Climbing the Down Escalator

As this year comes to a close, we have been reminded once again: no system can replace the human mind. It is people—their thinking, engagement, and sense of responsibility—that remain our most vital asset.

As is our tradition, I want to sincerely thank you all for this past year. For your hard work, your involvement in our processes, for taking on complex challenges, and for implementing new ideas. It has been a substantial and significant journey.

We are ending the year on a broadly positive note. We are closing it with a clear vision for the future and an understanding of where we are headed, and why.

It is precisely at such moments that time for reflection arrives.

I find myself thinking more and more that an adult's consciousness is like a concrete slab. The Almighty sows seeds, but they fall upon this solid plate. The seeds lie there, and birds come and carry them away.

With age, a person seems to weave a cocoon around themselves — made of habits, principles, beliefs, and patterns of behavior. It is safe, understandable, and predictable inside this cocoon, but fewer and fewer new things find their way in.

Yet the new is life itself. Everything we already possess is already with us. But by clinging only to the familiar, we close the door to opportunities that could transform our reality.

There is another metaphor that resonates with me. Life is like a downward-moving escalator, and we are walking up it. To move forward, we have to climb.

A famous violinist once said:
If I don't practice for one day, I notice.
If I don't practice for two days, my colleagues notice.
If I don't practice for a week, the audience will hear it.

This principle applies to everything. To climb this escalator, we must constantly rehearse for life:
work on our bodies,
our mindset,
our spirituality,
our education.

Continuously grow and renew ourselves.

To maintain what we have, we must rehearse and stay in shape. But for something new to enter our lives, we must consciously let it in.

Therefore, as this year ends, I wish for you not only to take stock but also to dream. To ask yourselves honestly: What do you want to change in your life? What new things are you ready to invite in?

And this isn't necessarily about money or status.

Perhaps you once had a dream, but you set it aside, couldn't see a path forward, or didn't dare to take the step. I wish for each of you to remember those moments when signs, knowledge, or opportunities came into your life — and you passed them by.

There is a well-known story about a musician from Tajikistan who came to St. Petersburg to work as a loader. He played on buckets, he sang—he was noticed, began to get invitations, and became known. But at some point, he stopped.
Today he works as a cloakroom attendant.

And there is another example — Basta (the Russian artist). A difficult path, a challenging past, but he never let go of his dream, and today he fills stadiums.

They started around the same time. The only difference is that one allowed his dream to grow, and the other did not.

I wish for each of you to find your own stadium. To realize what is truly important to you. To become a little more than you were yesterday, if you feel there is untapped potential within you.

If you dream of something—don't postpone it forever.

If you often feel resentment, jealousy, anger, if there is an inner sense that there is something greater than the daily routine — take that yearning with you into the new year.

May the coming year be one of openness, growth, and forward momentum. And, of course, may there be room in it for joy, lightness, and the ability to truly savor life.

Thank you for this year.

Miroslav Igorevich Zolotarev, Chairman of the Board of ACEX.