How I have turned out into the person I am today?

It is not often that I think about how I have turned out into the person that I am today, but I definitely reflect on the subject when I am about to begin a new journey in my professional life.

Today I am about to hand over my responsibilities and tasks, leave my current job and get ready for moving back to Copenhagen. Looking back, I realize that one of the most important skills that I have been focusing on over the years was listening. Learning to listen to myself and people speaking of experience worth listening to, and avoiding advices from those driven by fear and jealousy.

When I was younger, I was often told that I will not be able to find a job if I have no connections that could secure me a job with good pay and benefits. I was often told that luck is simply the reason for success. I was often told to follow the path of majority and the crowd instead of building my own with sweat, tears and hard work. I have met many who were certain that volunteering was simply a waste of time given for free with nothing in return. Fortunately, I had my own opinion and determination to explore the world in my own way and gain experiences I will be able to share. My curiosity kept me wanting for more, and so I moved abroad, enrolled to my first university, joined a language school and started engaging myself in free projects, volunteering activities, simply anything that promised an opportunity of meeting new people with experiences different from my own. Believing that any challenge is an opportunity, later on in my studies I went abroad on an exchange semester to discover a new country and their ways of doing business. I began looking for personal drive and motivation from self-driven and inspiring people, also from my family who taught me that failing is an inevitable part of success. I truly believe that if you have never failed, you have never tried hard enough.

Now I know what I am doing with my life and my career is right, because it is right for me. I am the one who made certain choices and decisions that led me to where I am today. I am proud to say that following my curiosity, being very persistent, having the ability to listen and at the same time being a bit ignorant to certain advises, hard work, multiple failures and much more made me the person I am today.