One way ?? to Happiness

When I opened my eyes on Friday, May 8th 2020 I knew right away — this day is going to be extraordinarily and intensely special as the day of my great career pause. Little did I know how truly profound and fundamentally different this milestone would alter and fork my life path. Even now, six months later, I am grappling with an idea on “why” and what this ripple effect has caused — but more on that later.

The levels of clarity and lucidity in my mind were beyond belief, I knew the time had come… twenty years of global bravado of a career in making needs come to a halt. Even writing this now, makes me cringe — talking about egos, corporate dominance hierarchy, self-awareness, ohh â€œmuch to learn, you still have ? Yoda” â€” but as promised one step at a time.

Well, let us rewind — it did not really happen on May 8th, it started long before that. Three months before, to be exact since the pandemic altered the way we perceive the world and reciprocate socially. By gaining more “free-time” locked at home under covid madness, I read more books (not news, memes and AdExchanger.com!) on psychology, philosophy, and original stoics. It worked, altering the unconscious and subconscious mind with intricate questions on beliefs, identity, and purpose — thus fostering new ways of pondering, challenging self-cognitive capacity, and manifesting something entirely new which required more time for fulfilment and realization.

“What did you just say?” — That was the sentiment from the executive and leadership team, after voicing my desire to take my time back. “Do you have a mental problem? Can we help?” â€” those were very understandable and genuinely reasonable questions under the coronavirus infused economy with dwindling job opportunities and opaque global market future. Leaving into the void of an unsecure job climate is no joke; nevertheless my aim was crystal clear — time. I desired more. Much, much more!

This profound personal transformation (think of self-actualization or even deeper self-transcendence or any other ‘smart’ words from Maslow pyramid {insert here}) journey started merely by transferring my entire condo into Manhattan storage in just under two days. Then I acquired a one-way ticket to the nature infused utopia of the west coast to escape the world epicentre of covid — which happened to be a few blocks away from my New York apartment. And so my journey began!

Back to the former described commodity, the sole purpose of which was to obtain more time for me, myself, and I. Giving a portion of your life back to yourself was something I have never done before at that scale, and definitely not a move you make on Fridays, but If Not Now, When?

And so I dedicated time to myself. And only myself. Getting back at least ten hours a day at my disposal. This guy on the left shoulder got exceedingly excited — what a temptation we can go to the tropics and sip pina coladas! Thankfully being right-handed and all, I made more sensible decisions and I did not take this gift for granted, however compromise was dealt and I did end up by Caribbean shores hoping Mayan civilization relics would provide that eccentric and rather mystic energy to persevere.

Being blessed with the opportunity to take ample time off to rethink life, reconnect with nature and revive inner teacher and spirit is not something we do daily. It was (and still is) a long journey, which I am honouring daily by committing and investing that precious time wisely. There is simply no other way. Your inner voice always knows the truth, and if you listen carefully, it’s a waste of one’s life to misuse such an opportunity. I have used life not by accident, what’s happening in the world is a tragedy, every loss is a devastation so who am I to capitalise on the Great Pause during such unprecedented times and not investing gained time to become a better self. It would have been a squandered opportunity with little forgiveness, and something I could not take lightly. It starts with you and it starts now (Power of Now), as renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson stated in his prolific book “12 Rules of Life ‘’ — get your house in order. So, I have started doing just that, baby steps at a time, Thank you to atomic habits methodology by James Clear which got me going.

A lot of people ask me, what is your secret? The answer is simple — routine. Your body will love you for it, and consistency is the key that stitches everything together and delivers miracles. Consistently showing up for yourself creates a true sense of confidence and inner authority that cannot be replicated, and there are no shortcuts to this promised land. Being in a corporate environment for so long with an extreme travel schedule my most vivid memory of 2019 is of the airport and planes, which is rather startling. Myriad time zones, different microbiology, high sodium plane diet, broken sleep and constant fatigue impact one’s health more than we think. Even staying in a single geography for a few months while having a coherent deep sleep cycle and stable circadian rhythm makes you feel incredible.

Adding morning core workout (try it — it’s only 10min!) and meditation, yoga and perhaps evening deep stretching with night pranayama (breathing) make you limitless and unlock your true power. This program time wise is much less than any solid gym session or Barry’s bootcamp (NYC folks alert) — nonetheless transformed my mental and physical state like I have never seen before in the past two decades. With zero cardio, yes — no SoulCycle (insert angry emoji {here}!) substituted with healthy nutrients, I do not have a diet in my dictionary, and 24 hours Monday fast (Thank you to my COO advice) made the most overwhelming impact on my wellbeing and health overall.

Taking “routine” further, and I do not mean it in a negative connotation, rather the most positive way possible. Adding morning reading, self-improvement projects: I have picked up learning Spanish, juggling three balls (helps right hemisphere development!) and studying personality psychology filled my day with a well needed consistent program. My 2019 resolution was to read a book a week, which is only 1 hour a day (every day, back to habits!) and a total of 50–55 books a year sounded like a great number at a time. Looking at it now, honestly this number is very irrelevant, non-static knowledge gain (while one’s hope to shine prudence) opposed to graveyard of information is not.

I have decided to take it further, by accomplishing a smart coherence reading program (highly recommended by Jim Kwik) you can double or triple your shelf library collection and hopefully raise intelligence outside of data and digital marketing topics, which was my singular intention. I was thirsty for Russian literature — Dostoevsky, Solzhenitsyn, Astafiev, going further into political philosophy and re-reading Marcus Aurelius “Meditations” to widen breadth and depth of my knowledge to diversify and enrich my soul with the most fertile timeless pieces ever written. The true portal of decades of wisdom solidified and averaged in 300 pages — what a gift to humanity. Leaders are readers as the saying goes, and I’m more than happy to share a complete list, but feel free to start with these 52 books.

I am not going to argue, eliminating work-stress anxiety does the trick (hence why I have decided to part ways in the first place) but also sets a new mindset. You must have an empty glass mentality to truly transform yourself. Don’t fill it with ‘new errands’, and beware of existential vacuum syndrome which we gladly back-fill with SVOD binge-watching and little cerebral activity pastime. Mindfulness is paramount, it’s extremely easy to get distracted thus creating a structure of micro habits is highly recommended and it works.

My dedication to a routine became a foundation of my existence. The openness created natural flow in my life. Serendipity became a daily experience, which opened a myriad of connections to live differently. I have met so many amazing people on similar journeys, which were truly beautiful. The personal transformation began on May 8th with an identity shift, which aligned me with my true-self and freed true happiness. This is the holy grail of life.

Lastly, I would like to get very personal and vulnerable with my reader as something extraordinary has happened that touched to my very soul. My seventeen-year-old daughter, Anastasia, casually mentioned that this is the best version of the dad she has ever seen to date. My heart stopped, it was uniquely beautiful to hear not from an egocentric and narcissistic point of view but from completely the opposite side. Very unexpected but profoundly deep true feeling of accomplishment, and self-transformation hit me right there. As a testament of finding purpose and becoming a better self, more aware, more present version — capable of deeper and more engaging conversation with people around you is the skill we can never stop perfecting. That brief and candid note alone made this path worth walking for, and I will always cherish that moment of enlightenment.

If you had told me a year ago that I would consciously make a decision to not have a job and have started juggling coconuts in Mexico, I would’ve, without hesitation, issued you an insanity ticket on the spot (NYPD style) and moved on with my well-loved fast pace New Yorker lifestyle. However, here we are, and as they say the Universe works in mysterious ways. Indeed, this is by far the best experience that has ever happened to me and I am genuinely blessed to have courage to step into the chaos, into the unknown. To treat an obstacle is a way forward and reaping inexhaustible rewards along the way of self discovery, growth, inner peace and tuning into true spirituality. The latter can’t be commercialised and bastardised by socialising on such channels, thus I had true doubts publishing this piece with sole intention of sharing obtained learnings and experiences rather than use that as a vehicle of self promotion and self gain. I hope my reader doesn’t see it as such, authenticity is the key and this is most transparent I’ve ever been with you.

I’m genuinely electrified to bring a new version of awareness, conscientiousness and egoless perspective into the world, by integrating my new identity, beliefs, values and renowned behaviours into society. Exhilarating times ahead, excited to be sharing it with all of you in due course.

… and finally, there are two most important days in your life — first is the day you are born, and second when you understand “why”. I wish all of us to find the answer to the latter. Enjoy your journey and stay true.

This is not the end, this a true beginning. Namaste from Evgeny 2.0 ??