Hi my name is Alex Eliades and this is my personal blog. I spent most of my life in various parts of the UK but currently I live in Cyprus (now back in London). Im not ashamed to admit that Im a bit of a geek and probably spend far too much time in front of my laptops. I help to run an online Forex and CFD brokerage and own a few websites that I run in my spare time. If Im not working Im generally with the wife, doing DIY or riding my bike in the countryside. Ive had a passion for the Internet ever since it helped radically change my life in the early naughties (2000s) but thats a long story. For some reason I often find myself tinkering around with Linux, web applications, cars or crypto-currencies in my spare time.
I believe in setting goals, openness, sharing ideas, efficiency, education, honesty, equality, statistics and a long list of other stuff that define who I am. I am an advocate of the paperless office, promoting young people, environmental and social responsibility, giving credit where its due and helping people when I can. In my eyes the most successful people are the ones that can identify strengths in others, then encourage and inspire them to do work they are good at.
I graduated with a bachelors degree in Business IT from Portsmouth University in the UK, then went on to start a career in software solution sales but after some years realised that it wasn’t my calling in life. The fact that I was a closet techie and developed websites in my spare time was probably a sign that my future didn’t lie in sales. Anyway it was an awesome ride, I travelled all over the UK and met loads of interesting people on the way. The turning point came during my time working at a cool web agency in Tech City, East London with some really inspirational people, not to mention my just as inspirational friends that were close to me back then. During my time there I discovered affiliate marketing, learned a bit about SEO and was surrounded by techies, usability gurus and digital strategists. It was at this point I knew that my future was with the web and I created my first website that produced me a regular income after leaving. I moved to Cyprus, worked for the family business and built up my affiliate business. In 2013 I landed a job doing marketing for an online FX & CFD business. I have worked alongside some industry veterans and learned all I could about this fascinating business. I now work in this field on an outsourced basis while also handling a few personal web projects and I thoroughly enjoy my work.
My favourite music includes modern jazz, chill-out, lounge, dance and rock type genres depending on my mood. I used to love watching films but now prefer streaming TV series and my recent favourites include Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Prison Break, The BlackList, The Mentalist, Narcos and Person of Interest. I love being under the sun, outdoors and in a natural environment, especially by (or in) the sea on a hot summers day.
My favourite quote is “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self” by Ernest Hemingway. The reason I like it is because I agree we should always look to improve ourselves and not be compelled with comparing ourselves to others.
London is one of the most impressionable places I have lived because the place is alive, full of people at the top of their game and I was lucky enough to have met a load of forward thinking people, which I hope rubbed off on me a bit. Limassol is another massively impressionable City where I lived as my years there helped me understand myself, others and what is really important in life (somethings you just dont learn in London!). Hanoi is another city I visited on numerous occasions and it really woke me up when I saw how people live on the other side of the world.
I produced this blog so I could keep a journal and share my interests, ideas and experience with the world or at least anyone that is interested enough to read it!