A successful career is when we realize our ideas without being limited by the need to make money

Introduce yourself in a few words..

What brings me pleasure, work, passion, and challenges are the training sessions with virtual reality. I have been doing this for the last 6 years. I have been leading training sessions for almost twenty years, but with almost every training group, it feels like the first time, which is why I enjoy this job. By education, I am a psychologist; I think that if I hadn't enrolled in this specialty at university, I would still be reading the same literature, but not for exams but for pleasure. 

How would you describe your career in a few words?

It has never been easy for me, and I always choose things that are a challenge. In 2019, we published the first version of our application for training in virtual reality. Two years earlier, I was meeting various people, and they were explaining to me how this couldn't happen 😉

It is important for me to have variety in my work and for each day to be different from the previous one. In general, besides training, I have been involved in sales and human resources.

What was the most important choice that shaped your path Inyou?

It is difficult for me to pinpoint one specific choice. Perhaps I will note the fact that I stayed to live and work in Bulgaria. I thought that in our type of economic environment, a young person could have a much faster career development than in Western economies, where the requirements and competition are much greater. But still, I must note that I fully understand the choice of many of my friends and acquaintances to stay abroad - when one works in a business environment where entrepreneurs are not first-generation and there are more free capital, more interesting ideas can be realized.

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

I am quite stubborn; to admit, I find it hard to hear advice, so even if someone had given me some valuable guidance, I probably still wouldn't have followed it. But in general, I think it is useful if one has something like a mentor or someone more experienced with whom to discuss thoughts and intentions.

How can one understand which profession is suitable for them?

I think it is good at the beginning of one's career path to give oneself more time to experiment with different business sectors and positions until they feel what suits them best. It is good for one to start working on something during school vacations. Otherwise, at some point, it turns out that by the time you finish university, you have already reached an age where you need more serious income, but without any experience in anything, you cannot start earning the necessary income.

Which skills according to Inyou will be key in the next 10 years?

First and foremost is the ability to learn quickly and approach changes with interest. Technologies are developing literally in months and days, and many professions are changing too quickly; one cannot rest on the laurels of past experience.

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

When you show genuine interest and respect for people, it becomes easier to build contacts and relationships. One should take time to participate in various events, to be visible, and to continuously create new contacts because this develops us. I seriously underestimated this part until recently.

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

Most of the time, the career decisions I have made have been related to what brings me pleasure and is interesting to me. This can probably be seen to some extent as infantile. I probably have moments when one has to make choices related to what brings useful experience and means, not just pleasure.

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

If we find ourselves in a toxic work environment, whenever we leave, it is too late. It should not be postponed because a toxic team climate at the workplace brings us stress, and often we stop developing professionally. How to recognize it – 1) People do not take personal responsibility; 2) They look for the problem everywhere around them, never within themselves; 3) They are ready to judge and preach, there is no empathy and support; 4) Mistakes are emphasized, achievements are ignored.

What would you do differently if you could start over?

As a child, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut 😊 I hope that one day we will be able to build a state and society where such dreams do not sound ephemeral.

How to keep our motivation during times of stagnation?

I do not have a precise answer to this question. I find it interesting to read biographies of different people. Some of the biographies that have impressed me are those of Sam Walton, Bruce Dickinson, Charles Royce, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Gen. Georgi Vazov, Asen Yordanov, and others.

How to achieve a balance between professional and personal life?

Unfortunately, I would not say that I have discovered a precise formula. There are moments when one has to work hard, and personal life takes a back seat; there are other moments when one must prioritize their loved ones.

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

When we can no longer plan where we can be and what we can achieve in the next 2-3 years. It is never too late to make a change, regardless of age.

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

Things happen with 99.99% effort and 0.01% luck. There is a lot of showiness among us, but strong economies around the world are not built on people with nicknames from flora and fauna, but with hard work and entrepreneurship.

What is Inyour definition of a “successful career”?

A successful career is when one can enjoy realizing their ideas without being limited by the need to make money.