How to prepare for things not going as planned? Lessons from ancient Greeks for the era of great changes
Vlad Radziuk
4x leader of digital-native teams | Leveraging human aspects in tech: employee engagement, team interaction design, knowledge management, AI augmentation @ Nordcloud, IBM | originally from Belarus
"Not seeing a?tsunami?or an?economic?event coming is excusable. Building?something?fragile?to them is not." Nassim Taleb
Many of us have clear life goals and strive to achieve them. However, on the path to these goals, it is easy to forget that external circumstances can change in a way that makes achieving them impossible. This is especially relevant now, as the world is changing rapidly like never before, with climate crisis, AI integration, and projected slow economic growth. Relying solely on one plan becomes increasingly risky. My idea is this: we (as individuals) should do less planning and forecasting, and be more open to the world, flexible, and control over key (controllable) risks. In this way, the space for maneuvering widens, allowing for a greater sense of confidence in the days to come.
I don't like hot weather. Moreover, I don't enjoy crowds, souvenir shops, and high prices. On the other hand, from my early years, I found myself captivated by ancient Greek myths, and as time went on, my affection for frappe coffee only deepened. Thus, a journey to the heart of Athens felt like an inevitable pilgrimage, requiring only the perfect timing. In Munich, about half of the year is spent under a cover of gray clouds, with barely any dim light seeping through. So, in early March, we decided to escape from the winter dreariness and head to Athens for a few days, where the climate was just right – warm enough to stroll in a T-shirt, yet not so scorching that the asphalt beneath our feet began to melt. Stepping into the city's enchanting antiquity, we were granted the freedom to leisurely marvel through its historic streets, unhurried and unencumbered by the crowds of tourists.
For me, an essential element of exploring a foreign culture is immersing myself in its authentic cuisine. Additionally, I find great value in connecting with locals, engaging in conversations about their lives and worldviews. We decided to combine these two aspects and booked a dinner with a local chef who invites people into his home. First, we would cook together, and then we would share the meal we prepared. Upon meeting Alexandros, a man of middle age with a warm and lively face, we discovered his small and sparsely furnished apartment. However, his terrace was a true gem, easily accommodating a table for ten, along with a barbecue and an array of plants. From the terrace, a breathtaking view of the city unfolded before us – its hills, including the Acropolis, the harbor with its ships, all bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. Perhaps nowhere else in the city could capture its essence as completely as this terrace did.
Alexandros cooked incredibly deliciously. In just two hours, he managed to prepare about five dishes, and for dessert, he served homemade Greek yogurt from his parents, drizzled with honey produced on their own farm. His father, a fisherman, also provided him with fresh fish and was always ready to send him a package of his catch at the first request. I asked Alexandros about his work, assuming that cooking at home was just a side job. To my surprise, he revealed that in recent years, he only cooks from home, preparing dinners for tourists like us who book through online platforms. "You are my first guests in March, but starting from May, I have bookings every day," he said. Although I had my doubts, I kept them to myself, but as if reading my mind, he showed me his calendar, which indeed was fully booked for the entire tourist season. He said, that usually, he hosts groups of several people, sometimes even ten or more. He showed me numerous photos as proof. It's amazing how effective "word of mouth" can be!
Alexandros is a man who values his freedom; he was so determined to be his own boss that he learned English. Moreover, he is a true hard worker, cooking for numerous people every day, standing on his feet for hours on end – a challenging task. Especially considering that when we met him, his leg was injured, and the pain caused him such agony that he couldn't stand for more than three minutes. Even a careless step would make him wince in pain. Besides, he had a broken finger on his hand, which further complicated the cooking process for him. Despite these difficulties, he persisted and continued to prepare amazing meals for his guests.
Observing Alexandros and sympathizing with his pain, I couldn't help but reflect on how easily each of us can lose the opportunity to pursue our life's work. Even if you are a true professional, determined and hardworking, with a clear vision of your goals, at some point, your plans may be disrupted. This means that it's crucial to have backup options in case things don't go as planned.
The future: near and uncertain.
Especially during times of major changes, like now, many things can go off track from the plan.
Economic shifts are on the horizon. The era of ultra-low interest rates seems to be a thing of the past, as countries engage in trade wars and adopt protectionism and nearshoring practices, which could keep inflation elevated for an extended period. The world is contemplating alternatives to the dollar, and prominent financier Ray Dalio even believes that the world is on the brink of a world order change and a significant war. Furthermore, the World Bank predicts that the global economy will experience its slowest growth in decades.
What does it all mean for us, ordinary people? As growth rates decrease, there will be fewer resources available to address the accumulated economic and climate problems, fewer job opportunities and stagnant wage growth. This can lead to slower social and economic development and increase discontent in society. Additionally, countries with significant public debt will find it harder to service their debt, which could trigger financial crises. Given the exceptionally high levels of global government and corporate debt, it remains uncertain how these debts will be repaid.
Moreover, while economies are cyclical and people have learned to adapt to downturns, we now face entirely new, unprecedented challenges. The development of artificial intelligence (AI), a topic widely discussed, IMHO has the potential to displace more jobs than it creates, despite its promises.
Furthermore, we are in the midst of a climate crisis, which we are already starting to feel through hotter summers and unexpected natural disasters. While many may not have experienced the full impact of global climate changes yet, European beekeepers, inhabitants of island nations, and climate refugees in Southeast Asia are already experiencing its effects firsthand. While we may avoid facing regular sandstorms like those in the movie "Interstellar," the emergence of new migration patterns and struggles for limited resources like water is possible. Even if the most dire scenarios do not unfold, global climate changes are likely to alter our habits and choices, from transportation to food and vacation destinations. While I don't want to sound alarmist, water scarcity is already becoming an issue in Europe.
And yet, I haven't even mentioned the traditional horsemen of the Apocalypse, like major military conflicts and global epidemics – and in the last three years, unfortunately, we have learned that we cannot dismiss them so easily.
"Well, no computer will ever replace me!" proudly says Nikos, the owner of the butcher shop, as he puts a pie similar to pizza with pastrami from his counter and goat cheese into the brick oven to warm up. In his little shop, you can not only buy fresh meat but also order coffee and fresh sandwiches. In the center of the establishment, several rows of tables are arranged, and in one corner, three elderly Athenians sit, drinking coffee and leisurely sharing stories. They spoke slowly and even lazily, with their entire demeanor showing that a dignified man should not rush about. One of these gentlemen wore dark sunglasses; his hair was neatly combed – a local dandy, it seemed. Nikos, wiping the sweat from his forehead caused by the oven's heat, handed me the pie. After trying it, I realized he was right – no computer could ever replace him. Something I can't say with certainty about myself!
Don't get me wrong – I don't believe that we will have a very gloomy future. I am confident that we can find solutions to some of the looming problems. But I also see how the degree of uncertainty in our lives is increasing, and therefore, each of us must strategically plan their future – which means managing risks and developing contingency plans for various unforeseen circumstances.
To have a strategy is more important than to forecast accurately.
The problem is that when overall uncertainty increases, forecasting the future becomes challenging. Moreover, in addition to global trends that can turn life upside down, there are also personal-level events. People tend to underestimate the role of randomness, leading to excessive optimism. This often results in project deadlines being missed, people taking on too much debt, or making large purchases without a financial cushion.
Nassim Taleb, who became famous for the concept of the "black swan", wrote fascinating books on this topic, such as "Fooled by Randomness" and "Antifragile". Here's how he explains what it means to be "fragile": "If you are fragile, it is important for everything to go according to a predetermined plan, and deviations from this plan should be as minimal as possible – they will harm you rather than help". In other words, fragile people are those whose plans lack a margin of safety, which allows us to calmly handle plan changes. Without a margin of safety, we lose control of the situation, forcing us to make certain decisions. The compulsion is exacerbated by the scale. If circumstances force someone to make an important decision, they may make terrible mistakes and become vulnerable – need drives them to do so.
I believe that no one wants to find themselves in a situation of compulsion. Below, I will describe several steps that everyone can take to avoid it.
1. Envision the worst-case scenarios and identify the most dangerous but controllable risks. Take measures to protect yourself from those risks.
Let's briefly return to Athens, where we met Alexandros.
The grandeur of the preserved ancient structures in Athens is striking. However, this visible splendor should not be misleading. One of the most renowned scholars of antiquity, Rostovtsev, claims that the magnificence of the cities was created by a very small minority of the population and for themselves, while the majority of the citizens lived in extreme poverty. And from Bertrand Russell's book "History of Western Philosophy," we can learn that for much of ancient times, people, witnessing the phenomenon of slavery and civil wars accompanied by the plundering of wealth and land, believed that the golden age was already behind them, and the future, they felt, promised only weariness at best and horror at worst. Russell goes on to speak of the "age of weariness": "In an age of hope, great present ills are bearable, for consciousness says that they will pass; but in an age of weariness, even genuine goods lose their charm."
In those very times, when it seemed that the golden age was behind and the Greeks began to look to the future with anxiety and even hopelessness, the philosophy of Stoicism emerged. One of its main and most practical ideas is: "We can control our mind but not the world around us. We must focus on what we can control and forget about what we cannot." This division between what is within our control and what is not is beneficial in itself, for example, in the context of the risk management. But one of the logical consequences out of their central ideas is that we cannot control the events happening to us, but we can control our attitude towards them. From this logically follows the idea that we can psychologically prepare ourselves for unpleasant events. This is how the most famous Stoic, Seneca, formulated it (who has the moral right to teach us something, as he, compelled by law, ended his life by suicide in front of his family, preserving absolute composure and dictating principles of a dignified life to his loved ones): as a wealthy man (which Seneca was), one should imagine that wealth has evaporated, so that when a wealthy person loses something, they will not feel pain.
I agree with the Stoics that envisioning unfavorable outcomes of events is not paranoia (if it happens in manageable scales) but rather a quite useful exercise for the mind.
Ideally, it's worth conducting a small workshop for yourself (and your family) and brainstorming the question "What can disrupt my life plans?" using an electronic board like Miro or Lucidcharts and the technique of mind mapping. At the top of the board, formulate your life goals so that you won't forget about them during contemplation - and start brainstorming without limiting your creativity! In the next step, try to determine for each risk its perceived probability and its severity. Ideally, at the end, you should have a list of risks sorted from the most severe, even if less likely, to the least severe.
Examples of the mindmaps:
Why is it necessary to consider even unlikely risks? The already mentioned Nassim Taleb provides a good answer to this question: "If I tell you that an event will happen with a 95% confidence level, you will be satisfied. But what if I tell you that the plane will not crash with a 95% confidence level? Even a 99% probability won't make you happy, because one percent of unsafe flights is still a lot... When we point out the errors of predictors, they usually respond that they "should have better calculated the probability" to make the prediction more accurate. It would be much wiser to answer: "Make yourself less vulnerable.""
In the article "The Baby Boomer Retirement Crisis Is Here. Why the Richest Generation Is Struggling." by Barron's, a story is told about a couple who reached retirement age, fully achieving their financial goals, but suddenly the husband fell ill with dementia, which dashed the hopes of the wife to retire as planned. According to the article, this couple is not alone - similar problems may affect many from the baby boomer generation. The article suggests that preparing for such an unexpected turn of events can be done by taking responsibility for investment decisions in advance, choosing the right insurances, and realistically choosing the retirement date. Insurance, in general, can be an indispensable tool to protect oneself from statistically rare but devastating risks, such as the inability to continue working, burnout, or natural disasters. On the non-financial side, reducing the risk of dementia can be achieved by regularly engaging in physical activities or at least active walking, regularly socializing with people, and even solving crosswords. Regular medical check-ups and blood tests are also ways to monitor and potentially reduce risks. While we cannot fully control this risk, we can reduce both its probability and its impact on our own life and the lives of our loved ones.
2. Acquiring Optionality: Diversifying Activities, Income, and Infrastructure.
I love olive oil very much. Especially the rich varieties, even slightly bitter, which I am using even for cooking, which annoys my wife. Olive oil is so delicious that my favorite snack is a piece of baguette dipped in spilled oil on a plate and accompanied by goat cheese (which my wife also doesn't like much). It's amazing that nowadays this product plays a less significant role in society compared to, let's say, sunflower or rapeseed oil, and we have become accustomed to easily buying it in any supermarket. But once upon a time, it was a symbol of status and wealth. It was often used in religious ceremonies and athletic competitions, while the olive tree was associated with Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and the olive branch symbolized peace and victory.
But apart from all of that (or actually thanks to that), olive oil was one of the main exports of ancient Greece, contributing to the prosperity of its ancient cities. The trade of olive oil fostered cultural exchange and economic ties between ancient Greece and its trading partners. In other words, olive oil production was one of the possible ways to become wealthy in ancient times, which one man utilized to teach his compatriots a lesson.
His name was Thales, and he was a distinguished man. I will quote Wikipedia, which succinctly but aptly describes his place in history: "Thales was one of the Seven Sages, founding figures of Ancient Greece. Many regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition, breaking from the prior use of mythology to explain the world and instead using natural philosophy." The first truly Greek philosopher, no less. Some believe that he uttered the expression "Know thyself" inscribed on the walls of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, which can be interpreted both as an encouragement to study oneself and as a warning against overestimating one's capabilities.
But for me, the most interesting aspect of his personality lies not in his contributions to philosophy and science but in the following anecdotal episode of his life.
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Thales, like many philosophers of ancient Greece, lived off of donations. When people mocked Thales for his poverty, laughing that philosophical pursuits brought no profit, he, who possessed scientific knowledge as well (as in those times, there was no clear distinction between philosophy and science), was able to foresee, based on the astronomical data he had collected, a rich olive harvest. Even before the winter ended, he distributed the small sum of money he had saved as a deposit to the owners of all the olive presses in the city of Miletus. Thales contracted the presses at a low price, as no one competed with him since no one possessed the insight he had. When the time came for olive collection, there was a sudden (for everybody except Thales) demand for the presses. Then, Thales began to sell the presses he had contracted at the price he desired. By earning a lot of money this way, Thales proved that philosophers, if they wished, could become wealthy easily; it's just that accumulating wealth was not their primary interest.
I greatly respect Thales' choice: indeed, if one constantly gets distracted by financial matters, it becomes difficult to create something great. But this story interests me for another aspect: Thales had the ability to earn when he wanted to. In other words, he had an option that could almost guarantee him sustenance if he were even slightly interested in material wealth. And this optionality, according to the aforementioned Taleb, makes us "antifragile."
But what exactly gave Thales this optionality? Essentially, Thales had two professions: the profession of a philosopher, through which he could earn through donations, and the profession of a scientist, which he could monetize through commercial operations. And since in those distant times, philosophy was the mother of all sciences, Thales didn't even have to choose between his two "professions."
The example of Thales resonates with me, as being an IT specialist, I have been writing texts in parallel with my main job for many years, both for money and just for fun. The pleasant bonus is that in my texts, I often reinterpret the experience gained from my main job, allowing me to learn from my own experiences and grow.
In other words, I know that whatever happens to my main job—for example, if AI replaces all programmers—I will have backup options. Hmm, but if AI replaces programmers, then by that time, it's evident that it will have long replaced writers of all kinds as well. Perhaps my plan is not as reliable as I thought...
But it's not just about the financial aspect. Peter Drucker, an American economist of Austrian descent and the father of modern management theory, believed that if you engage in activities like working for an NGO, teaching, or writing books alongside your main job, it will help you not only gain a better understanding of your field of knowledge but also acquire new knowledge and connections. Not to mention, you will be doing something meaningful for society. One of the advantages of a "parallel career" is that if you face failure in your main job, you will have an outlet, a quiet harbor that brings you happiness, where you can weather any storm.
Drucker's ideas about the importance of gaining a broad experience and not confining oneself to a narrow bubble resonate deeply with me. Even within the scope of my primary profession, I have set up my growth strategy in a way that I gain as broad experience as possible. As a consultant, I often switch projects. Over the years of consulting, I have encountered a wide variety of situations and contexts. Initially, I was disappointed that I couldn't deeply immerse myself in any one topic. But then I reevaluated my experience and even began to position myself as a generalist capable of quickly immersing myself in a new topic and rapidly producing a functional product. Often, I work on Proof of Concept (PoC) projects, which don't require deep diving into the details of any specific technology. It turned out that my skills are needed quite frequently, so I stopped worrying and instead started striving for diversity in my experience, which will allow me to act and make decisions even faster in the future.
In other words, I have made maximal diversification of my experience to my career strategy. I didn't come up with this model myself: the concept of T-shaped skills has long existed, where a professional possesses knowledge and skills in a wide range of subjects, but excels in one of them. There is also the concept of "tree-shaped people" as a specialist who has extensive knowledge about various things; they excel in one area and have a wealth of related and adjacent knowledge and skills in that field.
I'm not saying that we all should become "tree-shaped" - it's just one way to diversify our experience. In our age of various web platforms, many of us have acquired additional optionality: programmers, accountants, recruiters, lawyers, and others can work for a company or choose to freelance independently, work on-site or from home. Just like Aleksandros, the cook who served us delicious grilled meat and a spinach and cheese pie: he can take orders through an online platform and host tourists on his terrace, and if he wants, he can return to work in a restaurant. And if, for example, he will continue having the health issues, he can go back to his native island and live from managing his parents' farm.
By gaining optionality, we become less dependent on everything going according to plan. And as a result, we become less fragile. At least, until the next release of ChatGPT.
So far, we have talked about diversifying our professional experience. But it makes sense to do the same with other things: by having bank and brokerage accounts in different institutions and even, perhaps, in different countries, we will be less afraid of banking crises; by investing our savings in various assets, we will sleep peacefully during periods of high market volatility. Learning foreign languages allows us to facilitate relocation to another country in case the situation deteriorates in our own: when my native country started severe repression against dissenters, you can imagine how happy those of my compatriots were who had previously acquired documents from neighboring states. And all they needed to do was dig through archives and find their grandmother's documents...
Of course, there's no need to fall into paranoia: you can't hide from everything and foresee everything. But moderate diversification in matters like bureaucracy, finances, and the like certainly won't hurt.
3. Perceiving oneself as a sensor of the surrounding world and increasing the number of points of contact with it.
While planning our trip to Athens, we chose an apartment in such a way that we could easily walk around the entire historical center. In modern Athens, this desire can end up in an accident, considering that local motorcyclists often don't feel the need to stop at pedestrian crossings. However, we managed to reach the ancient Agora safely and intact. Agora is the focal point of the ancient city, a place of trade, art, justice, and civic administration. Today, it is a park spread amidst ancient structures, offering peace and shade amid the bustling and hot city. Green parrots, which have flooded Athens in recent years, flew and chirped above us.
Similar to us, the ancient Greeks also loved to walk, without the risk of being hit by a motorcyclist!
Ancient Greek philosophers set themselves the task of explaining the world around them, understanding the laws governing society, and proposing more perfect models of life. They were thinkers who engaged in deep contemplation and had extensive interactions with those around them. Naturally, they walked a lot. For example, Socrates spent whole days at the Agora, engaging in conversations with people from various professions and asking them questions. He believed that through questioning, he only revealed the knowledge that others already possessed, and the more knowledge he could acquire by questioning a larger number of people (as part of a method called dialectic). Socrates was interested in maximizing interactions with others.
How different it is from many of us who are cocooned in our information bubbles! Yet, if we interact not only with friends but also with neighbors, hairdressers, and taxi drivers, we gain the opportunity to not only learn new facts but also understand how different segments of our society view the facts which are already known to us.
In 1973, Mark Granovetter, a Harvard-trained sociology Ph.D., published a book about the so-called "weak ties." According to his theory, people can benefit more in terms of career growth, ideas, or sales not from "strong ties" (family and close friends) but from weak ties – individuals whom we may not even know personally or have infrequent interactions with. The reason behind this is that the set of ideas circulating within our close circle is quite limited: we often read the same books, watch the same movies, visit the same exhibitions, and interact with the same people as our close friends. On the other hand, by building long-term relationships with weak ties, we can gain exposure to an entirely different set of ideas, contacts, and opportunities. For example, weak ties can be effectively used for job searching . Weak ties also often lead to valuable allies in promoting your ideas, especially if you not only take from people but also willingly give them what they need to achieve their own goals.
Speaking about the need to maintain "weak ties," commentators essentially urge us to "encounter the randomness", meaning intentionally seeking contact with less familiar people in order to hear new ideas or learn about new opportunities. By "encountering the randomness" (my own term), we significantly increase the likelihood of discovering something that can change our worldview, adjust our path to our goals, or even change the goals themselves. The more weak ties we have, the more points of contact we have with reality, and the more complete our picture of the world becomes. This applies not only to our social interactions but also to media consumption, ways of spending leisure time, and so on. For instance, I sometimes read media sources with political views different from my own to understand how the world looks through the eyes of other people: what drives them, what they fear, and what they dream about. We are susceptible to numerous cognitive biases, and the only way to counteract them is not only to develop critical thinking but also to increase the number of points of contact with the world. Just like Socrates did on the ancient Agora.
To express it even more radically: to obtain more complete information about reality, one must perceive oneself as a sensor of the surrounding world: everything you see, hear, and read may eventually come in handy. "Opportunity comes to the prepared mind", said Charlie Munger, the famous investor and Warren Buffett's partner. "It's not a burden on your back", my great-grandmother Eva said 70 years ago, meaning that there is no such thing as excess knowledge.
4. Keep focused
Remember Thales, who could have earned good money thanks to his scientific knowledge but chose not to do so in order not to dissipate his attention on what was not important to him? Similarly, Socrates deliberately avoided politics because it would only distract him from what truly mattered. The ancient Greeks understood the importance of focus. I think they wouldn't understand us - people suffering from chronic context switching.
In this text, I'm talking about the necessity of having a strategy to achieve our goals, and any true strategy includes risk control. However, there is one risk that we often forget - the risk of losing focus. Let me explain this using the example of the Eisenhower Matrix, which categorizes tasks into four types: "important and urgent", "important and not urgent", "not important and urgent". "not important and not urgent".
Often, we overly focus on tasks that are "urgent and important," meaning those that need to be done immediately. Because of them, we rarely ask ourselves: when will I do important but not urgent tasks? When will I find time to complete important tasks before they become urgent? Yet, it is precisely in this realm that strategic long-term decisions reside. I can speak from personal experience that daily routines and immediate work tasks consume so much of my time and attention that I start forgetting what truly matters to me. That's why it took a whole year after publishing my last article before I wrote this text. But it would have been even worse if my wife and I, for example, didn't delegate some tasks to each other when we need to do something important or if we didn't occasionally neglect cleaning the apartment.
The matrix of "importance vs. urgency" can be adapted to a different perspective: "importance for goal achievement vs. cognitive value." For instance, you are working on a project, and your boss asks you to participate in the hiring process for new employees. Should you agree? It depends on long-term goals. If you envision yourself leading a team, starting your own startup, or managing a farm in the future, then the ability to select the right people for the right job will become an invaluable skill. In other cases, conducting interviews with candidates may be an engaging activity, but it's not guaranteed to help you progress toward your main goals. The same can be said for almost any activity. Some time ago, I had a side job as a freelancer, writing technical materials (articles, scripts) of an informative and entertaining nature for major clients. After 5-6 months, I stopped doing it because it was draining too much of my energy and time without moving me forward. However, by creating original texts like this one, I am progressing much further, even though I don't earn from it - but I get people's attention, build a personal brand, and derive satisfaction from the very act of writing a quality and, hopefully, interesting text.
Each of us should periodically take inventory of our projects, both work-related and personal. The decision-making algorithm may look something like this:
The risk of forgetting what truly matters is one of the key challenges in achieving long-term goals, and it needs to be controlled just like any other risks.
5. Do not be afraid to deviate from the path if circumstances change or unexpected opportunities arise.
You have probably noticed that I try to illustrate all the main theses of this text with anecdotes from ancient Greek history. For this thesis, I remembered two stories.
Let's start with the story of Themistocles, the ruler of ancient Athens. In 480 BCE, the Persian Empire, led by King Xerxes I, launched an invasion of Greece. Themistocles, an Athenian statesman and general, faced the challenge of defending Greece against the overwhelming Persian forces. Initially, the Greek city-states planned to confront the Persians in a land battle. However, Themistocles recognized that the Persian navy was a formidable force that could potentially overpower the Greek fleet. Realizing the need for a different strategy, Themistocles urged the Greek city-states to abandon their original plan and instead focus on a naval confrontation. Themistocles convinced the Greek allies to evacuate their cities and gather their naval forces at the narrow straits of Salamis, where the Persian fleet would be at a disadvantage due to the confined space. This contrarian move was met with resistance from some Greek leaders who were reluctant to abandon their homes, but Themistocles persisted in his strategy.?
At the Battle of Salamis, the Greek fleet engaged the Persian navy. Despite being outnumbered, the Greek triremes, with their superior maneuverability, managed to outmaneuver and devastate the Persian ships in the narrow waters. The Greeks achieved a decisive victory, inflicting heavy losses on the Persian fleet and halting the advance of the Persian invasion. By recognizing the importance of adapting their plans to exploit their strengths and exploit the weaknesses of the enemy, Themistocles and the Greeks gained a significant advantage, which helped them to mark a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars and ensure the preservation of Greek independence.
The second story is much less epic. I always wanted to see the Parthenon up close: the massive columns, the view from the hill overlooking the entire city, the feeling of being part of the epicenter of history. But as I approached the base of the Acropolis hill, I encountered a large crowd of tourists; then I saw the entrance fee; finally, I wiped the sweat from my forehead under the scorching sun and realized that perhaps the further ascent wasn't worth it. Feel the atmosphere amidst a large number of people seemed hard, and I always prefer a shade to the blazing sun. I decided that it would be enough for me to climb the neighboring hill of Areopagus, which offered a view of the Parthenon and other structures of the Acropolis from the side, and that's what I did. And on my way back, I strolled along the ancient hills and stumbled upon the quaint neighborhood of Plaka with its whitewashed houses, quiet narrow streets, stone stairs, and blooming trees. In the end, I stumbled upon a café overlooking the hills, where they served my favorite Greek coffee Frappe - whipped coffee with milk and crushed ice.
These two stories are very different, but they are about the same thing: a person who, upon seeing how circumstances changed around them, made a decision to deviate from the planned path. We often hear success stories that praise the determination of people who achieved their goals no matter what, like Walt Disney, whose ideas encountered resistance time and time again (whether it was the character Mickey Mouse or the idea of building Disneyland). We love to hear about people who stand their ground and overcome any resistance - it's like the spirits of our ancestors, who lived millennia ago and composed epics about heroes facing dragons, awaken within us. However, it might be not less important to learn the stories of heroes who, on their way to face the dragon, stopped, reflected, and decided, "Screw it", and went on to do something else.
At the moment when I chose to look at the Parthenon from the side and went to find a frappe coffee, I acted as a true "flaneur" according to Nassim Taleb. Here's an excerpt from his book: "The rational flaneur is someone who, unlike a tourist, makes a decision at every step to revise his schedule, so he can imbibe things based on new information". A flaneur has the choice of opportunity and the opportunity to choose - which means optionality. Taleb claims that he rarely finishes reading books - as soon as he gets bored reading one, he picks up the next.
Being a flaneur can apply to more significant matters as well. For many years, I cherished the dream of developing as a technical expert, someone who knows programming inside out, and never considered becoming a manager. However, when I was offered the role of a team lead, I immediately accepted it without hesitation. I reasoned that I wouldn't lose anything from this experience but gain new knowledge and a different perspective through which I could view the world. And if I ever got tired of it, I could always return to being a developer. I led the team for almost a year, learning to communicate with people, especially during crisis moments, argue, persuade, and hire the right people. When I was offered the opportunity to head the practice, I once again agreed without hesitation. Now, I am involved in entirely different processes: developing employees' career growth strategy, working on our portfolio, and assisting in selling our services. Just two years ago, I couldn't even imagine doing all of this. But as soon as the opportunity presented itself, I thought, "Why not? It's not a burden on my back", echoing my great-grandmother's words.
After finishing our Frappé, we strolled through the charming streets of Plaka a little longer. Then, making our way through a bustling square with a mosque from the times of the Ottoman Empire, we hopped on a bus and headed to have dinner with Chef Alexandros. On the path to achieving our goals, it's crucial not to forget to live in the present the way you would want to live in the future. Sometimes, all it takes is going for a walk, admiring beautiful views, cooking a delicious dinner, and spending time with family and friends.
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