Random personal notes and little-known hints on the “weirdos” you meet online ─ like me

This is part of the transcript from an online group session I did 6 months back with seven entrepreneurs.

On the last video call, of a 3-month mastermind group, one of the seven says:

-Adam: “Cleo, it’s funny. You’ve managed to open us all open up so much, these 3 months but you’ve only ever shared strictly business content, and purely digital stuff, nothing ever on you.

We don’t really know anything about you!”

-Me: “Well that’s very much, how I’ve always been.”

-Adam: “That still doesn’t tell us anything.” *Laughs*

-Me: ok, then ask me anything. Seriously everyone! What do you want to know?

These are transcript notes from that video call that lasted another 40 minutes than initially planned.

I skip the questions and organize the order a bit, but it’s mostly all there.

A sneak peek on me

I was born in Greece, and I currently live between Buenos Aires, Paris, and Athens with my husband and daughter.
I’ve traveled to 99 countries, I speak six languages, and have lived from either a few months to a few years also in Russia, Thailand, Costa Rica, and the USA.
I go by two principles when it comes to story-doing:

1- Nothing is easy 2- Nothing is impossible.

I’ve been brought up believing in hard work and lifelong learning. Both of which apply to everything: from working to traveling and from sports to fun-time.
I am an avid reader and -a probably obsessed- learner.
I’ve been a track and field golden champion in 800m, I play the piano and experimented with the bass, I live on punk and classical music, and I’m (also) obsessed with words, etymologies, meanings, philosophy, definitions, aesthetics, geometry, lip balms… oh, and French fries!

“How does it work?” drives my everyday life.

My inherent obsession and an acquired endeavor to understand ‘how things work’, goes for all things. And non-things. The mind above all. Oh, and life. (How does that work?)
I have misophonia (look it up ;-)). I suffer from hyperacusis. (look it up). I am an expert in sound-blocking gadgets, earplugs, headphones and white noise (look it up).
I have sounds of nightingales singing in all possible forms, from an ‘80s cassette to an 8h mp4. I need it to keep calm. It’s also the most bedazzling natural sound on earth (my take!)
I snooze my alarm clock for almost an hour every morning, not to sleep, but to think.

I swear in all the languages I can; I write lyrics on napkins, post-its, smartphone (used to do so on both palms too); I do a full-fasting-intestinal-cleansing twice a year; I’m a passionate raw-foodist (mostly because I suck at cooking); I spend most of my free time solo (by choice), watching films, going to music gigs, museums, art exhibitions and traveling.

You learn, you transfer the knowledge, you learn more, you act upon the new inputs together with others

I’ve spent a ton of hours and money in learning everything I can, on anything I get access to.

I mean beyond school, studies and the stuff I “had to” do.

I’ve attended more than 200 learning programs: from real-life executive education (INSEAD in France to Stanford in the US) to online learning ─ amongst which more than 35 different MOOCs, since April 2012, that the first MOOC was launched.
My online learning interests pan in all fields from “Fighting Change Immunity”, “Learning Leadership” and the “Future of Learning” to “Ontology”, “Philosophy”, “Math” and “AI in learning”, (just listed some of the best courses, I’ve done).
I’ve also personally invested quite a few thousand in building my skills and have attended more than 15 paid online programs:

from “Traffic Building” to “Freelancing” and from “PR” to “Consulting”. All with people I researched and found out to be the top experts in their subject in the online world today.

I read or listen to an average of at least 1 book every week and have subscribed to more than 40 of the top newsletters and podcasts for online business building, learning and executing.

In short, I have front seat access to everything that’s happening, and I keep myself updated, day in, day out.

The one thing I’ve never lost sight of ─ nor should anyone.

It seems that this is what separates how I see things, from how others do.

I can process, synthesize, find patterns and break down all information that lays in front of me.

I’ve realized that I do that in a fast and efficient manner.

It’s the thing that made me hate my piano teacher and change four running coaches before I became a National Champion.

They didn’t see patterns; they didn’t have a system!

Until I found the one that did.

It’s also what propelled me pretty quickly to leadership positions and international roles.

It’s just this one thing.

I don’t brag, and it’s not genetics.

I’ve worked my ass off to develop it and to re-apply it on all things.

It’s also what I’ve found that most high performers have in common ─ may it be entrepreneurs, athletes, scientists, teachers or…dunno parents.

Why would anyone care about all this?

Because I have a ton to share from my journey, that might help others get, where they need to go.

I’ve gone from a Frito Lay merchandiser “ironing out” packs of chips on kiosk-racks, to becoming an International Commercial and Business Development Director in the L’Oréal HQ, in Paris, gearing up and executing the commercial strategy with a 6,000-strong field team.

I know what it takes to push through and make leaps.

I strive to always perform at my best, but most importantly I’ve always aimed to be an efficient leader and an impactful coach ─ as it turns out, no matter how hard we try, without people’s skills, we can achieve nothing.

Without other people, we are nothing.

Even if you have the best system, strategy, idea, plan or even product in the world, if you have no one to act upon it, you will achieve zero.

Which brings us back to you.

Yes, it always circles back to you.

Please share: what is the one thing you have, that other people might find “weird”?

For more stuff on how to take massive action to make things happen on your business, join me on Medium, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and let’s work out “The Best Way Forward”, together.