A meaningful meeting can turn out to be a turning point

Imagine yourself in a few sentences..

I am Martin Velev, a digital marketing specialist and aspiring screenwriter. I mainly focus on optimizing branding aspects in the online space of various businesses in Great Britain and occasionally work on film projects.

What did you dream of becoming in your childhood?

As a very young child, I changed my dream profession every week. As a grown-up child, I dreamed of being a screenwriter, and I still hold that flame within me.

At what age did you earn your first money? Tell us an interesting story?

I earned my first money at five years old when my family and I were driving to Paris, and my grandfather paid me one euro for washing the windshield. I still regret that I didn't dare to wash the back window too...

What are the main factors and examples that shape us as individuals at an early age and form our interests? What is your recipe for curiosity, sources of information and inspiration at this stage of our human development?

It would be wonderful if at an early age we could be surrounded by wise people from whom we can learn a lot. For example, it's good to be warned that the iron is hot and the pain after contact is a done deal. Yes, you will still touch the iron because you are curious. But you will know that the advice was right and that you can trust the advisor. From such authoritative people - parents, teachers, and other smart people in our lives - in my opinion, you can learn the most as a child. Someone needs to ignite a flame in you or at least show you what the possibilities are. My grandmother took me to English, tennis, and swimming every week. Of course, at that age, it's also good for you to learn to want to be curious yourself.

Has there been any significant change in your perceptions in a more mature age about what motivates you to do or not do something?

Necessity plays a very big role. Yes, I have always had smart people around me, but that is not enough in the long run. There are very central moments when you have to save yourself, just like Baron Munchausen grabs his hair and pulls himself out of the mud. When I went to Munich for my bachelor's program, there were no wise people in the chair next to me to make me curious to make the most of my parents' investment and finish a prestigious education. The chair is empty from start to finish. And if you don't help yourself and focus your energy on the adult in you, you will have many problems.

Whose decision was it where to pursue higher education and what to study? Was this decision correct, looking back today?

My mother was very happy and at the same time surprised at how eagerly I told her that I would not apply anywhere else but LMU (Munich). From the 10th grade onwards, I knew what I wanted to study and where. I recommend education in Germany to anyone who has wanted to become a person since childhood. Yes, the change is radical, and because of it, you can create slight tears in your mental state, just as stretch marks appear during rapid growth. There is probably another way, but I am not familiar with it.

Share more about your interests, knowledge, skills, and hobbies?

My main task that I have set for myself in recent years is to find a way to learn new things on various topics without it having too much of an impact on my mental health. And most likely, this task will have no final answer until the end of my life.

I am a fan of Liverpool, I write scripts, watch a lot of movies, and spend as much time as possible with my girlfriend, who is the main wise person in the chair next to me in recent years.

Would you change your profession today and which fields of activity capture your interest?

Anything is possible. For me, it is important that my work has a system that works and is maintained with proper organization. A marketing project would have an offensive result for the client if it is a product of disorganization. A film would put even the biggest cinephile to sleep if the events happen as if they are not connected to each other. I love to organize. Then my brain is calm and I sleep well. I would change my profession if the new field offers greater satisfaction than the emerging organization.

They say that personal branding is everything that people say about you when you are not in the same room with them. What would you like to hear today?

I believe that if people talk about me based on my actions, then they have accepted me on an emotional level. If someone is arrogant, primarily self-centered, or stubbornly lazy, then their personal brand will not be much to brag about. But if those negative traits that each of us sometimes shows are balanced, then your personal brand will be in top shape.

People often use humorous metaphors to describe some third person. In these metaphors, it again shows how you have presented yourself. I would be most delighted to hear about myself that “just a little more and I will take off,” running down the hall, trying to solve two cases at once. This is something my mother often gets described as.

Emotional intelligence, adaptability, and flexibility, as well as our soft skills, are key conditions for success in recent years. How do you cope with the daily challenges of life to stay in good shape and mood?

Even if subconsciously, most people probably try to make everything new clear to them quickly so that work tasks can be predictable. That is why there are systems in the work process. But the world is dynamic, so it is very important for a person to be able to adapt in a way that adds the newly emerged element to the previous system. Just as in science, every newly acquired knowledge is included in the string of all previous knowledge to enrich science, so in the workplace, the process must meaningfully include changes into the current know-how. This is mainly done with critical thinking on an individual and team level. A meaningful meeting with an open-minded team can be a turning point for success when discussing changes.

What are the most important conclusions you have drawn so far for maintaining the right communication considering the different characters of the people you meet every day – colleagues, friends, relatives?

There are all kinds of characters. I would pay special attention to the “quieter” ones in the team, as they are hesitant to ask important questions or start a topic that managers for some reason refuse to start. Therefore, it is good if managers help the quieter ones to be bolder. When it comes to the “louder” ones, they can be absolute machines. They are often self-confident and ready to take on extraordinary responsibility. For them, the only concern is to show them the boundaries of what is allowed because their fiery spirit sometimes creates arrogance, which is counterproductive in the long run. Of course, “quiet” and “loud” is neither a scientific nor a complex definition of different characters in one team, but as definitions, they are not bad starting points, especially when the collective consists of dozens of personalities.

What do you think about money? What is their influence on your life? What is your advice to people who often ask themselves questions related to money and how sufficient they are?

There is a lower limit at which a person thinks only and exclusively about how little money they have. Even if the salary does not seem small in itself, it will not be sufficient if it does not lead to monthly savings. If every month we save, then financial uncertainty decreases, and we start thinking about more positive things. I certainly do not think that our goal in life should be to be rich. But for someone starting their career, it is really important to reach that financial threshold at which they save and feel secure.

The way of thinking after reaching this threshold changes. The world is much rosier and the financial cage is not felt. If after reaching this threshold, the main thought remains the exact numbers in the bank account, then in my opinion, a person should seriously consider what their real goal in life is. The bank account is the means by which we live, not life itself.

What is the most valuable career advice you would give to people?

If discipline is related to metrics - quantitative goals in the marketing and sales departments - demand more goals from yourself than your manager requires. If your set goal is one - X% more sales this year than last - show with multiple other numbers how you achieved it. Especially if this goal comes to you directly from the owner of the company, it is very important to prove how much work is required and you have done for the final success. Owners often do not understand exactly what you are doing, and if you explain everything comprehensively with various quantitative data, they will understand how important you are to their team.

On the other hand, if a colleague or manager does not like you or disagrees with your result, the multitude of quantitative data you have worked on and achieved will make them silent. A single number can always be questioned. Someone may shout that “a large part” of the success is due to their work - without any data, of course, but then you will not have other data either.

If you show all variables like a map and explain how each one contributes to the final result, only an incompetent or stubborn person can attack you. And in an attack, it will not be you who will suffer.