Ohhh, the business world…

One never ending roller coaster. I keep hearing this ‘capra vecinului’ thing all around me. Yes, I know it’s a typical Romanian thing but it still amazes me. 

I mean, let’s face it. It’s always ‘Why don’t I have as many jobs as X and Y, I surely deserve them more, I’m smarter, more informed, more poised, more refined, more intelligent, well, MORE of basically everything.’ 

In my line of business there are no exact rules. This is a relatively new industry, in Romania as well as worldwide. So we don’t have ethics, we don’t know how to appreciate what people do for us because we live in the I-am-a-God-and-I-deserve-everything zone and mostly we do not understand correctly and deeply what sacrifices have to be done to get ourselves up on that success ladder we crave so much. And most importantly, we don’t know how to keep ourselves there. 

If you’re lucky you have a few professional years worked in different fields before landing in this sphere of business. And you come with some ethics and rules. You know that in order to get yourself there you need to deeply understand that sacrifices must be made; or that sometimes you need to work for a quarter of the money you deserve because it helps your personal brand’s growth. 

And you get yourself up there. After years of sacrifices, of skipping vacays, of doing everything by the book but with a cost, you get yourself up there. And it’s fun and suddenly life starts to look a little brighter. You’re in a comfy spot now, you still have to work but that dose of relaxation exists so you’re fine. 

And while you’re there you look around and you see different people. Trying to get up on the ladder also, they are alone and without any power or connections, without perspectives or any real chance of getting up soon. Like you’ve been several years ago.  You think you can build things together and you start to do your best to help them out. Things which you’ve learned the hard way, you put them on a platter and just delivered them. Boy, how you wish you had a YOU on your way up. But you didn’t. No matter, what you give always comes back. Negative or positive. 

But one day, when you’re all on that ladder, one of you decides to push the other on the side. Why? Because of an ethical/loyal business decision. Loyal indeed but not to you. Loyal to someone who never gave a hand to anyone getting up the ladder. 

You cry and crave, learn the lessons and move on, not breaking the bond but keeping this behavior in mind. Keeping in mind that no matter what you do for others, business is business and those who do business with the heart are very rare and you didn’t have the luck to meet them yet. 

Lo Spaccio suit – Pnk Casual blouse – VintageBazar.ro top hat

Photos by Costrut 

So today my friends, I am the one asking you: How to you build relationships without having expectations? Without feeling hurt when you get betrayed? How do you learn to help but in the same time being aware that you won’t get the same loyalty in return? 

How do you do business with the mind but without the heart?