For years, I searched for my life’s purpose.

Like many high achievers, I assumed it had to be something significant—a grand mission, a world-changing contribution, a clear answer to the question: Why am I here?

I looked for it in achievements, career milestones, and future aspirations.

Then one day, a different answer emerged.

Simple. Quiet. Undeniable.

Most leaders are taught that success comes from setting clear goals and executing the plan. Yet, when I look back at my own life, I realize something surprising:

I was wrong.

Stepping away from work can feel risky—especially for high-achievers. Many leaders worry less about taking a break than about what happens afterwards: Will I still be relevant? Will I know how to return?

In 2015, I left my life in Munich and moved to Barcelona with just two suitcases. I didn’t have a grand plan or a bold career vision. I had one clear intention: to heal.

At some point in every leadership journey, a quiet but profound question emerges: What truly matters to me?

When I was six, my parents’ divorce asked something of me that no child should have to carry: to be “strong.” I didn’t receive it as an event in my family—I received it in my Body.

Early in my career, while finishing my PhD in a specific field of what we call today AI, I received an interview invitation from a major company in the U.S. I should have felt confident. Instead, I felt like an impostor.

To feel safer, I did something subtle but costly: I hid behind the brand I worked for. In the interview, I spoke in “we,” highlighted institutional achievements, and showcased the company’s credibility—rather than my own contribution. For a few hours, I felt confident.

Then the feedback came: “You gave credit to everyone. But where were you in the story?”

What if leadership wasn’t something we “performed” only in meetings, negotiations, or high-stakes decisions—but something cultivated quietly, daily, in the smallest choices we make?

Many leaders intellectually understand self-leadership, but few embody it. The Body keeps its own score: it tells the truth about whether we are aligned, grounded, and acting from choice rather than habit. Dance, somatic practices, and even advances in AI all remind us that transformation often begins in micro-interactions—tiny inputs that compound into new patterns over time.

Leadership begins with a choice.

Not the grand, strategic choices we often associate with executive life, but the quiet, internal choices—the ones that shape how we show up, how we listen, and how we move through the world. In a fast-paced landscape driven by complexity, global transitions, and AI-accelerated change, it’s easy to fall into the belief that life is happening to us. But the truth is far more empowering: we are not victims of circumstance. We are designers of our inner and outer leadership worlds.

We all carry versions of ourselves shaped by expectations, pressures, and past experiences. In leadership — especially in fast-moving, high-stakes environments — it’s easy to drift away from who we truly are. Anyone who looks at us from outside see us as accomplished individuals, yet we feel misaligned on the inside. Our Body reveals the tension long before we can name it — a tightening in the shoulders, a shallow breath, a persistent sense of efforting.

If you’re questioning your work, wondering whether to stay or go, you’re not alone. As high-achieving professionals—especially those in leadership—we often find ourself stuck between logic and longing, loyalty and liberation.

Sometimes the right book finds us when we need it most.

For me, it was Fear of Life by Alexander Lowen, almost thirteen years ago. It arrived at a time when my Body was tense, my mind overworked, and my joy quietly missing. I didn’t know it then, but this book—and what followed—would transform the way I lead, create, and live.

In leadership—and in life—it’s easy to get stuck in the loop of what’s wrong. A process is broken. A colleague is unresponsive. A project is delayed. Without realizing it, we start investing more energy into the complaint than into creating a solution.

What would shift if you lived each day rooted in two unwavering principles: authenticity and honoring your word?

In my own journey, I’ve found that these two commitments—when practiced together—create a powerful foundation for transformation. Not just personally, but in how I show up as a leader, a colleague, and a human being.

We are living through an era of extraordinary technological advancement. Artificial intelligence is transforming the way we work, think, and connect. It helps us process vast amounts of information, automate decisions, and optimize performance. But in the midst of this digital acceleration, there’s a growing need to reconnect with something much older, and much more human—our Body.

Leadership is not only about what we do—it’s about how we perceive, relate, and feel. One of the most powerful pathways to growth as a leader of our lives is through reflection, not just in our minds but in our bodies.

The way we react to others—whether in admiration or discomfort—is often a mirror of what lies within us. When we start to pay attention to these reactions somatically, we unlock a deeper layer of awareness, one that leads to more grounded, authentic leadership.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor E. Frankl

Too often, we operate on autopilot—reacting instinctively to stress, conflict, or pressure. But when we pause, even for a brief moment, we create the opportunity to:

• Shift from reaction to intentional action

• Replace frustration with clarity and purpose

• Cultivate personal growth and resilience

A few months ago, I attended Google Zurich’s 20th anniversary celebration. I’m not sure why I was invited—perhaps because I live in Zurich and work in AI—but I showed up with curiosity and a sense of gratitude. The event was thoughtfully organised: guest speakers, engaging discussions, and a reception with a “flying buffet”—waitstaff carrying trays through the crowd, offering small bites and slices of birthday cake.

I come from a family that deeply valued education and intellect. Books were a part of our daily life—my father was rarely seen without one, and my mother regularly brought new stories home for me to read.

I was raised in an environment where knowledge and clear reasoning were core values, and this foundation shaped the way I approached life and work.

Leadership rests on three essential pillars: Skills, Intelligence, and Self. While skills and intelligence can be developed, what sets great leaders apart is the embodiment of the Self.

In the worlds of business, science, and tech, success is often defined and measured by the Mind — logic, strategy, and intellect take centre stage. Yet the Self is never separate from the Body.

Through our Body

• we sense others and the environment

• express moods and emotions

• generate interpretations and beliefs

• interpret historical experiences

• take action towards the future