalproof.

If that's your goal and you would like to join us, Click Get Signalproof with Doc Reo and decide your path.

~ Doc Reo
GetSignalproof Mentor
GetSignalproof.com