2022

2022 was an insane year for me with many lessons and hard times. This is what I learned

On business:

1) The moment when you will start to see real results is the moment when you start to outwork your competitors. If you feel like you are working enough for your dreams but you don’t see real results and start to blame some weird external factors for your lack of success that means one more thing: you are not working enough. I didn’t have ONE SINGLE DAY without doing something for my business. My birthday? No problem. I can work at least 2-3 hours. Weekends? This word should not exist in your vocabulary if you have a big vision for your company. Holidays? Enjoy your time with your beloved ones but don’t forget to work even a little bit on your business. A true professional, a person that is good at what is doing, simply can’t stay a day without working.

2) Business is not about luck &? life in general is not about luck. Only people with small minds are believing in luck and are waiting for it to come into their life. The truth is: you can’t have opportunities if you do nothing or if you are lazy. There was a quote that I love and it’s saying: I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.

3) Big money is coming from services: consulting and custom solutions. It’s easier to close 10-20-30k deals with 3 companies than to sell a 30-dollar product to 1000 people.

4) You can see if what you sell is valuable when there are very hard times. DRIVENlabs Inc. got more clients in 2022 (bear market) than in 2021 (bull market) without spending a penny on marketing. Our clients came from recommendations and networking.

5) If you never were in a C-level position on a business that made at least 2-5Ms USD per year you have zero chances to get there alone. You need a mentor and give him equity in the company. We brought a strong and very experienced advisor to our team that closed multiple 8-figures deals in the dot com bubble and will help us to scale DRIVENlabs Inc to the next level.

A good mentor has knowledge of business operations & connections.

On personal development:

1) Don’t talk about business with people that have a smaller vision than yours.?

I did that and I started to feel guilty about my goals and ask myself if I want too much from this life.

2) If there are people in your life that are trying to make you settle for less or are slowing you down from achieving your goals, just cut them from your life. It’s your best friend? Doesn’t matter. It’s your SO of 3-4-5 years? Doesn’t matter.?

3) Stick to your core values. If you don’t, you will feel like you are dead inside and everything around you is happening against your goals. I switched lanes this year and I “violated” some of my core values. I think it was the worst period of my life. It felt like a very deep depression. With a lot of meditation, I got back on track with a stronger and more powerful soul.

4) Don’t have regrets. We are humans. We make mistakes. Sometimes very big mistakes. Be grateful that you made them and learn from them. Those mistakes built the person that you are now.

5) Don’t find excuses. I was afraid that I will not close deals because of my bad English. But I decided to don’t care and move forward. What did I find? There are people that are managing huge businesses and they don’t speak English at all. How that is possible? Simply, people don’t care about what language you speak. They care about results. I guarantee you, if you don’t speak English but you have amazing results, your clients will use Google translate only to understand you.

6) Find something to have faith in. God, yourself, or the Universe, doesn’t matter. Just find something that suits you and believe in it. Believe that will enlight your path whenever you need and you will see how some magic things will happen.

7) Keep your soul clean. Did you make a mistake and feel that your soul is a little bit dirty? The only thing that you can do is to understand why you did that mistake and how could you avoid it in the future. Understand that the mistake is a part of you and forgive yourself.?

As well, when you know that there are people who want to see how you fail in life do one thing: pray for them and wish them all the luck, love, money, and happiness in the world, day by day. Your soul will be more powerful after you do that and nobody will be able to take away your happiness with bad words or bad intentions.

9) Observe. Don’t trust words! Trust facts. If somebody is telling you that they understand your purpose/your hustle/your feelings but they don’t show it, you have one thing to do: cut them from your life!

10) Emotions are good but don’t let them lead your life or business. I am a very emotive person but I learned to organize my emotions like that:

• no emotions when I am doing business;
• no emotions with people until I figure out their true intentions;
• show my emotions and talk about them with my family, very close friends and SO;

11) You don’t need a diploma to make money. You need balls.?

12) Don’t make money your biggest purpose because you will never have them. Find something more powerful than money: retire your parents, buy your dad his dream car, travel, spiritual enlightenment and so on.

13) It’s better to be single than in a “not so healthy” relationship.?

As well, don’t be hungry for love, and don’t force it. When you will meet the right person for you, you will feel it with your whole body and soul.

As well, you will not find the right person if you don’t work on yourself. In most cases, “your person” will appear in your life when you reach a certain level.

14) Fear is the strongest emotion in the world, not love. Learn how to understand it, conquer it, and use it. Don’t let it dictate how you live your life.

15) If somebody is asking you to do something that would alter your values/mental health, just explain to them your situation and why you don’t want to do it. In most cases, that person would say that he/she understands you but will show you the opposite. If this happens, you know what to do: exclude that person from your life.

Conclusion: I am grateful for what 2022 gave me and If it would be possible to go back in time, at certain points from 2022, I would not change anything. I respect all my decisions and I don’t have regrets about any of them.

My advice for you: be hungry. Be hungry for success, wealth, happiness, for quality people, and don’t settle for less! As well don’t be afraid to cut people from your life or start over. After every end is a new beginning. Depends on you if it’s a good beginning or not.

I wish you a blessed 2023!?

Cheers!