Over the past few months, I have been working on a new project which is part of one of my lifetime goals. Obviously, I want it to be a great success, and so to maximize my potential and manifest this success I looked back on some of my major achievements in the past. I focused on three achievements that were, according to others, impossible for me to reach. I reflected on how my mindset was in those moments and the actions I made that made these achievements happen.
What were the common key steps that I took in completing these three events and how was I able to manifest them? When I reflected on these achievements it basically distilled down to 4 steps. Four critical elements that are important for manifesting anything in life.
If you ask what I would do now if I had the choice of a new life, my answer will always be that I choose my life with the same path. The horrors that I went through forced me to grow better and faster. I was lucky to be strong mentally and physically, and I was lucky to survive and stay alive. As my dear friend told me one day, “the divine gives its biggest challenges to his best students.”
As we enter this economic storm, the question we must ask ourselves is: how can I prepare to ride this wave? My answer is simple: focus on your mindset. This is because our thoughts, our stressors, and our fears are triggered by our way of thinking.
We often refer to two groups of people: optimists and pessimists. In my opinion, there is also a third group - the pragmatists and realists. These individuals observe facts and events as they are, without stressing over potential losses or wins.
When I was driving home from the event, I reflected on this question. I looked at which other habits or behaviors had contributed to my successes. Hard work and resilience were the two that stood out. So, I dug deeper, asking myself when and why I had started to behave that way.
The answer came to my mind with extreme clarity. When I was in the 5th and 6th grade at school, around 11 or 12 years old, I was really struggling academically. I had barely made the minimum grade in the previous years to pass to the next year. During these years I was terrified to go to school.
Who hasn’t dreamed of launching their own business or starting a side hustle with dreams of a better life? Maybe you have had an idea but don’t know where to begin. If I share with you the 5 critical steps that will bring you closer to success in the launch of your business, will you try?
Have you ever worked hard on something, and it is still just not happening? So, you have sought advice and shared with others what you have done and yet nobody around you understands why it is not working… You become frustrated and want to throw in the towel. You can’t understand what is going on? Every indicator suggests a positive outcome and results should have appeared. Yet still, nothing is happening… you wonder what the hell you are doing wrong!
Have you ever felt disconnected from the people around you? You might have spent years, even decades with friends and suddenly you feel that the connection is not there anymore? Well, you are not alone. Know that this is normal. Some relationships just fade slowly over time. Others have an abrupt ending.
Over the past few months I have been working on a program focused on helping youth. This has encouraged me to reflect on my life, from my early childhood to now. What I am certain of is that I have learned “life” the hard way. In my teenage years I had no mentors, coaches, or role models, and I was living with neglectful and unavailable parents. I know that there are many young people out there living in similar situations. They try the best they can to figure out how life works, to make sense of what is happening to them, and to find a way to break the cycle to get the life that they want.
Have you ever watched a documentary or read a book about a philosopher and asked yourself how they became so wise? Have you ever wondered if you could develop your own wisdom? Wondered what the secret ingredient is to have a greater wisdom? Through my reading, research, quests, and practical experiences, I have discovered that there are three critical factors, or more specifically three interdependent pillars that need to grow simultaneously to build true wisdom.
I spent a few days at a seminar learning about how to gain mastery of the mind based on the teachings of Gotama Siddhartha. During many days of discourse and countless hours of work on the mind-body, we came to a section where we talked about who we are. What is the essence of a human being; basically, who am I? Gotama’s explanation hit home. I finally understood how, as a species, we can define the “I”. It really helped me to understand how my mind works and how I react to certain events in life. Everything was making sense; simple to understand...
“Oberst, Korporal Pilloud, ich melde mich zum Überschallflug ab!” These were the last words that I said to the commander of the Fighter Pilot Academy before I headed out for the flight that would teach me three valuable life lessons. I had just signed out (in German) for my first supersonic flight, and one that changed my life forever.
March 05, 1991, 7:30 AM. I put on my flying gear and zipped up my G-suit. I grabbed my helmet and jumped on my bicycle.
Who doesn’t want to feel happier, have more energy, be more connected and creative in their life? Who doesn’t want to feel more fulfilled, have better relationships, and have a positive impact on people around them or in their community? We all want this, right? So what can we do to get there?
Is it me or do you also feel as though we are moving more in an uncharted territory where uncertainty and unpredictability have become the new norm? The pandemic is still throwing out curveballs with new variants of the virus. Meanwhile, the financial market is becoming harder to understand. Between high inflation, low interest rates, and more liquidity in the market, nobody really knows what will happen in the next few months. Also, supply chains are still very disrupted and far from normal. Weather patterns are changing with more violent storms, record snowfalls, and temperatures that influence agriculture and our lives.
Lately, I have been reflecting on what type of patterns have occurred regularly over my life. I made two interesting observations.
The first is that I often chose difficult and challenging objectives. As a teenager, I wanted to become a fighter pilot, which is a difficult path. It was not easy to become a fighter pilot. 3,000 applicants at the beginning of training came down to only 6. By 22, I was one of those six who received wings on their uniform.
The second thing I observed is that in my life I have experienced multiple life-changing transitions. I transitioned from the military world to the civilian world. I moved from one country to another. I transitioned from receiving a paycheck at the end of every month to being my own boss and creating my own income.
When was the last time you said or thought: “I can’t take this anymore…I am done with it…When is it going to end…This is taking too long…”? Not so long ago, right? You are not alone; we are all in the same boat. We all want things to happen faster. Our western culture and education system has ingrained in us from a young age to achieve our goals, get results, move to the next level, or climb the corporate ladder. There is nothing wrong with having ambition, except if that said ambition narrows your focus to a point of impatience.
Imagine… spending 20 hours a day with your eyes closed. You sit for 13 hours meditating, three of them without moving even a toe, and one hour led in discourse by a teacher. You will receive two meals a day, one at 6:30 am and one at 11 am. You will sleep on a wooden plank with a small mattress and a pillow. You will have no phone, computer or other electronic devices and no books to read, paper to write on, or journaling. You will respect Noble Silence which means no talking, no looking at other people, no interaction with others or the outside world in any form. This day I am describing, you will repeat it 10 times. Could you do it?
In July, I spent time traveling in the Kigoma leadership in Tanzania teaching youth how to create a roadmap to achieve their wildest dreams. During my trip, I met amazing people immersed in a beautiful culture. I learned a little bit of Swahili to be able to communicate and I was inspired by the kindness of the people, their traditions, and habits. I want to introduce several of these into my own life and I hope that my 5 takeaways can also inspire you.
Do you want to be more influential or contribute more to this world? Even if you are living your dream life, don’t you think that there is more that life could have to offer if you take bolder actions? Have you ever thought about having a bigger impact on your family, friends, community, and co-workers? What is it that is stopping you? Maybe a lack of courage and confidence? Is it fear or the hardship that is stopping you? I will share with you 5 effective ways to increase your courage and confidence so that you can experience more from life and take bolder actions.
Have you ever wondered why some people always look happy, even when adversity is kicking their butt? Or noticed others that are always unhappy despite living an amazing life? Maybe you know people that fluctuate between feeling happy and unhappy, without any direct correlation to what is happening in their lives? Why is that? Is there a way to increase our level of happiness despite our circumstances? The answer is yes.
The 14th and the 21st of May are special dates for me. Each represents a quintessential yin-and-yang duality where opposite or contrary forces became interconnected. These dates will always trigger thoughts and feelings that can either ruin or make my day. Nonetheless, it is my choice to decide which feelings and thoughts I want to generate and allow.
It was 8 pm on a cold December night. The land was covered with a blanket of snow. The moon was full. This was the night my father was waiting for. It was the night he could teach me what he knew best. It was a beautiful, cold, crispy night where you could walk silently in the snow. The full moon lighted the landscape; you could see everything on the reflected snow. The only sound we heard was the howls in the forest. It was the perfect night for poaching.
It was in February 2021, a Tuesday morning to be precise, just before noon, when I went to my mailbox to get the mail like I do every day. I walked down the driveway, head down, thinking, “what I am going to do with my life?” When I reached for the handle of the mailbox, a shadow covered my hand. Someone was next to me. I looked up. This person was staring at me silently. His eyes were familiar but I couldn’t see the entire face because he was wearing a mask. Somehow, I knew this person; but couldn’t recollect his name.
The end of a year is the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. It is the time people envision a new start or new projects. We look at the future with hope and faith. We hope will become happier, more joyful, and enthusiastic about life. We may plan to get on a new diet, exercise, or maybe start a new sport. We plan to be more successful, get more money, and maybe get a promotion. All that is wonderful and important. Having a vision, goals, and ambitions are crucial if we want to evolve, grow as a person and contribute more in this world.
But why does it only at the end of the year? What about looking at it every month, every week, every day, and reflect on all the good things that have happened in our life.
Emotion is what makes the difference between action and non-action. I can acknowledge the person and paint the perfect dream picture. If there is no emotion attached, people will not take action. Emotion will amplify recognition and ambition. It is why it is in exponential (E). The more emotion you bring into the conversation, the more action the person will take. The best way to do that is to share a story, if possible a personal story. Describe the feelings, the excitement and the magic. Make the person want to experience the same feelings.
With my student, I shared my story about being afraid to swim in a lake when was a child. I explained my journey and how I overcame my fear. Not only I overcame this fear but now water is my happy place. I love being in the water, the sensation of weightlessness and peace. Now, I teach scuba diving and share my passion with people like her who want new and exciting experiences in their life.
… Around midnight I woke up. Something was not right. I was freezing cold. I didn’t shiver but my entire body was cold, from my toes to my fingers. I put my yoga pants on, a t-shirt, and a wind-stopper pullover made with wool, the one I use to go skiing in cold winter. I put on warm socks and went under the covers. I was still freezing cold…
I ran to his car: “daddy, daddy, come with me! I want to show you what I did for you this morning”. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the back yard. As a proud architect/contractor/builder, I showed him my giant igloo. I couldn’t wait to bring him inside to see if he could stand up without touching the ceiling.
My father dropped my hand. He looked at the igloo. At first, he didn’t say a word until he looked at my door header and said: “you could have done better by not using this piece of wood”. Then he looked down, turned around, and walked toward the house to get his lunch, leaving me behind. That was it!
For many years, I held back and didn’t make a move. I didn’t write much on social media, I didn’t step up in the community and I was afraid to start my own business. My self-doubt and insecurity pushed me to isolate myself. Then, one day, I realized I didn’t want to live like this. I decided to go full in and work on getting those skills to build my new career. Today, I will share with you 5 tools that really helped me to move forward and create the life I wanted.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the failure rate for New Year's resolutions is about 80 percent. Most people lose their good intentions by mid-February.
I don’t want you to be part of this statistic. I want you to be part of the 20% successful “resolutioners”!
I will share with you how to hack your New Year’s resolutions with five simple strategies that will bring you confidence, excitement, and fun; five strategies that will make you successful.
What is so different between the North Star and the other stars. We all heard about the North Star when we were at school. Then, we learned the metaphor of the North Star… having a North Star in our life that guides us in our journey. But, why don’t we use another star? Why this one?
The three things I have discovered through the years of coaching executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders are:
Grow their business faster
Be more profitable and
Be more sustainable.
Do you ask yourself this question… When will this damn pandemic end? I am exhausted; done with it! I cannot take it anymore…
Does it sound familiar? Have you heard people sharing these same thoughts? That is normal. We all want some security and more certainty in our future. Living in this state is exhausting and sometimes we struggle to stay strong.
Then, I had a breakthrough. I came to the realization that what my mind was telling me was the reflection of the “old” me, the fighter pilot, the person who needed to prove something, the achiever, and the short term goal thinker. My intuition was the “new” me, the one who thinks long term, the one who sees health over the years, the one who has no ego, nothing to prove, the one who wants to achieve long term gratification instead of short term satisfaction. When I came to that realization, I laughed my head off.
As you may know, I spent 25 years in the Swiss military as a fighter pilot. Flying fighter jets really forced me to think ahead. When I flew 700 mph, I had to project into the future. We have a saying between pilots, “if you see the shadow of your vertical stabilizer, you are in trouble”. You are behind the aircraft and not ahead, in the cockpit. At those kinds of speed, we have to think miles ahead in order to get the right tactic in place.
RESOLUTIONS are mostly generated by the mind. We are going to be talking about how to keep the momentum going to be able to accomplish your goals and resolutions.
Having anxiety and fear of death is very normal and I have some personal experiences that will help you get over your fear and provide some valuable insight.
Lately, I have read books and listened to a few Podcasts talking about the “WHY” and how to know your “WHY”. Some argued that it is the most important question to ask and others argued that is the question to avoid.
When young adults were just starting to legally drink in the U.S., I was flying fighter jets in the Swiss Air Force and breaking through the sound barrier.
Flying and landing with a crosswind are super tough. Each aircraft landing gear is designed to be able to land with crosswind. However, they all have speed limits. Landing above this limit will just break the gear and you crash. Now, what is the analogy between that damn crosswind, coaching, and life.
Life comes with its own terms. We can plan, we can execute what we planned but rarely does it go as smooth as we thought. There is always something in the way, there is always some crosswind.