Ami Says

I used to fly every week between Brussels and Athens, departing Monday morning and returning Friday. I was given €500 in cash every week as spending money by the people I worked with—a partnership between two Israeli diamond dealers. My role was that of a buyer, not a seller. I traveled from jeweler to jeweler, aiming to purchase diamonds that they couldn’t sell. Given my fluency in Greek—having grown up there—the dealers believed I would be effective in navigating the market. At the time, Gree...

Seguire la folla significa essere instabili. Anche se siamo tutti un po’ instabili, l’unico modo per stabilizzarsi è fidarsi di sé stessi e sapersi distaccare per vedersi con obiettività. Quando siamo troppo legati a noi stessi e alle nostre cose, non siamo in grado di riconoscere le vere situazioni che ci circondano. Viviamo in un mondo di molte persone con molte emozioni, pensieri, opinioni, azioni e parole, e tutto questo ci influenza. Non si può evitare, ma la misura in cui reagiamo a quest...

To follow the crowd is to be unstable. While we’re all a bit unstable, the only way to stabilize oneself is to trust oneself and to be able to step out of oneself and see oneself objectively. For being too attached to oneself and one’s things, we’re unable to recognize the real situations that surround us. We live in a world of many people with many emotions, thoughts, opinions, actions, and words, and these all influence us. This cannot be avoided, but the degree to which we act on these influ...

Wenn die Stadt die schönen alten Kopfsteinpflaster herausgerissen hat, um sie durch moderne Fliesen aus Bahnhöfen zu ersetzen. Und der Geruch von Pferdeurin wurde durch den Geruch von Nichts ersetzt. Von Charakterlosigkeit. Wessen Idee war das? Wahre Geschichte wird von Einheimischen nicht so geschätzt wie von Außenstehenden. Auch das Kolosseum wurde von den modernen Römern angepinkelt, und Statuen wurden als Baumaterial verwendet, bis sie eines Tages aufwachten und merkten, dass dies Schätze w...

When it's autumn and feels like spring. When the city ripped out the beautiful old cobblestones to replace them with modern train station tiles. And the smell of horse urine has been replaced with the smell of nothingness. Of no character. Whose idea was this? True history isn’t as appreciated by locals as it is by outsiders. The Colosseum was also pissed on by modern Romans, and statues were used as building material until one day they woke up and realized these were treasures. Perhaps cobble...

Was bedeutet es, sich um die Welt zu sorgen, wenn man nichts tut, um sie zu verbessern? Hör einfach auf zu heucheln. Wenn es dir nicht wirklich wichtig ist, dann gib es zu. Woher kommt diese „nette Person“-Mentalität – die Vorstellung, dass wir uns um jedes Grauen auf der Welt kümmern müssen? Interessierst du dich wirklich für Gaza? Weißt du überhaupt, wo das liegt? Warst du jemals dort? Oder die Ukraine – kennst du ihre Grenzen? Und den Sudan – kannst du dich erinnern, was dort los ist? Wahrsch...

What does it mean to care about the world if you're doing nothing to better it? Just stop pretending. If you don’t care that much, admit it. Where does this “nice person” mentality come from—the idea that we must care about every horror across the globe? Do you genuinely care about Gaza? Do you even know where it is? Have you been there? What about Ukraine—do you know its borders? And Sudan—can you recall what's happening there? Probably not. They report less on Africa; it’s just not that newswo...

Zeit ist dehnbar, Geld ist dehnbar. Das Leben insgesamt ist dehnbar. Worauf beziehe ich mich mit dieser Elastizität? Wenn du an einem Tag viele Dinge erledigen möchtest, aber spät aufwachst und früh am Abend eine Verpflichtung hast, denkst du vielleicht: „Ich habe keine Zeit, um auf den Markt zu gehen, in dieses Geschäft und jenes Geschäft, hier einen Kaffee zu trinken und dort Mittag zu essen.“ Also entscheidest du dich vielleicht, all diese Pläne zwischendrin abzusagen. Aber wenn du es trotzde...

Time is elastic, money is elastic. Life overall is elastic. What is this elasticity I'm referring to? When you want to get multiple things done in one day but you wake up late and have a commitment early in the evening, you might think, "I don't have time to go to the market, to that shop and this shop, have coffee here, then lunch over there." So, you might choose to cancel all these in-between plans. But if you go for it, you’ll surprise yourself by still managing to do all those things, despi...

Samstagmorgen. Warum die Uhrzeit checken? Warum die Temperatur prüfen? Die Heizung ist an, und es gibt jetzt keine dringendere Angelegenheiten. Die Katze spielt mit den Pflanzen, die Hunde wandern herum und sind wie jeden Tag auf der Suche nach einem längst verlorenen Schatz, den vielleicht nicht einmal der allmächtige Dyson-Staubsauger entdeckt hat. Ich sollte die Temperatur überprüfen, doch das Geheimnis der Uhrzeit löst sich, als meine Uhr mit einem Klingeln 11 Uhr anzeigt. Habe ich zu lange ...

Saturday morning. Why check the time? Why check the temperature? The heating’s on, and there’s no urgent need to go. The cat’s playing with the plants. The dogs are wandering around, embarking on their daily quest to unearth some hidden treasure, possibly overlooked by the all-powerful Lord Dyson. I should check the temperature, but the mystery of what time it is fades as my watch flashes 11 AM with a chime. Did I sleep in late or get up too early? Who’s to judge? The reader? Definitely not my n...

In Westeuropa wird erwartet, dass man oft lächelt. Ob das gut oder schlecht ist, sei dahingestellt, aber diese Erwartung nimmt langsam ab, da Europa in eine Phase wirtschaftlicher Schwierigkeiten, Kriegsängste und steigenden Terrorismus eintaucht. Doch das zeigt auch, dass die Dinge momentan nicht so rosig sind. In Osteuropa hingegen gilt man als naiv oder als Ausländer, wenn man lächelt, obwohl man nicht wirklich glücklich ist. Das hat weniger damit zu tun, wie gut oder schlecht das Leben ist,...

In Western Europe, there's an expectation to smile a lot. For better or for worse, this expectation is fading somewhat as Europe shifts into a more negative phase of economic hardship, concerns over war, the rise of terrorism, and so on. But this change in attitude is also a sign that things are not going so well. In Eastern Europe, however, if you smile when you're not actually happy, you're considered either somewhat naïve or simply a foreigner. It has little to do with how good or bad life ...

Empathy is emphasised in customer service today, but speed and efficiency should remain paramount. "Put yourself in the shoes of the customer." However, the customer is looking for a quick and efficient solution to their problem. I have seen endless empathic interactions that could have been quicker and more efficient. There’s often an endless back and forth of, "I understand how frustrating this must be for you," and, "I would feel just as upset as you do." But this cannot replace, "I'm sorry y...

Wann und wenn du erkennst, dass du nicht ewig leben wirst, was ändert sich dann? Was würdest du anders machen? Mehr Risiken eingehen, aber was, wenn du bereits alle Risiken eingehst? Wenn du merkst, dass Familie überbewertet ist, was ändert sich dann? Wenn du schließlich verstehst, dass die Ehe oft das Ende der Romantik bedeutet, was dann? Und wenn du erkennst, dass Kinder immer enttäuschen und Eltern niemals zufrieden mit unseren Leistungen sind, was dann? Wenn dir klar wird, dass es mehr Men...

When you realize that you won’t live forever, what changes? Do you take more risks? But what if you’re already taking all the risks you can? And when you start to question whether family is truly as meaningful as you've been told, what changes then? When you finally understand that marriage can often signal the end of romance, what then? And when it sinks in that children may always disappoint, and parents never seem satisfied with our accomplishments, how do you respond? As you come to see th...

Sieben Jahre lang wurden Juden und andere Minderheiten verfolgt, und zehn Jahre sowjetische Kontrolle waren geprägt von Missbrauch – die Vergewaltigung österreichischer Mädchen und der Raub industrieller Güter. 17 Jahre des Leidens. Die ersten sieben Jahre waren in etwas Schönes gehüllt, die späteren explizit unterdrückend. Die Nazis sind fort, und die Russen ebenfalls. Doch der Kampf zwischen Nazismus und sowjetischem Einfluss bleibt bestehen. Die Ideologie der Nazis fließt von ländlichen Gebie...

Vienna, seven years of Nazi rule. Then, Soviet rule. Seven years, they are purging the Jews and company and ten years of Soviet control marked by abuses—raping Austrian girls and stealing industrial output—17 years of suffering. The first seven were cloaked under something beautiful, the latter explicitly oppressive. The Nazis are gone, and so are the Russians. Yet, the battle between Nazism and "Soviet" influence remains constant. Nazi ideology flows from rural areas toward the capital, defende...

I ordered a nice wooden sunbed for my home in Lugano, where I could read a book or two, sip my Aperol Spritz, and look at the mountains and the beautiful lake. Sadly, I ordered it four days before summer ended, and it arrived two days before summer ended. With luck, we’d have an Indian summer, so we might as well set it up. Once I opened the box, I found the wood broken in a place that would be difficult to repair. I needed to contact customer service for a return but wasn’t excited about the h...

In Vienna, you don't wake up grateful for life. You wake up gloomy. From the start, you think about everything that needs doing. Essential things such as how many croissants you'll buy from the bakery. And even more important, which ones? Likely an almond croissant, my favorite. Then a marillen croissant (apricot filling) and, of course, a plain one so you can add your butter and salami or, if you feel like it, honey and butter or just that different marillen jam you have at home. But first, th...

In Wien wacht man nicht dankbar für das Leben auf. Man wacht mit einer gewissen Schwermut auf. Von Anfang an denkt man an all die Dinge, die getan werden müssen. Essentielle Dinge wie die Anzahl der Croissants, die man in der Bäckerei kaufen wird. Und noch wichtiger, welche Sorten? Wahrscheinlich ein Mandelcroissant, mein Favorit. Dann ein Marillencroissant und natürlich ein einfaches, damit man zu Hause Butter und Salami hinzufügen kann oder, wenn einem danach ist, Honig und Butter oder einfach...

What you'll often hear about customers nowadays is that they are highly educated and often know more about the product they're interested in than the customer service agents they interact with. This happens because customers have easy access to information through websites, search engines, and social media. Their excitement about the product motivates them to learn as much as possible about it. On the other hand, customer service agents, despite having access to more detailed internal resources...

I need a chair. One that I can carry with one hand while holding my coffee in the other and keeping the dog away from the food on the table with my leg. But the chair needs to be comfortable—a chair that, when I finally put it in place and sit on it, keeps me from falling off the sides. Not because I'm fat, but because I'm too distracted to look at where I'm going to sit. I need to feel with my ass as I sit down where the designated sitting area begins and ends. But why would I need to move the...

One of the first tech companies I worked for was Netgear, which was later acquired by Cisco. My role was that of what they called a Tech Support Technician. Just as the title suggests, it was a $9 entry-level job, and I got it mostly because I'm fluent in German, and they needed coverage for the DACH (Deutschland, Austria, and Confoederatio Helvetica)—basically Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I also had my tech skills from taking apart PCs and explosives as an IDF sapper. What was unique abo...

Some people get what they call a dog – more like a rat – and treat it like a perpetual baby, not realizing that it is indeed a dog with canine needs, such as socialization and walking on the ground. When other dogs come near, the owners are horrified as if they were holding a rabbit or a squirrel. Then, they become annoyed with the owners of normal-sized dogs who treat canines like dogs. The audacity of letting these dogs smell their rat’s microscopic anus – how dare they not control their dogs!...

In Vienna, when the cold weather comes, there's this drizzle that doesn't count as rain. A visitor might say, "It's raining," but if you live here, you won't think it is. The roads will have this wetness from this "drizzle." A certain gloom may accompany it, but I, for one, rarely find Vienna gloomy. It has a dark past and possibly a dark future coming, but for now, it's a special city. There are all kinds of people, even if mostly a representation of this part of Europe, this part of the world,...

Sadness is a common state that gets misdefined as depression. Depression is beyond the state of feeling; it's a state of no desires, no kindled fire. It all takes on one color of black or, perhaps with luck, dark grey. But sadness is a world of feeling. It's a state of tears, a state of hope, and of not giving up, not yet. It's a state of belief, belief that good things do exist and will be experienced soon again, if for but a moment. It's a disappointment based on expectations—not unrealistic...

There's this ageless concern that the world is going to hell. The end is near. All religions talk of this. Science talks of this. Ancient and modern stories. False and true prophets. The Incas, the Aztecs, the Egyptians, the Sumerians. And then modern men and women who constantly feel things are getting worse and the good old days are gone. But is any of this for certain, or is it just within our mind and heart? Is the key to being content regardless of the external circumstances just as the Ro...

Late at night, I found myself aimlessly scrolling through Instagram Reels when, out of nowhere, a guy appeared claiming that brushing your teeth with your left hand could transform your life. Being someone who's constantly seeking more from life, I thought, "Why not?" and decided to give it a try the following morning. Subsequently, while I was on my computer or phone, an advertisement for Ramit Sethi's book, "I Will Teach You To Be Rich," popped up. Initially dismissing it as sensationalist flu...

As a Tech Sales Instructor, I had a student in Miami. We were talking about his dream compensation. "So tell me, man, how much do you want to make a year?" He shot back, "$200 Million". All the other students laughed, but I didn't. If that's his dream, why laugh at it? But I responded, "OK, $200 million a year, but how much of that is going to be from Tech Sales?" He responded without winking, "Oh, about $150K," which is a realistic salary for a Tech Sales professional. It was clear that I wasn...