About Me - Janin Lyndovsky

I didn’t think writing an “About me” article would be a problem for me. Over the years, I have written many articles introducing myself to my audience, and it has never been an issue. Yet here I’m, sitting in front of my computer, looking at the empty screen and thinking to myself, “Which side of me the readers of Vocal would like to know? Which part of my life would be the most exciting for them?”

I already wrote an article on Vocal talking about my life in general (Life of a hopeless (yet successful) dreamer), but the title doesn't mention anywhere that the post is about me. So I decided to write another article and take a different approach.

On Medium, I found an article by Quy Ma that suggested a particular structure for an "About Me" article in the form of answering a series of questions.

Where are you from?

This question presented some difficulties, as it can have different meanings. So, dear reader, are you wondering where I was born or where I’m currently living?

I was born in Poland on May 30th, about seven years before martial law got introduced. I lived there for about 23 years, but… let’s say, being a rebel as I am, I wasn’t the perfect fit for a communistic or post-communistic mindset of the country, so I left and went to Germany.

In Germany, education was free, so I decided to learn the language and study there. After getting my “ticket to freedom”, called Master’s Degree in Business mathematics, I realised that also this country wasn’t the best for me, so I emigrated again.

And so, more than 16 years ago, I landed on the driest continent on earth. As soon as I looked out of the window of the aircraft that brought me here, I fell in love with this country. The beginnings here were rough and challenging, but my love for the country never faded, despite all I went through. And so I became Australian by choice, and I love my life in the Land Down Under.

What do you do for a living?

Though I love my job, my professional life is probably the most boring part of my life, but… Well, fair enough, I can answer this question.

Let’s start with the fact that I’m the worst possible employee ever. I don’t believe in an “office hierarchy” (I don’t comprehend why should I respect the CEO more than the cleaner; we are all humans, and a C-level manager or a cleaner is just a job title). I’m hopeless in politics (I have zero interest in international, national, or office politics). I love to stand up for my team instead of looking after my interests, and these two can be in conflict if you are trying to climb the career ladder. Also, though diplomacy isn’t as foreign to me as it used to be, I struggle to use it in everyday life. I always say what I think, and people in “high positions” don’t really appreciate hearing the truth, especially if it doesn’t support their arguments.

As a result, I can’t be employed by anyone but myself. So, mainly I’ve worked as an independent IT consultant (I’ll turn 48 soon, and though I’ve worked most of my life, starting as a kid working for pocket money, in my entire life, I was only three years full-time employed by someone; it was necessary to get a visa for Australia). I’ve my own company. There were times that I employed people (it feels good to go on extended holidays, do nothing, and money is still flowing into your bank account, doesn’t it??). Still, usually, I work on contracts with larger organizations. When the job is done, I move on to the next.

In the area of software development, I have experience in… probably every technology that exists. I worked with Blockchain, IoT and NFT, developed software for autonomous vehicles (actually, it was for autonomous aircraft, to be more exact), navigation systems for helicopters, as well as accounting systems, eCommerce, and mobile devices. BUT, I didn’t join writers' platforms with the intention to write about Blockchain or Bitcoin or any other technology, so I leave it here.

Which topics do you like to write about, and what are your goals as a writer?

Before I answer this question, I will give you some context about myself. I used to do inspirational and humorous speaking. My audience loved my stories, and I often heard comments like, “Your stories are amazing! You have such a great imagination! How do you do this?” I laughed and replied, “That’s not my imagination; that’s my life. These stories really happened.”

In my books/articles, I share my stories of emigration, travels (mostly solo travels, either on a motorbike or in a motor home; through various countries), dealing with trauma, overcoming adversities of life, and how I changed my “impossible childhood dreams” into my reality and much more. I write mainly in a humorous way, though I’ve also written more serious articles, and in all of them, I try to have (hidden) life lessons that I have learned from that experience.

My goals as a writer... Well, I understand that most writers and digital creators have two primary goals — gain thousands of followers and make money. But it’s not why I’m here. I want to have an impact. I don’t care how many followers I have or how much money I make; I just hope my stories will inspire others to be... the best version of themselves, simply be themselves, believe in themselves, and not listen to those who tell them, “you can’t” or “you aren’t good enough”. Through my writings, I want to encourage my readers to follow their dreams. Anything is possible as long as we have faith, we believe we can do it, and I’m living proof of this.

Any cool experiences?

My life is one extraordinary experience! I live my life my way, I don’t try to fit in, and I love adventures. I follow my heart and my dreams, so my life is everything but ordinary (or “normal”)

As I mentioned earlier, I love to travel. Throughout Australia, I travelled mostly on a motorbike but also by car — camping in a tent or in my caravan, or occasionally in motels. In a motor home, I drove around New Zealand (both islands) and across Canada. I also travelled through Europe, often by train or bus or by hitchhiking, though at this stage, I don’t write much about that time of my life.

Most of my travels by car or in the motor home I documented through letters I sent to John, which I’m going to use to publish in the form of books, and show snippets through articles here on Vocal and other writers' platforms.

I also wrote about my travels on a motorbike, which partially were my healing journey. After everything in my life went wrong, I found myself homeless, without money, family, or friends, with a broken heart on the streets of my dream- (but foreign) country. What do you do when you lose everything and don’t care if you are alive or dead? Just live your dreams! In the end, you have nothing to lose! I published a few articles here on Vocal, which talk about that travels. It was from travels to Tasmania.

What makes you unique?

My mindset. Yes, I have a very different mindset than an average (or “normal”, whatever it means) person. Whatever happens in my life (and I went through a lot), I always see why this is good for me. In other words, I see opportunity in every adversity, every danger.

People used to tell me, “you are too dumb to see the reality! You don’t see the facts! How can you stay calm and happy in such a situation?”. Well, yes, I always laugh, l “laugh everything off”, and I stay calm and positive regardless of how bad the situation is, but it doesn’t mean I don’t see the facts. There is 50% water in the glass. That’s a fact. I can be grateful that the glass is half-full and not empty. Or I can lament and worry because the glass isn’t full. This is a mindset. The approach I choose won’t change the amount of water in the glass, will it? Staying calm and positive gives me better chances to have ideas on how to get more water and make the glass full(er).

I see life as a game of poker. I can’t choose the cards I get, but I can choose to learn to play. Not the one with the best cards wins, but the one who plays the best. And the most important during the game is to enjoy it. I know most people are afraid to start playing the game of life, saying, “What if things go wrong? I could lose!” but they don’t realise that if they don’t start playing, they have lost already.

I don’t dwell on the past. Oh well, I have a terrible memory, so I can’t remember it anyway, but also, I prefer to learn from it and move on. What’s the point in finding all the options “what I should have done” and “how different my life could be”? I think it’s better to take the lessons, keep beautiful memories, and make our future brighter.

The most important individuals in my household

Jeffrey and Twinkles

I swore I would never in my life have birds as pets, mainly because birds should be free and fly as far as they want to.

But here I’m with two lorikeets, and I love them! They are rarely in the cage, mostly free to fly in my home.

A few years ago, I went for a run when I heard desperate screaming and noticed a baby lorikeet fighting for its life. So I saved him… Or maybe he rescued me because the life lessons he taught me are priceless. When I have visitors, one sentence is common among them “I would never think that a bird can behave as Jeffrey does. That’s a kid, not a bird!”.

One day Jeffrey went missing, and… I couldn’t bear the loneliness and quietness at home, so I went to an animal rescue place and got Twinkles, a wild bird that got abused, by humans. A few days later, I got Jeffrey back, so now I have two. They provide inspiration for many articles and posts about life and life lessons. One day I’ll share the articles here too.

Daisy

More than eleven years ago, I went for a walk in the town I was about to move to when I noticed a flier saying “On the death row” and picturing a terrified young dog, almost still a puppy. There was no way I could have a dog; I didn’t have a proper home myself, but never in my life would I let the dog be put down. And so I took her. We have been together ever since. We are a package — love me, love my dog. Don’t you love my dog? So, you don’t like me either — see you!

We went through a lot together. We work together, we play together, we travel together, we laugh together, and we cry together. She helps me on the farm (she is half kelpie an Australian cattle dog) and supports me in the office. And when dogs aren't allowed in the office, and I don’t have someone to stay with her? Well, we had to change the company policies concerning dogs — we did it!

Freddie

He came to my farm many years ago when I bought cattle for a turnover on my farm. All went well, except when the dreadful time came to sell the lot, I couldn't sell him. He is just my "big black dog" who follows me everywhere on the paddock and always checks what I'm up to.

When he was born, his destiny was to be a hamburger when he reached the age of 2 years. However, he took his fate into his hands and changed it by finding his way into my heart. He will stay here until he passes away from natural causes.

I think I wrote more than enough for an introduction. But if you would like to know more about me, just check other articles here - in one way or the other, they all talk about my life.