I’m the captain of my soul

Didn’t find the time to write down my thoughts lately. So here it goes.

Just watched a fabulous in flight movie – Invictus – based on the book “Playing the Enemy”. You know, the one I read some time ago. I just loved it and it has been a while I stayed awake during a movie. These past 6 months, Inge forces me to watch movies to make me sleep. In the meanwhile she stays awake, so I don’t really see the point of the whole thing :-). But anyway…luckily my lovely kids wake me up very early so I can get back to work and focus on my passion again.

I’m not going to tell you all about Invictus. Just watch it – guys, you’re allowed to cry – and you’ll know what I mean: “Sport has the power to unite in a way that little else does.”(Nelson Mandela)

The past year we were working extremely hard to realise our dream: to connect business people, not just the sporty ones, with the sports world. I did many speeches for large and small groups, had a lot of face to face discussions in many countries. I talked about the similarities between the sports and the business world. I talked about emotional resonance. I used the example of the Belgian Bobsleigh ladies many times. These examples make people understand that it can’t be just about talent. Everybody has some kind of talent you know. That’s an Olympic minimum. It’s about passion, focus and great teams and networks supporting you to reach your full potential.


O yeah, I also watched Up in the Air. Since I did some serious travelling the past weeks, I liked it. But one of the most hilarious ones was “The Invention of Lying”!I used examples of managers/politicians/reporters/people who manage/live by fear, not by passion. These people try to make other people believe there is something that is called “safety” and everybody should stay in that safety zone. They take people from one fear (some of you are even affraid of sports?!?) to the next one and tell them they will fix it for them. If you think other people will fix your issues, you are probably the biggest fool of all. You are the captain of your soul. It’s never too late to get a grip on your own life. The future is being shaped by what you do today, not tomorrow. It’s ok to be affraid sometimes (I’m too if that helps you), just don’t let it guide your actions.

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