Life Like a Gramophone Record - 33, 45 or 78 RPM? It Depends on Motivation and Mood..

Introduce yourself in a few sentences..

Ivaylo Tonchev, marketing director of Framар pharmacies. At 53, married, with a teenage daughter. I hope this interview will be interesting for you, because you will see me from a different angle.

What did you dream of becoming in your childhood?

My first conscious dream as a child was to become a garbage collector because I adored the huge trucks that collected the bins back then. It was the mid-70s of the 20th century and it passed when I was given a plastic truck. Completely normal. After graduating from my higher education, I wanted to become a translator, but I became a teacher. Along the way – I have done a lot of other things, whatever you can think of. Now I am satisfied with what I am – the person from marketing. It's fun, there are challenges.

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

I really earned my first money officially with a job somewhere around 1985-1986, when one summer I was a worker on an archaeological expedition at a fortress called Karasura, near Chirpan. They paid little, but the money was enough for me to buy a radio. I expected to catch foreign radio stations with it, but alas, the radio turned out to have a factory defect. I tried to return it, but they wouldn't accept it, I had to argue with the store manager. I was 12-13 years old, it probably looked strange. They accepted it, returned my money.

At that time, it was normal to work at that age. Wherever and whatever. The strangest job I had was in August 1989 – one day at a poultry farm. I don't know how I managed to last until the bus came to pick us up and I just didn't go back after that. They probably still owe me some levs :)

For that matter, years later I didn't even touch chicken.

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 and wells of information and inspiration at this stage of our human development?

It's different for everyone, for my generation it was books, music, the heroes from our and the Western world. I don't think we understood everything correctly, how could we know that Vinetu is a fantasy of Karl May, written from prison. But we had fun, we were extremely naive, but also curious. Moreover, our naivety did not border on stupidity, as often happens lately. Today things are different.

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

Unfortunately, in mature years I started to often lose motivation. Whether it's from old age, overwork – I don't know. But I try not to give up, I grab onto something and hold on. I recently started exercising again, which is phenomenally good for my mental health.

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

At that time – everyone was entering higher education. That was the generation, I graduated from an elite high school, I think 100% were accepted to higher education. It was logical – English philology, and along with that – I ended up in a hybrid – English and Bulgarian.

Whether it was right, who knows. I can't change it, but if I could – I would have studied a little more back then and it would have been nice to have discovered computers from the newer generation a bit earlier. At that time, higher education was still desperately analog, I wrote everything on a typewriter.

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

I'm not one of the most skilled people in the world, I can talk to you about music and books, but I have problems with peeling wallpaper or digging. It's boring to me, I haven't found the magic in them yet.

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

I would gladly manage a record store and a small label for independent artists. I did it before, it was a great time, when for about 10 years I was a producer for various punk bands. After that, it seems I lost interest, today it excites me again, but I wait for some emotional spark to hit me. I will be better and more successful than before, I know it.

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?

To be honest – I can probably hear anything. I can't say that I would always agree with the good opinion, nor with the bad one. After certain experience in advertising and PR, you know that you can play theater and be nice and lovely to everyone. It doesn't take much time or effort, but as a result – everyone praises and blesses you. There is a small twist – this makes you lose the clear judgment of who you really are. That's why it's more honest to let them have their own opinion, and if they don't have one – let them form it. If they want. After all, they are not obliged to talk constantly about me, right ;)

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?

I breathe, I try to breathe and not forget that as I inhale, I must also exhale. Music, books, friends, conversations about the time of some crooked places, where I can watch people with friends and talk nonsense. Something like that between 8-19 hours on weekdays is hard for me to afford, but in the evening I need to return normal at home. And I need to go to work normal :)

What are the most important conclusions you have made so far about maintaining proper communication considering the different characters of the people you meet daily – colleagues, friends, relatives?

Sometimes it's better to be silent and just look out the window. You can't reach an agreement on common issues with everyone, people are self-absorbed egocentrics. You can and should give respect to everyone, and sometimes not making a remark or not stopping someone is the cruelest thing you can do to them. But they won't believe you anyway, not before they have broken their head.

We find it hard to trust people, we don't rely on their experience, naturally, filtered through the slightly critical prism of our own experience. And it's good to trust them, even if they tell you that they have discovered the eternal engine :) It will just take more time to convince them that they are wrong. Time is not infinite and should be saved.

We have such a client, in one of our online stores, who regularly sends us schemes and videos about the eternal engine. We quickly listen to him, encourage him, he gets pumped up and calls again after a month to brag. Who knows, one day I might see him next to Musk. Who knows...

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?

Money is a wonderful thing. They are from the Devil and have various qualities. They can turn a problem into a situation, and then into a simple expense. But along with that – they can also turn a simple expense into a situation, and then into a problem. It's good to have them, but how much is too much and how little – a little?

Money is earned, spent, today they are here, tomorrow they are not. If you want to keep them, it seems you become their guard, and that is boring – to stay in one place to guard some papers. Naturally, if you want to spend them on nonsense – don't do it. Unnecessary things do not make you richer, but only make you dumber and clumsier. The dynamics of life requires flexibility.

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

Have fun, nothing is certain, life is not infinite, but if you stop and start thinking too much about it – you are already old, sour, and out of the race. Don't do it, you still have at least one lap left.