I Know A Man Who Can…
Anything is possible in the Balkans. If there is something you want, someone can get it for you. If you need something doing, someone can sort that too. In even the smallest circle of friends, people can often bicker over who would be better suited to get the task done. If one person cannot help you, they usually know someone who can, and they will happily make recommendations. Like ripples in a pond, the circles of influence spread wide around you.
Networking is such a buzzword, as if the concept of spreading your net widely and helping each other was discovered by business gurus and social media types. But it is not a new idea. It is a core concept in all relationship-based cultures where family and friends still hold great importance. Cultures such as those that still thrive throughout the Balkans.
Listen First, Speak Later
Many people are poor listeners. Quite often we meet people who like the sound of their own voice and can seem compelled to share that pleasure with others. They update us on everything they do, no matter how unimpressive and irrelevant to our own lives and interests. To be honest, most people do not have much to say that could not be improved by considering its relevance to others before open their mouth.
Everyone has experienced the boring drunk at a party: they are always the one who will not stop talking when, in fact, they have very little to say. They go on and on, as if everyone within earshot deserves their pearls of wisdom. In fact, they are just tiresome. After the humour has worn thin, they move quickly from fun to dull and then become really quite annoying, and all because they refuse to shut up. The same can be said for many brands.
All Roads Lead to Belgrade – Even If They Are Jammed
I am probably not telling you anything that you do not already know: Traffic in Belgrade is a nightmare. Anyone who has driven in the Serbian capital is likely to be nodding in agreement with my statement. What is more difficult for me to appreciate is why the traffic is quite so bad, why Belgrade is notorious for gridlock in the city and congestion on its bridges.
Even with the extravagant new bridges across the Sava, traffic snarl-ups are still commonplace at extended peak times. Heavy traffic has become such a norm that drivers seem to have accepted it as a part of daily life.
Picture Perfect Memories
There is something wonderful and romantic about old postcards. They are windows into a different world, or rather, a world before our time. The energy associated with the process of choosing, writing and sending these evocative snapshots of a frozen moment is entirely positive.
Each card has been picked out and paid for with the intention of using it to carry caring thoughts to friends or family. In that sense, postcards might have fallen from favour, but they still embody feelings far more than sending an email.
