Keynote Speaker: Xenia Kourtoglou | Exclusive Research by Focus Bari
What does “achievement” and “victory” mean in today’s Greek society? How is the concept of a “champion” interpreted? And how do people relate these ideas to everyday life—whether observing an athlete, an employee, or a business leader striving to contribute to their own personal “myth”? These were among the key questions explored at the ATHLOS Business Summit, organized by THETOTALBUSINESS, held at Aigli Zappeiou in Athens on Thursday, April 2, in a fully attended ballroom. Leading executives from the Greek business arena engaged in meaningful dialogue with professional athletes, Olympians, and Paralympians, aiming to decode the concept of “Athlos” (achievement) in both its visible and invisible dimensions.
A central highlight of the event was the contribution of Xenia Kourtoglou, Founder of Focus Bari, who designed and presented exclusive research conducted for the Summit, based on a nationwide sample of 1,003 respondents, exploring the concept of “Everyday Achievement.” Her findings revealed a powerful insight: the Greek public overwhelmingly attributes success, victory, and distinction to hard work, persistence, and belief—assigning only 10% of success to innate talent. Drawing also from her expertise as a psychotherapist, Kourtoglou emphasized that the way individuals interpret and respond to failure plays a decisive role in shaping their future. Persistence, she noted, is not merely innate—it is cultivated. What ultimately matters is how we act in the present and how effectively we manage challenges.
The research further identified three distinct mindsets that characterize how Greeks perceive “everyday achievement”:
• Realists (37%): View success as a combination of effort and circumstances
• Fighters (36%): Believe success is driven primarily by persistence and personal effort
• Observers (27%): Perceive success as something that mainly αφορά others
Ultimately, the key lies in self-awareness: recognizing which mindset one belongs to, evaluating whether it is truly serving them, and asking the right questions—especially if growth and evolution are the goal.
