Serendipity is a strange word, but its meaning is incredibly important. It describes a situation where something unexpected yet favorable and positive happens while the person was looking for something entirely different or working toward another goal.

Vendler-Simon Katinka's writing offers insight into how joint pain has shaped her life and career. Her childhood knee pain and the struggles she endured over the years led her to develop her own dietary supplements. To relieve her own pain, she created natural, additive-free products with pure, herb-based ingredients. This journey gave rise to Lost Garden...

It was interesting to read and hear the messages that followed my post, "A Friend of a Friend Told Me…" The comments under the post were quite telling, too; it was encouraging to see people openly discussing andropause.

I simply don’t care about the news. I don’t read anything current, I don’t care about the American presidential election, I don’t care what’s happening in Brussels, I don’t care about poll results or which politician, religious leader, or celebrity did what with whom.

Enough of this!

This summer, in a group of guy friends, the topic of sex came up – what else? Maybe the stars were aligned differently than usual, but instead of bragging about conquests or discussing someone’s movie-worthy adventures, we talked about how things aren’t working like they used to, even though it would be great if they did.

Lost Garden – I love this project for many reasons. I enjoyed watching Katinka over the past year and a half as she nurtured this idea within herself, planning, dreaming, doubting, and then diving in again. This cycle would repeat, but each time, month by month, it felt somehow different.

This morning, in just 3 hours, I launched an English-language podcast with 5 episodes already available on YouTube. I managed to do it all using freely accessible AI software. Currently, I’ve covered 5 topics in over 60 minutes.

Since my language skills aren’t quite up to the task of an English podcast, this is a huge help and step forward for me. I've outlined the entire process of how each recording is made

Recently, someone passed away. A well-known person. Someone’s son, someone’s brother, friend, mentor. A well-known person. And suddenly, my Facebook and LinkedIn feeds were filled with posts where this well-known person is in photos with others, stories about who talked to him when and where, and what he did. As I was reading these posts, I felt a strange discomfort.

Men are often characterized as having a useful purpose. But what should a being who identifies as a man do in the middle of his life if he has lost the purpose he once deemed important, lost his sense of significance, and torn down the facade he had built?

What do we do when we are not true to ourselves, our principles, our goals, and we’ve strayed, yet are afraid to delve into the depths of shame and afraid to change because we fear losing everything we’ve achieved so far in life?

I started blogging in January, writing about corporate matters, mentoring, then about space, and 1-2 corporate projects... then from May, I started writing more frequently about self-awareness, perhaps more abstract topics. Then about my dilemmas... my doubts. My fears. My desires.
About things that define who I am. Things that shape how I live my life, how I build my business, how I am present in my relationships. This is what my blog is about.
This is what my book is about too.

Three months ago, I wrote about my anxiety. I received countless messages, mostly containing diagnoses, treatment suggestions, or the occasional kind and sympathetic thought. Perhaps my article resonated with the organizers, or maybe it was just a fortunate coincidence, but I was given the opportunity by the HR Fest team to discuss this topic on stage with András Bán.

The most exciting project of my year has been the idea of walking dogs with strangers. Three months have passed, and my year has been filled; so far, more than 20 people have signed up, and we’re already more than halfway through.
This is a simple thing. Nothing extra is needed for this project. And yet, there’s something intangible about it. Something that always makes me feel better after the conversations. A little more, a little better. Two to three hours of talking with a stranger.

4 products, 4 awards. Each one at the top...
ADAM - Supplements and Vitamins Category
EVE - Women's Health Category
BODY - Supplements and Vitamins Category
BEAUTY - Beauty Category

For some time now, I’ve been thinking about leaving the country. I’ve been browsing international real estate websites: Spain, Italy, Portugal, maybe Austria. You can find property everywhere for the same price as here. Or cheaper. Honestly, the place itself doesn’t matter that much. But if the point isn’t where to go, then it’s probably more about getting out of here.

But why do I want to change? And what do I want to change?

I am in a fortunate position because I can afford silence in my everyday life. Somehow, life has brought this: I am quiet in my daily routines, in social gatherings, in phone conversations. I listen, I listen to others, who fill the space that silence creates. They talk. They talk because they need to share their burdens with someone, somewhere.

I'm curious about how people perceive our conversations. I'm interested in what they take away from them. So, I started asking for feedback from those whom life has brought together with me, to share what has stayed with them from the time we've spent together.

A selfie is a self-portrait, a picture taken by the person of themselves. It’s a picture we take of ourselves. But this picture isn't just a digital imprint taken with a camera; there exists a selfie within us as well. A picture that doesn’t only appear on Instagram or Facebook, but in every segment of our lives. In every conversation, every decision, in our possessions, in the way we walk. In our words. But what is this picture? What are the filters that sharpen, blur, or color every tiny pixel of our lives?

Can a business consultancy operate on the principle that the client pays only as much as they believe the service was worth? Can we trust each other to this extent? What does business rely on if not trust? If we don't trust each other, why do business at all? What else could be valuable in such a relationship if not money? Could it be easier to find value in a working relationship that isn't focused on money but on the original goal of business: creating value and efficient value conversion?

This is the first journal entry marking the start of my new company.

We are proud to announce that our EVE product has been awarded the bronze medal in the Best Women’s Supplement category at the 2024 Global Green Beauty Awards.

Here I sit in front of the computer, with a pile of thoughts before me that I want to write about. I actively collect them—during walks, before bed, while working out… anytime a thought pops up that I like, I jot it down. I write down the topic and the few lines that come to mind at that moment. All good thoughts, waiting to be fleshed out, to turn into stories wrapped in words, so they can start living, growing, and strengthening as they pass from reader to reader, seeking the soil where they can take root, joining with new ideas to grow into theories, then ideologies, and finally live on independently with the hope of becoming immortal.

We don't talk about what we're good at. What we excel in. We don't talk about it because it feels wrong. I didn't talk about it either. I didn't write about it. Why? Why is it that when someone compliments our achievements, my achievements, I respond with: "Oh, it's nothing... you could do it too... it's not a big deal..." I don't say that anymore. I don't even think it. But many people still react this way when I talk to them. Why do we stay silent about our talents?

Sometimes, things don't turn out the way we planned. We envision something at the beginning, fall in love with our idea, and believe in it. Then we dive in, start working, and the money seems to go out faster than it comes in. The number of stressful days increases rapidly, and you begin to wonder if it was a good idea to start this at all. Should I continue or just abandon it? How long should I hold on?

I see how the system regenerates the tension. Again and again. I see it because I'm in it. I see it because I'm not the one doing it, I'm just there. If I were the one doing it, I wouldn't see it. Or it would be much harder to see. If I were the one doing it, I would rather think, "This idiot doesn't get it." I see how the tension builds up, slowly moving towards the point where someone will need to release it on someone else.

What should I do?

I did it. I did it again and again. I always felt terrible afterward, but for some reason, I never did anything about it. I kept doing it for years, maybe for so long that I thought it was completely normal. Normal, because others do it too. It’s ingrained in our culture; books are written about it, we have expressions for it, countless articles discuss it, and now people even talk about it on podcasts. We talked about it too. Sometimes, we were even proud when we shared it with each other. And there were those who didn’t talk about it, just hinted at it or smiled mysteriously when it came up. I haven't done it in years.

Out of nearly 400 products, the English jury has selected us for the finals of the international Nourish Awards, which will take place in London at the end of September. And not just with one product—all four of our products made it to the finals!

Exactly one month ago, on July 8th, I posted that I would be happy to walk with others in the Mecsek while walking my dog. I’d walk and talk about the other person, their business, the things they’re stuck with, or the questions they have but don’t have confident answers to. Surprisingly, many people showed interest and signed up; I already have walking companions scheduled through October. Friends, close and distant acquaintances reached out, saying how great this initiative is. How important it is to have an honest, agenda-free conversation.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about loneliness. Actually, I’ve been pondering connection—how we connect with each other, what it means to connect, what connection gives us, and what significance it holds in our lives.

And naturally, the lack of connection comes to mind as well. If loneliness is the state of being disconnected from others, why is it that we can feel perfectly content being alone?

But what does connection give us? What does it mean to be part of a network? Why do we connect more with objects today, and where does it lead when our knowledge migrates into our tools?

I can’t see myself, or rather, I don’t know what I’m seeing. I don’t know what’s happening in my head. I’m about to turn 50, and after nearly 50 years of looking at the body I live in, I still don’t know what it’s like. And this realization has hit me hard.

After I wrote my article about having children, I received a lot of comments and messages. Women, mothers, wrote about the pain and often humiliation they suffered due to the physical changes caused by childbirth. Everyone experienced it differently. I read and listened to these stories and felt the questions begin to surface within me.

Yesterday morning, I was sitting in a café, having breakfast. At the neighboring table, two women were chatting. They were speaking loudly enough that their conversation was clear, but I wasn't paying attention. I was having breakfast with Kata, occupied with Ottó and my croissant...

But suddenly, a sentence caught my ear:

"…why give birth when I can adopt? It spares my body. It's just hard to get a baby..."

For years, I couldn’t find my footing in my business. I felt I had good ideas, that I was capable, but execution wasn’t my strength. I needed someone by my side. Someone to help me do what I couldn’t. Someone more experienced. Someone more practical. Someone with connections—because, let’s face it, I had none. I feared it would be a struggle if I did it alone. And it was a struggle because I was doing everything by myself.

But who would be the right person to do it with?

The place where we live isn’t our natural environment. The city. It’s full of stimuli, crowds, heat, honking, and tension that surround us.

We’re overstimulated.

I often think about what well-being and prosperity mean in the context of entrepreneurship. What do we need—how much and what kind—to be well within our own company? And how is well-being connected to prosperity? How do we get there, and do we even know where "there" is?

We do so many things we don’t like for the sake of the few things we do. I often hear this: we tolerate 80% of things just to enjoy the remaining 20% that we love. Is the famous Pareto principle, the 80:20 rule, true for our lives? Or is it just another paradigm that sometimes helps us accept things and sometimes gives us an excuse not to act? And if it’s not true, can we flip that ratio? Or could it be 100% good?

What about? Let’s talk about your business, your challenges, those nagging, sometimes incomprehensible, or seemingly unsolvable problems! What’s not working, and what you could do to make it work. And, most importantly, why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place.

I believe my business career truly took off when I started going on long-distance hikes: first the Kinizsi100, then the GR20 in Corsica (I’ve written about this before, click here). These experiences taught me about planning, perseverance, adaptability, and humility. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with mountains and forests, and whenever I can, I go hiking. These days, I have plenty of time, and ever since Ottó came into my life, daily walks have become a routine.

Does thinking take away our ability to be happy? Or is it that we find it difficult to be happy and think about it at the same time? Do you ever think about how to be happy when you’re actually happy? I don’t think so. We think about it when we’re not happy and want to know how we can be. If we understand it, we can control it. We can do something about it.

As I was finishing my space policy consultancy course, I began thinking about the possibility of creating a communications agency specialized in the space industry. The agency would focus on analysis, strategy building, and executing industry-specific communication projects, allowing space companies to concentrate on what they do best—innovate.

Have you ever done something that everyone around you unanimously said, "No, don't be foolish!"? An incomprehensible decision in your life, career, or business? Something that is different...

We love wanting things so much. Things we desire: happiness, wealth, love. Money. A good deal. The perfect sale.

But is this wanting good for us? Does it help us, or does it just make us tense? Should we even want the things we desire? Is it even possible to truly want them? And if not, then what can I do to get what I desire?

In sales, I learned how not to want, and later, this approach worked in dating and in life in general.

The way I engage in conversations has been constantly changing. For quite some time now, I mostly just sit quietly, observe, and listen. I watch the conversations, look at others, and try to immerse myself in the stories, learning from them. In this state of being quiet, I suddenly noticed: There are no questions. Almost never.

Amidst all the stories, statements, monologues, declarations, teachings, clashing opinions, and debates, we so rarely ask each other questions. But why don’t we ask?

Almost two years ago, Kata and I discussed a business idea: creating a retreat-like, cabin-based, nature-close community garden near Tamási, which could provide a refuge for those wanting to escape the stressful city life. This would all be on nearly 3 hectares, bordering a nature reserve. This would have been Lost Garden. Or rather, hopefully, it still will be... but more on that later.

I think I was dependent on relationships; I couldn’t imagine myself alone. I needed someone beside me, someone with whom life was good. If I remember correctly, there was a period from the fall of 1994 when I was alone for about a year. After that, a big jump in time to the fall of 2021, when after a solid 27 years, I was alone again. This period was one of the most defining experiences in my self-awareness. During this time, the question floated before me: who were those women who defined my life, and what did they have in common...?

Tadaaaam. The day has come. Over the past two months, things have really accelerated at Lost Garden. Lost Garden Biotechnological Ltd. has been established. We’ve received the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities, and our products are ready for sale. The packaging is done. And so much more...

A friend called me today, saying he’d been thinking about what I should do to get my business up and running. How to speed things up. He shared his ideas, and I explained that I understood, but I was thinking differently... Then he said, "Balázs, I’m sure you’ll make it work this way too."

BUT! But it’s not the same if it takes longer! ... Hm. I get it. So, it’s about time again. This conversation reminded me of a story...

After my "I'm Anxious" post, I received a flood of messages, and I think I need to clarify something because something seems to have gone off track.

For a while now, I’ve felt something stirring inside me, something I can’t quite identify. I remember when I started my event organizing life at the university student office... Whenever an important event was approaching, anxiety would hit me. I felt it in my body. The most common symptom was that I couldn’t breathe properly. I’d try to take a deep, full breath that would fill my lungs, but it just wouldn’t happen. It got stuck somewhere up high. I’d try to yawn or use some technique to take a bigger breath, but it wouldn’t work.

Salespeople Are Born, Not Made. Or Are They? I’ve always enjoyed selling, though I wouldn’t consider myself a good salesperson. I see myself more as an authentic, reliable guy who pays attention to the problems my partner faces and tries to find solutions. If I have a solution and I’d like to work with the other person, I’ll offer one. If I don’t, I say goodbye. But I don’t want to sell. And as a salesperson, that’s not exactly an advantage. I just want the other person to want to buy from me. Oh, and money isn’t important. (At this point, a few readers probably laughed, but I’ve written about this before, so check it out.)

I’ve often wondered what it must be like to live the life of a mayfly. It spends years developing in the mud, and then, in a single moment—once a year, synchronized with its kind—emerges from the river, transforming within 5-10 minutes into a fully grown adult, living out its brief few hours of adulthood.

Time Is Money - We might not even realize how deeply these so-called universal truths influence our lives and decisions. Our minds are filled with phrases we heard as children, phrases we believed in, and it’s been so long that we no longer even think to question them. Maybe we can’t, because we can’t see beyond our paradigms.

The question of “Do I want more or do I want better?”—that is, the quantity vs. quality debate—often runs alongside another thought: how can I be more efficient? More efficient in business. A sales manager friend once told me a story about how he motivates his team to work more efficiently. His question was: “Can you imagine earning 1,000,000 forints a month? No? Have you ever earned 1,000,000 forints? Yes? How long did it take? Three months? Well, then you can do it; you just need to figure out how to be three times more efficient so you can do it in one month.” Is that all there is to it?

Is this even a valid question in this form? I shared my last piece on Facebook and LinkedIn. Surprisingly, it resonated with many people. I was satisfied, happy. Comments and feedback started rolling in. Then I began looking at the numbers—how many likes, comments, how many people clicked through to the blog, what the stats were showing. Wow, this is taking off! What should my next post be? How can I top this? What are others writing about, what does ChatGPT say?

Of course, you can. But it’s worth clarifying the question itself. What does “big money” mean? It varies from person to person. What does it mean to you? And what does “no growth” mean? This might be harder to grasp, but to simplify, for me, it means not focusing on quantitative metrics but rather developing my business based on qualitative aspects. And this is also highly subjective—do I even know what quality means to me? So, do I know how much is enough, and what is good enough for me? Then there’s the question: do I believe that what is good for me will be good enough for others to generate the amount that is enough? For me, this is where the idea of slow business begins.

Lately, I’ve been grappling more intensely with a question: How can I effectively work with others, or more precisely, how should I collaborate to ensure the process is effective? Where do the boundaries lie between when I need to be actively involved and when I should step back and let others take the lead, let others make the decisions? And I’m not talking about the traditional boss-subordinate hierarchical relationship here.

I’m not a nutritionist, although I’ve studied the topic; I’m just a layperson. A layperson who has struggled with weight, experienced what it’s like to be overweight, starved without losing any weight, and eventually found comfort in my own skin. (So, what I’ve put together in this writing is nothing more than personal opinion, personal experience, and some interesting tidbits I’ve read on the subject.)

It’s been nearly a year and a half since I began my structured and intentional journey into mentoring. I feel that it’s time to reflect on what I’ve been doing and what I’ve achieved during this period.

As we reach our forties, it becomes increasingly important to find inner peace and be more present in our own lives. This stage of life often brings new challenges, whether it's physical changes or balancing work and family life. Standing on the threshold of my 50th birthday, I can confidently say that this has been true for me.

In 2001, I began working on IT projects. Actually, it started in 2000 when I was too lazy to write a 40-50 page thesis for my biology teaching degree, so I created a multimedia educational material instead. :)

During a casual coffee with a friend, my recent certification as a space policy advisor came up. After a few light-hearted comments, the conversation shifted to what I plan to do with this qualification—how I might become part of the space industry. I listed various possibilities: geolocation-based services, specialized legal services, technological consulting, space-specific PR and marketing. To which my friend responded, "Those don’t sound like space industry things to me. Space industry technologies and services are fields that are unreachable for the average person..."

After two years of rest, learning, and recharging, by 2024, I felt ready to truly make my "retirement" years active. Of course, the past two years weren’t entirely idle, but my focus was entirely different—certainly not on building businesses. However, something has changed. For the past few months, the idea has been stirring in me: I want to create something beautiful, exciting, and, of course, profitable again. But somehow differently than before: in collaboration with others, pooling our resources, and inspiring each other on the path that leads to our goals.

As of yesterday, I am officially a space policy advisor.

Over the past year and a half, I’ve delved into international law, space law, gained a comprehensive understanding of the economic background, and explored the societal and philosophical issues as well as the psychological and physiological challenges associated with space travel.

Lassan másfél éve keresem aktívan, hogy mit is csinálhatnék, mi lenne az a terület, amit szívvel-lélekkel, szenvedéllyel tudnék újra nyomni egy új vállalkozásban. Miközben ezt keresgéltem, egyre több barát, közeli, távoli ismerős talált meg azzal, hogy segítsek nekik a céges ügyeikben. Mára közel 20 vezetővel dolgoztam és rájöttem, ez az, amit szeretek csinálni...