Motivational Speaker – Coach

You are taken on an expedition of 7,000 km through the wilderness of Alaska and Canada, with razor sharp images. The journey symbolizes the ‘wilderness of daily life’ everyone has to deal with, particularly the self-employed, managers and entrepreneurs.

The key success factor for travelling alone through the wilderness for months, is not so much physical strength but the ability to stay mentally healthy. To KEEP CALM, remain ALERT to risks, keep up RESILIENCE during adversity, the ENTHUSIASM to push new boundaries every day, and to find SOLUTIONS to new problems.

My presentations and workshops inspire to work on your mind management, your mentality, and provide you with the necessary tools. The tools I use are derived from the Lurianic Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical teaching that asserts to be the shortest path to forfilment, provided we are willing to correct our egoistic nature.

I offer three types of lectures and workshops which can be easily combined. All subjects are explained in my book A Kind of Nature, to be published in hard copy in 2016.

In the workshop PERSONAL LEADERSHIP I take you on a journey through the nature of man and his systems. By analyzing our nature we are able to estimate the feasibility of idealistic beliefs, business objectives, organizational visions. Reflection to our nature, our ‘will to have power’, is required to view the obstacles that stand in our way to live and work in freedom. In the workshop I will take you outside the system boundaries. We try to find an answer to the question: which area offers the system in which I function, to use my natural qualities, such as alertness and the ability to solve new problems? For the fans, I give a groundbreaking insight into the male and female nature. If desired, also the belief in the spiritual is addressed, without which it is impossible to forgive another.

The topic of RISK MANAGEMENT can not be missed. The dangers of the polar region are immense: waves, cold, storms, injury, bears and fatigue are examples of risks that need to be reduced to an acceptable level. I talk about the psychology of fear, courage, self-control, the difference between experience and knowledge, between the intuitive and the systematic approach, the accumulation of risks, the drawbacks of the management approach of risks, the risks of activism – an excessive want to act – and the limits of risk control. Thesis: the complete elimination of risk is not only impossible, but even undesirable.

The story about SUSTAINABILITY is based on my knowledge and experience as a consultant in sustainability for companies and the government. Both the analysis of the physical relationships between people and the environment are discussed, and practical tips for you to remember in CSR. This against the background of a critical analysis: it is an illusion to think that our entire ‘environment’ benefits from technological innovation. Technological innovation favours the industrial systems (through efficiency and the growth of devices), and cuts global warming, if CO2 truly leads to climate change. But innovation could add nothing to the functionality of ecosystems. The real innovation lies maybe more in our love and respect for the planet, in the reflection of our will to have power, the tendency of industrial man (under the disguise of an ideal such as ‘sustainable development’) to convert the world to his hand. Theorem: technology is an escape from self – control.

Experience the wilderness

Besides indoor courses, short and long ‘wilderness coaching’ courses are offered in the outdoors:

Personal leadership course on the Veluwe, the largest contiguous forested area in Western Europe. Two days hiking and overnight camping. Even in the Netherlands, you can still experience the wilderness!

Risk management course in Arctic Canada, for anyone who wants to sharpen his sense of urgency, efficiency and focus, with additional guidance of two experienced Dutch marines.

Comments (lecture risk management)

1. Did you find the presentation usefull?

‘Yes! It gave another look how to deal with risk. Especially the image with the circles I found very good! It is something we can certainly use in our work.’

‘Yes, certainly. It’s an eye-opener and a reflexive momement for myself. If I could feel the risk in my project as he did during the preparation of his expedition, I would be able to better convince stakeholders about when a risk appears.’

‘Certainly! It’s confrontational that you can unintentionally focuss too much on irrelevant risks, and that it’s at the same time impossible to estimate all possible risks.’

2. Did you find it professional?

‘Yes. It was clear the Yuri has been thinking very well about what he could share from his experience and what is usefull for the people listening to him. The video clips where short but powerfull, precisely right.’

‘Yes, and there is room for improvement. By putting all presentation material in a Powerpoint file. In other words only the photos, videos and text as part of the presentation. By this he can perform the presentation more fluently.’

‘Yes. You can see Yuri is experienced in speaking for groups and he has orientated himself well on the target group.’

3. What was your overall opinion?

‘Well done (speed, content and interaction).’

‘Nice and usefull presentation. Yuri comes across as an experienced speaker, but also as somebody who tells his story at a birthday party. This combination makes it fun, he is professional and accessible at the same time.’