About the author

For most of my life I used to be a passionate rat racer.
Running after degrees (spent 26 years getting through an educational system), climbing up the corporate ladder (worked for 3 corporations in 10 roles), and starting up companies (founded 4) was my modus operandi.

I didn’t do what I loved; instead I did what moved me up.
In the late 1990´s something weird happened. One morning, I couldn’t get out of bed.
Instead of my usual trip to the office I went to see a doctor.
After several tests, he put it quite bluntly: Burn-out syndrome. You’d better get out of there.

It was a slap in the face. But since I wasn’t the first and neither the last in our company, I knew what was going on. I didn’t think about it for long, and left the corporate world for good.

Your money or your life!?
The question has been popping into my mind ever since

Gone, I started looking for an answer.
First went to Africa, then Latin America and Asia, read hundreds of books. In my native country I started a life balance company PeopleComm, ran hundreds of seminars,… all in search of the response.

Also, what influenced my outlook on life was first growing up under communism, and then being part of pioneering efforts to re-build a democracy. Also numerous trips to western Africa and plentiful stays in the USA, China, and Russia gave me an interesting perspective on how we humans organize ourselves, what makes us go or why we share or fight.

Valerie and I
Now, I live in Prague, The Czech republic with my wife Petra and daughter Valerie. Perhaps not surprisingly, I’ve never worked as little as I do now. To my revelation, my relationships and my health have never felt better.
How did it happen?
Well, I got rid of that urge to climb up.
Instead I do what I love with people I care for.

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Recent comments

Tomas | August 21 2008 | 04:54
Few good questions to ask ourselves: Would you prefer to stay in a job you dislike or risk creat ...

Tomáš | August 20 2008 | 04:35
I just read that three greatest mysteries of the world are air to birds, water to fish, and man unto ...

Barbara | August 4 2008 | 15:26
Yeah. It sounds right. How easy we exchange our freedom for the shiny corporate stuff...

Steve | July 10 2008 | 14:12
What a cool story. Thanks!

Jo | July 9 2008 | 05:34
photo of the original: http://www.flickr.com/pho tos/pforret/724921048/

Tomas | July 7 2008 | 06:22
... not sure what you mean.. is that how you do it at IBM?

Bettina | July 6 2008 | 16:36
Yes, Sir. All right. Iam working for IBM.

Inka | July 3 2008 | 11:34
what separates good from great... http://www.yo utube.com/watch?v=FpJQqzJj 534

Renda Bea | June 16 2008 | 13:58
Thank you for that!!

Tomas | May 14 2008 | 13:37
...and there is nothing wrong with the chicken. If we all became eagles what a solo (and lonely) wor ...