Emina Elezovic

Emina ElezovicSep 3, 2026

Today I almost commented "FTW" on someone's post. 😭👵 I never say "for the win" out loud in real life, obviously, but my brain reached into the dusty archives of internet history and spat it out like a premium option. Then I had a brief moment of self-preservation and googled: "is FTW cringe?" Turns out, yes, very? According to "the internet", that is strictly ancient "elder millennial" dialect. I immediately went to check the actual cutoff years, only to realize I'm not even close to an elder millennial. Just experiencing linguistic premature aging. The acceptable terms now are "the GOAT" or shouting "LFG," neither of which I can drop without feeling like Steve Buscemi holding a skateboard. Years ago at an old job, I remember asking a much younger colleague if people still say "cool". She said yes (maybe she was pranking me). I spend an embarrassing amount of time on TikTok, but the slang is forming at such an alarming speed that I can't keep up. I just have to accept that my brain calcified around 2013 internet culture and let it roll. Anyway. Aging internet slang, FTW. (Please tell me "cool" is still safe though.) 👵👵👵👵

Emina ElezovicOct 20, 2026

At 22, in my first sales job, I thought I was the Wolf of Wall Street. But I was more of a Puppy of Kaivokatu. 😭 The job was placing design products into retail shops. The products were great, and I still have a couple at home that look brand new. I would be calling or walking into stores and cold pitching, and I just didn't know how. When I told my manager I wanted to quit because I wasn’t cut out for it, she didn’t try to soften it. She looked at me and said, “Yeah, that’s true.” ⚰️ Then she took me to her favorite restaurant nearby. We spent two hours sharing a massive whole fish in super spicy sauce, talking about completely unrelated things. It was also the day I finally learned how to use chopsticks (yes, at that age). So this puppy back then wouldn't believe that selling turned out to be mostly asking people good questions, and building relationships. And very little trying to trick someone into believing they need an ice machine in the North Pole. She also wouldn't believe that I now get to be the employee and the boss. And take myself for a celebratory lunch once in a while. Of course, with chopsticks.

Emina ElezovicOct 16, 2026

I’ve taken long holidays before, but never 4 months into running my own business. 🥴 🆘 I vanished for 3 weeks to the trip booked ages ago, so I took it as a sign to step away and just rest, which for Europeans still means 20k steps a day, uphill. Coming back to LinkedIn is always a smack in the face. The weird & the bad: - Apparently everyone is using Claude to generate videos now? I was gone for 3 weeks and I missed three tech revolutions. 😭 - The algorithm isn't too kind about taking a break. The reach = tumbleweeds and crickets The good: - A 7-hour time difference is the ultimate forced boundary. By the time my clients back home were waking up, I was already thinking about dinner. - The itinerary was straight out of an autumn fairytale. And there were bell crickets, a bit different from those on LinkedIn - It was true, guilt-free rest after a chaotic year, which I didn't realize I desperately needed. Despite being totally offline, I still came back to some exciting client conversations lined up. I’m actually quite excited to get back to work, and making holiday content gave me a ton of fresh inspiration). Anyone wants me to ghostwrite their holiday posts? 🎅 It’s good to be back. Now can anyone please catch me up: what else did I miss while I was escaping the bears in Hokkaido?