Our lives, jobs, careers, social lives are filled with rules.

Do this, don’t do that, give up this, liberate yourself from that.
What if there is a new game to play?
The rule is, there are no rules.
Live your life, make your choices, be happy, stop listening to the external noises that want to shape you this or that way.
From how to write your blog, your resume, how to dress, how to respond to questions at interviews, how to present yourself.

How about just BE YOURSELF!
How about just BE KIND!
How about just LIVE AND LET LIVE!

Much simpler, takes the stress away and lets you dream, smile, be giddy once in a while.
Lift up your friends, empower the ones that are down. Don’t kick them.

We cannot all live in a box that has certain rules, dimensions, prohibitions, and levels.

Yes, be the best at what you do.
Yes, be respectful.
Yes, strive for perfection.

BUT
Within yourself, your character, your beliefs, your own being.

As Christmas approaches, all I read are articles with huge titles, like what are you ready to give up in order to….
Guess what world?
NOTHING
I am giving up nothing at all! I am who I am, I love who I am, I believe in who I am.
I am strong, caring, loving, and all I want for Christmas is Peace of mind.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all!

Author(s)

  • Mariella Stockmal

    Operations & Risk Management Executive

    I combine many years of experience and strategy to create results across various functions from eCommerce, Finance, Operations, and Risk. Skills and Experience: * Operations & Office Management * Finance, Fraud Management and Safety Measures creation to protect brands and companies. * Claims, Disputes and Chargebacks (Vantiv, Braintree, Ethoca, PayPal, Shopify, Global Collect, Adyen etc.) * QuickBooks and Bookkeeping * Policy Creation specific to an organization’s goals * Ability to solve problems * Desire to learn new things * Passion and adaptability * Slack, Zoom, G-Suite, and other office/business software * Accustomed to handling sensitive, confidential records. * Diplomatic and tactful with professionals and non-professionals at all levels * Word, Excel, Google Drive, Social Media * Fully equipped home office for remote work assignments * Languages: Greek, German, English, conversational French and Italian Job History: Owner at Business And Risk Management Jan 2018 – Current Blog about Business, Risk, Finance and Fraud Protection. Risk Manager, TrackR September 2015, January 2018 Protected the company from fraud and unauthorized transactions. Brought chargeback rate down from 17% to 0.3%. Also worked with QuickBooks online doing reconciliations and entering data. Chargebacks – Claims Manager, FastSpring December 2011 – September 2015, Santa Barbara, CA Worked closely with co-founders, managed Fraud and Chargebacks, and worked with QuickBooks. Created policies, updated back end to portray proper sales/refunds. COO, SteveStockmalMusic.com Music Education - Music Performance Risk Management and Policy Creation, Financial management. Operations Manager at Santa Barbara International Film Festival Office Operations Management, policy implementation. COO, D. Kallonas & Son. Ltd. Policy creation, overall Company operations, international travel and finance