It´s March 26, we are somewhere in the Corona pandemic. How do you experience the situation at the moment?
I think this situation is a turning point not only for modern history or Western history in which we are forced to reevaluate the value of solidarity and also collectivity. But it's also a turning point in my professional life.
I'm working as a leadership consultant, moderator and keynote speaker, and I'm working with groups in a room. And I'm not only selling intellectual inspiration, but also an emotional and motivational experience in a certain and defined room-time setting. And for this, I am faced with an existential threat as a freelancer.
So for this, I'm thinking a lot of the French Existentialists like Paul Sartre or Albert Camus, who claim that in the face of death, we are free to choose. And this freedom of choice and releases an unexpected and for me an unknown energy and also a sense of meaning in this time.
Thanks. I think it's a special situation for for many people. If you look at your life or the society is there anything you see more clearly or anything that you learn at the moment about yourself or the society?
Yeah, absolutely. I learn a lot and as I already mentioned I experience a sense of meaning. And this is not in an abstract way, but how I rearrange my priorities. And I ask myself if anyone in this world would do the same job as I do would that be a good world? And I learn through this question a lot of about myself. I ask myself, who am I in this world?
And I also find myself being more encouraged and to speak my point of view in a bolder way and I have the courage to be more focused on things that really matter, I think. Or to quote Britney Spears, I'm stronger than yesterday.
But I also learned a lot about society in these days and actually. In my social life or in my professional environment I see two groups. And these two groups seem to be more separating from each other. On the one hand, I have a group of people who are quite bored in these days who have trouble to organise themselves, who are happy to spend time with the families who are happy to spend time doing things that the daily hustles wouldn't allow or enjoy the commonness and the slow down.
And on the other hand, there are people in my own environment who take this economic crisis very seriously and who are responsible for a lot of employees. Who are leaders who are worried about the future of the companies.
I have the family who is working in agriculture who's very worried about the thing that perhaps they become ill and there is no one helping out. And especially in small and medium sized enterprises. I think there are people who are very worried.
And so I think there is a separation of society, actually. There's a gap, there's a divide between different economic sectors. And we're in a time where we speak a lot of solidarity. But I think that the gap is getting bigger. And we should be building bridges if we want to have more solidarity.
So maybe a shift or a shift of perspective. So we look now at the present. If you think ahead and imagine a time in which we learned to live with that particular virus. When you look at yourself or your life or society, what do you want less of and what do you want more of?
Well, I would like to stay more focused on the things that really matter. I would like to do more things that are helping out others and make a difference in the world. And to realise that I need to stay away from all the things that don't. And that's the point.
So stay away from things that take your focus away.
Yes. And I think if it's not the time for these questions. I don't know when the time should be to think about this.
Thinking of a time and there is this saying that a crisis has a lot of potential for transformation. I think both in a negative sense or in a positive sense. And I also know that this means different things to different people. But if you would allow yourself to dream that this crisis has somehow a somewhat positive impact for your life or society, or what would be your wildest dream of this positive impact? What don't you even maybe dare to dream normally?
My wildest dream would be that perhaps if we go out to the streets again and go back to work, that we look each others in the eye and say to each other: "Hey, there are things I don't like about you. We have differences, but despite these differences, I missed you and I will care for you.
Beautiful.
Yes. Thank you.
