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Year 2019 has been full of challenges, ups & downs, sad & happy moments, small and big wins, and tough personal sacrifices and moments of new hope and future opportunities. I personally went through a very difficult loss in 2019, the loss of my father, whom I loved very much. It was a very difficult time not just for me, but for my entire family. During this tough time, I was once again reminded about the importance of having and being supported and surrounded by those who truly care about you. This not only includes your immediate family, but also those individuals outside of your family who are always there for you and are ready to help and support you when you need it the most, without you even asking. Without these individuals by my side, life would have been much, much more challenging during such tough times. Please note that I am not just talking about financial support when times are tough financially, but also emotional support. Having someone by your side with whom you can talk and share everything that’s on your mind and let it go, and for them to simply listen to you sharing and being there for you is so important that I can’t even express with words.

It is also very important to remember that life goes on, no matter how difficult it may be at times. Problems and disappointments will always be there, no matter how hard we try avoiding them, but so will be the successes, wins, and happy moments in life. Unfortunately, when we face tough times, we usually focus our full attention and energy on getting ourselves out of such tough times, but during the process we forget to focus on good and positive things in our life.

Please do your best to focus on positive things and situations you encounter each day, even when you may be going through some temporary tough times in your life. It’s critical to remember that after every tough period in our lives, comes period of opportunity and happiness. Remembering this helped me get through some very tough times I had lived through in 2019.

Be thankful for everything and everyone you have in your life today and continue to work towards achieving bigger and greater thinks in years to come. Also, be thankful for people who are always there for you, who expect nothing in return for their kindness, who just want for you to be happy, and do everything that you can to be there for them when they need your help and support, not because you have to, but because you genuinely care and want to help.

Have a wonderful, happy, and prosperous year 2020! You deserve it!​

Why can’t we all just be open and honest with each other vs. hoping that someone someday verbalizes our true thoughts and opinions to others? Why can’t we just say what’s on our mind during the conversation, when it’s most relevant vs. hiding behind someone else and then simply express our agreement with him or her, squashing our true self inside? It’s simple, we are afraid what others may think of us or for someone to overhear us and lose our image that we’ve created of ourselves for the outside world to see. The version that is acceptable by everyone and the one that does not present any points of conflict, disagreement or tension. We know that once mask has been removed, people will see our true self, our real personality, character, someone we’ve never previously introduced to others, with the exception of our closest friends and family. Here’s the problem that I see with this approach, we may have some of the best and brightest ideas, some of the most impactful and valid comments and insight, but no one will ever hear them, because, we would never speak up and share them, unless someone else happened to have similar thoughts, ideas, and comments in general, which may or may not every happen.

I’ve personally observed and been part of discussions where individuals eventually decided to share their valuable and highly impactful thoughts and ideas with the group, only to find out that those ideas are no longer applicable or cannot be implemented due to opportunity no longer being there, because, time had passed or alternative less favorable solution was already found. So, my question was always the same – “Why didn’t you share your ideas and insight earlier?” to which responses were often similar in nature, such as “I was not sure what other people may think of me or my ideas,” or “I didn’t think that my ideas were worth mentioning,” or “I did not want to cause any tension.

Here’s what’s important to remember, if you never say something you are thinking about or have an opinion about, you would never know if your idea was indeed good, or if your feedback was valid, given the situation and the type of solution which was being sought. At least when you speak up and share your true and honest thoughts, ideas, and opinions, you would receive feedback to your comments often instantly and will be able to move forward, leaving unknown behind you, freeing up space for new and powerful ideas making their way into your mind.

So, speak up when you have something to say, share your true thoughts and ideas as soon as you are presented with an opportunity to do so. Don’t bottle them up inside of you forever. Are you ready to share your wonderful ideas with the world?
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We all strive to find happiness in life. Some find it and some continue to search for true happiness their entire life. What is happiness anyway? Do we all see and interpret happiness the same way, or is the definition and understanding of true happiness unique from person to person? I believe that we all see and interpret what happiness means to us differently from how others may see it. That’s because what makes one person happy does not necessarily have the same effect on another person. For example, my definition of true happiness is seeing my family and children being healthy and having everything that they need and want, doing what I love and truly passionate about for living, and wake up with a smile on my face every morning looking forward to  each day, and being able to travel around the world whenever I want and for as long as I would like, while being able to work from anywhere in the world. However, would my exact definition of true happiness be shared by another individual? Probably not, and that’s ok. Because, what may be important to me and something that I value dearly in life, may not be the case for others. Therefore, be sure to pursue your true happiness and everything that goes into it every day until you achieve it. Don’t stop searching for happiness, just because not everything that you desire comes together fast enough. Be patient, have extreme determination, and keep on pursuing that what’s important to you and that what makes you truly happy, that what makes you smile just by thinking about it. We all deserve to be happy and share that happiness with those whom we love and care about. Ivan Bunin once said: “Three things make a person happy: love, interesting job, and an opportunity to travel.” What is your definition of true happiness?