I have known Wladimir Klitschko for 9 years now. We have jointly developed a training program on dealing with change and challenges, taught together, and have graduated over 300 students. I had the opportunity to accompany him in his last fight against Anthony Joshua and am also trying to support him now in the fight for Ukraine.
He has impressed me from the very beginning—not only because of his imposing stature of 2 meters tall and 110 kg, but above all because of his courage and warmth. For over 1.5 years now, he has been proving to the world that he can not only speak theoretically about handling challenges, but that no real-life challenge is too great for him.
Wladimir is a global citizen and multimillionaire who has lived in Florida and Hamburg and could return there at any time. Instead, he stays in Ukraine and fights alongside his brother against the Russian aggressor. He is on the Russian president’s death list and constantly has to change his sleeping locations to avoid being an easy target for Putin’s mercenaries. And yet, he does not back down. On the contrary, he calls on the global public for solidarity and to fight for our democracy: “No democracy without democrats.”
Once I asked Wladimir what matters most in the ring. He essentially said that the key is to stay active and not let circumstances (illegal blows, wrong referee decisions, etc.) push you into defense. In the ring as in life: “You are the driving force.”
I have found a true friend in him, and this motto has connected us for many years. Most recently, when he was a guest on my podcast “Moving Mindsets,” he told me at the start of the recording that, due to the war, the electricity or internet could fail at any moment and we might have to start over. I asked if he’d prefer to record on another day. He just said there is no better day. We don’t let anyone stop us from our intentions! “Wolfgang, you are the driving force.”
This sentence and Wladimir’s example help me to not be a victim, but an actor. No matter how tough the circumstances, there is always a way, there is always something to learn, there is always growth!
This post was published by Wolfgang Jenewein on August 19, 2024, on LinkedIn. Zum Original-Beitrag