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Hi, I'm Svenja
and this is my story.
How I went from a frustrated young professional to a person doing the work that matters to me - working with ease, living with inner peace!
I was freaking out because everyone around me took the big steps in their career and life, and I didn't know what to do.
I used to wake up always checking my phone first and I saw my...
... former co-worker sharing her promotion to Vice President on Linkedin
... childhood buddy posting beach pics of his surf school in Bali on Instagram
... student roommate sending me baby photos of her perfect baby no. 2
Sounds familiar?
Read my story and why I'm exactly the right person to help you!
My story
My Story
I felt like a headless chicken in a golden cage
I know how it is to have a very well paid job with all the perks you can imagine. Hearing my friends saying: "If I could only have your job...". I work as a management consultant for one of the biggest professional service firms. I sit at the table with management boards and HR directors of global companies to help them define and implement their people strategy. Before that, I worked in investment banks and strategy consulting firms. Gosh, I work for almost a decade in the professional service business.
And for a long time I felt trapped in this golden cage. A stressed and frustrated young professional suffering from FOMO. I was fed up with the bullshit work which often ended up in the digital garbage bin. I had a little, but a hellish loud voice in my head: "You have to do something, quit your job". I was more busy with overthinking my exit strategy than being focussed on my work. In the meantime, I was chasing the next promotion to make the suffering bearable: "Only if I climb up the ladder, I will be happier".
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I put all my hope in sweaty yoga pants
I just started with yoga when I saw that there was a free class offered (didn't read the small print as so often). I ended up in a yoga teacher information session. Without realizing what I'm doing, I enrolled in my first yoga teacher training. I followed 600 hours of yoga and movement teacher training all over the world. I made a journey out of my head into my body (down to my little pinky toes) and beyond. I learned to breathe. And for the first time, I meditated. I recognized that I'm not that inner sneaky voice in my head, which drove me crazy. And sometimes I experienced stillness for a glimpse of a second.
I thought: Only if I can be a yoga teacher in Bali, then I will finally be happy. Something I could chase again, a light at the end of the tunnel. I denied for a long time that the yoga path didn't bring the fulfillment I had hoped for. I distracted myself by pretending to be the happy yoga girl on social media posts and with making promotion for my classes. I couldn't stand it any longer. I realized that I chased the next "only if, then"- a change in my external world.
Then there was my big aha moment:
I have to change my internal world.
Peace of mind and fulfillment comes from within.
There is a name for it: emotional intelligence.
What I never expected to happen
I decided to stay in my 9 to 5+ powerpoint rockstar job because leaving it to move to Bali to be a yoga teacher-life coach-blogger felt like an escape. I knew that I can only find peace of mind and fulfillment when I change something inside of me.
I started to follow tons of training, study books and slowly apply the skills at my workplace. I moved to Amsterdam, got rid of my fancy business suits and dresses. I stopped putting on a professional mask. I said what I thought (that was the true game-changer). I told my boss and co-workers what kind of work and topics I want to do. I refused to do bullshit work.
I expected that my behaviour would cause some troubles but the opposite
happened. It was like a miracle. In no time people called on me if they had projects they knew I was keen on doing. I got promoted. I inspire my colleagues and clients to do the same. The changes I see around me are stunning! I redefined work on my terms and am successfuller in my career than ever.
Why I'm different from others
Why I'm different
And no, I'm not a coach!
I'm just a girl with a laptop and a serious addiction to order used rancid smelling semi-scientific books. If I would have to describe my personality recipe: take a cup of Richard Branson, half a cup of Dalai Lama, a spoon of Carrie Bradshaw and sprinkle some Sheldon Cooper and wishful thinking on top.
I'm sitting in the same (business) boat like you
I'm not a digital-nomad-life-coach sitting at the beach all day long sipping a fresh coconut and tell you how you should strive in the corporate madness. I'm one of you! A well educated millennial with the dream to change the world for the better.
I can read the mind of your HR director
And share the insights with you. I worked with countless Management Boards and HR directors. I know what they expect, what they reward and what skills they need in the future. I help you with your personal branding to get everything you want.
I tell it like it is - no sugar coating
And yes, I know it can be confronting. I'm your shiny mirror. I say what I think. I write as I speak. 100% bullshit free (even though I'm the master of bullshit bingo).
A little bit about me:
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Lives in and is in love with Amsterdam
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Speaks her own language (mix of German, Dutch and English)
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Obsessed with kimonos (no, no photos on this website)
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Used to be a professional swimmer
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Loves to eat everything (plant-based only!) out of bowls
Imagine a business world in which the majority of us do work that matters to us and at the same time is at the top positions in companies to influence the business world for the better. A sustainable and fair economy ("care economy") starts with your fulfillment and inner peace. That is what my work is about.
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