That is me, Nora >> 100+ ideas >> 1000+ happy moments

Originally I am born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, but raised in Zwickau  (Saxonia), so actually part of the GDR, East Germany. I was raised with  humility and the urge for freedom as well as mindfulness and  gratefulness for the smallest things. It is not naturally that we have  everything, we should be very grateful for that. Moreover there was the  impulse for the distance. Already during school time I lived one month  in South Africa, attended the school and was able to enjoy living abroad  for the first time in my life, not being a tourist. I learnt how to  navigate and developed the talent to handle even difficult situations  quick and get myself comfortable whatever I had. There are always  positive things. Sheltered in a small town, where I grew up, but we made  a lot of journeys around the globe, which raise curiosity and my thirst  for knowledge.  

For my studies I went to a new, slightly bigger town, Erfurt, Germany. I  studied how to learn and learnt how to live. During that time I  completed an internship in Singapore, enduring the ACs and collected  first working experiences. By that I was motivated to dare to go aboard:  I chose Madrid, Spain, and the study of project management. I learnt  Spanish on the go, which was quite hard but also a lesson for life: with  courage, continuity and willpower there is a path to walk on. Probably I  got my never ending optimism from that time. After two years I needed a  break from daily learning and setbacks. I opted for Trondheim, Norway:  an Erasmus student (aboard study program) with master thesis, please! I  got to know the dark winter and how to love it as well as to respect the  bright summers. Moreover I became acquainted with the competitiveness  of the Norwegian people, each one fights for their own. Just you as a  person are responsible for your success, just you alone decided which  way you go.  

Due  to love I moved back to Germany, but in the unknown Bavaria, into a  small town. I got to know a comfortable proud, a great nature, many  experiences and adventures. Firstly I enjoyed the proximity to Munich  with all its possibilities and later counted myself lucky for the chance  to do everything by feet and got happy with the provincial town. We  were just before getting rid of our car.

Working  for BMW, I was able to work my way up from almost no IT knowledge to be  a SAP design lead. My companions have been persistence, purposefulness  and constancy. I also got to know, how to work within a team, how you  progress together, how to rely on each other. Then I acquired the agile  working and project model for myself, started off as an agile master,  advanced eventually to a coach. Within my department it was  significantly my merit of implementing and advancing the change  management towards working agile. It is not possible from today till  tomorrow, you need to advance in small steps, mindfulness and humor are  helpful tools. I loved to enthuse and convince the people. I liked to  work and I worked a lot.

Taking  roots was not happening until I was happy to call me a mum of two. It  changed quite a bit in my perception of myself, my kids and the  environment we are living in. Whereas before I was already interested in  sustainability, now I got more into it and tried to implement wherever  it was possible. It does not matter if it was toilet paper or financial  investments. On one hand I extended my talent for organizing and on the  other I grew my friendly, self-confident kind. I am proud that my kids  like to laugh, are satisfied and balanced: the optimism and curiosity I  could already pass on.  

However, we got an offer to explore Houston, Texas, USA. Probably  out of a mixture of love for the world, openness and curiosity we  decided to pack the container and go for the recommencement. Of course  the optimism was in my hand luggage, it was a big step out of the  comfort zone, away from established routines and walls. It was a big  change, a unique opportunity, still a journey to mindfulness,  sustainability and satisfaction. It is a learning of everything, of  taking roots again. By starting a yoga exercise I got to know how  important calmness and mindfulness is, how much attention we should pay  to our body.  

My husband got an expat job in Houston, I have the job of house  and kids. That can be time filling, it was not filling my mind. By  having the kids I get my daily input of working on my balance. Still  organizing all by myself, taking all into account: the work, the  ventures, the relaxation, the breaks and the regeneration. Due to my  corporate career, I have the urge to create and actively support that  balance. To implement more mindfulness, to talk to each other again. The  process of IKIGAI guided me to the idea of Mind The Fox: controlled  Work-Life- Balance in a team for a more mindful contact, respecting each  other, not forgetting about the person itself but taking in mind the  team as a whole. A lot of different ideas I can realize within that  program.