7 stories of how failures and life disasters help you find a vocation

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Did you know about the existence of the project "" - about people who have found their calling? Especially for Lifehacker, its authors prepared an interesting material about seven heroes who, in spite of everything, did not give up before the difficulties of life and made their dream come true.

How often do we complain that a bad boss or a lack of time to find our calling is preventing us. Compared to the problems that befell the heroes of the project "In the Right Place", all this will seem to you a small kick into a bright future.

1. Andrey Kalagin, co-founder of the legendary Lumberjack bar in Moscow

Once Andrey drank a lot and experienced serious health problems. He made good money, but still could not find a job in life. One day, sitting in the bar "Dolls and pistols", he overheard the bartenders talking and realized that this was what he was looking for. Andrey got the idea to create his own bar! After that, he even several times approached the co-owner of this and other cult bars, Dmitry Levitsky, with this question, but the conversation still did not work out, because by that time Andrei had already managed to take a glass or two.

I was always scared by the thought that at 50 I would be some kind of manager or department head. Although I have acquaintances who are like a fish in water in this corporate environment, but this is not mine.

Some time passed, and our hero realized that he wanted to be a great father for his child and look good at 50. Then he decided to take action and, together with a partner, opened his own Lumberjack bar in the center of Moscow. Today, despite the crisis, there are queues to see him, because for Andrey the bar has become a second home in which he does not rest, but sometimes works until 1–2 o'clock in the morning and gets incredible pleasure from it.

2. Founder of the "Business Breakfast" project Roman Dusenko

Even in his youth, in the dashing nineties, Roman traveled as a "shuttle" with fur coats from Tashkent to his native Komsomolsk-on-Amur, then sold feminine hygiene products. As a result, he and a friend created a chain of stores of audio and video equipment, which collapsed after three years of successful work due to a price war. Because of this, the hero lost not only business and real estate, but also mired in debts for a round sum. It was the need to pay a huge debt that made him not give up, but move forward.

In life, you need to be ready for everything. In my life, I have repeatedly switched from boiled sausage to smoked sausage and vice versa.

This saying reflects the philosophy that money is not the most important thing. The most important thing is your personality, your inner spirit, your state.

After studying in the United States, Roman developed the Russian banking sector and even became a shareholder in Investsberbank. Then the hero moved to Moscow to continue working as chairman of the board in the banking sector. But every year the feeling that something was missing became stronger and stronger. This is how the Business Breakfast project arose, in fact, from one ad on Roman's LinkedIn profile. For the first time, five people who came to the Starlight Cafe responded, it was on November 30, 2012. Since then, the company has held more than a hundred breakfasts, fed 3,000 people, and 300,000 have watched the broadcast of the project.

3. Vladimir Nikolaevich Silkin, President of the Sailing Federation

In his youth, Vladimir Nikolayevich led a detachment at BAM of 5,000 students, but because of the tragedy on a mountain road, in which nine people died, he began to play sailing in order to somehow distract himself from what had happened.

For a long time after that, he worked as deputy mayor of Moscow, until he finally decided to go into the element, which was once his favorite hobby - sailing.

Doing an unloved job will never make money. Either you will earn, but that will be a problem. Big money, big problems. Therefore, everyone should look for what he likes. And try. Because the synergy of inner desire and possibilities gives a much greater effect than working on a topic that you are not happy with.

4. Vyacheslav Yagodinsky, lawyer of the first persons of Russia

Vyacheslav graduated from the medical college with honors, and all the teachers promised him a career as a great doctor. But it so happened that at the age of 18, four women remained in his support: mother, grandmother, aunt, and then also a sister with a small child. Therefore, he could not afford another seven years to study in order to become a medic. Vyacheslav went to make money at a real estate agency.

Once a lawyer fell ill, and Vyacheslav was entrusted with running the case. He was uncomfortable, because he had neither education, nor such experience at that time, but thanks to the previously acquired knowledge in work, he was able to win the case. Then there was the second, third case - he himself mastered the profession of a lawyer from books, without having any specialized education.

In my work, I can't even imagine how you can get bored in principle, because such a volume of communication with people, observation of human relations! I don't even watch movies: I'm not interested. I myself live in the cinema, I myself am a participant, a character in this action.

Later, he still graduated from a law institute and created his own agency, but in Rostov-on-Don he quickly grew to his maximum and decided to move to Moscow. Today Vyacheslav manages the affairs of the stars of the first magnitude and gets incredible pleasure from the chosen profession.

5. Christina Novak, winner of the bench press competition

This young athlete's day consists of a gym, workouts, walks with her little sister and helping her parents around the house. She has already won six medals: four in the folk bench press, one in darts and another in table tennis. And this despite the fact that Christina was born in the village of Zlatorunovsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, she has a congenital spinal hernia, which does not allow the girl to move without a wheelchair, and the village does not even have ramps so that you can easily go for a walk or to a store.

I want to win the Russian National Bench Press Championship, and I will definitely do it, you will see!

She also has many friends, and she does not lose her optimism and joy of life at all. And Christina does not dream of a sports profession at all - she wants to enter the free department and study to be an accountant!

6. Maxim Chiglintsev, founder of Mobile Bar CH. M

Maxim was born in the city of Almalyk in Uzbekistan into an ordinary family. Already in the 10th grade, he earned his first money when he began to wash cars. And at the age of 18 he moved to Moscow and was forced to support himself, then he got a job as a waiter in a cafe at the Druzhba hotel. Then he began to work as a bartender, and his career went uphill: he came up with his own cocktails and even developed “Cocktail with the taste of the ruble”, which was written about in “Moskovsky Komsomolets”. In parallel, he also began to organize various parties - it was just a hobby, Maxim was not going to make money on it.

But in 2009 he started having back problems and could no longer stay in a standing job. Then he got the idea to create a mobile bar. I looked for the first clients myself, developed and built the project alone.

When you start working, already at the initial stage you start having problems with the staff, what and where to get, where to take, where to get sales, and so on. When you start solving questions, all doubts are forgotten and the project rises to a higher level. The main thing is more confidence for everyone!

Today in Maxim's company you can order not only an off-site cocktail or candy-bar, but also market know-how - a bar of spirits!

7. Mila Razgulyaeva-Blagonravova, founder of the project to create home shoes

While still studying at the institute, Mila wanted to buy beautiful home shoes in her new apartment in St. Petersburg and could not find anything. Then the girl decided to take everything into her own hands and create a project, thanks to which everyone could buy a beautiful pair of home shoes. The first capital was given to the girl by her young man, despite this, after the launch of the project for several months, it regularly went into negative territory.

Everyone around also told Mila that what she was doing was nonsense, and did not take her idea seriously. But the girl believed in the success of her project - she learned to create high-quality models, work with leather, accessories, develop collections, and promote.

It seems to me that I just found something that brings true happiness, as a result of which everything turns out so easily and develops perfectly, practically falling into my hands.

Today, Razgulyaev-Blagonravova shoes (these are the names of her grandparents) have visited almost all leading glossy magazines, her slippers are ordered by large corporate clients, Mila regularly participates in the largest Russian shows with her collections.

Now the founders of the project "In the Right Place" are raising money for a book about such heroes who, in spite of everything, have found their business in life and are ready to share their stories with other people. You can also support the project, become a co-publisher of the book and receive gifts.

And let your every Monday start with a smile!