What to say when everything has already been said? – Answer is: I do not know (yet). For now – and you might want to stop reading at this moment – this is just for me. I feel that I got to a point in my life to take inventory – what (and who) has been important, what (and who) is still important, what has done me good (and what didn’t), where am I coming from and where do I want to go?
Now, it feels right to put it down in writing, in a way that someone else is going to read it, not only me. This should motivate me to be more concrete, not to leave too much between the lines. And to force me to become more concrete for myself, where it might be easier to stay vague. Then why not make it public …
First of all it is very likely that nobody will read this anyway. If one does – perhaps new insights and inspirations will result (–> Energy is never lost). Who knows… And yes, I will need to consider how open I am willing to be. Not sure yet. But what do I actually have to lose (–> You never know who is watching)?
I had been thinking for a while about a name my blog could have. “Pacemaker”, “A life less ordinary”, “Sideman”, “Windschatten” or “Wingman” have been choices … some of them might give you an indication of my strengths and values. Maybe more on a later day.
Anyway – back in 2018 Herbert Grönemeyer released his new record “Tumult”. Grönemeyer is one of my favorite German musicians. Actually one of the few German language artists I really like. “Tumult” at that time was a kind of relief, Grönemeyer found the right words to express my feelings about reservations against foreigners or minorities and the need to stand up against the growing right-wing movement all over the world.
Wir teilen uns durch eins und uns selbst Träume, seid ihr noch da? Denn euer Nein hab’ ich schon Ich brauche jetzt ein Ja
We divide ourselves by one and ourselves Dreams, are you still around? Cause I got your “No” already Now I need a “Yes”.
Herbert Grönemeyer “Seid ihr noch da” taken from his CD “Tumult”. Translation by primality.eu
A number that divides only be one and itself … a prime number. I remember one day coming home from primary school and excitedly telling my parents that I had learned “real math” today. And by that I meant numbers with arithmetic signs, finally not just pictures anymore. The enthusiasm was to remain throughout my school days (an enthusiasm I would share with my dad), and I would do my A-levels with a focus on mathematics, physics and computer science.
Even though I had nothing to do with mathematics since my school days, I remained a number nerd. I love number series, I prefer numbers if they are square numbers, prime numbers or multiples of 3. So Grönemeyer’s line reminded me of something that sits very deep with me. “Prime” did not really work as a name, but “Primality” does. And I very much like the uniqueness of a prime number as much as I believe in the uniqueness of every human being and the ability to stand out and shine in a very unique way.
Influences: An Apache Indian imagined by a German writer, a raspberry haired tennis player and a TV lawyer with a floppy hat, three-day beard and a preference for Jell-O. #winnetou #borisbecker #wimbledon1985 #lieblingkreuzberg
Heroes: My wife for following her dedication against all odds and her appetite to learn and improve every day. My best friend for living his Kindergarten dream. “Hacki”, gone much too soon tennis referee for showing me the meaning of true leadership and loyality. “Ursel” for being the greatest leader I have ever met.
Inspirations: David Bowie, Peter Kingsbery, Allistair McCaw, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, John Strelecky, Stephen R. Covey, Tom Andreas, Barbara Rittner, Oliver Kahn, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muster, Herbert Grönemeyer.
Lawyer: 20+ years of experience as an in-house council in international corporations. Lecturer.
Travel: Love desert, mountains, sea as well as big cities. Sunrise on Mt. Batur / Bali, sunset at Okavango Delta, sleeping in a tent in Kenya, diving into deep blue, swimming with sharks. Live for these moments.
Personal: Loving husband of a wife that is at the same time my lover, best friend and hero. Can’t imagine anyone having more love and dedication for her job and working harder to fulfill her dreams. No kids. One cat (Pepper). One dog (Alvin).
Music: Fan, 15 yrs in Music Management (artists, producer, record label). Supporting both established artists and newcomers. Music is my major anchor in life … I don’t remember dates, but I remember the music I listened to at that very moment.
If you came across –> Why another blog already, I have told you that “For now […] this is just for me”. Which is actually only part of the truth. You may as well find something here that adds to your life and of course I would like to hope that you do.
Memory of a life changing moment. Could have been anywhere, but it was in Mannheim / Germany. Long story. To be told at a later day.
For quite a while my life felt like a slide … kindergarten, primary school, secondary school, A-levels, military, university, first job, getting new / more tasks, getting promoted, second job … I “automatically” progressed and developed, constantly (and accidentally) learned new skills, how to interact with people. However, retrospectively it does not feel as if I took much of an active part.
At some point I wanted to take more control over direction and speed, not just follow the slide anymore. To be honest – for many reasons (internally and externally) I had to.
This is when I started to take action. Btw – even though I started only in my 40s, I don’t believe that this is a matter of age. Everyone has hers or his right time to take charge of one’s life. I have met people in their teens and early twenties that hugely impressed me how reflective they already looked at their lives. And at the same time you see a lot of people take action in what may be the second half of their life time.
“Taking action” for me meant (among others)
to look at my lifeline (“Life is understood backwards; but lived forwards.” – Søren Kierkegaard – Danish philosopher and theologian 1813-1855)
to identify my core values (it is surprising how powerful it is to actually narrow them down to 5-6 values and write them down)
look a my “bucket list” and start crossing things off that list
identify the goals I still have in my life (and in my case meant to deal with the struggle not being able to identify any and find an alternative approach to that)
find what I would like to change in my life and what keeps me from doing so (immunity to change)
find ways to better understand myself and interact with others
I have read hundreds of books, had hours of coaching sessions, podcasts, conversations with inspiring people from all over the world and all kinds of backgrounds, frequently taking time to reflect in a monastery – you name it.
On the one hand the main message is that you never stop learning … the journey is the reward.
n the other hand it always surprises me how things are linked together, even though the labels are different. Right now I am reading a book about “Personal Branding” and first step the author recommends is to look at your lifeline and your values, your purpose in life to start from. Maybe there is not much difference between “Personal Branding” and “Personal Development”? Or maybe one can use the same tools in many different circumstances? When I did my qualification in NLP*, I found a lot of aspects I already knew from mental training in tennis – but no-one had called it NLP at that time.
* again a label that needs further explanation – I tend to describe what I learned the “white magic” compared to the manipulative “black magic” you may have heard of
So maybe there is something in that box for you …
P.S.: If you got to this point, you have already proven that you attention span lasts for more than 140 characters … which I am sure is essential.
