How much money do we need to earn to feel happy and well?

Introduce yourself in a few words..

I am Nadia Vasileva, an economist with an MBA in management, finance, and marketing, I have been engaged in trade and human resources for many years, a month ago I graduated with a master's degree in Cybersecurity and now I enrolled in another at NHA – Art Therapy. By nature, I am patient, diplomatic, always seeking new ways for everything and everyone. My mission is to help people and animals. I love to swim, travel, and learn so that I can help more effectively.

How would you describe your career in a few words?

I managed to learn a lot, I managed to give a lot, to meet various people and solve great cases, in a few words – successful for me and the companies I have worked for, and now I work for myself and have built my “communism” in its idealistic variant.

What was the most important choice that shaped your path?

To listen to my mother and enroll in economics instead of The National Academy of Arts and my drive intertwined with patience, discipline, and irreplaceable friends.

What would you like to know at the beginning of your career, but no one told you?

That the balance between work and personal life is a priority.

How can a person understand which profession is suitable for him?

The one that makes us get up in the morning and sing while going to work, i.e. a job that we like and makes sense. If no company offers such a job, we create it ourselves.

What skills do you think will be key in the next 10 years?

The willingness to learn continuously.

The grace to change and adapt according to the situation.

The courage to tame and ride artificial intelligence.

We humans will be the mitochondria of Artificial Intelligence, and not its slaves. Technologies are better, faster, and cheaper compared to us humans, until the new species appears after us in evolution. It will not need Artificial Intelligence.

How to build a network of useful contacts without looking interested?

With good initiatives and readiness to support and empathize.

What is the biggest mistake you have made in your career, and what did you learn from it?

Every mistake is a lesson, the biggest one was a big lesson😊

How to recognize a toxic work environment and when is the time to leave?

When our body does not want to go to work and when our mind torments us too much without offering a solution, in such a case we simply leave (preferably in accordance with the law to avoid consequences).

There are nuances that depend on the specific case, but I am always available to give advice if someone is in a similar situation.

What would you do differently if you could start over?

Absolutely NOTHING.

How to maintain our motivation in times of stagnation?

To find another stimulus or to change something drastically, in order to awaken us with new strength.

How to achieve a balance between professional and personal life?

There is no universal formula, but I could help anyone individually in this regard. I simply withdrew from the corporate world early enough to have time to live fully, to spend time with my loved ones, to take care of my parents (my father lived to 101 years old, and my mother is 95 and we have a great time together).

To have the freedom to choose and change according to one's mood, whether to work or do something else is great. I wish everyone to feel it and enjoy this bliss. We have many excuses to think that it cannot happen, but it is just a matter of personal choice.

When is it time to change our career, not just the job?

When we are saturated or bored and realize that standing in one place does not give you an advantage and satisfaction.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to people who are seeking success, what would it be?

Find your inspiration and be calm.

What is your definition of a “successful career”?

Ask yourself - What is the price of career freedom?

How much money do we need to earn, to feel happy and well? You won't believe it, but for many of us, this number is quite smaller than the salaries that keep us chained to our jobs.  

Would you give up your monthly income in exchange for independence from location and the ability to work from anywhere? Would you agree to earn less in exchange for the opportunity to work only on things that are in harmony with your values (which is rare in the corporate world)?

The price of this kind of freedom varies depending on our individual circumstances, but it is useful to calculate and keep this number in our back pocket when a strange and exciting opportunity knocks on our door to do something great and start living freely.