The Unconventional Guide To Dan Munteanu

Hi there, I'm Dan!

So who am I, again?

Well, it's quite hard to put my finger on a single word to encompass who I am. Several words do come to mind to help me define myself, but still they don't quite paint the whole picture.

But they will do, for now. I'm a:

• Blogger
• Writer
• (Amateur) DJ
• Coach
• IT Guy
• (Former) Software Developer

... and a bit of a "wise guy". But just a bit, and I am treating myself for that ;)

In the past 32 years since I am alive, there've been several phases of my life that shaped who I am .

The Software Developer Phase

This phase lasted for quite a while, around 10 years. As a teen, I really enjoyed played a bunch of computer games (mostly Starcraft, Diablo and Mortal Kombat 4). So I set myself up on a path that would transform me into a computer games developer when I grew up.

When I started upon this path, I was convinced that my life was going to be all about programming computers. I learned Math, C++, 3D Graphics. I really believed that I'd found my one true passion, at that time.

Boy, was I wrong. The river of my life had its fair share of twists and turns, and I didn't see some of them coming.

The PUA Phase

This is the period of my life when I took responsability for my inexistent dating life (at the time). I was shy, introverted and afraid to talk to women. I had no girlfriend until I was 21, but I did have quite a few female friends. You know, the let's just be friends type

Fed up with being friend zoned all the time, I did what any normal man in his early 20's would do: I googled How to get a girlfriend.

Online, I found mentors like David DeAngelo, The Mystery Method, Real Social Dynamics and I started applying everything that I learned from them, in order to Double My Dating (altough, thinking about it, 0 x 2 still equaled 0)

While I was trying to figure out how to escape the friend zone, when talking to women, I made a fool of myself countless times. But it was all worth it in the long run. It was all part of the learning process.

I figured out some neat underlying social dynamics principles. You can read more about these in my previous article: https://steemit.com/dating/@munteanu/escaping-the-friend-zone

Bottom line is that I cured myself of friendzone-itis

The Spirituality Phase

This began when I started reading Eckhart Tolle's book — The Power of Now. It opened my appetite for more esoterical knowledge, spirituality, the Law Of Attraction and all stuff related.

Yes, at some point I was seeking enlightment. Long story short: I didn't find it. So I came back on Planet Earth. In retrospect, the landing part hurt quite a bit.

But in the process I did learn meditation, I developed better self control and better emotional management abilities. And I also totally shifted my career path away from programming. Lovely times, I have to give you that.

The Steve Pavlina / Personal Growth Phase

Around 2009, I found Steve Pavlina's personal development blog. I almost immediately started reading (devouring is a better word for it) every article I found there, in a very short span of time.

This was the big push I needed to give up the programming career that was draining my soul and to start seeking out the type of work that was more in alignment with who I really was.

Not sure Steve Pavlina will ever read what I write here, but I feel extremely thankful to him

The Blogger Phase (ongoing)

Inspired by Pavlina's blog, I bought the domain name for my new Romanian personal development blog, back in 2010. Aaaand... I wrote only 3 articles on it.

At the time, there were too many tumultous events going on in my life. So two months later, I closed down the site and totally forgot about it.

Fast forward five years, I remembered I owned the domain name and ressurected the project. Currently I am still writing articles on it. And it's been a year since I've been blogging constantly.

I've also met some cool people in the process. I guess I am a blogger now.

The Yes, I'll sell your stuff! (with a comission) phase

After leaving my programming career behind, I still had to make ends meet somehow and pay for my living expenses.

One of the things I tried out for a while was selling other people's stuff with a comission. Mostly computer parts, displays and books.

But one of the most unexpected items I put up for sale at some point was a close friend's wedding dress. Funny, very funny times, indeed.

The IT support guy phase

I took this job up because I was still trying to make ends meet. It was something occasional. Two days a week, I would travel to a small town outside the one I lived in and provided IT support for a factory there.

I had to make sure all systems were up to date, that the internet connection was always working, and to re-install the operating system once in a while.

The best moments I had while working there were:

• The 45-minute morning drive to the factory. I got to see the most beautiful landscapes
• Setting up a 27" iMac (... and also testing Diablo 3 on it for one day)
• Sitting in the director's chair while fixing his laptop

The I'll become a DJ phase(ongoing)

Trance music was always close to my soul. The pinnacle of my relationship with Trance music was on 8th November, in Bucharest, at Romexpo. Armin Van Buuren, the God of Trance music was mixing live on stage. Here's a short video from that concert.

Also, in 2013 I had bought my own entry-level dj controller and started learning how to count beats, bars and phrases. And I started making mixes in my spare time.

My first mixes sounded embarassing at the time, but I still sent them to my friends :))

This amateur DJ thing-y is something I've been doing on the side for a few years already. In time, I improved my song selection abilities, and my mixing abilities.

I still create 1-2 mixes per month, just for fun. I love how it sounds when I manage to flawlessly transition from one song to another.

The best part is when my friends tell me that listening to my mixes uplifts their moods and makes them want to get up and dance.

Have a listen here: https://www.mixcloud.com/dan-munteanu/

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Looking back on all these phases, I do have to say I am one big nerd. But the most important thing is:

Life is a journey of self discovery

As David Deida said in his book The Way Of The Superior Man, a man can find his true life purpose only after he has peeled off every layer of a (metaphorical) purpose onion.

So I guess I am still peeling off the layers, enjoying each phase as I go through it, eager and curious to find out where life will take me next and who will I meet there.

I found SteemIt thanks to @dragosroua, his enthusiasm for the platform is contagious! Thank you, Dragoș.

I stuck around because I think it's a very interesting project that will shape the Internet of the future.

Also I do think I might have one or two useful ideas I could share with the other people hanging around here.

So this was it, and thanks for reading my essay! See you around.