Beruf & Berufung – wenn Arbeit keine Arbeit ist. Mathias Morgenthaler | #019

Design a Business & Life You Love. GET INSPIRED: https://www.mikebite.com/home#newsletter (Smart systems, clever processes, and tons of inspiration delivered straight to your inbox) — 🎙️ Guest: Mathias Morgenthaler – Career, Vocation, and Life Plans — In this episode, I speak with Mathias Morgenthaler, journalist, author, and coach. For over 25 years, he conducted more than 1,000 interviews on the topic of career and vocation for the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. Today, he supports people during career transitions and works with top athletes from Swiss Olympic, among others. For him, vocation isn't something religious, nor is it a state you find once and then never question again. It's about vitality, meaning, and the question of how much of yourself as a person is actually reflected in what you do every day. We discuss what Mathias calls the "adaptation career." So, the phase in which you primarily fulfill expectations, get good grades, achieve goals, and garner recognition. And then, at some point, realize that it's not working out. He explains why precisely these moments of crisis are often the most fruitful and why the two strongest drivers for change are suffering and longing. A central theme is security. Mathias is convinced that all promises of security are ultimately illusions because life remains uncertain precisely in the important things. This led to one of his most famous sayings: Don't become the administrator of your own life. We talk about the cost of constantly postponing quality of life. We also discuss his model: Being, Doing, Having—the conscious reversal of the usual order. And about how change realistically works. Not with a radical change, quitting your job, and embarking on the Camino de Santiago, but with small experiments, significant hurdles, and real experiences instead of concepts in your head. In the second part, things get more personal. Mathias tells the story of his father, who had a strong artistic inclination but ended up working in a federal office, and how this unlived life impacted the entire family. We talk about his own yearning for harmony, the end of his marriage as a turning point, the freedom and unconditional love he gives his daughter, and his routines: a gentle start to the day, no screen time in the last hour, and personal notes by hand. An honest conversation about career, calling, and the question: How much of yourself gets lost when you're just managing your life? — 00:00:00 Introduction: Career and Calling – When Work Isn't Work 00:01:55 From a Career of Conformity to Self-Realization 00:09:08 Suffering and Longing: The Two Forces of Change 00:17:18 The Concept of Work: Does It Always Have to Be Tedious? 00:19:17 School System and Conformity: Where Does Individuality Fit In? 00:36:10 Being, Doing, Having: The Right Order in Life 00:39:40 Small Steps Instead of Big Leaps: Prototyping for Life 00:44:58 Uncertainty as an Opportunity: Courage to Change 00:47:37 Fathers, Influence, and Individual Paths: Personal Insights 00:57:24 Routines and Rituals: Gently into the Day, Gently into the Night 01:00:57 Writing as Self-Reassurance: Returning to Your Own Voice 01:03:06 Parenting with Freedom: What Matthias Passes On to His Daughter 01:04:35 Closing Questions: Gadgets, Book Recommendations, and Advice for Your Younger Self — Follow Mathias: LinkedIn: LinkedIn: mathias-morgenthaler Website: https://www.beruf-berufung.ch/ — Follow Mike: Website: https://www.mikebite.com/ YouTube: @mikebite-lifestyle-by-business Instagram: Instagram: mikebite LinkedIn: LinkedIn: michaelbissig