I celebrate my birthday every September and it is customary that I take some of my closest (both physically and mentally) friends out at night.
Birthdays, I have found out, are more than just a symbolic date at the passing of which we become a whole year older within seconds. As life moves on and circumstances change, it just so happens nowadays that with most of these friends we only meet on special occasions such as this one. This observation in itself is yet another reminder that we are getting older.
Here’s another one: On birthdays, we used to go out at clubs, partying, dancing and singing (I do not like drinking) till dawn. The first one among us who broke the tradition and instead of a nightclub, took us to a wine bar, I called “Old man”. (He is about five years older than me.) What followed the wine bar was a true revolution: More and more of of these closest friends changed their celebration habits so much since then, that we now only celebrate in taverns, sitting and eating enough to further contribute to the starvation of children in Africa.
I was the only one to keep true to the original tradition and take them out at clubs to celebrate. One of the reasons why I like clubs, is because they “force” you to remain standing, therefore making socializing easier. The other main reason is that I really like dancing. (I used to know all the steps of “Gagnam Style” by heart when it first came out. There is even a video of me dancing it in the largest club of Nicosia with other people making a circle around me and encouraging me to keep going!)
As much as I enjoy clubbing however, the time has come to follow in my friends’ footsteps. For the first time ever, I took them out to a tavern for dinner. I used to think “It’s my birthday, I should choose to celebrate them in the way that I deem more enjoyable”. But now I am realizing that I really don’t dance that much when others in my company don’t dance either. And last I took them out to a club, well, it was pretty boring. It only took me 30 or so years (let’s not be any more precise shall we?) to realize that my birthdays are not really meant for me to have fun, it’s for my friends. So yes, this September, we went out to a tavern. With people their (our?) age.
Here’s another thing that I intend to change this September: Most people thought originally that I launched this website to host Google Ads and make money out of it. Why they thought so, I really cannot tell, but the number of people who asked me this “Google Ads” question, stunned me. We are talking about a lot them!
The good news is that these people did not change my mind: All of my free offerings will remain free of cost and free of ads. The same goes for my YouTube channel, where I have disabled all monetization options. The vast amounts of intellectual property that I am codifying regularly and preparing to launch as paid products (like my DCF&WACC Model Template which was recently updated to a new, even more versatile version which is available for purchase if you are a new user, or available free of cost if you have already purchased the previous one) will be used to support the further development and maintenance of this website.
The bad news is that, well… there are no bad news, but better news! I have decided to dedicate part of my four free, monthly updates, to promoting the work of non-profit organizations. So, if you happen to belong to such an organization contact me. If you know someone else who belongs to such an organization, by all means, forward the link to this post to them. If you would just like to help me spread the message by sharing this post and helping me receive more applications, please do so.
I can host promotional content in a picture format in my two monthly columns, merge promotional video with my monthly video series, or merge promotional sound bites with my monthly podcast. I do not mind the cause that the non-profit will support, nor the country of operations – my website receives visitors from all over the globe. I’d rather receive promotional content in English, but will also accept it in the Greek and French languages (both of which I also speak) if need be. Should hosting promotional material from these non-profits require further investment in expanding the memory of my website, I will undertake the cost of such expansion. I do not require anything in return. It’s about them after all, not me.
I look forward to addressing any further queries you may have in relation to the above. Just use the appropriate contact form found on my website.