Build a career that brings you not only income but also dignity

Introduce yourself in a few words..

Nikolay Rusev - general manager of Grand Hotel Sofia and chairman of the board of BAHE (Bulgarian Association of Hotel Executives) with nearly 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. An avid fisherman, traveler, nature lover, and a writer. Author of the humorous novels “Kozidor”, “Sotir Pazvanski”, as well as the collections of stories “Zhivarnik” and “Chronicles of the Experimental Mouse”.  

 What does traveling the world mean to you?

One of those strong emotions that inspire and fill our existence with meaning. Travels can even heal the mind, can be purifying and play various roles as a catalyst that triggers a whole chain reaction. It is not only a way to broaden your horizons, but also a means to tune your own goals and values. In times of dynamic  changes, the journey remains one of the few stable means for personal and professional renewal.  

How many different countries have you seen so far? Tell us a curious incident or highlights from your travels?

I definitely haven't been to all the places I wanted to go, but I've always tried to end up where it's worth it. Over the years, and especially with the development of the internet, popular destinations, where there is mass tourism, ceased to be of interest to me and I started to seek travels in their purest form. There is a significant difference between the concepts of “travel” and “journey”. One thing is to book a hotel in Dubai, to get on the “Burj Khalifa” with an elevator, to tour the malls and take a selfie with a camel in the desert, quite another is to get stuck in Ajman, eat donairs with the guest workers, and indulge in fishing with a boat in the Persian Gulf. In both cases, you have visited the UAE, but in two different ways.                  

Do you like to repeat destinations? Give examples and motivation “for” or “against”?

Someone once said that if a book is not worth reading a second time, it means it was not worth reading at all. I think that to a large extent the same applies to destinations. For better or worse, we have a finite resource and very often our decisions are governed by it. I am talking about His Majesty “Time”... 

What was your first trip that truly changed you as a professional and can be said to have changed your thinking?

It seems to me that this was an exchange of experience in “Saint Petersburg” many years ago. The specific place is called “Taleon Imperial” -  an extremely well-preserved building, once belonging to the Eliseev dynasty, turned into something much more than a hotel. This was one of those experiences that seriously and conceptually influenced   my professional development.     

What do you learn about yourself and your professional skills, when you are in a new cultural environment?

To answer most easily, I would turn the question around. A different cultural environment first and foremost enriches. It brings new experiences and new worldviews, through which a person gets to know themselves and their identity even better. Additionally, cultural diversity, outside the context of politically correct clichés, knowledge of different cultures, civilizational codes and peculiarities,  are actually fundamental to the business of hospitality. In this aspect, we are talking about invaluable professional accumulations and skills.           

Have you met people or ideas during your travels that have influenced your career path?

I immediately think of the numerous international conferences I have attended over the years. I have met incredible hoteliers and extremely successful managers at a very high level. Their enthusiasm and energy are truly contagious, and many of the shared ideas have proven to be quite useful. If something has influenced my career path, it is my firm belief that my place is not in large corporations and international chains. I have turned down dozens of offers to stay true to the independent brand.           

Do you think that your travels help you expand your professional network? How?

Of course. Every single contact, every new acquaintance could have the potential to generate the expansion of anyone's professional network. Whether it is about new partners, suppliers, clients, or future colleagues.    

What skills do you develop the most when you travel, and how do they reflect on your work?

This question made me think that practically the attitude I have towards travels largely overlaps with the attitude I have towards my daily work. Starting with careful checking of the basic details, assessing the risks, patience, self-control when things go wrong, and ending with accepting the different and imprinting the positive in the mind. Here I would add trust in the companions one chooses, as well as communication with completely strangers that we meet by chance.  In hospitality, every new day is different from the previous one and often, when you think you have seen everything, there will always be something to surprise you.     

Is there a city or country that inspired you to start a new business or project?

Rather it is a place. The Astrakhan steppes and semi-deserts in the lower reaches of the Volga River. After thousands of kilometers on the dusty roads and after a few toasts by the campfire, the idea for my first novel was born. I have not stopped writing since I can remember, but it was at that moment that I gained the courage and firm decision to publish and leave something behind.

Are there destinations that act as a “restart” for your creativity and ambition?

It is somewhat like fishing with an artificial fly. You have to make the bait yourself, which at a certain time of the year, at a certain place, under certain weather conditions will make the fish show interest.

In other words, just as you choose the destination, it somehow chooses you. This “restart” seems to have a metaphysical origin and is something extremely individual.       

How do you manage the balance between work and pleasure when you travel?

I am one of those who like to distinguish between things. I think that in general this is characteristic of my generation. A person travels either for work or for pleasure. Attempts to find a balance are most often associated with compromises in one direction or the other. The funny thing is that we, people from the industry, introduced the concepts like “long weekend” and we impose business concepts like “stay longer”. The younger ones are much more mobile, have a different mindset, and I suppose that some of them find this so-called balance. At the very least, the topic provides an endless field for expression for all kinds of trainers and life coaches who will teach you how to achieve it:)       

How have travels changed the way you perceive the value of money?

The value of money mainly depends on where you are and what exactly is missing. At the airport – 10 euros are not enough even for a sandwich. On a deserted island – one sandwich costs as much as gold. And when you are wading in some river in Tian Shan and just caught the most beautiful trout, you discover that what is worth the most cannot be bought. Over time you understand, that it is not important how much you spend, but what you get in return. You can spend a fortune on a penthouse in Cannes or pay two leva for a beer in some mountain village and hear a conversation that you will remember for a lifetime. Travels taught me, that even the most valuable moments in life are usually outside the budget.

Do you travel with the aim of finding new ways to make money?

I still haven't had that happen.

What lessons about financial independence have you learned from different economies and cultures?

Even as a student in London in the 90s, I learned a quick and important lesson: financial independence starts with the ability to survive on a weekly budget. There I realized that cultures may be different, but the need to know when to save and when to treat yourself is universal. Back then the locals respected labor – both their own and others'. In some economies people save for a lifetime without truly living. In others – they live on credit, as if there will be no tomorrow. It seems to me that  financial independence does not mean having everything, but rather being able to say 'no' to a job you don't like, or 'yes' to an experience you'll remember.

How do you see the future of digital nomadic life?

At this stage it seems bright – as long as there is power and the battery doesn't run out. Digital nomads are something like modern shepherds – they roam the mountains, but instead of staying there, they hold Zoom meetings. I see the future of this way of life as a dose of freedom, garnished with a new form of solitude. No wonder, changing many places, at some point nomads may realize that they do not belong to any of them. And I think that some of them over time will head not to a new airport, but to something different – perhaps to some remote village, where there is no internet, but there is someone to talk to at least one real word.

If you could choose one place in the world to develop your next big idea, what would it be and why?

For me, it is unlikely to be a megacity and an open space office. Most of my ideas do not like noise. It will probably be a place that makes you listen – the river, the wind and yourself.

What are the destinations that you would definitely recommend visiting and why?

Many of the destinations worth visiting are not even on the map. They are where you sleep deeply and wake up reborn. For me, these are those places, where there are no emails, traffic, and Wi-Fi. Or at least where the bills do not find me:)

What is the career advice you would give based on what you have seen around the world?

My advice would sound like this: build a career that brings you not only income but also dignity. I have seen all kinds of people around the world. Such, who do humble work with great passion and put their soul into it, and others who do prestigious work, but are so fake and empty of content that they evoke no respect. True success is not in the position held, but in knowing why you do what you do — and doing it with character, with honor and a desire to leave a mark. Do not just follow the market — follow your mission. Money will come, but value is what remains.