Ten years ago we had twenty times fewer resources and far more drive. I'm thinking through what a person's enthusiasm and courage actually depend on.
Can you bring back the enthusiasm you once had?
Today Bohdan and I were driving and talking about exactly this. Ten years ago, in Nova Kakhovka, we did a lot of interesting projects together: we ran escape quests, built an interior photo studio, taught people, handled social media, web development and video production.
It was interesting, energizing and fun. We had a team, a pile of ideas, tons of energy. We were constantly developing and growing.
In 2017 we moved to Kyiv and started working without an office. That slowed our pace a bit, because in the capital everything began from zero. But we kept developing anyway and provided marketing services to different companies.
Six more years passed, and Bohdan and I are working together again, now in a big office. Paula is with us too. We’re still building the business and growing together.
But I often catch myself thinking that the spark and enthusiasm we had back then has faded a lot. It’s paradoxical, because ten years ago our resource base and opportunities were about twenty times weaker than they are now.
And still, with a tiny amount of money and experience, living in a small town, we managed to do interesting things. Resourcefulness and enthusiasm were our biggest assets back then.
Today I asked Bohdan what he thought the trick was. Maybe it was about age? He said no. After all, back then I was the same age he is now.
Maybe we simply had no experience of failure yet, and that came with a kind of fearless recklessness. I don’t know. I still haven’t found a precise answer to this question.
Of course, many people looking at our growth from the outside might think we’re doing pretty well even now. But I’m talking about my inner sense of it. I remember how we moved ten years ago, and comparing that to where we are now, I see that we’re spinning our wheels quite a bit.
Though maybe in this season of life, now that I’m a family man, that rhythm and that momentum simply aren’t possible anymore. I don’t know.
For me, family and my relationship with Nastya matter far more right now than achievements in my work and the growth of my business.
What do you think? What is a person’s enthusiasm and courage connected to?