Why I like doing criminal law, since I specialise in Business and maritime law?

Many people believe that each scientist, and especially a lawyer should focus on one object and not practice any other field of law. 

But I although I have specialised in business and maritime law, I practice as well criminal law, in the form of legal aid. That means helping people who cannot afford to pay for their defence and defending them in front of the court.

I do that mainly not because of the money but also because of the excitement and the amazing feedback I get from the people.

Especially nowadays in the year after the Greek economic crisis, it is amazing to see how underprivileged people are very exposed to the Criminal Court Judges and their decisions.

That means that without the proper defence, they are completely lost.

By practising this field of law, not only do I get amazing feedback from people, but also I feel excited and thrilled because these people really recognize your efforts as a lawyer.

From this experience I have learned that you should focus to a certain point in your business life, but you should be open to changes and ready to take a path which can lead you to new experiences.

That is what I wanted to share with you

Stathis

Final day of the challenge-Free Skype consultation for subscribers

 Coming to a crossroad-The cloud weather symbolises the sadness because the blog challenge ends! The photo is from a Hotel in Paris.

Day 30: End of an Era:

These 30 days of the blog challenge have passed very quickly. They make me wanna scream ""so soon already"?

But all good things eventually come to an end. 

The blog challenge was a brand new experience for me. I haven’t joined other challenges, because when I saw this challenge on Natalie's page, I knew that one was for me. So I made my choice and  I believe I made well!.

Now that the challenge is over, I have decided to continue blogging, not only because of my business, but because I liked it and I like sharing knowledge and experiences with other people.

So besides Internet site, I ll have my blog, thanks to Natalie.

I might even think of joining the freedom plan as well!

As to my business, I ll take it to the nexet level, meaning  location independent and electronically managed.

There fore, I will from this time provide A FREE HALF HOUR SKYPE CONSULTATION for my subscirbers for any legal problem they might have!

 See you to my next post

   Stathis

Day 29: Making your dream come true

Day 29: What does your blueprint for living the dream look like to you?

  My blueprint for living the dream of my live looks like this:
 
 Let’s start from waking up in a scenery like this one in the photo. That would be the beginning of a dream day!



I would like to say that I have fulfilled some of my dreams in my life: first of all having my own office, struggling hard to buy my version of ideal house, etc. All these are material targets.

After you have fulfilled them, you have a very joyful moment and then you have to move forward.

And that is a sad moment because you have reached your destination at that specific moment of your life and you don’t know what comes next. Let alone the financial obligations that all these belongings create.

Growing  with the years, I realised that there is no certainty in life. That’s why you have to live your life to the fullest way possible.

Therefore, my dream now includes the knowledge of the world and the people living in it through travelling and working with people from all over the world via Internet.

In other words, I want to obtain a global point of view and broaden my horizons.

In my opinion, the key to reach my goals is independence.

Location independence, material independence and people independence.

That means that I get to choose the place to live and/or work, as well as not having to be restrained from negative people or people who over criticise my approach on work and/or life theory that I have.

I don’t want to be tied down by material obligations, f.e too much loan payments or by certain workplaces f.e specific office location.

Mobility, flexibility, adaptability, open mindset, respect for others, trustworthy business relations, happiness, communication. These are non negotiable principles and around them I want to build my dream.

And all these in a location independence environment which permits me to have the ability to travel and exploring the world.

In order to achieve my dream, I am preparing to sacrifice a super car or a super house, because it would be too much of a commitment in order to achieve my dream flexbility and mobility.

May be later when I settle down and the circumstances are better.....
I would be ready to sacrifice unuseful human relations with people that are negative and narrow minded in other words fake relations. All these superficial and  not meaningful   relations are just a waist of time.

My dream from location point of view would for sure include sea view and sun and ideally a boat, and
all the relevant sea activity and sports (swimming, diving, etc).







That's for now

Stathis

Minimalist backpack for travel- a very important travel tool when I was a carefree beginner lawyer on vacation in the island of Mykonos! Very practical-still have it! Sentimental value!

What travel tools and services are most important to you when taking your business abroad?

- The most important travel tool for me  are first of all a good site with visa services , because that can REALLY get you  you out of big trouble!
 A backup system (like an external hard drive) is always very important, especially when it has to do with work files, such as legal documents or sensitive personal data of clients.
A universal charger is an excellent idea. I did'n know there was such a practical  device, until I saw the one that Natalie recommends.

 I will definitely try it out and I ll share my opinion with you.

Finally the most important travel tool is to keep calm under all circumstances because during  travel always a lot of unpredictable things can happen and the only way to deal with them is to be calm and have quick responses. I am talking out of personal experience. In one of my  other posts I will share  my experience with you.


Keep calm and travel hacking!

Stathis

DAY 27:

Travelling for my PhD research in Librairie Cujas, Paris.


Day 27: What’s your best travel hacking story to date (where you scored a free upgrade, used miles or just got a bonus perk) OR Name 2 ways in which you’re going to become a savvy travel hacker in the next 6 months?


My best hacking story isn't exaclty hacking story, but my first free flight and stay experience in a foreign country, therefore, I believe it could fall in to that category, but after all you are going to  be the final judge of this:

Winning a free month scolarship in Muenchen Germany without evevn buying the lotery ticket:

When I was 19, I was following german lesons in Goethe institut, Athens.
Each Christmas, there was a lottery taking place and the first price was a one month scolarship to Munchen all expenses ( flight ticket and stay) paid by the Institut.
 At the day of the lottery, I was attended the ceremony, but did not buy a lottery ticket. When I went back to my (that day father's - now my ) office, a close friend of mine came to the office, telling me that I have won the first lottery price, meaning one month in Muencen, all expences paid.
Of course I did not believe him. But he was telling the truth,

What has happend was the following:

The first price was won by my German professor.
 But there was a term in the labour agreement that no one of the Goethe personnel could benefit form the price in the lottery.

Therefore, my professor was told to have a second lottery between her students.
At that lottery there was the names of all students, including me that I hadn't bought a ticket.

The lottery was conducted by my close friend, and by coincidence, my name won the lottery.
So I won  one month scolarship to Muenchen, without buiyng a lottery ticket.
That was my first travel hacking experience.

From now them I use more conventional ways, such as free miles or credit cards.

That's my story for day 27!

Stathis.

My first SMART cabrio- it fits in the trunk a big suitcase- ideal for suitcase entrepreneurship!

My favorite minimal scooter back in the travel years!


Day 26:

Could you live a minimalist lifestyle? Why or why not? OR What does minimalism mean to you in the context of your ideal lifestyle?

Less is more,  quality over quantity.

These words summarize the minimalist lifestyle in my opinion. I am a fan of minimalism, since I have Spartan origins, and the Spartans were in favour of few belongings.

 But when it comes to minimalist it means not only to have few belongings or wealth (that has nothing to do-you might as well be rich or poor) but to be able to LIVE and GO BY with a few things your life.

In order to live my ideal lifestyle you HAVE to be minimalist. Because if you are always on the move, you cannot have the comfort of your home.

Event though I have a Home and an office, I could easily work with my laptop from everywhere, or live in a small hotel room of 20 square metres (as I have done many times in my past in different countries when I was younger). My luggage is always packed in my car and can be ready in less than one hour. After all my dream would be to spend a lot of time in a yacht, and that means that I cannot carry as much things as at home or live with the same comforts.

I also believe that one thing that all successful and balanced people have in common, is that no mater how many money or possessions they have they can live with only a few or them, or rephrase it better, they use only  a few of them in their everyday life, only those who are really necessary.

So if we focus only to what is  truly necessary, and to maintaining  a good quality in our personal and business life, then I believe we are one step closer of achieving the idea of minimalism.


Stathis

Travelling at Paris, Louvre
 
Day 25 : Qusetion:What skills do you need to build or refine to be a happy Suitcase Entrepreneur?

A:  First of all,  I believe the most difficult for me would be to get used to the time zone difference. I mean I have travelled long distance trips, f.e  to China but its a different thing having to manage your dates and client relations at the same time.

The diet and nutrition issue doesnt concen me much, because is already in my everyday schedule.

But the most importannt thing and in here Natalie has a  point, is that you have to say no to old habits and old people, in the meaning of intoxicating people who hold you back.

 That includes the part of being disciplined in order to take your business goals to the next level of really independence, not only locally, meaning phisically, but also mentally.Strong mentality and mindset is the only way of moving forward.

In the contrary I would need to find a way to keep up with all the open minded people that have a positive way of thinking and make me move forward. Unlike Natalie, I use Facebook as an open media, meaning that there are people that I know only virtually. But that doesnt exclude my "real" friend keeping up with me. I use LimkdIn for  business contacts. I believe that maybe I will make a second FB account for real and close friends. Maybe that could be a good idea.



Stathis.

 

 

Day 24 of the blog Challenge

 

Place de la Concorde, Paris

 

Q:What are your travel essentials for your chosen destination(s) ?

A: First of all I like sunshine and water, therefore my chosen destination would definitely include those two elements.  One exception: Geneva because of the security and stability it offers.
I would prefer the mentality of the people to be relaxed, open minded and friendly to people from different origins and cultures.
 I would take my laptop, my mobile with me and my swim suit! (of course my personal hygiene items and some clean clothes).
I would like the hygiene of the country to be at a certain level that doesn't provide hazards to my health, but I am not the super clean type, therefore, the level should be only acceptable.

Passport and credit card are also essential.

But good mindset and mood  is the most essential thing of all.

In one sentence: You should focus on the place to go not on the place to leave behind!

I am now going to pack up my suitcase.

See you!

Stathis

Riding my bike to the next destination.


Day 23:What’s your level of location independence and your nomadic quotient?

This is easy for me to answer, because I like travelling a lot. Since I was a little kid, I was watching all this documataries of the underwater world, as well as those that included travelling experiences from National Geographic.
When I was 19 in law school,  I left home in order to study in Lyon France through a student eschange program. I spent 6 months there and ten I went to Munich through a scolarship for the German language. Sicne then travelling is in my life, it runs in my blood.
I like exploring diffrent people and cultures and therefore I have learnt 6 different languages, the three of them in a proficient level.
I am an independent nature and I like benig sometimes alone, therefore I can stand the loneliness of the travelling.
I can also adapt to different environments and different cultures.
I could practically live everywhere in the world.
Nowdays that my choises are more lets say mature and justfied I modify this answer by saying I can live evreywhere, but now that I know myself a little better, I choose to live in a place where it fulfills certain standards for meand  maintains my self balance.
So my ideal place to live would be an exotic island or even Switzerland (see Day 22:

http://stathismylonas.blogspot.com/2014/09/greek-beach-near-attica-day-22-if-you.html

 That doesnt mean that I cannot travel anywhere, for a shorter period of time, lets say a few months or even a year.  

So I could say that I am location independent.
 As to the nomadic part of the question, I could travel and change location for a period of time, but when I get back "home", I 'd like to have a long period of time for settling down and "decodifying" experiences and lessons learned.
The only part of my location independence side of me that needs improvement is the plan of organising. This is a point that I need to work on.
May be with some assistant-virtual or not!
 Who knows what comes next in life?

Stathis

Greek beach near Attica

 Q:Day 22: If you chose to live anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?

A: That's the best question for me  (I have travelled quite a few), yet the most difficult to answer. I'll give it a shot though: I was born in Athens which is a sea surrounded sea. Therefore, I would choose to live in a country who has sea. Besides Greece, an exotic island would be my number one destination, such as Bahamas or St Dominick. Geneva would be a great choice, because of the lake presence as well as the stability of the country. All these are top destinations.

But one of my  dreams would be to live in a ship in the middle of an ocean (ideally with a plane in it) and just shipping or flying to any destination I would choose to see friends and travel.

You see? Its difficult to for me to settle in one country. That's why it is good to have a job which offers you the mobility to make a free choice. And the legal business  (especially in the form of that can be done through internet) gives that opportunity cause it offers great flexibility.

And one last remark: The best choice is to go where your heart or your love or generally as Natalie says where the love is. That's the number one destination after all!



Stathis

The "dilemma" 

 Working  hours in my office

Or saving time,  and swimming in the beautiful greek island of Mykonos and at the same time making the technology work for you?

 The difference in between is the  clever use of technology
 which brings us to the

   Day 20 of the challenge:

Q: State your top three tools that you will use (or already use) to save time and money and make your online world more seamless.

A: Well, first of all I am using   PayPal  already  because I think is a safe, modern and world wide acceptable  way of receiving payments.


  Second I should eventually build an email list, and therfore I would use Mailchimp.

And because I want to save time with technology I wanna start using  Virtual Staff Finder   because you always have to outsource in order to see some real results.

That's it for today

I am  going to startto learn how to build my email list and after that I will start thinking of how I will use time saved by planning a short trip for swimming and sea viewing.





Stathis
Xx

Being dedicated to my legal work in my office


















Adding freedom to my life and ready for the world, keeping my work ethics and principles














Day 19:

Q: Which methods do you want to use to build your platform and increase your influence?

A; To do that I would start by being myself. I am very open minded active person who likes to take action and being flexible and ready to learn. I would try to share my ambitions, goals and experiences with the others through blogging and social media.

Of course being in touch with freelance writers or photographers is a very good idea, but i am just starting to learn it, so its on the testing stage, but it is a wonderful experience.

And then  I would use my experience from TV legal shows in Greek TV to the pod casting or maybe web TV if I think that I could speak for a topic in which I could contribute with my knowledge. This topic could be of a legal,  social or economic interest.

All the above I would try them if they were in accordance with my personal ethic and values in others words with my mindset and USP (Unique Special Proposition).

Have a nice day!

Stathis

Day 18:


Q:What does your dream sales team look like and how will you ensure they help you build your business?

A: This is a strange question since there is no word as selling  in law business, but could use it as a team to promote my legal services and products such as  legal books. I could also think of having advertising in the legal website.

 In this way the answer is as follows:

My dream team would be first of all my clients, people who have used my services and have been satisfied with them. That is the best advertising as one happy client could bring another one. My dream team of advertising and affiliates  would be young people (in age or in heart) who have faith in me and the knowledge (I could provide it to them) as well as the  ablility, the  time and the mood  to share it and spread the "word" around.

I will ensure helping build my business by constantly inspiring them, being by their side if they need anything  and of course giving them a reward  for the results they provide.

 I would also encouraging them to share their ideas dreams opinions with me, so they could help me impove my services.

Stathis

Day 17:  What three steps can you take to build trust and credibility online for you your brand and your business:

A: Very important question. Because I come from the law business where credibility and trust is almost everything, I could use the principles I learned for my experience in the law office to the online world:

First of all I would send regular emails informing my audience of the changes in the legal system, and I would blog consistently maybe in a daily basis- as I do now because of Natalie's challenge (or maybe better OUR (?) challenge).

Second I wouldn't promise anything more and anything less from that I could do and that means deadlines for writing an online legal advice or solving legal problem, as well as fields of law I am competent and efficient. In other words I would be myself and try not to  "betray" my audience and clients

Last but not least,  I would provide room for my website for the opinion of clients I have already serviced and hear their suggestions and critic (good or bad). In that way I could have a feedback and work at the right direction.

If I were to summarize: I would be myself and keep going......

That' s about it

PS Congrats Natalie for your webinar (18. September 2014) was splendid and really enjoyed i!

 Stathis

Day 16:
How will you build a team around your vision and work smart instead of hard?

A: First of all, I would use  virtual assistants. I mean, I could have some people in the law office, but now days it isn't necessary, I' ll leave it to my father, who is more traditional!
My office would be virtual, as I said made by virtual assistants.
I would choose people through the trial and error process, and I would conclude to modern open minded people who have the same mentality as mine. I would listen to them carefully, learning by them and transmitting my experiences and making clear to them what my (company?) goals and ambitions are.
I would try to inspire them and to organize them in  a way that we will have technology working for us and not the other way around.
In fact,  I have made already the first virtual  hire, a  virtual  assistant from Costa Rica. That was before, I mean  when I still was sending CVs for a 9-5 job. I was influenced by Natalie' s book  it was a wonderful experience. Maybe I will now transform her duties as managing my email list and handling my emails. We' ll see!

v
Day 15: How are you building your email list?

A; I just begun thinking of this kind of perspective for my blog or business, so I ll answer what would I include in my list and how often would I send mails to subscribers.
I would email my members once a week with the basic legal news/or infos that could be of a legal  or economic interest to them.
Second, I would inform them if a major change in the legal world would take place and for sure If a new product or service was available from me to them.
Another thing I would think could be to make an email with interesting social or leisure activities that I could find interesting (f.e.  trips to different countries, etc), but only in a more rare (let's say monthly basis ) and only if they wanted to,
because

I stand for   quality not just  in business  but also in leisure and pleasure!


Stathis