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Dear AmCham members,

His stories were full of life and have attracted the attention of us all. It is amazing how Americans can communicate with much greater ease than Europeans. The story he had shared with us therefore turned out even more interesting. At the age of 39, “the age somehow familiar to me”:), he namely started to wonder what he would like to change in his life. He certainly did not want to get caught in the grayness of everyday life, and accordingly wished to live for a change somewhere in Europe. “Because it is full of history, culture, good food and wine, interesting people, and because all of the aforementioned is so much condensed”, he explained. He stepped out of the comfort zone of what he knew and mastered and now lives and works in Vienna. I believe that anyone who is at least a little bit of restless mind and curiosity wishes to entirely change his environment.

I also gave a lecture last week on communicating at the invitation of our members from Steklarna Hrastnik glassworks to their employees, who have linked up with Svea for special out of the box school, and tried to explain why it is important to know how to express oneself, as only those who are open and know to communicate well – which of course includes listening – can be successful and happy. However, I have to admit, that this time, it was me who was more listening than talking. I was very surprised by the creativity, the will and exceptional projects they plan to create. And it became clear to me once again, that despite the small geographical size of Slovenia, it is not necessary to go far to step out of the box. One expects simplicity and gets exceptionality. Such is our Slovenia. Only that sometimes the problem is in that we have outstanding individuals, but not exceptional teams unfortunately. However, it was in Hrastnik, where they proved that we are able to link greatly. If we talk about the concentrate of history, culture, good food and wine, interesting people, then we have a land where all of this can be found both within and in the immediate vicinity. We must just learn to a little bit more listen to each other and to step out of “the comfort zone of being one` s own master”, and rather enter into the rainbow world of cooperation. Times for changes are namely just right!