Vision and support - hand in hand
No man is an island. We need each other. We can support each other. Both in the hard, difficult times. But also for the dreams we have.
Support in tough times
There's always something. It's part of life that things don't always go as hoped. But the last 10 months have been tough and have well exceeded the usual level of adversity.
June 23: Drinking water damage
A builder destroys the pipe from which I get my drinking water. It's not worth repairing as the building to which the pipe leads will be demolished in a few months' time. So I have to haul water and am happy when friends support me by bringing me 2 or 3 litres of tap water. Fortunately, "only" the drinking water is affected. The "service water", which is used for showering, the dishwasher and washing machine, is fortunately not affected.
July 23: Shipyard + broken foot
The renovation work on my boat at the shipyard is going really well. Faster and better than expected. I am grateful for all the support. Nevertheless, it was of course a big chunk financially.
I break my foot on the way back from the shipyard. It's going relatively well. But six weeks in a plaster cast, lots of doctors' appointments and little exercise take up a lot of time and energy. My boat builder builds a support bar so that I can get on and off the boat easily.
August: Treadmill, recumbent bike and coffee machine
My treadmill, my recumbent bike and my coffee machine break down and - even though an engineer is trying to fix them - they can't be repaired.
October: Stove
The stove in the seminar room is causing problems, but is still running somehow.
November: The pellet stove
The stove, which heats the entire ship, breaks down after being mishandled by a guest. Outside temperature minus six degrees. Even I caught a cold (otherwise I never actually get sick). The emergency repair gets it going again. I am so grateful for the boat builder Helge, who travelled from Bremen to Berlin to help me.
But shortly afterwards, the ignition and electronic controls fail and it has been unusable since February. I'm waiting to hear from the insurance company of the person responsible to see if their insurance will cover the damage.
Beginning of December: Way to the ship
The company that builds here has informed me that the previous access to my ship is no longer possible. Effective immediately. They allowed me to cut a section of fence 100 metres away from my boat and build a new path over the steep embankment. The path along the water, which was previously only an emergency route, now needs to be stabilised and better secured.
End of December: Main pump from ship
A Gardena pump, which supplies the ship with water, breaks and continues to pump. A total of 7000 litres of water ends up in the ship, destroying floor panels and insulation and damaging the ship's substance. Several thousand euros worth of damage. In addition to all the trouble of drying out four rooms in the ship, which were knee-high in water, in winter. The manufacturer Gardena claims that the damage was caused by overheating and refuses to pay for the damage.
Small problem I have with the explanation: Plastic deforms when overheated - it doesn't usually tear in a straight crack. In addition, the pump only filled the washing machine - 40 litres. How this leads to overheating is a mystery to me. And last but not least, cool water was continuously flowing through the part that ruptured.
Again, it is a mystery to me and all the technicians I have consulted as to how overheating damage could have occurred. They and I think it's a defence claim by the company, which doesn't want to pay for the major damage its appliance has caused. I am still in dialogue with Gardena and hope for a fair solution.
February: Fan
I plug a fan into the wrong socket in a friend's guest house. Damage of 400 euros. It's not yet clear whether my liability insurance will cover the damage.
March: Power supply
Time and again, construction lorries drive over the power line that leads to my ship at the nearby building site. It is regularly damaged.
The power goes out almost every week. Often for several hours. The power cuts cause all my frozen food to spoil. But the last major power cut caused damage to a number of fuses and two of the four large storage batteries in which I store solar power.
Nothing worked any more. Neither the internet nor the kettle.
My favourite electrician responded quickly, I am soo grateful for the support. However, the repairs have already taken several days and are still ongoing.
March: Kettle and blender
My kettle and blender break down. Just when I need the blender to make the Rostbeulen chocolates for the crowdfunding programme. Friends give me used appliances that they no longer use. I'm grateful for the support and that I don't have to spend money on them.
It's clear that if you own property, there will always be damage from time to time. That's part of life. But for my taste, the last few months have simply been too much of a bad thing. It's been hard on the soul (and the finances). At times like these, you realise that you need support. Emotionally. Someone who simply says: I sympathise with you. I feel sorry for you. That's why I'm all the more grateful for friends.
But I am also grateful for the professionals who have supported me. In difficult times, that's worth a lot, like my favourite electrician, who helps me as quickly as he can.
Support for visions
Support often has a bad reputation among us. Some people think support is worth less. People talk about the great visionaries who achieve great things. And don't realise how much support made their results possible in the first place.
I have worked with the participants of my Life training LEO conducted an experiment. They were asked to observe for a week how much support they received. Hundreds of people are currently supporting me, for example
- The people who built my laptop
- The workers who made the treadmill on which I walk and write
- The tea pickers who picked my tea
- The dealers who shipped and sold it
- The friends who helped me renovate my ship
- The manufacturer of soap and my shower gel
- The seams of my clothes and the hair ties that prevent my hair from falling into my face
- The people who made a hairbrush for me from wild boar bristles
- The producers and suppliers of my food
- The teachers who taught me to read and write
- And and and
Thousands of people have probably contributed to the fact that you can now read this text.
Some people have great visions. They dream of something they want to achieve in life: Giving people access to drinking water, freeing victims of human trafficking or doing something about climate change.
But then they are so blocked because they don't know where to start.
Then they see people whose gift it is to initiate things and become discouraged: "Building a hospital in the jungle - I could never do that!" or "Like Kerstin, starting projects - I can't do that."
They think they have to initiate everything. And then exactly NOTHING happens. They are paralysed by excessive demands. That's a shame because they don't bring their treasures into the world.
They don't realise that there are different roles in every project, every dream, every vision.
1. The visionary
The people with visions, dreams and ideas. The ones who look the supposedly impossible in the eye and say with a laugh: "Impossible is just an opinion!"
Who have a dream and can motivate, inspire and infect others with their enthusiasm ...
Visionaries ask: What should happen? Which dream should be realised?
2. The planner and realiser
In many successful companies and projects, the visionaries have a person at their side whose strength lies in realisation. The realisers ask: What is necessary? What needs to happen for the project to become reality? What details can and must be considered? How can it work?
The great visionary Martin Luther King would not have achieved his goal without those who organised his rallies and marches and managed the movement's finances. Perhaps not even without the gospel singers like the famous Aretha Franklin, who provided the musical backdrop to the events. And who had the courage to interrupt his most famous speech, which was rather boring at the beginning, with an interjection: "Tell them about the dream, Martin." He did it."I have a dream" made history.
There are also visionaries who are good at practical realisation. But most of them are not. Without the support of practitioners, visionaries are often lost. In shipbuilding projects, the realiser for me is my boat builder Helge. I have the ideas. I know what I want and what I dream of. He knows how it works in practice.
3. The supporters
Almost every vision, every project needs supporters who take on important tasks. The many who participate are a central part of success. They are just as important as the often more visible visionaries. In communities, it is often those who are not at the front at the lectern or at the instruments, but who ensure order, welcome and coffee. Or look after those who need emotional support.
Well over 100 people from more than 20 countries helped with my first ship. Without them, I would now be a woman with a dream, but without a finished ship. And I'm excited to see how the next project will turn out.
Change roles from time to time
Everyone can change roles from time to time. I am often a visionary by nature. I develop ideas for books, courses, trees and ships and then look for people to accompany me.
As a coach, I am often in the role of the realiser. People want to achieve a goal, for example fulfil their life's dream or "just" get rid of their fears. I know how this could work and help them realise it. I have the coaching tools and experience and can often help them take the next step.
And then I'm often also a supporter. I have the vision for my ship project, but few manual skills. So - together with many others - I do auxiliary work: derusting, painting. I get my hands dirty and am happy when we make progress. At the weekend, for example, I removed the first six square metres of old paint and gave it a fresh coat. That's not much yet, but it's a start.
Sometimes the first step towards your own dream is to join someone else's dream.
- Think about it: Which role do you feel comfortable in? Do you prefer to be a visionary, supporter or implementer or do you like to switch between roles?
- Select: Perhaps you don't have the strength to rally people behind your own vision right now. Then think about which project or projects address one of your favourite topics or one of your dreams. Support it or them with time, knowledge, contacts, money or other resources.
I need support here
I am currently starting the conversion of an old barge into a health and event ship. My original plan was to simply finance the new ship step by step from what I earn from books and coaching. That's actually still my goal.
Only now, at the beginning, I can't manage that. The first thing I have to do is put a new roof on, which will cost around 10,000 euros. The damage over the last few months has cost me dozens of hours of skilled labour and thousands of euros in repairs. Such big holes in the budget were not in the plan.
That's why we are now running a Crowdfunding for the new ship. I invite you to join in and help me get started. You can even choose one of the many thank-you gifts: Chocolates, books, time with me.
If crowdfunding is too complicated for you or you're only reading this after it's over, you can also participate via Paypal: info@down-to-earth.de or my account: IBAN: DE07500310001069388007 BIC: TRODDEF1XXX at Triodos Bank.
Practical support
Construction camps and help: You like to lend a hand directly. Then you are very welcome to help. I'm looking for support of all kinds - with and without experience. There are construction camps where I give input in the morning and sit by the campfire or fireplace in the evening. One construction camp is right before LEO live in September. Find out more here.
However, you can also come at other times by prior arrangement.
Extra tip
- If you want to learn how to accept or give support more easily, I recommend the impulse booklets Share and Support for.
- You are also welcome to buy a few Rust dents order in the shop - snack on delicious chocolates and fight rust at the same time.
- More background information on the renovation of my cargo ship Edelweisscan be found in this blog article: Edelweiss construction camp
- Treat yourself one hour of coaching if you need help in shaping your visions and dreams or if you have blockages that prevent you from realising them.
I sincerely appreciate your support in any form
