Minimalism: Not just another trend but a way of life.

It's been roughly a week since the day i decided to go minimalist. I started decluttering my house and at the end of the second day of my minimalism challenge it dawned on me that maybe i should expand this project to other aspects of my life as well. So, in the spirit of less is more, i thought of other ways that abundance is messing with my life. If you find objects distracting, then think of what social media does to your life. Sacrificing a significantly big amount of time being on Facebook instead of spending it on a more productive and qualitive way, is hurting our lives without even noticing it most of the times. It's one thing using social media for business purposes and another for killing our spare time.

I believe everybody has heard of the following quote : "The first person you think of in the morning, or the last person you think of at night, is either the cause of your happiness or your pain." Now, let me say that this is so 90s! I mean it's 2015, if you are between 15 to 45 years old, chances are your first thought in the morning and your last at night is Facebook. Unless, of course, other stuff is happening in your life that are substantially more important than social media's addiction, hence you are putting all of your energy in dealing with your issues. But, if that is not the case, and you fall into the first category, i want you to take a moment and picture this. Let's say Facebook (F for short) is the girl or guy you are in a romantic relationship with. F is fun, knows people, is a music fan etc. S/he can be really addictive over time and has the ability to mess with your mind and psyche. Sounds like a passionate love affair eh? Pretty much the same thing, feelings-wise.

However, when you come to a point where you feel like you need to take a break away from F, you realise few things. S/he is more like a gossip chick who constantly compares your life to other's and, at times, deceives you into thinking everyone else is better off than you. You're often led to narcissistic behavior, trying to show off in search for validation through F's likes and comments. Not to mention your intruded privacy and F's needy nature which many times destroys creative activities you could be part of if you didn't spend your precious time exclusively on her. Last but not least, F's alieanating you from the offline world, a world that has so much beauty, if only you could take your eyes off of F to notice that.

The key is simplicity. Do not fall into toxic habits that are able to ruin your peace of mind. Excessiveness is never the right choice. So, in that spirit, i resolved to minimizing my time online starting with one day per week till i come to a point where i'm having a monthly "anti-social" week, which is a week per month away from social media. Because, you know, it's not just F who's demanding. There's also T (aka Twitter), I (aka Instagram) and other millennial crushes. I challenge you to come join me in this! Go out and do some fun stuff with your friends, family or loved ones and leave your phone at home. If you want to take pictures just take a camera with you. And for all those who claim they want their phone with them for safety reasons, well, then one person of your company should carry his phone with him, but make sure it is turned off the whole time and you only use it when in need. Let's try make the most of our "anti-social" day or week!

Distracted from distraction

by distraction

T.S Eliot

The trip of a lifetime

No one said it is easy to change but I don’t believe in giving up on something that can make a difference or it can make other peoples lives easier. The immigration story goes back a long time  and especially the Greek immigration to Australia has set her starting day back in the early 1900.

By the turn of the 19^th century there were about 1000 Greeks in Australia, migration accelerated from about 1900, so much so that by the start of World War 1 numbers had doubled to just over 2000. On the eve of the second innings over 10,000 Greeks had settled in Australia. The first to come here were the Kastellorizan who became the largest regional group in Perth, Darwin, Port Pirie and North Queensland, and made up 13% of the Australia-wide Greek born population by 1940. Later on it was the Macedonian Greeks that started to arrive in 1923 and because of their agrarian background chose to bypass the café game and settle in the hinterland of WA and VIC. It wasn’t until the Depression years that internal migration brought them in small numbers to NSW. After World War 2 however, most of the Greeks entering the country were Macedonians. Moreover, in the 1950s the Kytherians made up about 50% of the Greek population of NSW while the Greek settlement of northern NSW was well over 75% Kytherian. Their numbers built through the process of chain migration, making settlement around here very much a family affair; everyone was connected in some way, or became connected. Australia's post World War 2 mass migration policy brought Greeks from all regions of their devastated country, particularly Macedonia, displacing the earlier islander migration chain. By 1954 the number of Greeks in Australia had doubled to 26,000 and by 1961 had increased another threefold to 77,000, but by the late 1960s only about 10% of them could be found outside the metropolitan areas. Numbers had peaked by 1971 when the total stood at 160,200, 35% of whom were Greek Macedonians, making them the dominant regional group by far, while the combined islander group had shrunk to 15% of the total.

Years later Greek migration to Australia had been negligible since the post-war wave ended, indeed most traffic had been the other way. But since 2010, there has been a significant surge in the number people arriving in Australia from Greece on temporary and permanent visas, including a seven-fold increase in people on student visas and a four-fold rise in family migration. There is an estimated number of about 8,000 people that have arrived in Victoria since 2010 according to a report released by the Australian Greek Welfare Society. Apparently it is the largest steam-about 60%- has been returning Greek Australian expatriates and their families, including many who left as children or are Australian citizens by descent. In 2011 another report form Census recorded 99,937 Greece-born living in Australia and 378,300 Australians claimed Greek ancestry. Right now the Greek population is concentrated in Victoria (42,8%) and New South Wales (33,5%), particularly in the greater metropolitan areas of Melbourne and Sydney. Melbourne, sister city to Thessaloniki, is often described as the third largest “Greek city” in the world and is an important overseas centre of Hellenism.

These waves of migration to Australia helped a lot the economy on both sides. Greece is Australia’s 70^th largest merchandise trading partner and now with the new wave of migration it is going to help it even more. Two-way merchandise trade in 2011-12, totalled $188 million; exports to Greece totalled $30 million, while goods imported from Greece were worth $158 million. Two-way services trade between Greece and Australia is heavily weighted in Greece’s favour. Services exports from Australia were worth $48 million in 2011-12, while services imports from Greece totalled $307 million. Our services trade consists mainly of personal travel excluding education, government services and business-related travel. Greece has a population of 10,7 million and GDP of US$ 255 billion (2012 IMF forecast). The Greek economy grew on average by almost 4% per year between 2003 and 2007, but has almost a quarter of GDP in the prolonged recession which followed the global financial crisis since 2009. Based on statistical reports 30% of the Greek population lives below the poverty line (less than 6,000 euros income annually) and unemployment rose to 26,8% in March 2013. 

Going minimalist

“Armaments, universal debt, and planned obsolescence—those are the three pillars of Western prosperity. If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you'd collapse. And while you people are overconsuming the rest of the world sinks more and more deeply into chronic disaster.” , says English writer Aldous Huxley on his last book , Island. If I was to describe that quote in only one word, that would be timeless. Island was published in 1962. Fifty three years later, that statement seems to be still valid. Consumer culture contributes to turning people into collectively psychotic zombies, whose utmost ambition in life is to own a significantly large amount of stuff or the money they can purchase that stuff with.

Modern culture's philosophy is “the more you have, the more successful you are”. Hence, your social status has everything to do with your possessions. Among all species, humans are the only who possess the desire for prestige. We do not share that characteristic with other species. Social status exists only in humans, not animals.People are losing themselves in their everyday struggle to pursue that prestige. They engage themselves in acting ways to acquire it, so somewhere down that prestige-hunting road they lose their identity- they simply become what modern society indicates them to be – welltuned robots. And that fact would be just fine if it didn't interfere with both our psyche and the enviromental prosperity. Our need for more leads to overconsumerism which has a horrific impact on our enviroment. Yet, nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care – and that is exactly where the system relies on. Our ignorance, naivity and apathy. As the CEO of Prism Communications put it once, “children are evolving consumers”. Ever since the day we were born, we have been long nourished the idea that having more, brings us happiness. However, our greediness brings us anxiety, depression, sense of unequality and so much more side effects of the disease called consumer capitalism.

What we need to realise is that we are hurting ourselves and our enviroment in the process of impulsive consumerism. We are trained to be dissatisfied with what we already have so now we must unlearn what we have been programmed to believe since birth. Less is more. More freedom, more personal, enviromental, even financial health. Spend your money on meaningful activities rather than on stuff which are unlikely to be used ever after the day you bought them. I myself resolved to go minimalist too. I'm getting rid of my JICS (Just In Case Stuff), things that I don't necessarily need or I will ever. Also, I am going to declutter my house by donating clothes and shoes that I longer wear, and also, by throwing away things I have absolutely no clue why I am still holding on to. 

Next time you feel like you want to buy something ask yourself first if you really need it. Remember that the less stuff you own, the less your stuff owns you. Set yourself free. The point here is not to be cheap, but rather substantially whole and integral.

Back to culture. Yes, actually to culture. 

You can’t consume much if you sit still

and read books.

Aldous Huxley

We can do it

We can’t help everyone but everyone can help someone. You are going to have some kind of superpowers to be able to change the world or you have, somehow, unlocked the mystery of reading and controlling minds so you can change everyone’s perspective about life in one day. No one said that change is an easy thing to do and no one said that is impossible. You can’t change the world by yourself but you can start by helping someone. Does anyone remember the movie “Pay it forward”? Why can’t we do the same thing as human beings? Why can’t we start helping others that doesn’t just concern our benefit but their benefit as well? We always try to “help” other people where in reality we only helping ourselves. We learn from a young age how to compete with others instead of working together. We live in a competiveness era and we learn that as soon as we walked into that classroom from the first day. They showed us a world full of competition and war. We can wake up very easily from that and we can begin a new life in a new world with understanding and happiness, with love and compassion, with supporting and carrying. We can look at other people and they can see you as their friend and family. We have been bombarded by the media and the television and we got scared to open and communicate with other people. With thoughts connecting with other thoughts comes our first big realization, we are not only 

connecting with our physical round but in a mental and spiritual way as well. We can create this communication between us and see that it is more prosperous if we all stick together like one nation, like one civilization, like one planet. We can start helping this change of our lives because we can do it.

Conspiracy theorists

What you are about to read is a true story and happened in front of me just a couple of days ago at my workplace. As some of you know I work at a coffee shop in North Sydney and there are a lot of benefits working in a coffee shop, one of them is that you get the chance to meet a different variety of interesting people, as everyone is interesting as human beings cause everyone has a nice story behind him to tell, and by talking to them and learning their experiences and the different way of thinking everyone has is something I am very keen on. One thing that dragged my attention so much that I cannot take out of my mind for the last couple of days is that a girl came into the shop doing some charity work to help find a cure for cancer. I have to say at this point that I have nothing against charity work and I embrace them and I am proud of them every time they cross my path in this journey of life but the reaction that my cousin got out of this was unexpected for me. We all know about cancer and possibly the majority of us has at least one person in their family with cancer disease. However, that girl walked down the stairs and told my cousin Chris if he would like to donate some money to the charity, and as I know Chris he doesn't care about the money but when he told the girl that they already have found the cure for cancer she replied straight away to him, “are you a conspiracy theorist?”. When I heard that the only thing I did was laugh. I couldn't find another more polite way to react at this

. There are so many people out there that their consciousness level is asleep and we need to wake them up. Why we are a conspiracy theorists and what does that even mean? Can you not see what is happening in front of your eyes? Can you not see what games the big corporations are playing between them, changing their money from one bank to another? Can you not see how each and every one of us are playing their game? Until when are we going to kid ourselves around and live in our own bubble? Until when are we going to keep looking with closed eyes and listening with deaf ears? I believe that the human brain can be awaken once more and make a turn into this world cause we have been played for so many years and we have been told so many lies from our governments. A Greek singer, Notis Sfakianakis, in his latest interview, after the interviewer told him that he brings her down with that information replied to her, “You don’t want to know your enemy? You don’t want to know what your enemy is capable of so you can be able to defeat him at any time? Would you prefer if I pat your back or do you prefer learning the truth?”. I think we had enough of this!! I had, and I am not going to stop until I do something about it!! I can only try, and I will, to speak the truth and the joke that we have been living in!! I won’t stop until something happens and even then I am not going to stop preventing this thing from happening!!! We can once more reach our highest peak of our pineal gland and see clear what is being played with our lives!! We are not talking about a game that we are going to have one winner but we are talking about a few families that are actually playing us like cards and controlling our life and our future!!!

There are three classes of people. Those who see, those who see when they are shown, and those who don’t see. Leonardo Da Vinci

Why should we give millennials a chance?

Yeah, actually, why? That's what I asked myself this morning after reading the news over a hot cup of coffee.

This generation does not stand up for anything. Even if there's a group of them that does stand up, their voice is so weak – it's more like a whisper – so unlike to be heard, unless you pay attention and really listen to it. The majority of generation Y just does not give a damn about anything but social media, fashion, television, relationships, and boyband breakups. Of course, as some of you might say, that's a result of how you've been raised- you weren't born ignorant- you grew up to be one. This statement is partly true. Unless your family has tought you respect and manners, nobody should really expect these virtues from you. Once you, the ignorant millennial kid, will interact with other people and show your lack of kindness and integrity, remember that they do not know your background, and most likely won't tolerate your attitude.

I think Gen Ys are worse than the Gen Xs. Gen Ys are hypocrites. They put their hipster mask on and act like world peace activists, openminded people with strong personalities and much more spiritually evolved individuals than their ancestors. However, when the right time comes, that mask is put down and they show their real self which is no other than a racist, insecure and complex human being who just wants to be left alone while enjoying his fancy Starbucks coffee and taking pictures of it so that he puts it on Instagram minutes later. They don't let reality in, they're too fragile to look around and realize what's going on because that will require action and they just do not want to care. They're just fine inside their cynical bubble.

To be completely honest here, I'm a cynic too. A huge one actually. “Scratch any kind of cynic and you will find a disappointed idealist”, George Carlin said once. So, how can you not possibly be a cynic in such a harsh world? There's a certain picture in your mind of how the world should really be and when you compare that picture with reality the least you can get is disappointed. There's no cure for that, i'm highly convinced that i'm gonna be let down by humanity my whole life, but unlike the rest of you i'll give it a shot, i'll try to make a difference where I can and the way I can. What helps a cynic do that, try make a difference, what helped me specifically do that, was having people around me that just don't give up. They do not give up on me, they do not give up on their dreams, they do not give up on that picture I told you about few lines ago. In my life, Tim is one of them. I've never seen him lose his spirit over a handful of setbacks and pitfalls. Another thing I love about him is that he doesn't count his words, if he feels something is wrong he states it out. You'd be surprised of how many times he scolded me because, due to my cynical nature, I crossed some lines. If we were comic heroes I'd most definitely be the villain while Tim would be the soft-hearted hero. And you know what happens to villains right? Eventually, they come around or end up dead. Well, there's a third option, where you have sequels but that fact doesn't really help me come across my point at the moment!

Anyway, you have to think about that. If you call someone an ignorant, you just called him a name, you didn't solve anything. What it takes to beat a bad attitude that is for someone to genuinely care. Tim cares. His passion for humanity restoration can be contagious even to people like me. Hopefully, everyone has a Tim in his life. Let's just stop our generation's reputation, the so called “why bother” generation.

Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitudes.

It's having the right attitudes that's hard.

Roert M. Pirsig

Two sides

Oh man what a day?! You know when they say that today is one of those days? Well today it was! Have you ever got that feeling that you are so close to explode cause everything is going wrong at that moment of your life, and I am saying at that moment because they are actually moments. Time is irrelevant. We are not living in a clock time but in real time and life usually has its moments. The part where the depth of our strength kicks in is at those moments when everything starts going to hell. We often say that we had enough but did we? Did we have enough of this or is this the easy excuse for not pushing ourselves hard to get through it. Every time you get into a moment like this the only thing you can do is just take in the chin! Embrace that moment cause it’s a good lesson about to be learned. When you find yourself in that moment follow those three steps, take a deep breath, get up, and get over it! Only when you push yourself to the limit you break through the barrier that keeps you behind. Break through this barrier and you will achieve the possibility of discovering a new "you" in yourself. You will discover that there is more in you that you think you know. Everyone is hiding a strong willed and powerful person inside of him. When you break through and you reach that point in your life you start seeing things more clearly and more methodically. You see opportunities rising in front of you and you feeling the revolutionary ideas coming to you. The moment you break through the barrier you start thinking in a different way. A way of trying to make everything happen at the same time. You create a system that work so well organised not only for your benefit but for the benefit of the others around you as well. Don’t be afraid of pushing yourself to the limits cause that’s when you start the transformation of your inner being into something unimaginable. You can do anything in this world and the only thing that is holding you back is you! There is no one better than you because you are a wonderful and unique person. Turn that moment into the evolution of yourself and make this world yours because you are writing this story. You are driving the bus towards your faith. You are creating your future. There are always two sides in our acts and these are staying back or moving forward. I choose moving forward!

Social Entrepreneurship 101

Ever since Tim and I started working on our immigration project and entered the social entrepreneurship scene, we have been asked numerous of times, mostly from our friends and relatives, what our business is all about. Terms like social innovation and social entrepreneurship are not widely known, especially to people with no entrepreneurial background or knowledge. In order to bridge the gap between those who are familiar with what we are doing and those who get a little bit confused by terminology, I decided to write this post, giving away the basics of social entrepreneurship.

Modern Definition according to Wikipedia

Social entrepreneurship is the attempt to draw upon business techniques to find solutions to social problems.This concept may be applied to a variety of organizations with different sizes, aims, and beliefs. Conventional entrepreneurs typically measure performance in profit and return, but social entrepreneurs also take into account a positive return to society. Social entrepreneurship in modern society offers an altruistic form of entrepreneurship that focuses on the benefits that society may reap. Simply put, entrepreneurship becomes a social endeavor when it transforms social capital in a way that affects society positively. Unlike traditional corporate businesses, social entrepreneurship ventures focus on maximizing gains in social satisfaction, rather than maximizing profit gains.

Prioritizing social value over profit

Social enterprises seek to serve the community's interest (social, societal, cultural, environmental objectives) rather than profit maximisation. Hence, a social entrepeneur is a pragmatic visionary that achieves large scale sustainable social change though a new invention, innovative products and services, new approaches to community issues. They are people willing to break through the status quo in order to create a justice sustainable society.

If we want to move forward in this world - our world- we need to stop being indifferent towards the things that matter the most. Deep down everybody wants to be a better person and contribute to society, though most of the times, cynicism and ignorance get in the way of acting upon our good intentions. Supporting initiatives like ours, developing a helping chain, is more than enough for getting us started. Hopefully, as our entrepreneurial journey goes on, we will get more and more people engaged to our cause. We want you aboard. Become part of the change.

The place to improve the world is first

in one's own heart and head and hands,

and then work outward from there.

Robert M. Pirsig

The images of your dreams

Let your imagination break free and you will achieve anything you want in your life. There is only one thing that we are not doing as human beings and that is imagine. Dreams are meant to inspire people. This is the reason of dreaming, cause in your dreams you make yourself able to build things. While you are dreaming you make your own future, you create your own world, your reality. There are so many problems that the media and the governments are trying to put in our heads and the human brain can only take so much. The human brain was designed to imagine, to dream, to think, to create, to build. We as humans have the ability to build Parthenon, to create medicine, to oversee physics and chemistry, to discover ideas and our brain have been washbasin with the media through the governments and, last but not least, through the corporations who are controlling not only the governments but the banks as well. We need to wake up people and get back what is ours. We need to stop the pollution of our air with chemical aeroplanes. We need to stop killing each other. We are not doing anything else rather than making money for the weapon industry who are getting so much money from the governments. Why are we even buying weapons? What am i to afraid so much? It’s like I am buying a gun just in case my neighbour takes space from my garden? What for? Everyone has its place in this world and I can’t understand why we have to invade into others properties? Why we as “civilized” people don’t do it and the countries are killing each other? Wake up and open your eyes!!! Wake up and start watching. Wake up and start listening with your ears open!!! Wake up and start dreaming for a better future of this world instead of killing each other over their oil or their gold or their natural gas!!! Wake up and unite so we can start making a better place for everyone!!! Start dreaming for a better future cause we did it in the past and we can do it again.

Wake up call

There is only one thing in this life that we can’t change and that is the “past”. We cannot change the “past” but we can start now. Everyone wishes to have a time machine. How many times did you question yourself about an act that you took? How many times did you say to yourself that “I should have done this another way”. No matter what you do in your day life you always ask yourself this question but you are always missing the point. Don’t worry about what happened because you cannot change the fact that it happened but try to fix it in your right next act. We all make mistakes and that is good, because through our mistakes we learn out of them so don’t get yourself down but embrace your mistake and make it part of your journey in this life. You are allowed to make mistakes because that is the only way you are going to get better. If you don’t make mistakes you won’t learn. The first time it is a mistake but the second time you do the same mistake it’s no longer called mistake but choice. Don’t sit there and worry about the mistakes you made, or don’t sit there and try to find out why you did it, but make it right in your next action. That is the only way we as people and as humanity will go forward. I know and I’ve seen that the majority of people are trying to make things better for themselves but if we just start to make a better living world for everyone and not just ourselves we are going to achieve unimaginable and unbelievable things in life. We have been overpowered from our reptilian brain, which means me first and then everybody else, and we lost our eye contact with the real life. We got stuck into this film which has been directed from the corporation that are running this world and from the so called “ELITE” serving day in and day out their interests. So let’s wake up and fight back this joke because we are not here to play in their game and we are definitely not here to serve those few. The only way they are achieving their goals is because we let them do it. We allow them into our homes and therefore into our minds and consciousness. We are not their peons one the chessboard and we are not going to be played like ones because I believe that we will wake up and we will change things because we are not computers running by a software developed to serve the user but we are human beings driven by feelings, consciousness, love and compassion and we, deep down, know that when we wake up and start realizing the matrix that we are living in it is not the world then we will start changing things.

Economy of Happiness

About a month ago, I watched “The Economics of Happiness”, a documentary on social change. The film features many voices from six continents calling for systematic economic change. It argues that economic globalization has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. At the same time the consolidation of corporate power has exacerbated fundamentalism, ethnic conflict, financially instability and unemployment. According to the documentary, the list of the problems economic globalization has worsened doesn't end here, there are personal costs as well. Consequently, in order to prevent the world from further distruction, communities are coming together to rebuild more human scale, ecological communities based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.

We are facing an enviromental crisis, an economic crisis, and a crisis of the human spirit. That is the intoduction to the film. Social, ecological and personal well being should be on the top of our priorities list as a human race. It's a huge misconception to think of consumer culture as a sustainable way of life. When we look back in time, it's easy to tell the huge difference between the past and present, as long as humanity is concerned. The gap between rich and poor keeps widening, outside economic pressure becomes more and more intense over the years which leads to stressful lives, filled with anxiety and depression. Another misconception about globalization is that it breaks down global boarders and brings the world together, it unites cultures. That is a very superficial image. As it is stressed on the film, at its core, globalization is an economic process which focuses on profits and not people.

Millennials, people who were born in early 80's till 2000, is a generation that has been raised by globalization. My generation. Commercials and television are behind every big corporation that dominates the world, corporations that suggest to us how to dress, what to eat and drink - indicate what is right and what wrong. Borrowed opinions on how the world should be and function, substituted critical thinking and common sense. Cultures have started to lose their identities, their roots. That has led to extreem social phenomenons such as racism, discriminations, fascism and even terrorism. Instead of united nations with shared values that work together in harmony under healthy competitiveness, modern times are characterized by ethnic conflicts and manipulated masses.

Returning to primitive ages and cancelling globalization isn't the solution to this problem. We need to find ways to wipe out the negative effects of this phenomeno. Promoting localization could be step one. Also, new businesses should be built on a human scale, on a new entepreneural model whose cause will not be making the entrepreneur rich but having an actual social impact in the world. Cynicism isn't the way to go any more. People should join forces and create marvellous things. This should be personal drive for every single person on this planet. United we stand, divided we fall.

I have no country to fight for, my country is

the Earth, I am a citizen of the world.

Eugene Debs 

Fun Travel Facts

Saying Hello in 21 languages

A history that was carved on the stones of eternity

What a glorious history?!?!A history that was carved on the stones of eternity. A history that changed the future of this world throughout the ages giving light to the people of this world through medicine, science, mathematics, astronomy. A history that inspired so many philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers. It all began in 270,000 BC with Greece being the first advanced civilization in Europe and is considered the birthplace of Western civilization. The Greek empire spread its glorious DNA from the Mediterranean Sea as its center towards, from the left to the coasts of Spain, and from the right to Middle East. As far as we know through the archaeological founds, it is believed to be one of the most ancient civilizations in this planet. The history continues its glorious path with Alexander the Great and his tremendous victories achieving the impossible task of spreading the Greek culture to the depths of the Middle East. During the Hellenistic period and after the death of Alexander’s the Great, the Roman Republic became increasingly involved in Greek affairs and engaged in a series of wars with Macedon. Even though we were defeated by our enemies they couldn't stop from following our steps in philosophy like the roman hero, Scipio Africanus, who tended to study philosophy and regarded Greek culture and science as an example to be followed. Later in the Medieval period the Greek culture gained again its place through the Byzantine Empire. That lasted up till the Ottoman advanced the Byzantine territory in Greece and its largest city Thessaloniki and the Peloponnese. Later after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, the Morea was the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire to hold out against the Ottomans. Unfortunately in the end it fell to the Ottomans in 1460, completing the Ottoman conquest of mainland Greece. That had as a result many of the Byzantine Greek scholars, who up until then were largely responsible for preserving classical Greek knowledge, fled to the West, taking with them a large body of literature and thereby significantly contributing to the Renaissance. Four hundred years later and the war of independence revolts on 6 March 1821. After that our cold war, and the beginning of the Second World War with the Germany troops invading and taking control almost of the whole Europe. It was then on 28 October 1940 when the Greek administration refused to the Greco-Italian war and inspired Winston Churchill to say

that “Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but we will say that heroes fight like Greeks”. After the invasion Greece was eventually occupied by the Nazis and were controlling the two biggest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, while the rest of Greece that was under the commands were given to her partners Italy and Bulgaria. Over 100,000 civilians died of starvation during the winter of 1941-1942, ten of thousands more died because of reprisals by Nazis and collaborators. The economy was ruined and the great majority of Greek Jews were deported and murdered in Nazi concentration camps. Despite all the drama and bloodshed one of the most effective resistance in Europe fought vehemently against the Nazis and their collaborators. The series of atrocities, mass executions, wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of towns and villages in Greece left us with our 65% of our male population diseased and millions of damages in the Greek economy and infrastructure. After liberation a polarizing civil war between communist and anti-communist forces was occurred, which led to more economic devastation and severe social tensions between rightists and communist leftists for the next thirty years. For the next twenty years there was a rapid economic growth, propelled by the Marshall Plan. Even though George Papadopoulos had given up the Greek government because he refused letting the NATO establishing their base in Suda, the incident on 17 November 1973 sent shockwaves through the regime, and a counter-coup established Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis as dictator. On 20 July 1974, as Turkey invaded Cyprus, the regime collapsed. The Metapolitefsi era begun right after that in 1963 and the first elections of 1964 were held on the first anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising. Likely monarchy was chosen not to be restored on 11 June 1975 from a democratic and republican constitution. Meanwhile the story as we all know started and the two parties were created with Andrea Papandreou leading the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and Karamanli leading the New Democracy. The beginning of every bad that has ever happened to Greece, as a country, and to the Greek population for the next forty years with the Greek history already counting two of her biggest migrations. Greece, or let’s better say the people that were running Greece, re-joined NATO in 1980. After being the tenth member of the European Communities on 1 January 1981, ushering in a period of sustained growth, widespread investments in industrial enterprises and getting funds one after the other the Greek “politicians” found the perfect opportunity to make some more money. On top of that the “Greek government decided to get into Euro in 2000 with fake statistics of the country’s economic state which had as a result not to be able to pay off their people and getting one loan after the other. Of course they couldn't keep up with the payments and in 2004 they got

another loan so they could host the Summer Olympic Games. I believe that was the cherry on the cake. After that the downhill was irreversible. The majority of Greek population migrated to other countries because the lifestyle was unbearable. The pack of bills just kept piling up on the table with no enough cash flowing into the families for paying off their debts, their taxes or in some cases not even able to put food on the table. A country with such a glorious history is now considered to be with one foot into the grave. There is only one thing that can reverse the situation and that is if Greece and the people of the country are brave and united and for the actual POLITICIANS that are still left in this country to take control and put Greece back in its glorious state of prosperity with the agriculture and their exporting advantage. I believe Greece can make this come back no matter how hard and horrifying it sounds. If we did it in the past why we can’t do it in the future?!?!?!

Perfectionism VS Productivity

From artists and students to business executives and entrepreneurs, being productive while at the same time maintaining excellence in your work is a very tricky task and tremendously hard to suceed at. Productivity doesn't always equal perfection, though perfectionism most often leads to lack of productivity. In the process of doing everything perfect, you fall short on both yours and your company's (assuming that you work in one) expectations. These expectations suggest you being productive, creative and meeting deadlines. Consequently, getting stuck in your own mind while trying to come up with the perfect idea leaves you with nothing.


Quoting Robert M. Pirsig, "anxiety, the next gumption trap, is sort of the opposite of ego. You're so sure you'll do everything wrong you're afraid to do anything at all. Often this, rather than 'laziness' is the real reason you find it hard to get started." So, in order to go beyond anxiety, we need to realize that perfectionism isn't merely about being meticulous, but it goes deeper in our psyche. It's about fear - fear of failure, which kills more ideas than failure itself ever does.


Once we have identified the problem, we must focus on fixing it rather than sustaining it. Here's a few tips to get you started:

• Be aware of being a paralyzed procrastinator.
• Face your fear by going ahead with your next idea, regardless how stupid it might sound at first.
• Let passion be your motivation and not the fear of judgement.
• Value the process. Learn through trial and error.
• Focus on the big picture.
• Have confidence in yourself.

Always have in the back of your head that you can't photoshop your personality, but as long as you are your authentic self success is inevitable.

90% perfect and shared with the world

always changes more lives than 100% perfect

and stuck in your head.

Jon Acuff

Story of my life

There is no better feeling in life rather than helping someone. I’ll tell you a true story that I am very proud of and will always be. November of 2011 a kid came to Australia trying to earn a living. He was looking for a job for five months straight, restless, continuously. He was asking for a chance to prove himself that he can make a difference in this, for him, new country. Eventually after five months he was called up for an interview, he proved that he can take the job and two months later he got he’s second one. He did the impossible, only by being himself, and show the people that hired him his appreciation of giving him the opportunity that he was asking for by working hard and looking after their businesses as they were his own. Six months later he eventually enrolled on a course that he wanted but trying keeping two jobs and study was a little bit tiring. One of his bosses after watching him working so hard in both jobs and studying at the same time, offered him a full time job so he could study what he wanted and be comfortable with his life without killing himself. In the end the kid started thinking with a business mind by looking into career sites and by watching what was happening around him. Unfortunately he realised that there was no future in what he was studying so he had to weight his options and quit studying with the result of devoting his life into the business world. I can say now that it was the biggest turn in my life of leaving the Australian Institution and focusing in the business world. I can say with pride and thankfulness that it was the wisest choice that I took in my life. It opened my eyes and made me see the world from another perspective. Three years later I went back home for the first time since I’ve been here and I was pretty excited. My path was crossed in Greece with a taxi driver that he told me his nephew was coming to Sydney a couple of days after my returning date back here. Without giving it any thought I wrote my contact number and my name on a piece of paper, fold it in half and handed it over to the taxi driver. A couple of months later this beautiful teenage couple arrived in Sydney with a hope and wish of earning a leaving in Sydney. I am proud to say this story because both kids deserve the best in this life and I am happy knowing that I helped them not to get through something like I did. If you can help someone in order to make his life easier just do it. Don’t think it over and say “I struggled why shouldn't he”. I can assure you that there is no better feeling than knowing that you helped someone in this life. Make that small act of kindness.

Cause only united, we can make a difference.

Europe by second largest nationality.

The map above shows the flag of the second largest nationality, by country of birth, living in each European country. Thus, it may include citizens and those who have moved temporarily for work.

Source by Brilliant Maps

Don’t look for happiness, find it in others

There comes a point when you have to realise that you will never be good enough for some people. The question is, is that your problem or theirs?

Every single one of us came in this life for one reason, and that is not sitting around and listening to someone that is trying to intimidate us or makes us feel bad about ourselves or tries to bring us down. We came into this life to make people happy, because through others happiness we will find ours as well. Stop trying to make just yourself happy, but try to be happy with the other people instead. Don’t look for happiness, find it in others. We came in this life and the life is giving us a gift every day. The fact that we wake up every morning it is the ultimate gift that Mother Nature could give us. She is giving us a chance. Every day that we wake up we are been given a new chance of doing something that matters in life. Don’t waste this gift trying to intimidate someone, but compliment him. Don’t waste it bulling someone because he can’t play a sport well, but teach him. You didn’t come into this world so someone can have a go at you. Be brave to stand up for yourself. Be brave to stand up for your rights. Be brave to stand up for your freedom of speech. Wake up every morning and make an action that counts. Make that phone call to your friend and tell him you missed him. Make that phone call with your parents and tell them you love them. If you see someone in the streets that needs your help go and help him. Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and help someone. Don’t be afraid to do the things that you want to do because that’s why you came in this life, to fulfil your destiny. Go out there and don’t try to make a chance but be a chance.

8 Basic Tips for Soon to Be Expats

Global cost of living

Source:http://business.financialpost.com/2012/06/15/graphic-how-much-it-costs-to-live-around-the-world/

What is "HOME"?

We never know where we came from. We will never understand how we came here or how we evolved through the ages because we don’t have any proofs that we did. We never, could stay in one place because we are unsettled spirits. We dream a lot. We think a lot and differently from the rest of world. We always follow faith and feelings. We are pirates in this life. We are criminals that we are thinking of a different thing rather the one that the media is projecting to us. We never can settle to a home because we are made of wonder. We always like to hunt mystery and try to learn about the unknown. That is why we never found home. That is why each and every one is genuine and interesting. Because everyone has different thoughts and different experiences. Everyone has their one beliefs and knowledge. Can you imagine what an enormous thing could have happened if we could gather all the people into one home, sit them down around that table and make them start changing ideas and views of the life, knowledge about science and philosophy. Let’s make this place our HOME. Let’s make this world our HOME and stop destroying it and the people in it.

Cause only united, we can make a difference!!!

Don't shoot the pianist

A while ago, I ran into a Guardian’s article on Greek crisis, arguing that the problem is not just the Greek government’s; instead it affects the rest of Europe as well. “The new despots who are trying to persuade us that Europe’s problem is Greece are putting the European project itself at risk.”, says the author and is right. At this point, almost every European citizen, both the ones interested in politics in general and the average European who pays taxes, are familiar with the economic crisis in Greece. Opinions seem to be divided on whether Greece is the black sheep and needs to take the blame for everything and just get itself out of the European Union or everybody accepts the situation as it is and focuses on the solution rather than keep on dwelling on bitterness and hatred. Don’t shoot the pianist when it’s so obvious that the piano is out of tune.

Bullying Greece out of the Eurozone or insist on licking the austerity caramel wo

n’t do any good to the country’s economy, let alone the rest of Europe’s. We are talking about a country which has been under corrupt governments for decades hence today it desperately needs to breathe and try get back on its feet. The political scene has changed the moment the left party, Syriza, was elected about two months ago. What we need to see now is if they have what the former governments lacked, and that is ethics along with the ability to meet its people’s and Europe’s demands.

Surprisingly enough, despite the whole sense of negativity around the political scene, the Greek startup ecosystem shows that even in the midst of adversity, the flower of growth is able to bloom. Besides, as it is well known, opportunity comes from adversity.

Greece needs to work on a cleaner image.

It’s a big problem, as they have this reputation

Of being so corrupt.

~ Karl Lagerfeld

Together we can

There is some much good still left in this world but the fact that we have been bombarded by those in power it made us to start closing to ourselves. I cannot believe that things before television, radio and internet were like that. I still remember my father saying that before television was made they all used to get around the table in the village and all talk about their day, or play music and entertain themselves. Since the television broke in to our house and the media created and start throwing all that sit in our heads through our sub consciousness it made us being afraid to connect with other people because we didn’t want to get hurt. Only when you open your mind and let your imagination and your self-will start kicking your inner body and start connecting again with the people, only when you start helping others cause the filotimo has kick in to you, then we are going to start realizing that this is what we want to do!!! This is why we came into this world!!! We are all notes from a beautiful music piece and if we all stick to our roles which is that we came here in this world not to fight and kill other people over a glass of oil or a god that he believes in. Only then we are going to do the impossible, possible. Only then we are going to thrive and send the world to another level. A level united by everyone and ruled by everyone. Like one voice. Like one dream.

Cause only united, we can make a difference

Something from the Inside

Source    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Australian#Early_Greek_immigration

Greek immigration to Australia began in the early colonial period in the 19th century. The first known Greeks arrived in 1829.^[2] These Greeks were seven sailors convicted of piracy by a British naval court and were sentenced to transportation to New South Wales. Though eventually pardoned, two of those seven Greeks stayed and settled in the country. They settled on the Monaro Plains in Southern New South Wales. The majority of those worked in cafes and restaurants and now own their own.

That is why the Greek population thrive wherever it goes. It’s very hard moving to another country but can you imagine how even more hard is to make people love you and coming into your shop every day, even if that is only just to see you and say hi! Greek people have a very positive energy. We are the source of the world and that is why there is all this positive energy. We gave everything to this world from science, freedom of speech, art, and theatre, music to mathematics, physics, and chemistry. We gave them knowledge. And that is why I love Greece and greeks, for that positive energy.

I believe in us, cause only united, we can make a difference