It is 8 a.m., and I just made myself a cappuccino (I guess I am Italian). In my new life, I enjoy cappuccino and I regularly exercise either in the morning or at night, by biking and/or swimming.
I work under inspiration, and with a forward-thinking about the future, I firmly believe that the actions we are taking today will shape our future tomorrow. I am a very "dreamful" and hopeful person, who is now understanding what a good night sleep is worth to both recharge my body batteries and to enable my brain to work as a happy-engine until night.
I am currently looking for a job. I am learning to slow down and appreciate the little things. I used to believe that if you truly, powerfully and intensely dream of something, it will eventually come true. "When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it." -- Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist -- the first book I fell in love with when I was 16 years old.
Hard work in the process is needed though (and quite a lot if you have big "worldly" dreams involving communities, equal access to education, economic-social and environmental sustainable growth opportunities and inclusive development for all). So in my 26 years of life, I traveled, I graduated in economics and business management, in international relations & political science and got interested in women leadership and diversity management in five different languages, covering three continents, working hard and putting all my best in what I was doing; I worked in communications, public relations, paid and non-paid, in many organizations that gave me the incredible chance to discover new ways of working, how to connect with people and the importance of team work to advance in work achievements.
I regularly listen to music. Thanks to online music, radio and Spotify, my mind wonders and wanders from swing to pop, from indie rock to classical. I imagine myself singing with Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwick, being on stage with the U2 and duetting with Katy Perry.
I value people and I see technologies as tools to reach out to them. I am a communicative person and my dad tells me that if walls spoke I would strike up a conversation with them as well. I like connecting. But up until a couple of months ago I was addicted to online social media 24/7.
I like traveling, and I was convinced that imagination was better performing only when moving from place to place, non-stop. By standing in one place as I am right now, I am valuing the huge potential of inside wandering, looking and digging inside myself to see what there is and being able to discover a whole world whom I never imagined I would have.
I think one of the best teachings from children and from a very special friend Roberto, who has two beautiful children, is the ability to never stop wondering about the mysteries of life. Everything, everyday is a surprise and you will never know what is going to happen next, the people you will encounter and who will help you unconditionally, giving you a smile and enlightening your day. When Socrates used to say, "As for me, all I know is that I know nothing," and he was right. We live in an immense planet, where the opportunities for learning are enormous and the growth that comes thanks to them are somewhat revolutionary, in terms of using brains and united, work towards achieving something even greater, for us and the people around us, for the present and the future generations.
Another great discovery in my redefine success storyline is "Panta Rhei," which I discovered with my boyfriend Silvio in Brazil. Living 10.000 km away (7,000 miles) since 2012, we developed a high level of trust in one another, constant journalistic communications and a good dose of sense of humor (including teaching new Italian and Portuguese words and expressions to one another, which is always very entertaining). We developed patience (and this I think it is the hardest obstacle to overcome, but piano piano I have an excellent coach) became fearless, more confident and sure that a relationship per sé is put into place only to support, listen and learn from one another to become better people. The happiness and the enrichment in consciously choosing to take a difficult path with no whatsoever long-term certainty of the outcomes, has enabled us to embrace uncertainty as a normal state of the events, avoiding troubles and misunderstanding by talking over and over on cultural perceptions and divergent points of views.
Heraclitus' "Everything flows" stands for the continuity of life, the flows of it, no matter how much we hold negative feelings in our hearts, how much we suffer, everything flows away at one point. However, we always need to be strong in our hearts, respect ourselves and the others and exercising empathy on a daily basis.
Thrive was inspiring and positively influenced my life: giving to others by volunteering, disconnecting from online devices, appreciating nature and people around you, fully live the present moment and endlessly work for improving our inner selves and for feeling part of the world strengthened my view of life, made me reflect and from now I will listen to my intuition and never stop wondering.
As Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General addressed to the World Bank Conference "Global Knowledge" in Toronto on June 22nd 1997, the key to human development is knowledge. And, and he continued, "Knowledge is power, Information is liberating, education is the premise of progress, in every society and in every family".
So if we stay calm and focus on our passions, they will transform in what we truly want to be and do, because we are human beings willing to make a meaningful difference in the world, at least for the amount of time we are on earth.
To me success is being able to creatively innovate ourselves every day, work with passion and establish long-lasting relationships built on trust, respect, understanding and mutual love.
Thank you Arianna,
Gaia