A Young Maltese Entrepreneur Gives Advice To His Younger Self

I feel that I just cannot start by giving a description of what I would tell myself five years ago without saying who I am now. My name is Luke Desira, a 29-year old Maltese Engineer with a Master of Science. I love finding simple solutions to complex problems, which is a trait that I like using in business. Right now, I am on a journey with my soon-to-be wife. We are on a two-month road trip in Europe that took us to 11 countries, and soon we will be travelling to Asia for six months, starting from India and ending in the Philippines.

1. Eliminate common misconceptions

Some might think that what I am doing right now is the journey of a lifetime. I have no job, and can easily afford to pay for a road trip in my red convertible. All the while travelling for nine months as well as paying for a wedding. All this before returning back home just 55 days before the big day.

I do not think of this as a dream trip. I think of it as a lifestyle that my wife-to-be and I are creating. In a year’s time, we want to live in a farmhouse in Gozo, that has a garden in which we can grow vegetables. We plan to work from home and raise our children our way, whilst having enough time to focus on what’s really important.

2. Everyone can live their dream life

I wasn’t always like this, ‘living the dream’. There were jobs I had which I didn’t like. I was also in relationships with women and friends that weren’t helping me as an individual, and I used to have a relatively normal way of looking at things. Many times, I tried to fit in, and do like every successful young Maltese person was doing.

I attended University, drank Vodka, and, eventually, graduated and found work (that would be my legitimate reason for constant complaining). But then, something changed. I realised that I had the menu of life in my hands. I realised that I could take decisions that would have an impact on me.

3. Taking the best decision of my life

I realised that I should be the one to make decisions that would impact my life. Depending on the decisions I made, the impact would either be positive or negative. I also realised that if I do not make the decision myself, someone else will. The final outcome of that happening would generally be undesirable. So I started making my own decisions.

I quit my job and ended the relationships I had with my girlfriend and friends. I decided to start a new page because I didn’t like the trajectory my life was taking. This decision caused a big backlash from everyone around me. But I was determined. I wanted to make something of my life, and I knew that somehow, something good would happen. Steve Jobs said, “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever”.

4. With the right attitude, your life can change

Understanding this concept has been a journey that I have lived throughout the past four years, which is when I changed my life. If I had to tell something to myself five years ago, I would tell myself to stop and reflect on what my definition of a ‘dream life’ would be. And then to start taking action to get closer to my goal. I would tell myself to wake up, every day, eager to move a step closer to where I want to be.

It is ok not to know how ‘life will be’, I just need to know that it will be, probably in a different way than what I had imagined, but it will be. I would tell myself to “Dream, Believe & Make it Happen”. I would tell myself to imagine the lifestyle that I want to be living, to know that I deserve to live that life and to believe in myself that somehow it will happen. It is also important not to worry about not having a plan before taking action to live the dream life.

I would tell myself to “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step” Martin Luther King Jr.