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Legal disclaimer

I have recreated events, locales, and conversations from my memories of them. In order to maintain their anonymity, I sometimes have changed the names of individuals and places. In some instances, I may have changed some identifying characteristics such as physical properties, and occupations.

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, they do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

Credits

Cover Illustration: Copyright © 2016 by Andreas Gruber

Cover photo: by Joern Materne

Book design: by Andreas Gruber

Editing: by Andreas Gruber

Author photograph: Oliver Gruber

Special thanks: to Daivid Hopkins, Mary McBride and Maria Rosenlind

Contact to the author: feedbacktotheauthor@gmail.com

Copyright Copyright © 2016 by Andreas Gruber

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

The intention of this book is to inspire you to live a rewarding professional life and to be able to find purpose and meaning in the midst of a seemingly

superficial and high paced corporate world.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

Our mind is creating our reality. Therefore, this book is mainly about you, your mind, and what matters to you. To some, it will be the external wealth, for others the internal. It may also have to do with your purpose or wisdom.

Although you will find wise words from different cultures here, no particular religion or philosophy is promoted. Nor is it about reviewing ancient wisdom or comparing philosophical beliefs. Sun Tzu’s and Clausewitz's strategies of war cannot be found here. This book is intended to be a pure expression of personal experience.

It aims for the qualitative and inner strategies you need, to stand firm in the storms of corporate life. Society is changing and so is leadership. Today’s leaders have thrilling challenges and vast responsibilities. External factors such as globalization, information overflow or the dramatically increased pace of technical development, are only a few. Nevertheless, the internal factors need to be addressed because the much-needed change must originate from within if it should last.

I humbly offer this book, to leaders with big hearts, who, mastering a life of turbulence, are willing to be a rock to hold on to.

This book is written for leaders who deal with real human beings with emotions, dreams, and needs. And the most important point is, that you are one of them. The aim is to inspire you to grow, as an individual. It may give you a new outlook on issues like integrity, inner strategies, clarity of mind, and inner peace. Most likely you will also regard motivation and inspiration in a different way after having read this book. It’s not based on studies or science, but on my mistakes, learnings, insights, and mysteries, all properly reflected upon and handed over to you, where they came from in the first place.

In the last 30 years, I have seen many approaches to instill more spirituality into leadership, management and business life in general. For a while, it was for example quite posh for managers to do a little bit of Zen meditation. Often initiated and executed by people with a clerical, psychological, or therapeutic background. However, it is not always clear what exactly was or is intended. Sometimes it’s about getting leaders to meditate and sometimes it's probably just about getting them to behave in a more ethical way. You may think, (depending what side you are on), "Yeah, these managers they could really do with some spirituality." It is as if managers and leaders are not spiritual? Is that true?

Or, could it be that by the time people get to lead a business, they have already gained some experience in life, a practical form of spirituality? And could it be, that there is very little space to practice some of that practical wisdom, without having to worry about getting fired for not attending to business properly? So, maybe leaders need courage and inspiration to embrace their inner wisdom, instead of being trained in methods, tips, and tricks, which ultimately neither fixes their problems nor fulfills them.

There are many definitions of spirituality, many of them religiously influenced. A definition of spirituality that certainly would make a lot of sense in the corporate world could be – a wisdom that helps us to improve our individual and collective human experience, to make the most out of this life on the material plane and beyond.

You can find plenty of leaders out there possessing that kind of wisdom. At least many aspects are already there. The question is, are the business leaders of today aware of the necessity, and do they have the trust to make use of it - in a profitable way? Because if it can't be done in a profitable way, a leader will not survive very long.

This book isn’t about practicing something, it's about opening new perspectives, giving you options within your present frame of mind.

Every page implicitly points toward essentials, human qualities, and latent potential. It's an invitation to reflect, get inspired, discover, and to dig a little bit deeper.

Logical reasoning, planning, and willpower can only take us so far. We need to review outdated mindsets that do not serve us anymore. Ultimately this is a book about changing from within, after discovering for yourself, who you may be, what your heart burns for, what your values and motives are, what drives you from within. Applying this to yourself first will make you contribute to some serious change out there.

Old words of wisdom tell us that "the path is the goal." They suggest not to fix our attention purely on the outcome. We may perceive it as if we merely collect bits and pieces along the way, but once we arrive at our destination, we rest and reflect on what we have been through. In that moment of reflection, all our experiences will make sense and may turn into wisdom if we understood our lessons. However, it seems as if there simply is no time for that. This lack of time is not only external but very much an inner factor to be considered.

"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journeythat no one can take for us or spare us."

Marcel Proust

We have become collectors of knowledge. But since the subtle details of what we learn are frequently missing, it may be of limited value for us. This book is very much about those missing subtle details.

You're likely to see a couple of things from a different angle. You may get a feel for what relevance or power, subtle perceptions, and mindsets could have. It is likely that you will be eager to try some of these hints, no matter how busy you are. They can mostly be done on the run - in real life. You will save time, energy, and nerves. Your subordinates will love it, without actually understanding what it is you are doing.

Have a good read!

This book has a 7-layer structure as the following chart illustrates.