After a blow of fate, I started my search for support. I thought there must be someone out there who knows what I’m doing wrong, or how I can do the good things even better. Back then, I felt instinctively that some things weren’t going perfectly and that I was reaching my limits in both my private and professional life.
This search was very exciting. Sometimes I drove 900 kilometres to neighbouring countries. On one occasion, I flew to London, to walk over glowing coals with 9,000 other people. This is called the Great Fire Walk and it’s supposed to change everything. It was followed by three more days when we worked on our aims and our motivation. It all worked for up to 8,999 people, but for one person, it didn’t…
The ego and the search
I hunted for other consultants and events and initially I tended to return to those who flattered me the most – who told me how great I am. That’s what my ego wanted to hear.
Over time, however, I realised that although the appointments were all good in their way, they didn’t bring lasting success. Lots of them gave similar advice, and all the relevant literature was also quite similar. Over the course of about three years, I examined my entrepreneurial goals and even more so my entrepreneurial motivation very closely. That worked for a time. When my motivation lapsed, I was often told that I lacked sufficient ‘commitment’.
The main thing is to be committed
So I kept working on ‘being committed’ and continued to seek support from various coaches with different approaches. But even though every session of motivation coaching helped me to go beyond my limits, the cause of the limits remained the same, and so did the limits themselves.
Looking at the countless sayings on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc., motivation seems to be the sole miracle ingredient you need to attain everything! The more single-minded fans and followers confirmed this again and again.
And what about me?
Coaching burn-out – the result of my search
After five years and about 20 coaches, I’d reached the end: coaching burn-out. I found new jobs for my staff and closed down my company. With a good financial buffer in place, I decided to use my new freedom and go to the coast alone for three to four months, to further pursue my search for meaning.
But in fact, I couldn’t forget my passion for my work anymore than the ocean could suddenly present me with the meaning of life. One thing led to another and soon a new construction project was due, but one based on an innovative concept. I also wanted to resume my development as an entrepreneur – and at last, I encountered Anke Sommer and her institute.
The heart took over the search
One thing’s for certain: what Anke Sommer offers is very different. I didn’t understand everything at once, but I was excited nonetheless. I felt that I was in the right place. And in no time, I was on a plane to Berlin.
After four hours‘ consultation, I was exhausted. Yet only four weeks later, I was back in Berlin for my first leadership workshop. I still didn’t understand very much; in fact in some ways it was a great challenge and I was full of doubts – yet I still noticed that something was really changing for the better.
Today, thanks to Anke Sommer, I know the reasons behind my lack of motivation in my work back then. I’m aware of my limitations and see more and more clearly how they arose. Even more importantly, through Anke Sommer’s work I’m finding ways to live my life independently of these limitations.
The beat goes on – when the search becomes a journey
The path isn’t easy or short. I’m increasingly identifying unconscious, (self-)harming habits and changing them bit by bit into positives. It’s a path of taking responsibility. And it’s certainly the path that helps me maintain and strengthen my power and life energy. The power I save I can apply more purposefully and better in my business and private life. And I can use it to live a much more positive, light-hearted life for my children than I ever could before.
However, I’m still grateful to all the others whom I worked with on myself in the past; I gained something from every encounter.
Martin Andreas Baaden
CEO of the smallest construction company in the world 🙂