Have you ever wondered what it makes you want to continue ? What keeps you going ?
It’s our journeys, our stories, our lives.
It’s those and so much more. This is why we are here and this is why we're staying… to the end !
Hello, I am ilias diamantis from Athens, Greece.
I was born, raised and went to school in Thessaloniki the second biggest city in Greece located in the North. I gave exams and passed at the Aristotle University, Faculty of Civil Engineering. A year later decided to open a technical office, mostly to gain experience and learn the secrets of the trade. It seemed that I was a good learner because after a few years I was having some major players as my clients. At 2008 I graduated from the university while I was continuing to grow my office.
And now you might think that this the classic tale of going to college , getting a job , marrying and living happily aver after. Boring !
Not so fast, because after a couple of years a major economic crisis hit Greece. Still we haven’t recovered ( not even close ), although now I don’t use the term crisis or even care about it at all. But, back then in 2011, it was the harsh reality and I felt it deep into my skin. Clients disappeared, income plummeted, expenses ( taxes mostly ) skyrocketed. After an extremely depressing year, I hit rock bottom.
And in the moment of my lowest of lows, I said I had to do something. My “brilliant” idea was to apply for a job in London. And while I miserably failed in this endeavor, something positive came out of it. I started to read. I first read about presentations and that led to marketing and then about business and self development. Next I discovered podcasts and online courses and finally I realized that I could build my business again. Screw that job, I ain’t going anywhere, I did it before and I will do it again.
I decided to take it to the next level. I went out to the world. Literally. I took part in online business communities, I went to business events, I participated in masterminds. I met a lot of people. Businessmen and businesswomen that were way more successful than I was and learned from them. Gained from their knowledge and experience. I observed how they thought and how they acted. These are some of my heroes that I used to listen to a couple of years ago. I am so fortunate that I had spent time with them.
I also took action. I teamed up with a colleague and friend of mine Aristomenis and we joined our offices. It’s called synergy. One plus one equals three and more. I built a website for our business. It’s www.adeiesleitourgias.gr . I guess this is what you do if you hang around with internet marketers. And it worked. We started having clients through “the internet” and growing our office. And then something else amazing happened. People started to call from Athens ( the capital). Seeing that in hindsight it’s completely logical, even though at that time we didn’t thought about Athens. So, we told ouselves : Why don’t we try it and see how it goes ? So, we arranged a meeting with a prospect client, drove 6 hours to Athens and came back. We didn’t close the client , lost money on the trip, but we broke a mental barrier.
Next time we went to Athens, after a couple of weeks, we closed a client and made some money. From that time I started to go to Athens. First, it was once a week, then I stayed for one night, then for two nights until I took the big decision. To relocate and open an office in Athens!
From September of 2014 I live in Athens and operate our office here. This way we have covered the two biggest cities of Greece. We also built a team that supports us and our business is continuing to grow despite what happens in Greek economy ( don’t know if you follow the news , our economy sucks big time ). Our goal is to expand our team and diversify our services. Not bad for someone that in 2012 was helpless and clueless about what to do next. I believe that if you educate , invest in yourself and take massive action you will sooner than later reap the harvest of your hard work. Moving to Athens was one the best decision I’ve ever made. This is where the money is ( another lesson here - go where the money is ) and as you can see from the photos is actually fun to live around here.
The other great decision I have made over the years is to get involved in communities ( mostly business related ). I have met a lot of people that have supported me , guided me and even befriended me. If it wasn’t for them and for a couple of mentors, I wouldn’t be here. I feel blessed and thankful that they have come to my path. And this leads me to Steemit. I was introduced to this platform by the works of a fellow steemian @robcubbon, I did my research, so here I am with my first “official” post. There are a hundred more comments, so someone could say that I am quite active and I enjoy it here.
I intend to write about topics that I am passionate, such as music and topics that I have knowledge and experience like business , marketing and NLP. I also want to give as much value as I can to as many as I can. I won’t say more, since I believe that actions speak louder than words,
So, here it ends. My introductory post, my story, my journey. Up until now ...
And the journey goes on and we don’t know where it will get us.
That’s the magic of it , that’s why it fascinates us.
And the more we find ourselves out there, the more excited we become.
And while we face the difficulties, the struggles, the agonies the more inspired we become because we know there is also victory, happiness and smile. Like the one that could be right now drawn in your face. Right ?
And with a smile I leave you and as this intro post on Steemit about yours truly comes to an end I suppose you know what to do next. ( upvote, follow and resteem )
And until next time ,
Be healthy and smile . :)