A few weeks ago, I received a wonderful surprise in the mail. It was a book from a coaching client (‘The obstacle is the way’ by Ryan Holiday). There was a card with it which said: ‘Anneliese, this book has given me great guidance; I hope it will for you as well’. I was touched by the gesture and curious to start reading. So I did. I finished the book quicker than most books. It reads easily and it is very practical. In essence it talks about the great opportunities that come with obstacles that we find on our path. First we look at it as an obstacle… and acknowledge the difficulty and the pain that come with it. And then we can choose to look past it; beyond it. To see the opportunity that the obstacle shows us.

While reading the book, I realized that I already try to practise this in my everyday life and that we try to practise it in Qlick. What are the roadblocks and how can we see and go beyond them? When my son goes to study in the US, how can we expand our business internationally so that Qlick transcends borders? When there is a limited amount of time, how can I use it even more wisely to focus on priorities? When recycling becomes increasingly more mandatory, what are the opportunities this presents to us? More specifically, how can we work with a great company to provide for the right snacks during our training courses (watch out for SNACTS during the next training you have with us).

The first chapter of our new book ‘Be your own leader’ talks about how we are born to lead our own life. This comes as a gift and a responsibility to do something with whatever life throws at us…

So thank you R. for the inspiration. The obstacles keep showing me the way.