Kathrin Köster
on Mastering Joy
Can you imagine living in a country called “The United States of YOU”? It is more than possible - not to mention you would be in great company!
Prof. Dr. Kathrin Koester is the perfect tour guide for such a journey. She is one of the humans who had the most meaningful impact in my life. A luminous being who brightens the room only by entering it - you just know you want her to stay.
We met years ago at an event and intentionally crossed our paths ever since. Now, we’re walking the talk together, sometimes talking the walk by documenting our days through photos-exchange and reflections, and searching for all the Hidden Leaders out there.
Fasten your seatbelts and travel with her to the Lands of Mind, Body, Heart & Consciousness. They are your Formies (4 MEs). They form You. The prize at the end of the journey? You’ll discover your core. As Kathrin says: “call it intuition, inner source, it is your inner compass for authenticity and resilience. The fountain of your energy, your creativity, your joy and love. The realm of your passion, the fuel that drives you. The place to be.”
She wrote The United States of You, a book for the fearful and the brave, basically all those who decide to go on a self-exploration journey and who need a companion by their side: one who tells the cold hard truth in a gentle way, one who holds their hand while walking on thin ice, one who cheers them up and helps them see the funny side of life. She was lucky enough to travel with her partner and best friend, as they are each other’s tour guides. Travelling together is so much easier and more joyful than travelling alone.
Kathrin ventured out to learn Mandarin as a teenager, fell in love with Daoism and Confucianism when she started to study Chinese culture, practiced Zen Buddhism and experienced how difficult it can be to be a foreigner.
The Joy Academy is a co-creation laboratory where she grows a Joy tribe, helping people establish respectful co-existence between the Formies, because that’s what inner balance is about. Take responsibility for moving forwards and embark in this self-discovery journey. I did it, too, and I couldn’t be more grateful. In Kathrin’s words: “A tiny warning: this is a one-way ticket. You only can move ahead, there is no way back. Nobody can do this on your behalf. You are in the driver’s seat!”
Thank you, Kathrin, for being a JOY Master!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Kathrin Köster
Company / Institution: Joy Academy, Köster + Partner
Title: Prof. Dr. (academic titles), Core Inspirer (at Joy Academy), Add-Wisor (at Köster + Partner)
Website: www.joy-academy.eu; www.koesterpartner.de; https://theformies.com/
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/profkoester/
Country of origin: Germany
Country you currently live in: Italy
Your personal definition of Sustainability: The source of sustainability is conscious people with inner balance. As long as human beings are dominated by their minds only, they cannot deeply connect to themselves, to nature, or other individuals.
Deep connection, though, brings sustainability. How? If you FEEL it, you stop hurting – yourself, the environment, others. Creating inner balance means equal ‘value’ of mind, body, and heart. Intrapersonal balance leads to interpersonal harmony and a healthy relation to nature. That results in sustainable behavior and systems.
Main business challenge you face: Identifying and teaming up with people and organizations that base their activities on matured consciousness with the aim of accelerating the wave of consciousness that is sweeping through all societies.
Main driver that keeps you going: Curiosity to explore unchartered territory by integrating awareness and matter.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Courage and Compassion.
The trait you most value in others: Open-Mindedness and Open-Heartedness.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Walks in plain nature, listening to the chirping of birds, watching bumble bees cruising over flowers, sitting by the seaside and watching the sun glittering on the surface.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the sustainability path:
Lao Zi
Zhuangzi
Confucius
Adrian Kreppel
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the sustainability journey: Follow your breath – discover it as what it is: your personal connection between yourself and your environment. Your lifeline, and…? Feel your breath and discover what feelings come along with it.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: That sustainability is just about compliance with new environmental rules that are mainly concerned with CO2 emissions.
The artificial creation of fear of environmental degradation to manipulate people. Fear paralyses the mind and stands in the way of innovation. Instead, we should have more trust in out of the box solutions by strengthening relationship building between people and nature.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: You make a difference by breaking mental and emotional patterns inherited by your parents. Freeing yourself is the pre-requisite for healing yourself. By healing yourself you heal a bit of the planet, as each individual can be seen as part of the planet.
Books that had a major impact on you:
Yi-jing
Dao De Jing
Must-reads for any Sustainability professional:
Regenerative Leadership by Giles Hutching and Laura Storm
The United States of You by Kathrin Koester
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again: Avatar.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Classical music, such as Ode to Joy by Beethoven.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Vietnam, due to their absolutely strong will to live, to be creative, and to stay positive, in spite of their recent history full of suffering.
Global Sustainability Voices you recommend us to follow:
Christian Felber, founder of the Economy for the Common Good
Trends in Sustainability we should keep an eye on:
Anything that is integrative and not only focuses on (eco-)systems and AI / Technology.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): The beach. Plain nature!
Events we should attend: Everything linked to the Joy Academy!
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why:
The Joy tribe. I have founded it myself to be able to co-create with people who can leverage their awareness and use it to tap into their own intuitive power. It is a tribe that goes beyond the classical pattern of competition and fight in any respect. For me, this is the Harbinger of how People in the future co-create and interact. Beyond ego, for the common good!
Sustainable Development courses / trainings / certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: Certified Formies Coach Program with the focus on self-transformation thus changing the world.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030:
It’s millions of people around the globe who are awakening and leave old destructive tracks. By the way, that’s the ‘old thinking’ Einstein was talking about. So, millions of people who leave old mental and emotional patterns behind and fully tap into their intuitive intelligence. Those people incorporate the change. They are on this planet in millions, and by the day, more people start their journey to grow beyond existing limitations.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Each individual handing over their life to fear has given up their co-creation power of the future. Following mass media is not helpful because they try to control people by their fears.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today:
CORAFA-qualities: Courage, Open-mindedness, Resilience, Appreciation, Focus, and Action-Orientation
Quote that inspires you:
“It’s all well in all of creation!”
Your own quote that will inspire us:
