Welcome back to my monthly reflections 🎉

This newsletter has three purposes:

1. A dedicated time for me to reflect on and draw meaning out of the last month ✏️.
2. An entry for conversation – if anything of what I write awakens something in you, I encourage you to reply 🙋‍♂️.
3. An insight into my thoughts regarding the topics I write about 💭.

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If a person you know would benefit from what I write about, forward this newsletter to them! At the bottom, they'll find a link in case they want to subscribe, too.

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In this very email, I write about a roundtable I led at Startup Olé, my most recent trip to three new countries, the mastermind, running, Tim Grover's impact on me, and more.

I hope you enjoy!

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Mental Health & Leadership in Startups

I'm passionate about mental health. I'm also passionate about leadership. And about business...

I combined all of these passions at the roundtable I moderated at the Startup Olé conference in Salamanca 🇪🇸 early September. I had moderated a roundtable for them a couple of years ago but now I created the opportunity of addressing exactly what I am so passionate about.

Co-creatively, Eliane Gerzelj, María Martín, and I designed an interactive and educational conversation with the audience focused on normalising taking care of oneself, practical strategies for burnout, and personal stories of difficulty.

What stuck we me the most was one thing Eliane said: "You cannot give 100% to your company and be healthy". If you give 100% to something or someone else, you don't get anything.

Take care of yourself first (à la put your own oxygen mask first), then put your energy to others or work.

Does that make sense to you?

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Tallinn 🇪🇪, Helsinki 🇫🇮, & Riga 🇱🇻

It's been a while since I visited a new country - 2020 Qatar to be exact. With this trip, I picked up the lost momentum of the pandemic and visited three in a row!

First up was Tallinn, Estonia!

With my five years mentoring with the European Innovation Academy, which is based in Tallinn, I already knew quite some people here. And this was my opportunity to catch up, do some additional networking, and attend some events.

I also was looking forward to the Estonian nature and was rewarded with lingonberries, bilberries, and blueberries (in the picture) while hiking in the bog. I also went for a quick dive in the Baltic Sea, which is actually my sea as I grew up next to it!

I was pretty impressed with the level of digitalisation (especially when compared to a small town in Spain) and the dominance of Bolt when it comes to mobility!

For example, I'd tap my bank card in the bus and it'd automatically calculate and charge the cheapest fare based on my usage. Or I could take a picture of my driver's licence and drive any of Bolt Drive cars, paying by the minute - and it's cheaper than the scooters (see screenshot!)

Thanks to my friend Dave, I also visited the office of Pipedrive and we talked about designing the office to be attractive to the employees - see the discussion and more pictures on LinkedIn.

Next up was Helsinki, Finland to see Felipe and William, both of which are members of Emerging Men. It was a short visit but the smoke sauna and cold water dips in the lake and traditional salmon soup made it worth it!

One thing that was new to me is that the sauna is actually a socialising place. From back home I know saunas but it was never a place of conversation. Adapting to the Finnish culture, we actually talked business in the sauna!

Last, I spent two days in Riga, Latvia. Again a a short visit but thanks to my guides and hosts (and my willingness to walk all day), I saw a lot.

From various places in the old town to the National Library and the farmer's market in the old zeppelin factory! And I brought back a traditional spice mix!

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We've Launched!

Finally, I kicked off the Coachpreneur Mastermind!

It's a 6-month programme for coaches to learn about and grow on the business side of coaching!

We're already two weeks in and have covered contracts and legal frameworks. My goal with it is that the certified coaches have a solid basis and, most importantly, paying clients.

Honestly, it was more difficult than I imagined to get people to sign up, especially after having so many interested in it. But with the next batch, I'll already have exemplary results that I can share - that'll surely make it easier to say "yes" to the mastermind.

I'm planning the next batch early next year!

If you're curious and would like to follow the journey of the current participants (and apply their learnings to your coaching practice), join our public WhatsApp group.

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Running After the Marathon

​Last time, I shared the adventure of running my first marathon. After it, running - even walking initially - was hard. I signed up for a 19k trail race at the end of August but several seconds in, I already knew it would be a hike, not a race.

It was a beautiful landscape just half an from where I live, and getting to know it was part of why I signed up. Despite the landscape, I was bummed that I couldn't run. I finished as one of the last and there was nobody left except the MC to cheer me on.

When it comes to running, luckily, I have no rush. Yes, I'm still aiming for 80k. No, it won't be this year anymore. Let's see...

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The Cleaner

Back in 2016, when I was doing two Master's degrees (three at one point), an extracurricular leadership training, founding a language school, and rocking workouts every day, I was listening to the audiobook Relentless by Tim Grover.

A friend told me about his new book Winning and I got both as audio versions. In 2016, it was this book along with episodes from Inside Quest (now called Impact Theory) that helped me do so many things at the same time.

I'm now back at it, although I'm listening with different ears. A lot has changed since 2016...

But let me share the main concept in the book: the distinction of three attitudes.

• The Cleaner is the ultimate performer who consistently delivers exceptional results and is relentless in their pursuit of excellence.
• The Closer is someone who thrives under pressure and excels in critical moments, but not in uncertainty.
• The Cooler is a person who disrupts the team's dynamics and negatively impacts performance, often due to their ego, attitude, or inability to collaborate effectively.

The basketball examples make these differences really clear and also remind us how much we're actually capable of if we apply ourselves and design our days with intention.

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More Life Episodes

5 new episodes are out since the last newsletter. All amazing and unique in their own way. Click on any to listen.

And if there's any topic you'd like me to explore or any guest you'd like to recommend, hit reply!

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Hosting soon?

I'm currently rearranging and renovating the house and will hopefully host the first visitors soon.

It's at the Mediterranean coast with the beach at 20 meter where the sun rises from the sea and sets in the mountains - great for some leisurely snorkelling, mountain biking (see the trail run pictures), or simply relaxing and soaking up the sun with 300 days of sunshine per year.

More soon 😊

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Made it!

And that's my reflection for August and September!

There are two things I'd like you to consider:

• Reflect on my reflections. I'd be happy to receive a reply from you.
• Forward this newsletter to a person you think would appreciate it.

Until next month,

Jorim