Trust Experiment

Posted by on Mar 12, 2013 in Agile with a Purpose, Community, Linchpin, RealOptions | 31 Comments

I decided to become independent, I’ll be available for work from June. I am starting this with an experiment, employing the connections I made in recent years to create options for work and collaboration. I do this because I trust you, and trust myself. I specifically trust you to give me opportunities for work.

Updates:

I got my first taste of the agile community in 2009. Since then, I attended and organized coach camps, connected to many active peers through Twitter, supported the growing ALE network… We co-created a lot of events and connected a lot of people. I have enjoyed myself immensely doing this, and learned a lot. I honed my coaching and leadership skills and now feel I’m up for new challenges.

Seeing Me

Last year I became aware of my issues with self-appreciation. When I started to talk about it, I learned that I was not alone. I learned to trust myself and understood that I had settled for being comfortable.
Realising I had a problem, I asked for help. And received plenty of it, until I finally became able to appreciate myself for something I had accomplished. That was hard. Phew!
Doing this, I appreciated my greatest talent: shifting and twisting a context with trust so that beneficial options can emerge.

Trust, Full Thrust

Last Tuesday I was on a train to a conference and watched Amanda Palmer’s TED talk “The Art of Asking”. It resonated on so many levels that I actually began to cry on the train. She not only turned “asking for help” into an art, she tuned up the volume of real options with trust so high that … She could risk fully trusting strangers. I’ll discern this in a later post, for now you just need to know: she inspired me to do the same. I’ll now put my trust in my network and my abilities to create real options to the test…

Will You Help Me?

I will be available for your challenges from June, 2013. I’ll be independent and I don’t yet have a plan. That’s why I want you to show me options, guide me towards people and organisations that might benefit from my influence. If you have a challenge where my talent might help you to increase your options or your effectiveness, tell me. If you want to work with me, ask me. If you want to know what I can do, contact me. If you know someone who might benefit from my help, recommend me!.

31 Comments

  1. Monika
    March 12, 2013

    Are you considering moving to other countries (like for example Poland 😉 )?

    Reply
    • Olaf
      March 12, 2013

      Moving—no. Working there from time to time—sure!

      Reply
      • Monika
        March 12, 2013

        Ok 🙂 If i hear about an interesting opportunity somewhere around you’ll be first person I reach out to 🙂 All the best!

        Reply
  2. Pablo
    March 12, 2013

    All the best Olaf. Do you speak french … ? 🙂

    Reply
    • Olaf
      March 13, 2013

      Pablo, my beautifully crafted French reply (with a little help from google translate) got lost in cyberspace (or rather in the depth of the WordPress iFön app).
      Oui, je parle un petit peu le français… It’s dormant and hasn’t been used for two decades, and I understand more than I can say. And I’m happy to improve it 🙂
      Hugs
      Olaf

      Reply
  3. Silvana
    March 12, 2013

    Be assured that i will keep you in mind, dear friend…

    Reply
  4. Vasco Duarte
    March 12, 2013

    Awesome dude! I’ll definitely keep you in my mind. The future is bright as long as you dare to take it.
    Keep posting here how things develop!

    Reply
  5. Claudio Perrone (aka Agile Sensei)
    March 12, 2013

    Good luck Olaf! I love your open approach!

    Reply
  6. AndyTheDandy
    March 12, 2013

    I’ll let you know! …or I’ll let Steve know 😉

    Reply
  7. Peter Saddington (@agilescout)
    March 12, 2013

    Love it! Can’t wait to work with you 🙂

    Reply
  8. Erik Lundh
    March 12, 2013

    Olaf, lets talk!

    Reply
  9. What can leaders learn from Amanda Palmer? | Flavius Stef
    March 12, 2013

    […] Lewitz recently wrote a blog post and it included the following TED talk from Amanda […]

    Reply
  10. lilysonherway
    March 13, 2013

    Congratulations to you! I have to say I’m a little in awe. Not only does what you’re doing take trust, it takes courage. I needed a little inspiration today. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Olaf
      March 13, 2013

      My pleasure. Thank you!

      Reply
  11. Sebastian
    March 13, 2013

    Wow! I wish you all the best & want to say thank you for this inspiring TED talk.

    Reply
  12. Dexter / Orszewski (@orszewski)
    March 13, 2013

    A brave and inspiring step forward! I *trust* you will succeed! It’s good you don’t want to leave Berlin as I hope for a meeting at some occasion! Don’t panic! 😉

    Reply
  13. Nina Roldan
    March 13, 2013

    Hello Olaf, what is the best way to connect with you regarding a potential speaking opportunity?

    Reply
  14. Mark Levison
    March 13, 2013

    Olaf – congrats and welcome to the world of independant work. I’ve at it for a few years now. It can be exhilarating, unnerving and life altering. Sometimes all in the same day. I look forward to finding collaboration opportunities in the next little while.

    Reply
  15. @EricMinio
    March 14, 2013

    Waow, you did that!

    Reply
  16. Zeger Van Hese
    March 14, 2013

    Hi Olaf, congratulations!
    Thank you for the inspiring post.
    What a bold and admirable move!

    I recently decided to become independent as well, but it takes guts to trust yourself and others in this manner. I hope everything works out for you (but then again, I’m sure it will).

    Enjoy the ride!

    All the best,
    Zeger

    Reply
  17. martinheider
    March 15, 2013

    Hi Olaf, the more I know you the more I recognize how much we have in common. From June on independence too. And interesting enough I stumbled over the same TED video of Amanda Palmer about a week ago and it touched me in a similar way. And while I writing these lines it causes a similar feeling.

    Chapeau “TrustMaster”,
    Martin

    Reply
  18. Matthias Bohlen
    March 15, 2013

    Hi Olaf, having been an independent consultant since 2001, I wish you all the best. Enjoy the ride and always close your options just in time. 🙂
    Cheers
    Matthias Bohlen

    Reply
  19. Declan Whelan
    March 15, 2013

    Congratulations Olaf!

    I wish you the greatest of success and happiness with this.

    Declan

    Reply
  20. Brindusa Axon
    March 15, 2013

    Can’t believe I haven’t seen this earlier. What a wonderful post, thank you for sharing the TED talk, its touching me in the heart!!
    xxx

    Reply
  21. Irene Kuhn
    March 17, 2013

    Herzlichen Glückwunsch und Alles Gute!

    Reply
  22. Olaf Lewitz Nov 21 — Keep Trying » Olaf Lewitz
    January 15, 2014

    […] independent business has been sustaining my family for half a year now. […]

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  24. Olaf Lewitz How Play4Agile Changed My Life » Olaf Lewitz
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    August 2, 2014

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