Maxim Behar on 7/8 TV: “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.”

From a 13-year-old carpenter to one of the best PR experts in Europe, and someone who completed astronaut training at NASA – the journey of Maxim Behar is proof that limits exist only in the mind. In an interview for 7/8 TV, he talks about the power of dreams, leadership, trust, and why the most important quality in a person is “the spark in the eyes.” A conversation about success, the courage to step out of your comfort zone, and the drive to always pursue the next big challenge.

Today's guest can be described with a single word—a word that everyone wishes to possess, yet only a few have the character, potential, and ambition to truly deserve it: motivator. His story is so inspiring that I am certain that, even without realizing it, he has become a role model for generations of people in many different areas of life.

His professional journey began at the age of just thirteen, working as a carpenter in a dairy plant. He then went on to work in a machine-building factory, journalism, international correspondence across different parts of the world, diplomacy, and business before eventually discovering the profession of public relations and falling in love with it.

In return, the profession rewarded him not only with satisfied clients but also with a place in the PR Hall of Fame and the prestigious recognition of being named Europe's Best PR Professional in both 2020 and 2022.

In addition to his professional achievements, he is the proud father of two wonderful children and the fulfiller of countless dreams. And his dreams are so ambitious that they extend beyond the boundaries of Earth itself. That is why he recently completed astronaut training at NASA together with his wife.

There is much more I could say about him, but with great pleasure and anticipation, I now give the floor to the colorful, inspiring, and eternally positive Maxim Behar.

Maxim: Hello! Good evening! I'm very happy to be here.

Host: We're delighted to have you and grateful that you accepted our invitation.

Maxim: Of course. Anytime!

Host: Welcome. As I was listening to your introduction, it struck me that it sounds like three lifetimes' worth of experiences. Yet it's all contained within one life—yours. So I'd like to begin by asking: looking back, which chapter of your journey has been the most valuable to you so far?

Maxim: It depends on how you choose to live your life. Someone might think what you've described is enough for five lifetimes. To me, it's simply one ordinary life—one that has brought me tremendous joy. I continue to live it with the same passion, motivation, and curiosity that I have every single day. I don't have a favorite chapter. The most exciting chapter is probably still ahead of me. Every stage you mentioned was fascinating in its own way, and I've always tried to take the very best from each experience. For the past thirty-two years, I've been working exclusively in public relations. Of course, I do many other things alongside my profession. I constantly try to step outside my comfort zone. But I remain focused on my business because it gives me enormous satisfaction. PR is a unique profession—it moves at the speed of light, changes at the speed of light, and every day is different.

Every morning, when I drive my tiny two-seater electric car—a little red one that I affectionately call my "Trabant"—to the office, I'm filled with energy, excitement, and anticipation. I imagine the people I'll meet, the conversations we'll have, the strategies we'll create, and the clients we'll begin working with.

Host: So you're manifesting your day in advance?

Maxim: I don't know if I'd call it manifestation. It's more like mental training. Actually, it starts while I'm in the shower. I mentally go through the entire day ahead. The only reason it begins there is because there's no mobile phone in the shower. Otherwise, we all know what happens when we wake up in the morning. The first thing most of us do is look at our phones.

Host: I really liked hearing that you wake up at 7:01 a.m.

Maxim: Yes, 7:01 exactly. It's a little superstition of mine—I want to be number one. At the same time, seven o'clock is simply the right time for me to get up, take a shower, get ready, read the news, have one or two coffees, and head to work. That's why it's 7:01. Sometimes I hit snooze when I'm especially tired—we all do that. But the alarm is always set for 7:01.

Host: Do you have a strict bedtime routine as well?

Maxim: No. Absolutely none.

Host: So your evenings are open-ended?

Maxim: It depends. Sometimes we find a great movie to watch. We also watch a lot of rock concerts—that's how we recharge. In fact, traveling to rock concerts around the world has become one of our favorite ways to spend our vacations. But no, I don't have a bedtime routine. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to bed before one or two in the morning.

Host: And yet you still wake up at seven?

Maxim: Yes. And I'm always energized. I genuinely enjoy every moment of life. Even the problems, challenges, and obstacles are enjoyable to me because I always choose to see the glass as half full.

Host: How do you manage to fit everything into a day? Listening to you, it feels as though your days must have forty-eight hours instead of twenty-four.

Maxim: No, my day is probably eighteen or nineteen productive hours long. I write books. I currently have several unfinished manuscripts sitting on my computer waiting to be completed and published. Right now, my wife and I have started writing a book about our semi-space adventure—our astronaut training at NASA in the United States.

Host: So this one won't be focused on your profession. It'll be more about your personal experiences?

Maxim: It will be more about dreams. Because I often say that if your dreams don't scare you, they're not really dreams—they're merely wishes. Dreams should be frightening. When you're sitting here in Sofia and someone starts talking about astronaut training, a mission to Mars, weightlessness, walking on the Moon, and taking those first lunar steps, most people think it's impossible. What we want to show in this book is that it is possible. If we were able to do it and return successfully, then these things can be achieved. Anything is possible if you truly want it and are willing to pursue it. When we were flying back from America, somewhere between Washington and Munich—or perhaps Frankfurt—the plane was completely full. The seats were tiny and cramped. We sat down, and my wife Veneta looked around and said: "How are we supposed to spend ten hours sitting here?" I turned to her and said: "We just went to Mars. We piloted a spacecraft. And now you're worried about ten hours to Munich?" That's what this book will be about—dreams.

I've also written a book about Public Relations and the PR industry. It quickly became a bestseller. It was published in the United States by a major American publishing house and later released in Bulgaria and several other countries in different languages. I have a book on leadership and management called Five Minutes Until Tomorrow, which I wrote during the COVID pandemic. I also have a book about the Seychelles.

Host: As I understand it, one of your books was actually written on Facebook.

Maxim: That was my second book.

Host: How does someone write a book on Facebook?

Maxim: Very simply. In 2008, the financial crisis began. In business, one of the most important things is making decisions—making them quickly. That's one of my personal principles, something I've always believed in. I remember that everyone was shocked. For the first time in our business lives, we were facing a truly global financial crisis. One morning, I came out of the shower, wrapped in a bathrobe, sat down at my computer, and decided to motivate my Facebook followers to take action and make decisions.

So I wrote: "Even the worst decision is better than no decision at all."

In other words: make a decision. You can always adjust it later. Then I added: Rule No. 1 Almost immediately, someone commented: "Okay, but what's Rule No. 2?"

And I thought to myself: "Wait a minute... now I actually need a Rule No. 2."

Rule No. 2 became:"Never take yourself too seriously.". Because all of us know people who begin taking themselves very seriously, very quickly. They start believing they're exceptionally important, when in reality we're all simply human beings.

And that's how it started.

Host: And then you kept going every day?

Maxim: Every single day. I wrote a new rule every day. Eventually I reached ninety-nine.

Host: I'm sure you don't remember all of them anymore.

Maxim: Of course not. But I personally wrote every single one. Then a publisher called me and said: "Max, I've been following your posts on Facebook. Let's turn them into a book."

I laughed and said:"Come on. Who's going to read a book that was written on Facebook?". But he insisted. I agreed, under one condition: the book couldn't end at one hundred rules. I wanted it to have 111 rules instead. He was silent for twenty or thirty seconds and then asked: "Why 111?"

I said:"Because it's three number ones."

You might become Number One once by accident. Maybe even twice if circumstances are favorable. But three times? That doesn't happen by chance. And that's the story behind that book.

Host: And what about your very first book?

Maxim: My first book was published in 2000. It contained articles I had written while reporting from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia during the collapse of communism in 1989 and the early 1990s. I wanted to preserve those articles as historical testimony—to document what was happening, what I had witnessed, and what I had written about. The book includes interviews with people such as Lech Wałęsa and Spain's legendary Prime Minister at the time, Felipe González, among many others. That was my first book. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of writing books.

Host: That's hard to believe when you've already written seven of them—and still have two more waiting to be finished.

Maxim: I think books are simply another way of delivering a message. Whether you write on Facebook, Instagram, or in a book, you're still communicating ideas. You know, I also rap with Misho Shamara.

Host: Yes, I've heard about that!

Maxim: One day Poli Genova called me and said: "Max, I love your latest song. It's fantastic."

And I replied: "Wait a second, Poli. I'm not a singer. You're the singer. You're the artist. I work in marketing.". But somehow it happened. Misho and I are friends. At one point he told me he owed me a favor. I said: "You don't owe me anything. Maybe one day we'll record a song together.". Then he started calling every few days: "I've booked the studio." Before I knew it, we had recorded one song. Then another. And another. We've already recorded seven songs together, and our next one is being released in a couple of weeks.

Host: At this point, you're ready for an album.

Maxim: Probably. But whether it's books, music, television appearances, or anything else I do, my goal is always the same: To send messages. To communicate ideas. To inspire people who are willing to listen.

Host: And it seems to be working. When people listen to you, they begin thinking: "Maybe I really can do it."

Maxim: I'm very happy to hear that. Because one of my biggest goals is to motivate people—especially young people. I work with colleagues who are between twenty-two and twenty-five years old. People call them „Generation Z“. I jokingly call them the easy generation. A generation that has never truly experienced hardship.

Host: Doesn't that make it harder for them to become real professionals?

Maxim: That depends entirely on the individual. It depends on their upbringing. It depends on what they want to achieve. I can turn an amateur into a professional within a few months. Someone can come into my company knowing absolutely nothing about PR, and after five or six months they can become a competent professional. But there is one thing I cannot do. I cannot turn a lazy person into a hardworking one.

Host: That's absolutely true.

Maxim: And I can't turn someone who enjoys gossip and office politics into a genuine team player. I can't teach someone not to envy others. So it all depends on character. Fortunately, I get along extremely well with my younger colleagues.

Host: Do you prefer working with younger people, or is that simply the way life and business have evolved?

Maxim: I don't think I can afford to have preferences in that regard. This is business. There are many talented young people graduating from universities in Sofia every year. They want to build careers, gain experience, and prove themselves. Most of them come to us as interns. Those who show genuine interest, ambition, and a desire to succeed usually stay with the company. At the same time, our two managing directors, Kristina and Miglena, have been working with me for over twenty years. Think about that for a moment. For a young person, twenty years is practically an entire lifetime. That kind of loyalty and continuity means a great deal to me.

Host: I think it's important to mention something for our viewers who may not know this. You're the founder, owner, and CEO of your company, yet you don't like being called an employer.

Host: Why is that?

Maxim: Because I don't see myself as an employer. Legally speaking, of course, employment contracts describe the relationship as employer and employee. But that's not how I view it. I'm a colleague. My team and I are colleagues. Sometimes they give me work. Sometimes I give them advice. Sometimes they correct me. And that's perfectly fine. In my book Five Minutes Until Tomorrow, I dedicate an entire chapter to what I call horizontal leadership. I believe the old model—with one director, two deputy directors, three department heads, layers of management, and endless bureaucracy—is becoming increasingly outdated. By the time a decision travels through all those levels, valuable opportunities may already be lost. That's why I try to create a much more horizontal structure within our company. When I need to make a managerial decision, especially regarding major clients or financial matters, I do so. But in our day-to-day work, I don't want to be "the employer." I simply want to be another PR professional working alongside my colleagues.

Host: What qualities do you look for when hiring someone? I remember hearing you say in an interview that you can evaluate a person within ten seconds.

Maxim: I have only one requirement. Just one. A sparkle in the eyes. Nothing more.

Host: Really? Surely many people can fake that during an interview.

Maxim: Not as easily as you'd think. The sparkle comes first. If someone looks half asleep, unmotivated, disconnected—you notice it immediately. For me, that sparkle represents motivation. It represents creativity. Ambition. Curiosity. The desire to achieve something meaningful. Of course, I've made mistakes. I've misjudged people before. But I can tell you a story. Not long ago, I walked into one of our conference rooms to grab something. There was a young woman sitting there waiting for an interview. I greeted her. She greeted me. I left the room and immediately asked my colleagues: "Who is that young woman?". They told me she was interviewing for an internship. I said to hire her immediately. Two years later, she became a department director. I saw the sparkle. I saw the way she looked at me. I saw her facial expression. Her energy. Her attitude. And I knew.

Host: That's incredible.

Maxim: One day, a former colleague who had started working for a fashion magazine that organized annual awards and rankings called me and asked whether I could recommend one of my managers or executives for the "Woman of the Year" competition. I recommended Vili. When she asked which Vili I meant, I explained that I was referring to Vili, our cleaning lady. At first, she thought I was joking.

But I wasn't. Vili had worked with us for twenty years. Every morning she arrived at five o'clock. The rest of us usually came in around eight or nine. She was always smiling. Always positive. Always making coffee for everyone. Always taking care of people. I happened to be abroad when the awards ceremony took place. But Vili won. She was named Woman of the Year.

Host: Bravo!

Maxim: I was incredibly proud. To this day, there's a framed copy of the magazine's front page hanging in our office kitchen. It's one of my favorite business stories. Vili is retired now. She still calls me on my birthday. And I always call her on hers. No matter what position someone holds, how much money they have, what car they drive, or how important they think they are, people deserve respect. We should appreciate those we work with. We should acknowledge their contributions. And we should treat them the way we treat our children or our families. That philosophy has helped me enormously throughout my career. It's also the way I try to treat my colleagues every day.

Host: Maybe that's one of the reasons you're so successful. You seem to have found the right formula. But I'd like to ask something else. You motivate so many people. What motivates you?

Maxim: The unknown. The unknown motivates me. My dreams motivate me. Challenges motivate me. People often say: "Learn from your mistakes.". I actually disagree with that. If you've made a mistake, you've already made it. What's there to learn? And if you repeat the same mistake, then you're simply being foolish. Instead, I believe we should learn from our successes. That's what inspires me. Let's say you're climbing mountains. You reach the summit of „Cherni Vrah“. What do most people do? They look down. But why look down? You've already been there. The important question is: What's the next mountain? Perhaps Musala. So let's go there. Of course, I'm speaking metaphorically. Although I have climbed both. The point is that when you're constantly pursuing new and exciting challenges, motivation comes naturally. Many people spend their evenings scrolling through television channels: "I don't like this movie.", "I don't like that one either." , "There's nothing good on." That's one way to pass the time. But it's a very flat way to live. And flatness makes me uncomfortable. I need obstacles. I need challenges. I need something to overcome.

Host: So, in a way, you enjoy things being difficult?

Maxim: I'm not sure "difficult" is the right word. What I enjoy is overcoming things. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's hard. But I like the process of pushing beyond what I already know and what I've already achieved.

Host: What's the next big goal you've set for yourself—personally, I mean, after NASA?

Maxim: People ask me that all the time.

They say: "Okay, you've been to NASA. You've completed astronaut training. You've earned the certificates. What's next?"

By the way, we completed the full astronaut training program. From A to Z.

Host: Did you experience weightlessness?

Maxim: Of course. A few days after we returned, Bulgaria's first cosmonaut, Georgi Ivanov, called me. He said: "Maxim, I watched one of your interviews on television, and I'm very happy for you."

I told him I would love to meet him. Then he said something that meant a great deal to me: "Everything I experienced in space, you experienced on Earth."

For me, that was one of the most meaningful compliments I've ever received.

Host: Absolutely.

Maxim: And now that we've completed this journey, people naturally ask what comes next. We have a friend named Stefan Ivanov. Perhaps you've heard of him. Together with his son Maxim, he rowed across the Atlantic Ocean.

Host: Yes, I remember that story.

Maxim: Just the two of them. Ninety days. Rowing from Portugal to Trinidad. Through storms. Through difficult conditions. My wife and I were involved in that project from the very beginning. Stefan is a close friend and an excellent banker. One evening he called me and invited me to dinner. I had no idea what he wanted to discuss. When we sat down, he looked at me and said: "I'm going to row across the Atlantic Ocean."

At the time, his son Maxim was only fifteen and a half years old. He celebrated his sixteenth birthday in the middle of the Atlantic. Then Stefan asked: "Would you like to see the boat?"

I said yes. We went down to his garage. There, he was building the boat himself from epoxy resin. Piece by piece. But he wanted the expedition to have a purpose. A cause. The mission was to raise awareness about organ donation. There are people who suffer severe accidents and desperately need a kidney, a lung, or another life-saving transplant. In Bulgaria, organ donation has not traditionally been a widely discussed topic. Stefan wanted to change that. He wanted to encourage people to think differently and understand that, after death, their organs could potentially save other lives. He asked me if I would help promote the project. Then he asked how much it would cost.

I told him:"Projects related to culture, education, or meaningful social causes never receive an invoice from us."

We've supported hundreds of cultural and educational initiatives over the years. I told him we would help free of charge. But under one condition. The first evening after he returned from the expedition, he had to come to our house for dinner. And he did. Years later, when my wife and I returned from NASA, I called him from the United States and said: "We're arriving home on Sunday. Monday evening—dinner at our place." He came together with his wife, Zheni. We sat around the table, talking. At one point Stefan looked at me and asked:

"So what's next?". I told him: "I don't know exactly. But I know it has to be something bigger. Something like the North Pole."

Host: A person is only as big as their dreams. And you certainly prove that.

Maxim: Only if those dreams scare you. If they don't scare you, they aren't dreams. They're just wishes. I remember when I first told my children about the astronaut training. It was December.

I said:"I'm thinking about training to become an astronaut."

They looked at me and said: "Are you crazy? What space? Where are you going? Please don't do that!"

But that's exactly what motivates me. To answer your question— I need interesting things to overcome. I need opportunities to learn. I need challenges that push me beyond my comfort zone. Because all of us live inside a kind of cloud. Family. Friends. Work. Daily routines.

Host: Work—and that's about it.

Maxim: Exactly. But from time to time, I want to step outside that cloud. I want to see things more clearly. I want to challenge myself. And at the same time, make life more interesting.

Host: What was the first truly big dream that came true for you? The one that made you realize you could keep climbing higher?

Maxim: You mentioned earlier that I started working at a dairy factory when I was thirteen. One day, while I was building wooden crates, the director came over and asked: "Who's Behar?". I immediately thought I had done something wrong.

Then he asked:"Do you speak English?". At the time, I was studying English twice a week at a local community center. When I said yes, he asked me to help him with some work. And that's where the story of my first dream begins.рUsing a typewriter that stood on a desk near his office, I started publishing a small neighborhood newspaper.

Host: I bet you still have copies somewhere.

Maxim: Perhaps somebody does. That little newspaper was my first dream. Eventually, I began working for newspapers professionally. Later, I became involved in launching Standart, which still exists today. That original dream kept growing. But it all started there—with that tiny neighborhood publication. The stories were simple. Who was dating whom. Who had a crush on whom. Who was reading which books. Where people were spending their evenings. But even then, I wanted to communicate ideas. To send messages. That's all I've ever really wanted to do. And it's still what I do today.

Host: We sincerely wish you continued success. We hope you'll come back again because there are still so many topics we'd love to discuss with you.But before we finish, we have a traditional question that we ask all our guests.What is the one thing that annoys you most about your profession?

Maxim:In my profession?A lack of ideas.A lack of creativity.When someone has to do something for a client—or when one of my colleagues has to do something for a client—and they do it simply to check a box.Just to get it over with.When there is no passion behind the work.When there is no sparkle in the eyes.That bothers me.You see, we don't sell PR.We don't sell services.We don't sell marketing.We sell trust.In fact, one of my most recent books is called The Power of Trust.The book explores topics such as artificial intelligence, online hate, misinformation, and fake news.Trust has become one of the most valuable currencies in the modern world.And when someone doesn't trust me, it can genuinely hurt.Of course, I do everything possible to make sure that doesn't happen.Because trust must be earned every single day.

Host: That's a very powerful message.And perhaps that's why people respond so strongly to what you do.Whether it's your books, your business, your talks, your music, or even your adventures, everything seems to revolve around inspiring people and building trust.

Maxim:I hope so.At the end of the day, everything I do is really about communication.It's about sharing experiences.Sharing lessons.Sharing opportunities.And hopefully helping someone realize that they can do more than they thought they could.Because most limits exist only in our minds.The moment we decide to challenge them, remarkable things begin to happen.

Host: What would you say to a young person who is watching this interview right now and wondering whether they can achieve their dreams?

Maxim:I would tell them not to wait.Don't wait for perfect circumstances.Don't wait for permission.Don't wait for someone else to tell you that you're ready.Start now.Make mistakes.Learn.Move forward.And most importantly—dream big.Dream so big that your dreams scare you.Because if they don't scare you, they're probably not dreams.They're just wishes.The people who achieve extraordinary things are not necessarily the smartest or the most talented.Very often, they're simply the ones who keep moving forward while everyone else is hesitating.They take action.They remain curious.They continue learning.And they refuse to give up.That's what makes the difference.

Host: That's a wonderful message to end onThank you very much for this conversation. It was truly inspiring and incredibly interesting.

Maxim:Thank you.And thank you for creating such a positive atmosphere.Stay optimistic.Stay creative.Stay curious.Keep smiling.And I hope your audience continues to grow because you're doing something valuable.

Host: Thank you very much.And thank you for being with us.