The expert interview with Oliver Albrecht turned into a relaxed, entertaining conversation that was a lot of fun and in which he also got to the bottom of personal issues.

Nicolas Chamfort

My life is a mixture of adventure, enjoyment and tranquillity - a balance that gives me both fulfillment and inspiration. I love to actively shape my life and live it with passion. For me, there is no clear separation between my professional and private life. Everything I do, I do with complete dedication and joy.

I grew up bilingually and biculturally in Berlin at a German-American school and therefore got to know and deal with a wide variety of characters at a young age. Mixed with city life, I developed the right amount of street smartness early on, which has often stood me in good stead in life.

Even as a child, selling and negotiating was my thing. I loved my store and selling things to men and women, preferably to my parents at the time. Later, at school, I sold snacks and drinks in the "school store" during breaks and during my time at university, I was responsible for sponsoring the international student congress as a board member of a student association and was able to successfully attract 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. First without a driver's license, then without a car, I covered hundreds of kilometers by bike on the endless highways, rediscovering not only America, but also myself. This year awakened my independence, my love of travel and my thirst for adventure, which remain with me to this day.

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

At the age of just 27, 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 by saying that she would rather be my employee than my girlfriend, and at the time I took that as further proof of my outstanding leadership qualities. It was 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 targets, and was left with nothing, that I understood that performance and dedication in corporate life do not protect against disappointment and that praise and recognition are not always the logical consequences of success.

I quickly realized at the age of 30 that the myth of work-life balance doesn't fit into my world. My job, my work, what I do is part of my self-realization, my development and my passion and therefore an essential part of my life. That's what it's all about, work and life synergistically with each other, rather than putting them on opposite sides of a scale.

Looking back, I am grateful for the setbacks in my life, because they helped me to gain clarity. Clarity about what and who should be part of my life and, above all, 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 on the Costa del Sol with my wife and our 12-year-old son. The sun, the mountains and the breathtaking sea view from our home are the ideal place for me to calm down and enjoy everyday life. When I sit on the terrace with a cup of coffee in the morning and enjoy the sunrise, or review the day with a gin and tonic at sunset in the evening, 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 traveling, new hobbies or talking to inspiring people, is something that always drives and motivates me. I want to enjoy life in all its facets.