My interview. Part 2

First of all, let me say this – for me, a modern gentleman is not just about wearing a good suit. Primarily, it’s about being true to oneself, not searching for oneself, but creating oneself every day. It’s about trying new things and enjoying the process. A gentleman is someone who has a good foundation beneath his suit. Alongside appearance, we need to develop a wide range of skills.

Let me tell you a story from when I first started working, where I had to talk to people, and I was afraid to pick up the phone and make a call to a client. And when I did, I wouldn’t have wanted to talk to a manager who speaks unclearly on the phone and can’t convey information well. My supervisor noticed this, and the next day, they brought me three printed sheets with exercises for speech articulation that could help me. I’m very grateful for what my supervisor did for me, and that’s how I started working on my speech. After that, I attended classes with a teacher, acting courses, and also tango lessons. Because it helps to relax and communicate information more easily. On workdays, almost every morning after a walk, I do speech exercises. It’s been going on for several years now, and I feel a huge difference between the Anton who was afraid to pick up the phone and the Anton who speaks now.

And recently, I was talking with my friends and discussing how each of our days is filled with something interesting and different. Walks, workouts, meetings, studying, reading, traveling, and much more. And when you look back, you notice that each of your days is filled with colors and very rich. And these little things fill our lives with meaning, create our charisma and energy, which people later feel and follow. But I can definitely say that nothing would have worked out if I didn’t look at all these situations with a smile and sometimes laugh at it all. Only this helps me not to give up in some moments and continue on my intended path.

Although, we all know and understand that the more popular we become, the more negativity we receive. Sometimes just from good things. It’s normal, that’s how people are. For myself, I decided that I wouldn’t engage in this, and if I discuss and write about something, it will only be good, and I will never waste time on arguments and disputes. It’s again about self-respect, self-love, and being true to oneself. I also noticed a very important trend. As soon as I try to surround myself with people I want to communicate with, I never succeed, but as soon as I just create myself every day, my environment changes by itself, and those people come to me whom I would like to be friends with. And sometimes I get more than I expected. It’s true what they say, show me your five friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.

And precisely what helped me create myself is reading. Some people like to read business literature, some science, some psychology. I realized for myself that I can only read fiction and biographies of great people. I don’t know how many hundreds of books I’ve already read, but I can definitely say that they develop me and help me train my perspective and make my speech more beautiful and clearer. Thanks to my grandmother for the example and for the opportunity to read the best book by Alexandre Dumas, “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

And my main investment in myself is traveling. I’ve seen so many places. Fulfilling a childhood dream and getting to the stadium of my favorite team, Santiago Bernabeu. And before that, I sat with my father, I was about 11-13 years old at the time, and we watched a Real Madrid match on TV, I thought it was completely impossible and it was another planet. Ten years later, I stood at my favorite stadium, before the match of my favorite team, remembering how my father and I watched football, and at that moment tears almost ran down my cheeks. This is my example that everything in our life is possible.

You have to believe, be open to it, and act