Once around the world – and never back onto the beaten track

Are you looking for a professional training that really helps you develop? A big venture? Want to reinvent yourself? Why not sail around the globe for a change?

A trip like this is a lifetime opportunity: 12 months of free time to circumnavigate the world in a sailing ship. Stefanie Voss had been looking forward to a year full of adventure, freedom and aliveness. Though, after the first short period of daily sailing on board the 20-yard-long yacht, she was disenchanted quite quickly. Very little room, no privacy, too little sleep, annoying fellow passengers and zero comfort. And this was supposed to be a lifetime opportunity?

It is especially the difficult moments, the seemingly unsolvable problems and challenges that help us grow – but only if we face them head-on. Running away is easy. Persevering and going through with things, however, is what makes us come to maturity. After the sailing trip turned out to be less enchanting than assumed, it was not long before the overwhelming feeling of total frustration came up.

“I can’t do this. I am feeling lonely among plenty of people in a tight space. I just want to get away from here.” These thoughts were flashing through the circumnavigator’s mind.

Lucky for her, she was too proud to give up. She wanted to fight through this and succeeded. Deep reflection on her own behavior as well as the imperative will to find solutions, instead of constant complaining, are among the things Global Topspeaker Stefanie Voss learned then and there.

After her journey and back at work with a DAX-listed company, she initially got the position of Product and Project Manager and after that a promotion to Head of Department as one of the youngest women in the group’s history. A rapid development that, she firmly believes, would not have taken place without the experience of her trip.

“Self-confidence and clear self-management are things one has to live through, experience, try out, and think over on a regular basis”, is her credo. “There is no such thing as a standard recipe for success. Still, there are ingredients, which can help people build their own stairway to success. I got lucky and discovered many of these ingredients thanks to my journey. And this exactly is the secret of my personal success today.”

In 2009, Global Topspeaker Stefanie Voss concluded her corporate career and went self-employed. Today, she works as a speaker, moderator and coach on an international level. She conceptualizes and moderates workshops for executive staff, gives lectures on leadership and straight talk communication, and coaches project managers.

She summarizes: “Leaving old habit behind is what makes us strong. If you want to reach new goals, you need walk off the beaten path, even though you might have grown fond of it. This is hard but always worth the effort. I motivate people to leave their comfort zone in order to show them the incredible potential they have, once they get out of the same old rut. As soon as people get that, they are automatically bound for success.”