zis is a non-profit organization that has been operating for more than 60 years to give scholarships for study trips to young people between 16 and 20 years (www.zis-reisen.de).
My travel gear in Scotland. It rained every single day …
My first trip took me to Scotland in 1997, where I worked on the subject “Fishing on the west coast”. In order to get there, I worked on a freight ship and cycled 1.400km across England and Scotland. In 1999, I went on a second trip to study the topic “Scientific Whaling” in Iceland – a very political topic. I even worked on a whaling station.
Working on a whaling station
In retrospect, the experiences I had made on these trips were invaluable for my development. There were numerous crises to cope with and it was necessary to be creative and to improvise. Skills that are very helpful in this world.
Having had a childhood with some challenges, I learned, that I can drive
alone 1.700km by bike and get wet every single day without losing faith in my
project. I have learned that I can spend 4 weeks with only 300 € and still had
a good time. I have learned how it is to be threatened by deportation and how
to turn this around into getting an interview with the State President.
I’ve understood for myself that limitations are only constructs in my
head and these insights I would allow as many young people as possible.
About 30 years ago, two zis scholarships helped me to broaden my horizon, expand my understanding of what is possible, and develop more self-confidence. zis is a non-profit organization that has been awarding scholarships for study trips to young people between the ages of 16 and 20 for more than 60 years. Today, the word we use for tenacity and grit is resilience - and I've made it my profession, to help managers around the world to develop more of this inner power.
In retrospect, the experiences I've had on these trips to Scotland and Iceland have been priceless for my development. After having had a childhood with some challenges, I learned that I could cycle 1,700km on my own and get wet every day without despairing. I have learned that I was able to get along with only 300 € for 4 weeks and still had a good time. I have learned what it's like to be threatened with deportation and how to get an interview with the President from such a crisis. I have understood that limitations are primarily constructs in our heads, and I want to make these insights available to as many adolescents as possible.
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