Hey, guys! It has been a long pause, and I have taken some time off to get back with new ideas and stories to share, hope it did not take too much. I was traveling last month, visiting Italy and Cyprus for the first time in my life, it was a great experience. In the meantime, I and my team InsightWhale published 2 digital products on gumroad, you can check them here, also we have a pretty busy schedule with new projects coming in since CRO season just started. So past 3-4 weeks were both productive and recharging at the same time, so I am ready to post something new.

I started taking notes for this one piece when I was sitting in Mercato Centrale Milano, eating a delicious stake with my friend, after a great day, when I was able to visit Leonardo Da Vinci Technological Museum and do some shopping (this is what you do in Milan, I guess).

Here it is, the best steak I have ever eaten (sorry, my vegan friends)

While I was sitting there, it hit me in one second, that around 5-6 years ago, I could never imagine, that I would be able to travel to some cool places, move back to my homeland and be self-sustainable in the first place. It has been quite some time since I started this blog and you already know some stuff about me, but I want to share with you some uncharted facts, that give an intro to how life was back in the day for me.

From Immigrant Kid to Tech Industry Geek

  • I was born and grew up in an immigrant family, my parents moved from Georgia to Russia, when the war started in the Abkhazia region. My father was working in the mines in Gagra, expecting to get a new flat from the government soon. War started and they moved without any clothes even to Chelyabinsk.
My Georgian refugee family in Chelyabinsk, a couple of years after they left their homeland
  • My father was locked up for 3 years for stabbing someone during the conflict situation.
  • At the age of 7-8, I have first seen a man dead shot in front of my eyes.
  • By the age of 14, I knew at least 4 people from our Georgian immigrant community who died from overdose or drug-related health issues. Some of them were fathers, uncles of my friends, and pretty close with our family.
  • My whole upbringing was going on with different people around, they all were kind to me, but was a bit strange to know, that before they gift me some sweets or toys, they were stealing stuff, murdering people, or in-taking heroin.
  • At the age of 12, I hit a guy in school with a left body shot and broke his rib, because he said my mom and dad are dirty people and we always will be slaves in this country. This is how I first got into the police station for assault charges.
  • Our family had a small business with grocery stores, and we were living normally, but when I was around 16-18, we lost 3 of those stores, because of competition with big grocery networks, that started taking over. I remember days when we were eating just bread with some sauce and water, I knew that we could not afford anything else at that time.
  • Before getting into the tech industry, I was doing all types of stuff: cotton candy guy, loader, courier, and all of that.
My first candy cotton gig
  • For 20 years I was living in a home, without a normal shower, I literally had to shower with a bucket, fill it with water and use a dipper to pour water on myself. My family could have fixed that 50 times, but our house was always the subject of demolition by the government, for 15 years we were waiting for that and then compensation, and every 6 months we had some visits from city architects, telling us, that we will have to move out, but it was a bs.
That was my shower for 20 years, wassup
  • When I was 20, my father was diagnosed with third-stage cancer, he was dying in our arms for two years and left us in 2019.
  • So, at the start of 2020, I have just finished uni, I left my previous work for something new, I have a retiree mom, no idea what to do with my life, how to manage all of this, and, of course, enormous amounts of debts.

These were my thoughts in Milan, I was sitting silently for around 3 minutes, thinking about how many situations happened to me. I understand, that there are people around the world, who suffer way more than I did, but I can talk only about my path because I have lived each and every second of those moments myself. I bet you guys also had such obstacles in your life, do not forget to thank yourself for the strength and determination you have shown to overcome them.

So, what is the purpose of this whole post? I am no way near being a billionaire, or owning real estate objects all over the globe, fancy cars, as modern-day media ask for, to look a human being, as if he/she has accomplished something...

Well, I am here to tell you that you dont need all of that to be happy and fulfilled. You need some financial independence and a bit of stability, but no private jets and stuff at least is the way I see it.

At 25 years old, I am working on things that I love, I have great friends, and I live in a beautiful place. My mom doesn't have to worry about money because I got her fully covered, which makes me happy. I can also travel anywhere I want and buy most of the things I like, but I'm not obsessed with consumerism as I used to be.

The most important thing is that I became mentally strong. Nothing can break me, even if I am thrown into a difficult situation. I can handle rejection or losing a business without falling into depression. Of course, I have experienced real tragedy, like losing my father, which is something that will always stay with me.

Unfortunately, some people confuse minor problems with real crises. For example, feeling depressed because they cant afford a new pair of sneakers or because they are single. I can afford expensive sneakers now, but I grew up repairing my shoes until they were unwearable. So, I know how to live without material things.

I hope this post strikes a chord with some of you because I believe that most difficult situations can be overcome. If I was able to rise above the challenges that I mentioned in this post and start living a happy, mindful, and active life, then so can you. Don't get bogged down by who you are right now, but focus on who you want to become and take action to make it happen. Personally, I attribute my little success so far to dedicating time and attention to developing certain skills, meeting amazing people along the way, and of course, my beloved parents who invested everything they could in me. It feels like their hard work and support are finally paying off, at least that's how I feel.

If you enjoyed this post and want to stay updated on future content, be sure to subscribe to my blog. By subscribing, you'll be the first to know when I publish new articles, and you will never miss a post. Plus, by subscribing, you'll be supporting my efforts to create valuable content for you. So, don't wait, hit the subscribe button now and join the community of readers who value quality content.

Thank you once again, here are my social media links:

Instagram: @genqa.me

Telegram: @only1genqa

LinkedIn - Link

or

Email me at: hey@genqa.me

Have a great weekend, gang 😎