Blazhka shares the challenge she had feeling the weight of other people's expectations, namely her family and friends, when she decided to choose a path that was different to what they expected for her. I think this is something that we can all relate to which is why this is such a powerful episode. Blazhka shares the work she did to identify the values she had and also the values she wanted to have - she realised the former were driven by external expectations and not her own. She highlights the things that have assisted her when she is feeling conflicted on expectations, such as being clear on her motives, taking time for daily reflections and considering what is happening in her body when she is experiencing certain emotions, using learnings from the Huberman Lab podcast. Blazhka talks through the journey she went on to setting expectations that make her happy and have led her to an inspiring new chapter for her restaurant Blagichka, the first zero-waste restaurant in Bulgaria.

Get to know Blazhka in the first half of the podcast as talks about where her drive and motivation around a zero waste philosophy began as a student at Sofia Univerisity. She shares how she combined this passion with teaching on the Teach for Bulgaria programme to enable a learning experience for her students that led to starting Blagichka. The restaurant gives disadvantaged young people the opportunity to work in their kitchen and develop key skills. Blazhka beautifully describes how she has gone back to her roots in the village to establish a circular approach to the restaurant's sustainability as she goes through an exciting re-launch on 1 June 2024. It's a simply wonderful story.

Guest speaker: Blazhka Dimitrova, Founder and CEO of Blagichka in Bulgaria.

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Social media:

Sanju Pal @sanjuthinks

RISE @risecharity

Blazhka Dimitrova @blagadiary

Blagichka Zero Waste @blagichkapastry

Village Farm @farm2ubg

Teach for Bulgaria @teachforbulgaria

Teach for All @teachforall

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