Daniel Ivanov - Nowadays, Being Perfect Is a Norm, Being Good Is Often Unsatisfactory (Country Manager 20.21, AIESEC in Denmark)

The voice of the youth matters and it is important. Leadership skills do not necessarily mean the ability to lead big masses of people. It simply means confidence and an ability to lead yourself. This is more than enough for someone to make a difference.

1. Please tell us about your background and journey.

I am originally from Bulgaria and I had never left my country before I turned 19. I was raised by my mom and grandma in a small village close to the capital of Bulgaria. I was very shy and closed as a child.

A child that did not have a lot of friends, but had an extremely rich imagination and was always diligent at school. I was often seen as a 'nerd' and this also contributed to me being mentally bullied in primary school.

Luckily through the years, I developed in, what I like to believe is, the right direction as a more open person that respects and believes in himself. At the age of 19, I moved to Denmark for my studies with enough money to just cover a couple of months.

There were two possible scenarios - I either find a job to support myself financially or interrupt my education and return back to Bulgaria. I was lucky enough to end up in the first one. So I finished my bachelor's while working 4 days a week in a pizzeria and only then joined AIESEC.

2. When and why did you join AIESEC?

After I was done with my Bachelor I decided to take a gap year in order to get some rest and decide what my Master's is going to be. However, I started getting bored almost a month after I was done with the studies and desperately needed something to keep me busy.

I knew AIESEC from before as my friend was a part of it. I was very skeptical in the beginning but then decided to give it a shot. I literally thought that I will stay a few months to 'try it out' and then leave. Nobody (including me) expected that I will stay over 3 years in the organization and become the National President of AIESEC in Denmark.

3. Why do you think it is important for people to develop leadership skills early on?

Because if they develop them later, it might be too late. Younger people are braver, they have ideas, a different vision of the world that can challenge the broad narrative that we are living in. But very often they do not have the belief in themselves to do something about it or simply to speak up.

4. What have been your biggest learnings from your experience?

It is really hard to pick. But I would go with 'It is okay to not have it all figured out'. Nowadays, being perfect is a norm, being good is often unsatisfactory. People put sky-high criteria both for the people around them but also for themselves.

The hustle culture might sound impressive and might picture you as a professionalist, ambitious, perfectionist, but the question is how long can you live in a hustle without burning out?

I believe that instead, one has to focus on consistency and patience - good things normally take time, and most importantly - you need to take care of yourself today if you wanna keep following your dreams tomorrow.

5. What advice would you give to people who just enter college?

Join AIESEC, haha, on a more serious note - college is not about studying. I have forgotten 95% of everything that I studied through my 5 years of higher education.

However, the college has its own ways to turn you into an adult. Moving out of your parents, having to take care of yourself, following deadlines, working on projects in groups, joining different organizations or unions that align with your vision and ideals.

This is where you shape yourself as a person - and not because of the content of the lectures. For me, the knowledge and skills that I got from my university degrees cannot even begin to compare to the knowledge and skills I got from AIESEC.

So my advice is - find a platform where you can develop and grow simultaneously with your studies. AIESEC is one option and not the only one of course. Find something that fits your spirit and does not be afraid to try it out!

6. How has AIESEC adapted during Covid?

AIESEC has been around for over 70 years so it has proved itself as a resilient organization through all the hardships and challenges. COVID is just another one of them. It is true however that it has had a major effect on AIESEC as international exchanges are placed at the core of our organization.

Nevertheless, AIESEC has (and still is) figured out ways on how to engage its members, how to continue delivering impact and how to move forward in these uncertain times. Everyone keeps working, keeps thinking, keeps looking, and finding different ways for us to deliver our mission.

We still have members willing to take leadership positions, we still have people wanting to go on exchange, we still organize AIESEC conferences - the context has changed but AIESEC's main vision and values stay the same.

7. Which is your favorite book and why?

This might sound like a huge cliche but it is 'The Alchemist' of Paulo Coelho. I see in myself some of the traits of the main character. A young and humble dreamer on a journey.

There is just something romantic about this novel and I like it. The plot, the mood, the vibe - it makes you believe that everything eventually falls into its place and that thought makes me happy.