All posts by Maria Boicova-Wynants

European Trademark Attorney, Mediator, IP Strategy Consultant, Founding Partner at Wynants&Co Strategic IP Solutions, Partner at Starks IP and International Trade Law firm
Lifestyle Balance, Parenthood

The new reality: Becoming a parent without losing your own identity

Leave a comment

Kids change your life — that’s a given. It is not only about practicalities, but mostly about mindset. However, both the practicalities and the mindset are in your power. You will need to adjust and adapt, yet you don’t have to forget who you are.

A while ago I have written an article for the School for Personality development ReFresh (article is in Russian language) entitled “Balancing on the new verge: What should you think about when moving on to a role of parent” (see link here). Of course, it is mostly relevant for those who are only about to become parents for the first time, yet might be interesting also for long-time parents, who are sometimes feeling a bit lost and in search for harmonious balance of their inner roles. This post will talk about the same subject as the article mentioned, so if you master both English and Russian — you can pick which version you prefer to read. It is not an exact translation, yet the essence is practically the same. Continue reading The new reality: Becoming a parent without losing your own identity →

Hobby, Household

If you want to make perfect cheesecake – my NEW BOOK is what you need!

Leave a comment

Usually I publish new blogposts on Mondays, but today is an exception due to the exceptional event. That exceptional event is my new book!

You might have heard it several times already — for quite a while I wanted to write a cookbook. And now… here it is!

Finished. Published. Available on iBooks, Amazon Kindle and in PDF version at Sellfy shop.

For a price of one latte at Starbucks you can literally master the art of making cheesecakes in all different ways and with various ingredients.

I mean it — this is a cookbook like you have never seen before. You can call it “cheesecake coaching” or the ultimate cheesecake making guide. This book does not list recipes, but actually teaches you to think outside the box and work your magic with what you have. Even the recipes described in here are not just a list of ingredients and cooking steps, but an actual explanation of why you need to do what you are doing, as well as ideas of how you can substitute ingredients. You will be guided through the whole process: from learning some of the easiest recipes to mastering the most sophisticated and non-traditional ones.Thus, if you have ever scrolled through cheesecake recipes and got frightened to even try, this book is definitely for you, as it will change your perspective big time! Continue reading If you want to make perfect cheesecake – my NEW BOOK is what you need! →

Lifestyle Balance, Psychology, Self-development

Compliments: how come we crave them yet fail to accept?

6 Comments

One of these days I praised somebody for the great work she had done. After receiving my compliment she said something like: “That’s actually not that big of a deal, and I am not the only one responsible for the end result, but… thanks“. However, actually it was a big deal and the end result was mainly thanks to her. It made me think about compliments and “properly” accepting them.

Those of you who are active on social networks or have blogs of their own, you crave likes, don’t you? You want as much people as possible to give you that “thumbs up” – a modern equivalent of “a good job!”. Moreover, if your activity did not receive the desired amount of likes you almost feel like something important is missing. Recognition. We all crave recognition. Nevertheless, if actual recognition beyond a simple “thumbs up” comes their way, it somehow makes a lot people try to … apologize. Continue reading Compliments: how come we crave them yet fail to accept? →

Parenthood, Philosophy, Psychology

Family living far away: keeping in touch despite the distance

2 Comments

The world is getting smaller and more interconnected every day. That’s just modern reality. We are mobile and we are on the move. Most of the times we are no longer “confined” to living in the same area, city, or even country as our ancestors. If I look at my classmates from school, for example, almost none of them stayed in my home-country. My ex-classmates are now everywhere from Europe to Canada and from Brazil to New Zealand. But what about their families? Well, as we are now in our 30s, most of my ex-classmates have families of their own. Yet, this is not what I mean… Their parents, their, so-to-say initial families, families they were born into – they in a lot of occasions are still in Latvia. And that raises quite some questions. The first and probably most obvious one is: how do you truly stay in touch?  Continue reading Family living far away: keeping in touch despite the distance →

Kids, Psychology

Habits: what if you want to kick them?

7 Comments

They say a habit is formed in 21 days. So if for 3 weeks you have been persistently and consistently doing something, you are stuck with that habit. Some habits are great to be “stuck with”, like for example the habit of drinking a glass of water in the morning or an exercise routine, or the daily learning of 5 new words in a foreign language. There are, however, also less positive habits: watching TV while eating, spending hours playing computer games, eating candies in the evening, you name it. Your life is a matter of your choice, of course, and it is totally up to you to put a plus or a minus sign in front of a particular habit (as long as you are in control and understand what you are doing). Moreover, your attitude can also change with time. Thus, a habit that you enjoyed or accepted yesterday, might be a burden today and then the question comes: how do I kick the unwanted habit?

In this post I will share some of my tips on kicking unwanted habits: both those of your own and of your kids. As always, if you have some other nice tips to add, please share them in the comment section below.

To begin with, what do we understand as a habit?  Continue reading Habits: what if you want to kick them? →