100k - I'll add my name to the list.

So much in advance, if you had told me 10 years ago that I would be writing a post in a hotel room in Shanghai today in which I record my first €100k, I would have thought the person was truly overambitious.

10 years ago, I started my vocational training as an industrial clerk and I was at a point in my life

where I had absolutely no idea where it was going to take me.

After the apprenticeship, I was no wiser, only 3 more years had passed and so I started my first job as a raw materials buyer, also due to a lack of creativity and a lack of alternatives.

That same year, I met the woman of my life and, as luck would have it, for the first time in my life I had someone who believed in me and my abilities, so I ventured off to university to try my luck as an industrial engineering student.

I quickly realized that I wasn't one of the smartest students on the course and so for 5 years I had to spend up to 12 hours in the library doing calculations while also working 20 hours as a student trainee. During this time, however, I realized more and more about my own abilities that I was capable of more than I would have believed myself. I often thought about quitting and doubted it, but I always got up again after some extreme failures. Some of the smarter ones left university and so I learned that the world belongs to the hard-working and persistent and that these skills are worth far more than pure intelligence. I was also shown how important the environment is for personal success.

You can see from my example that sometimes all you need is one person in your life who believes in you and keeps building you up.

After 5 years of studying, I was now confident enough to believe that you can do anything. The course itself didn't really teach much theory, this realization was much more important. My growth came about in times of absolute powerlessness in the face of the situation. 💡

My advice to my 20-year-old self would be to find someone who believes in you and surround yourself with positive people, not yes-men, but people who give you energy back, even when times seem bleak.

Now 10 years later, I'm at a level by my standards that I can write this post about my first 100k as a globally responsible buyer, a small thing for some people, but a huge step for me and my starting level.