Nicolas Chamfort

My life is a blend of adventure, pleasure, and tranquility – a balance that brings me both fulfillment and inspiration. I love actively shaping my life and living it with passion. For me, there is no clear separation between professional and private life. Everything I do, I do with full dedication and joy.

I grew up bilingually and biculturally in Berlin at a German-American school, which allowed me to get to know and interact with a wide variety of characters at a young age. Combined with big-city life, I developed the right amount of street smartness early on, which has often stood me in good stead throughout my life.

Even as a child, selling and negotiating was my thing. I loved my toy store and selling things to people, back then preferably to my parents. Later, in school, I sold snacks and drinks in the "School Store" during breaks, and during my time at university, as chairman of a student association, I was responsible for sponsoring the international student congress and was able to successfully acquire companies as sponsors for a six-figure sum. All these experiences probably laid the foundation for my passion for convincing people and finding creative solutions.

As a rebellious teenager, I spent a year in the USA – a time that shaped me. Initially without a driver's license, then without a car, I covered hundreds of kilometers by bicycle on the endless highways, rediscovering not only America but also myself. This year awakened my independence, my love for travel, and my sense of adventure, which have stayed with me to this day.

While still in school, I had a variety of jobs and learned through them that I could achieve goals and wishes through work and fulfill them myself, so it was clear to me that after graduating from high school, I had enough of school for the time being. But while training as an industrial clerk, I quickly realized that I could significantly improve my opportunities in life with a good education, brought forward my final exams, and then studied business informatics at the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel within eight semesters, also graduating with a Master of Business Administration from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

At just 27 years old, I became a member of the management board of a telecommunications company and had overall responsibility for sales. It was an exciting but also challenging time. I worked 70 to 80 hours a week and lived almost exclusively for my job. My partner at the time ended our relationship with the words that she would rather be my employee than my girlfriend, and I took that as further proof of my outstanding leadership qualities. Only when I lost my job from one second to the next due to the power play of the supervisory boards and their corporate policy, despite achieving 212% of my target, and was left with nothing, did I understand that performance and dedication in corporate life do not protect against disappointments and that praise and recognition are not always the logical consequences of success.

Quickly learning, I realized at the age of 30 that the myth of work-life balance does not fit into my world. My job, my work, what I do, is part of my self-fulfillment, my development, and my passion, and therefore an essential part of my life. It's about synergistically combining work and life with each other, and not placing them against each other on a scale.

Looking back, I am grateful for the setbacks in my life, because they helped me gain clarity. Clarity about what and who should be part of my life, and especially clarity about what and who should not be part of my life. Not everyone likes this clarity and my open way of expressing it. Some are surprised. The right people appreciate it and my authenticity.

As a city kid, I was never a nature boy, I love the energy and diversity of cities like Berlin, New York City, and Bangkok, but I always found inner peace and contentment in the mountains or by the sea. That's why I now live with my wife and our 12-year-old son on the Costa del Sol. The sun, the mountains, and the breathtaking sea view from our home are the ideal place for me to unwind and enjoy everyday life. When I sit on the terrace in the morning with a cup of coffee and enjoy the sunrise, or in the evening at sunset and a gin and tonic, I find the perfect balance between activity and relaxation in these moments.

I enjoy growing and developing in all areas of life; learning new things, whether through travel, new hobbies, or through conversations with inspiring people, is something that always drives and motivates me. I want to enjoy life in all its facets.