Darkness

On autumn evenings, when it gets dark earlier and I find myself walking in dim street lights or with no lights at all, I go back in time, to a street in Tulcea, walking next to my mother. Gospodinov wonderfully wrote in his novel Time Shelter that it is such a pity that certain experiences or smells do not have names and we evoke them only by words we use to describe them, and always making comparisons. And living similar smells or experiences, you go back in time to those memories and find yourself in the midst of them.

This is what autumn evenings can trigger in me. And when a memory calls, I realize I am not afraid of dark or other monsters. Or maybe just the despair one. But I have learned ways to face it, and I look over my collection of encouragements and praises that I’ve gathered from strangers and people I know and love for some years now, to help me move on and keep my eye on my goals. It helps a lot and I surely recommend you do the same! 

It’s similar to what I recently learned from a course by Ronald Heifetz, one can endure through failure or despair if one stays in touch with the good that one’s doing.

The Divine

The Live of the Event Corporation in Workshop

I am very grateful to the guests, the moderator and those present at the event! We had a very nice time, we laughed while exchanging advice, sincerity and, most of all, humanity.

You can find here the link to the live of the event.

Corporation in Workshop

No one can do it all alone, and the much needed change in the workplace cannot come unless we are more to demand it.

All the stories included in my book (interviews, getting hired, being fired or resigning) are our stories. You are not alone, we are more!

On the 8^th of October, at 18:30, the Carturesti Modul Bookstore welcomes us with open arms to talk about change. Come and join us while we talk about what demotivates us and what we can do in order to improve things and create healthy work environments.

To get the conversation started, you can watch again the interview I did with Derrick.

Interview about my book ‘Corporation. Typologies and Survival Guide’

This spring, my new book, ‘Corporation. Typologies and Survival Guide’, started the change movement.

Since I received a lot of questions about the book, I asked Derrick if we could film an interview and talk about them. Due to the typologies presented in my new book, people might get the wrong idea, that I think all colleagues, managers, and all environments are toxic. How better to prove otherwise than by having a former colleague interview me?

The interview is in English, but it has Romanian subtitles (when watched on YouTube).

Derrick and I talked about why it is important to talk about the typologies that drain us in the workplace, why we need the change and how we can initiate it so that we can work in a positive work environment, and what were my inspirations when writing it.

I hope you’ll enjoy this interview and do share your thoughts about it!

A Gift

Today, someone said to me something so beautiful that I want to share.

When you're young, do take care of your body because as you get old it will avenge the bad things you did to it.

Alexandru the Rabbit - Ana Barton

Norman recommends ‘Alexandru the Rabbit’

As soon as I received the book, I gently caressed the cover. I had seen before some of the works of Iulia Schiopu while browsing through Facebook, but it’s another thing to see it right under your nose, for there’s something with Mrs. Schiopu’s illustrations that makes one wonder if one looks at the drawings or the drawings look at one.

I gently opened the book and smiled at the author’s dedication because it reminded me of how my children’s story got to exist. My nephew is the one that gave me the idea for the Sugu the squirrel and Hapciu the dog, since squirrel is our conspirical.

Through the ‘Alexandru the Rabbit’, Ana brought me a loss joy because it reminded me of the magical powers we believed we had when we were children (and I don’t think that there ever were children not to believe in their magical powers). We were one with our favourite characters, all things had soul and reason, and communicating with them was complex and fulfilling. We ignored or we did not even care what others believed, since we knew that the connection with anything around us (be it invisible) was strong and real. Culcus, the domestic rabbit, reminded me of that magical connection we used to have and that we could not see differences between us and the animals. Culcus easily renounces its fears and wants to learn how to read, while the boy Alexandru starts to hop and to love the salad, and soon both of them learn valuable things from each other.

But the greatest lesson is learning about their own identity, about who they truly are inside themselves, and this lesson is by far the most beautiful one, whether you’re human or rabbit. 

If you're interested, I've got other books written by Ana Barton that I could recommend you - here and here.