An Inspired Chat with Aida Mandic of Hollywood

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Aida Mandic. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Aida, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
I’m traveling the world right now. I have been on a whirlwind trip through the world since January of this year. I visited Seattle (Washington), Las Vegas (Nevada), Portland (Oregon), New York City (New York), Austin (Texas), Hearst Castle (California), Dominican Republic, Curaçao, Bahamas, Sint Maarten, Saint Martin, St Barts, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, México, St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Dominica, Aruba, Panama, St Vincent and the Grenadines, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. I am going to Luxembourg tomorrow. I have visited over 100 countries in total. I am going to visit every country in the world. I got sick of working nonstop and not enjoying life. I saved money and took time off. People need to enjoy life. What is the point of working nonstop until you die? Are you going to take your wallet to the grave with you? I see people putting their own health and happiness on the line to make more money. It’s tragic. I turned the tables and decided to make myself a priority. Most people don’t make themselves a priority. They care about what their family, friends, colleagues, and partners think about them. I live for myself. When you die, you get a tombstone. Your tombstone should say your name, the year you were born, and the year you died. Your tombstone doesn’t list the names of other people. Only you. So why do so many people live for the approval of others instead of living for themselves? You are the captain of your ship. You are the pilot of your plane. If others want you to fit in with them, get away from them. You should satisfy yourself, not them. Remember that. Always. You don’t need permission from anyone to be yourself.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m an author, poet, songwriter, actress, inventor, entrepreneur, activist, philanthropist, and global traveler. I’m a TikToker, YouTuber, and content creator. I’m the CEO of Searchkey. It’s an education technology platform and database that empowers students to graduate from college debt-free. My website provides templates and information about scholarships, fellowships, awards, grants, contests, and competitions. It helps with providing ideas on how to tackle school projects as well as creative projects. It inspires students to think critically, boldly, and clearly by enabling them to actively engage in their community and career. I used to be a refugee. My family and I escaped the Bosnian Genocide. We went through the depths of hell. I saw heads rolling down the street during the war. People would bang their hands on the doors and windows of our apartment building so we could let them inside. We couldn’t let them inside because the snipers would kill not only them, but everyone in the building. They would know that there were survivors. I don’t like to let one moment slip away. I live with purpose and passion. I think that suffering is extremely important. It teaches you that life is not fair. It forces you to be resilient. It pushes you to be responsible. You gain confidence and a sense of self-control when you are put into challenging situations. You gain a spectrum of experience that is only accessible by going through certain lessons, questions, and patterns of thought. You become valuable when you learn to recognize value and create value for others. Powerful skills can be attained through hardship.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
I had the extraordinary honor and privilege to have two very powerful, special, talented, passionate, inspiring, and intelligent women in my life. My mother and my grandmother have shaped me into the person that I am today and I am eternally grateful for their incredible influence on my life. My mother was the first person to graduate from college in my family. She has a law degree. She was the oldest child in the family. She had a gigantic amount of responsibility to deal with when she helped to take care of her younger siblings. When my mother was in high school, the city wanted to destroy her family house because the family had financial problems. My mother put herself through school despite having an overwhelming amount of issues that most of her classmates didn’t have to worry about. My mom is the most vibrant, charming, sunny, loving, supportive, caring, thoughtful, and sweet person that I have ever known. She is very caring about the feelings of other people. There is a softness to her that is profound because she has been through so much and not allowed her heart to become cold, cruel, or vicious. I wish that more people had a heart like my mom’s heart. The world would be a better place. My mother put her life in direct danger to protect me during the Bosnian Genocide. She would lay on top of me in a car in order to make sure that I didn’t get shot when snipers were shooting directly at us. We hid in the car because her friend was driving us away from the snipers. When my mom and I were in our apartment in Sarajevo, sniper bullets landed two inches away from us. My mom held me in her arms and then ran out of the apartment. She went downstairs to avoid getting killed. My grandmother had a bullet graze the side of her head during the Bosnian Genocide. A Serbian Chetnik sniper was trying to kill her. My grandmother barely missed the bullet. She dropped down to the ground and grabbed her sniper. She shot the Serbian Chetnik sniper in the head and instantly killed him. She then shot 40 other members of his crew. She killed 41 men within the span of a few minutes. She was quick on the trigger. My grandmother was 62 years old at the time. She stood at 4 feet 6 inches. The men she killed were between the ages of 18 to 35. They were between 6 feet tall to six foot five. She was fearless, bold, and determined. During the Bosnian Genocide, my grandmother saw a group of little girls getting gathered to be raped. All of the girls were under the age of 10. My grandmother saw the Serbian Chetnik soldiers standing around the girls. My grandmother took her sniper and shot the soldiers in the head. There were 32 soldiers. My grandmother was a first-rate fighter. As a child, she loved to ride horses. When she was a teenager, she took a shotgun while she was riding her horse and she would shoot at targets on a farm. My grandmother was told that she was only allowed to go to school until the 8th grade by her father. That made her angry. Sexism and discrimination were alive and well when she was growing up. She would sneak into libraries dressed up as a boy and read a minimum of one book per day. She usually read three books a day, every single day. Her brother believed in equality. He was always on her side. My grandmother was forced to get married when she was 15. She didn’t want marriage or children at that age, but nobody asked her what she wanted. When my mom, aunt, and uncle went to high school, she copied their assignment questions, project questions, and exam questions in order to get the knowledge that high school students had. My grandmother attained a high school diploma in an informal way. When my mom, aunt, and uncle went to college, my grandmother repeated the same behavior. She asked for their assignments, projects, exams, and books, just like she did when they were in high school. My grandmother attained knowledge of law, economics, and business, but informally. She never received formal recognition even though she did all of the work. My mother and my grandmother are heroic beyond measure. They represent an attitude and lifestyle of defiance, dignity, and discipline. They knew when and how to be discreet. They had tremendous wisdom. They have all of my respect.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
During the Bosnian Genocide, my grandfather brought me fresh food and vegetables every single week. He ran past snipers to ensure that I would not starve to death. Our family lived in an apartment building that was surrounded by snipers. My grandmother and grandfather were master planners. They sat down and strategically analyzed how my grandfather could bring me food without getting detected in the process. Had my grandfather been detected, he would have faced either death or torture or both. My grandmother gave him many ideas on how to avoid getting caught. She told him to pay attention to when the soldiers fell asleep, woke up, ate, drank, and changed shifts. She told him to pay attention to the personality types of each Serbian Chetnik soldier. She told him to figure out what time the sun rose and when it set. She told him to look at shadows as a friend that protected him. My grandfather successfully brought me food every week while avoiding detection. The snipers had no idea that he was there. My grandfather grew up as an orphan. He had a very painful and difficult life. He had a high school diploma. He could not afford college. Scholarships were not offered during that time period in Bosnia and Herzegovina. My grandfather loved to learn languages. He became fluent in ten languages. He was a soldier during World War II. He was a fiercely proud Partisan. My grandfather was mischievous. He was a born rebel. He snuck into the Nazi officer barracks and took a piece of paper and a pen. In ten languages, he wrote down “THE PARTISANS WERE HERE!” and left the paper on a table. He walked out of there like he was on his goddamn lunch break. My grandmother’s name is Hatidza. My grandfather’s name is Dzemail. My mother’s name is Sanija. My family has taught me important lessons about suffering. Your life is in your hands. Don’t expect other people to save you from your suffering. You have to be the hero of your story.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I greatly value justice, equality, freedom, and education. I don’t tolerate it when I see someone get bullied. I get involved by standing up for the underdog. I prefer being honest over being popular. I don’t care about presenting a persona of perfection. Everyone has their own mistakes, traumas, fears, prejudices, problems, regrets, hopes, dreams, and desires. That means that I am allowed to not be hard on myself even if it’s a cruel world. I am extremely selective with my time, energy, and heart. What you give attention to has the power to rule over you. I’m cautious and curious at the same time. Maybe that lacks logic. I am very irrational. It keeps life interesting.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
My passion for life would remain if I laid down my name, role, and possessions. If passion were a person, it would be me. If you want to be interesting, you have to be interested. I am endlessly curious. I love to journal, observe, and ask questions. My life mantra is learn, create, share, and celebrate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aidamandic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidawesome
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidamandic
• Twitter: https://x.com/Aidawesomeee
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aidamandicbooks/
• Yelp: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17046592.Aida_Mandic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aidawesome
• Soundcloud: https://medium.com/@Aidawesome
• Other: https://TikTok.com/@aidawesome