How Living In Between Cultures Shaped Me As An Entrepreneur
Written by: Saskia Kremer, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As an entrepreneur, you have a vision and a passion, yet you can get caught by adjusting your service to what others want.
Losing sight of what you really want and can give is sometimes just around the corner. And yes, there is a fine line when responding to the market's needs without losing that connection with your authentic and imperfect self.
As I was setting up the Christmas decorations on the day of the Dutch celebration of Sinterklaas, I have this flashback of all the times when I moved from one country to the next. Again I see myself creating my own culture, my own traditions, navigating from one to the other, creating my own and checking it with my own values and vision.
As a daughter of ex-pats, relocating on an average every 2 years, and later on as a Missionary, now as a Dutch-Kiwi living in Ireland, I have always lived in between cultures. It has shaped me into the person I am today, and I learned to:
Adapt
See the good in each culture and country
Listen to what was said beyond words
Reach out and reflect
Absorb the different customs and adjust to my environment
Observe and strengthened me to do things my way
It has been my pitfall leading to burnout, and now, it is my strength in business!
Constantly adjusting to my environment and the people who surrounded me made me lose sight of who I am. I disconnected from myself to please others, longing to belong somewhere.
My ability to adapt and serve others came with a high price: I lost myself.
I learned that to give. I had to receive first. To belong, I had to dive deep and accept myself first.
This is the same in business!
That is why, if you want to be the expert in your field, if you want to be an authority, inspiring and leading others, you need to belong even more to yourself.
As Brené Brown puts it:
“belonging to ourselves means being called to stand alone – to brave the wilderness of uncertainty, vulnerability and criticism. True belonging is something we carry in our heart!”
And it is when you find the courage to be yourself and stand-alone that you can make that true connection to lead from a place of authenticity!
And the big paradox is that you shape yourself, who you are, and who you become by being inspired by others. It is not a matter of copy and paste, rather a constant movement from the inside world out and vice versa.
When you look at yourself in your business, how do you create that space where you can safely navigate between that inner space and the demands of the market?
For more info, follow me on LinkedIn, visit my website and join my Facebook Group!
Saskia Kremer, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
As an Executive Coach and Trainer, Saskia helps successful, time-challenged high-level management, directors, and business owners increase their performance and their teams' productivity without the stress and overwhelm. Once a Missionary, working alongside Mother Teresa herself, made her live all around the globe, helping people discover their meaning in life in sometimes heartbreaking circumstances. After leading multiple projects and International communities, she left the missions following her own experience of burnout.
Starting her own business allowed her to combine her philosophical and theological research with her rich multi-cultural experience. She places the human person at its center, allowing it to find its unique place and thrive. In 2016, as a single mum of 2 young children, she moved from Holland to Ireland. She specialized in working with business owners, directors, and managers, showing them how to create a bigger vision for their business and life, freeing up their own time to excel in what they are best at and increase their profit and satisfaction without the stress and the overwhelm.
