Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Agi Keramidas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Agi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I think it’s relevant to share here a point of view that I have completely changed my mind about, during my path of self-mastery these years. In the beginning, I believed that mastery is something to be achieved. I realise now that it’s not; rather, it is a journey.

Like our life is a journey, mastery itself is a journey. Mastery is not about perfection, it’s not about reaching a specific point in terms of our abilities or knowledge. Mastery is, for me, the art of perfecting towards the vision we set. Mastery is not an end result, it’s not a destination.

It’s always important having clarity on the vision – in this case, the vision about mastery. And also in the understanding that not many people seek to do something so demanding. It is a road that the majority of people prefer to avoid; after all, it is difficult.

One of the most important elements of mastery is having self-accountability and discipline. Self-mastery requires some degree of being able to overcome your unconscious habits, maybe some of your unconscious biases, or some of your impulses that are more based on instant gratification, rather than who you are aspiring to become.

It is one of the core questions to ask: Can I do the difficult thing, the right thing, even though it’s uncomfortable in the moment? Related to this is emotional mastery. And for me, emotional mastery is being able to sit with your emotions, and being able to take action in spite of your emotions.

There’s another thing that comes to mind when I think about mastering personal development – and because of my Greek origin, I think of the ancient philosophers who spoke about self-mastery.
Plato said “the first and best victory is to conquer self”, Aristotle said “the hardest victory is over self”, and Socrates observed that “the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery.” And if you think about it, this is the limit of our freedom; what our self will allow us to do.

I chose “Personal Development Mastery” not only as my podcast title but as a path to walk on. And if you’re wondering why, in a way… I feel it is my duty. Both as a human being and as a divine being.

Agi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Agi Keramidas, a podcaster, knowledge broker, and student of life.

A few years ago, just after I finished a Master’s degree in aesthetic dentistry, I found myself unfulfilled and unmotivated, like I had lost my sense of purpose and my life was merely passing by.⁣ Since then, I’ve been on a continuous journey of personal development that has transformed every aspect of my life. Now, my mission is to inspire others to grow, stand out, and take action towards a purposeful and fulfilling life.⁣

But let’s take the story from the beginning. I grew up in Greece, my home country. When I was finishing school, I found myself needing to make a ‘career’ decision on what to do with my future. My 17-year young heart was whispering to me “Go to drama school and become an actor”! However, the ‘normal’ or expected thing to do in my country’s culture at that time was to follow one of your parent’s professions, especially if they were doing well in life.

So instead of acting, I went to university and studied dentistry, following my mum’s profession. “Why risk an uncertain future?” they said. Dentistry seemed to be a respectable, profitable, predictable profession, so becoming a dentist appeared to be the chosen path for me, at that time – I was 17.

While I was in dental school, I became best friends with a person that completely shaped the course of my life. He was studying dentistry like me, and we had so many things in common – we enjoyed this beautiful friendship. Towards the end of our university years, my friend Alexander discovered a strong calling inside of him, a calling to pursue spirituality.

He eventually dropped out of dental school and started travelling the world. He became a shaman, a spiritual teacher and a healer. Through his influence, I made many realisations about the Self, the mind, and how I think and behave; about how most people think and behave. My change was subtle in the beginning since those realisations were rather radical to be expressed in the conservative society I was living in. But the spark had started a fire inside me: Realising my potential, listening to my instinct whispering to me, feeling there is a higher purpose in my life that I had to pursue and fulfil.

During those years of self-realisation, I started working in my hometown in Greece as a dentist, and I did so for 7 years. I had a life that on the outside seemed to be admirable; however, inside me, I was feeling that I was destined for something different than the life I was living there. That feeling I had inside was causing me a great deal of discontent and unhappiness.

Eventually, after long deliberation, I reached a decision that changed my life forever: In 2010 I left my comfortable but unfulfilling life in Greece, my job, friends, family, and fiancée, and I moved on my own to the UK to pursue a calling I had felt since I was a teenager. I didn’t know what the calling was exactly, but I trusted my intuition that was telling me this was the right thing for me; there was something calling me to the UK. I can say now, without a doubt, that it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

Living, working and being on my own in a different country changed me very much as a person. In 2015, I completed my master’s degree in restorative dentistry from the University of Manchester. After that, I became less interested in dentistry and increasingly interested in personal development, which has since then become my passion.

In 2017 I had a “lightbulb” moment when I attended Tony Robbins’ event, and my life trajectory changed. As a result, very quickly afterwards I transformed from a closed, shy, uncomfortable in social situations person, to a public speaker and podcaster; in less than 1 year!

I have since been on a lifelong journey of learning, personal growth, self-actualisation and fulfilling my human duty. In 2019, I became a certified knowledge broker, completing “The Knowledge Broker Blueprint” course, and this set me on a new path and started my entrepreneurial journey. My three highest values are personal growth, self-mastery, and inspiring positive change.

Despite my formal education, I’m a big believer in the immense power of self-education. I am a critical thinker with a Master’s degree, and yet at the same time deeply spiritual. I relish keeping fit, running, reading, evolving, exploring, and travelling.

I am the host of the “Personal Development Mastery” podcast, and my mission is to influence and inspire the listener to stand out and take action towards the next level of their lives. My podcast ranks in the global top 2% and I’ve interviewed almost 200 people, some of them being Brian Tracy and Dr John Demartini.

Having seen first-hand how monumental podcasting has been for my journey, I decided to simplify the process so others can have similar benefits by starting their podcast without having to go through time-consuming and steep learning curves.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is to inspire others to take action to improve their lives. I’d like to be a catalyst in their journey of self-growth. I share my unique gift with authenticity, not to inform people, but to influence them. It’s not about passing knowledge; it’s about taking action on the wisdom that insight gives.

I feel that I have a duty, a moral obligation to fulfil as a human being. And that is to contribute to the awakening of human consciousness that is happening in our era. My mission, as I currently understand it, is to make an impact, a positive difference in the world, to inspire positive change and growth.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are many books that significantly impacted my philosophy. I will mention two which I believe should be mandatory reading for when one is a teenager!

1. Rich dad, poor dad – Robert Kiyosaki:
I consider this book to be the cornerstone of getting financially educated.

2. How to win friends and influence people – Dale Carnegie
This book is a must-read for anyone who deals with people (so that’s every single one of us!)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://agikeramidas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agikeramidas/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agi.keramidas/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agikeramidas/
• Other: Personal Development Mastery Podcast: https://personaldevelopmentmasterypodcast.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Cc7Rcp6vHbPa5Um3kRccv