Photo by Motoki Tonn on Unsplash

I have done many different jobs in my life as a matter of necessity or exploration. Today, I want to tell you 4 stories that took place while I was working in different jobs and share with you what those stories taught me.

The Casino story

The first time I started looking for a job, I was in my senior year of college and very close to getting my B.A degree in business. I was not ready to commit to a career in finance yet and wanted to experiment a little bit first. I was only 22 and not in a hurry to start spending my days in front of a monitor full of excel sheets. When I heard that the biggest casino in the country was hiring dealers, I got excited. My perception of a casino back then was very different and was mainly based on the movies. I was under the impression that the casino was a cool place where people go to have fun and socialize. Guess what, I was wrong.

It took me a few weeks to realize that the majority of the people didn’t gamble to have harmless fun. They were addicted. During the six months that I’ve worked there, I witnessed the negative psychological and physical repercussions of gambling addiction to people. The bright lights and pleasing sounds, the colorful carpets, the friendly personnel was a facade masking the ugly truth. My employer was causing pain and despair to people and was praying on the weak. The realization that I was a part of this took its toll on my psychology and, a couple of months later, I decided to quit.

Despite the bad experience, I learned a valuable lesson from my time working as a dealer at the casino. We should not make assumptions based on our first impressions. Something that seems glamorous from the outside can be messy in reality. And I am not talking only for jobs. The same can be said for people, relationships, social media accounts, and everything else.

2. The Bank story

After some more experimentation and part-time jobs, I decided that it was time for me to grow up and try to start building a career. I became a credit analyst for a private bank. Truth be told the job description was not very exciting. In simple words, I determined the creditworthiness of people or companies applying for loans. The typical tasks included assessing, analyzing and evaluating financial information, undertaking risk analysis by developing statistical models, visiting clients, and keeping bank credit exposures within set risk bearing limits.

Yes, it is as boring as it sounds. But it didn’t matter. I had decided to trade off excitement for job security and a good salary. The years passed and the routine remained the same until, one day, something inconceivable happened. After a long period of what turned out to be fake prosperity, Greece was on the verge of default. Greek economy was collapsing and the -once upon a time powerful- greek banks were going down with it. The government rescued the four biggest banks with taxpayers money to avoid chaos but a dozen smaller ones — including the one I was working for — had to seize its operations.

That was the end of my career in banking. A career that offered me some money and a great life lesson. Trying to avoid taking risks and playing it safe is a losing strategy. Our world is changing so fast that what we consider secure and safe today might become uncertain and dangerous tomorrow.

3. The Bar story

So there I was, 33 years old, unemployed and faced with some serious decisions regarding my future. I didn’t want to force myself into a rushed decision so I took a step back and decided to give me some time to plan my next move. I considered my status as an opportunity to obtain an MBA degree. I felt that it could give me more options and some great networking opportunities in the future. Besides the MBA classes, I tended a bar to generate some extra cash.

During the next year, as I expected, I met some fantastic people that are now a big part of my life. What I didn’t expect is that most of them, I didn’t meet at the business school but at the bar. Artists, future business partners, friends, and my dream girl (present wife). I got to know all of them from a job I did not have any expectations from it. Working as a bartender for a year changed my life and learned me something important. Never underestimate what a new experience can offer you and how pivotal it can be for your life. A life-changing meeting can happen at the most unexpected place.

4. The start-up story

A Sunday night, three years ago, I met my wife. She had visited Greece on vocation. My wife is half American — half Chinese. She was born and raised in New York City before moving to Beijing and becoming an educator there. She combines the entrepreneurial American spirit and can-do attitude with the hardworking Chinese mentality. She had a vision that she shared with me. She wanted to organize and implement youth international educational and cultural programs in Greece enabling young people to participate in international exchange activities. And she wanted me to be a part of this.

A call for adventure! I wasn’t sure whether to answer it or refuse it. The proposed project was something outside of my comfort zone. Risky and appealing at the same time. Eventually, I decided that it was worth a try, so we founded a company, established our strategic partnerships, and initiated our first program. It went great. A week after it was concluded I received this mail from a young kid who participated.

Letter from Blanket

That was it for me. When I read it something magical happened. Knowing that I played a tiny part in broadening the horizons of a young mind was one of the most rewarding feelings I have ever experienced. For the first time, after 34 years, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Since that day, many more projects followed. The feeling remains the same. And the journey continues.

I saved the most important lesson for last. Personal growth and magic happens when we are willing to step out of our comfort zone and try something new. All of our previous experiences can prepare us to face the beginnings of change, overcome the fear of the unknown and help us find our true call.