Change your thoughts and make different choices and your life will start to progress.

Almost all of us are born equal. This means that each one of us, when we enter into this world, has a potential within that can be explored. In my view, our individual mission is to unleash their true potential and pursue it with dedication and consistency.

Sounds like spiritual talk? Not at all, do you think you have a purpose in life or not? Have you ever thought about it? Or do you just live haphazardly into the day? Are you aware of why you make or have made these and not those decisions? Do you regularly reflect on your current situation and where you want to go?

When I think back to my childhood, it is packed with adventure, movement, fun, carefree, creativity, love and free of fears. Everything seemed possible, I lived, followed my instincts and feelings – without questioning them and feeling insecure. All in abundance.

What happens to us during our childhood is essential for our development and our mindset. Some experience a rather difficult childhood and take the resulting traumas with them into adulthood, while others experience a wonderful childhood with lots of love and security and also take this with them into their later lives. But it is not only our childhood that shapes us, it is our entire environment that can condition us in one way or another. The influence that hits us from our environment is profound. As children, we soak up everything like a sponge and cannot distinguish whether it is more likely to harm us or not. We only see the consequences in our behaviour much later.

Ever since I was able to move, my life was shaped by sport: emotions are energies in motion. No other quote could describe my life better back then. Sport was my life and when I went to bed at night, I was already thinking about what sporting adventure awaited me the next day. Starting with soccer at FC Red Stars, to winning the city of Zurich’s school house championship, to the talent section of Grasshopper Club Zurich. Everything seemed so easily achievable.

But then something happened that was completely new to me: all of a sudden I found myself in an environment where it didn’t seem quite so easy to assert and establish myself. And so I gave up on it.

As soon as things got difficult at some point, I gave up. Because so many things always came easy to me in my childhood and I often belonged to the winners when it came to sports competitions, I was suddenly confronted with the harsh reality that not everything always comes easily. And so I changed sports and started to integrate karate back into my life, which I had already started once before. My idol Bruce Lee was always in my thoughts and fired me up. To have idols in our lives are enormous drivers and give us endless strength.

Accordingly, my childhood transitioned into adolescence and young adulthood. I dabbled in many sports: from soccer – my first love – to karate, athletics to basketball and finally I ended up with weight training.

My motivation for getting into weight training at the age of 18 was clear: I was dissatisfied with my physical appearance, or more precisely with my slim and skinny nature. This was also the reason why I always sought an escape through sport. Despite my slender stature, I always managed to be among the best. Nevertheless, this was always and repeatedly connected with drastic experiences. Children, as we all know, can be cruel and so I was often a victim of bullying in my childhood/youth. This, because of my physical existence, as I used to be super skinny. Precisely, because I always moved so much, hardly ate anything, I weighed around 50 kg at the age of 18; a super featherweight!

All these disappointments and frustrations really piled up, so I tried everything I could to appear stronger to the outside world – mainly by becoming more muscular. I was anxious to acquire all the knowledge and experience I could to finally become more muscular, so that I would receive some kind of validation from others. As sad as it may sound, we humans often seek approval and love from others, forgetting that only we ourselves are responsible for this. No one can give it to you until you see it with your own eyes. And this usually does not correlate with your looks. As long as you are content and happy with yourself, it will also appear that way to the outside world. Looking back, I would still go the same way. Because strength training and dealing with nutrition, trying out endless training programs, supplements, nutritional approaches, have ultimately made me what I am today – and I am very grateful for that. If I had been totally satisfied with myself at the age of 18, I probably would never have started the path of my own transformation journey.

The development of my Growth Mindset

External change always starts first with a clear intention and vision. I was anxious in my actions to end my skinny existence and to finally receive recognition from the outside. After about three years of intensive weight training, I had reached a peak of 78 kg. I had gained about 28 kg in three years and gained all the experience I needed to do it. With my external change, I got more self-confident at the same time. Also former classmates recognised the changes and that felt really good. However, what I highly neglected during the whole physical change, was my development of my own consciousness. I had changed physically – and pursued this goal with great discipline – but I forgot that I hadn’t changed much on the inside. Progress – if it is to be sustainable – must be tied to inner change. I had built a strong training mindset and routine, but neglected my internal growth.

Throughout my time in the travel industry, my degree in communications and subsequent time in marketing and events, my love for sports, particularly weight training, had never left me. So after some personal consultation with a former University professor, I decided to slowly pave my way towards becoming a fitness instructor. That was in 2011, but the inner drive for change became stronger and stronger in the years before. There were also repeated signs in my life, so-called “nudges”, that should have finally brought me closer to awakening. But as it is in life: we are ready when we actually realise it only ourselves. No one can ever be forced to be happy. Often, we first have to go through tremendous “pain” and fall into the abyss, before we move our butts. It had been dormant and bubbling inside of me for years before: I wanted to create my own business and no one should tell me what to do and what not to do. My desire for change grew and eventually led me to leave my secure job and start from scratch as a fitness instructor.

The period as a fitness instructor was enormously helpful and I managed to work my way up from the bottom to becoming an independent and successful personal trainer and finally an online coach.

2015 became the year of the big change: My 100% self-employment had begun and with it a new chapter in terms of inner growth, countless and painful experiences. I faced countless diffictult moments where I wanted to gave up on everything. But what was the alternative? There was none…and so I fought my way through, on and on, attending dozens of seminars and training courses and learning from the world’s best coaches in the industry. A decisive year was 2014, when I met Charles Poliquin. At my first seminar with him I understood absolutely nothing, my head was bursting with all the countless pieces of information. He was the first great coach who paved the way for me. He made me understand that I had so much to learn. Charles Poliquin, one of the most successful strength coaches ever to lived on this planet, was appreciated by so many and hated by others. One reason for this was his direct and harsh way of approaching people. But: we don’t grow from politness and correctnness, we grow when it really hurts and triggers us. I am grateful for all his memorable teachings. May he rest in peace forever. I will never forget him.

Since then, I have further deepened my knowledge and invested an enormous amount of time in further training and education. With my vast experience with more than 500 clients, I finally realised that the biggest limiting factor of my target group (leaders) is often their toxic habits. Most leaders have a relatively strong mindset, but this is often linked to their profession. Unfortunately, they have lost touch with their body, mind and soul because they are caught in their own hamster wheel. Breaking out of this is not always easy, but that is exactly my mission. With all my experience, I can help precisely these people to break out of their habits and to build up and maintain a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle.

For some years now, I have therefore also been dealing with the psychological component of change, have attended some of Tony Robbins’ seminars, have trained myself in various mentoring sessions, have shed my own beliefs and have wandered through the depths of the Abyss in the process. But I have never given up. Because giving up is never an option.

I therefore follow a holistic and individual approach, which includes a fitness and health-oriented as well as a mental component. Because only by strengthening your mind, I can lead you to both quick and lasting success – and that then transfers to all areas of your life.