Blog
A collection of stories for high-achievers who do their work both professionally and personally because the real growth that brings fulfillment and joy is the multidimensional growth.
Sharing stories is like building bridges. We bring to life our most meaningful insights and create the context for others to do the same.
I have always had a special relationship with the place I call home. I grew up in a village and moved to Bucharest when I was almost 9 years old. By the age of 13, I had changed my home three times in the city, as my parents managed to gradually move from a studio to a three bedroom flat.
This January I celebrate 18 years since I started my first business as a spin-off from the family business. I was 20 at the time and in my second year of college. Although I was studying Finance and Banking, I was already working part-time in several places, including as a kids supervisor, a dance teacher in a kindergarten, selling cosmetics, and teaching French to the kids in the neighborhood. These jobs were unrelated to my studies, but I was strongly motivated to earn my own money.
There are many sayings that encourage planning, such as: “An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing” (Dale Carnegie) or “Plans are nothing, planning is everything” (D. D. Eisenhower.) Then, there are others that undermine this habit, like: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans” (Woody Allen).
Once, in a book I read, I learned about an exercise inviting the reader to have a day with positive thoughts only. I took it as a challenge and I added an extra layer on top.
Gerard was born in Amsterdam where he embarked upon his first entrepreneurial endeavors and attended business school. Today, he runs Lugera, a staffing and recruitment company, located in 12 countries, mostly developing markets with a total of 700 employees, placing permanent staff between 3,000 to 5,000 people per year and 12,000 temporary staff members.
I had my first career mentor in my late twenties. I was already an entrepreneur for about eight years, but I had a strong feeling I was missing out by not having a corporate job experience.