Thierry provides lectures and presentations

My record performances as a mountaineer, as a handicapped yachtsman and now as a sited kiteboarder combined with my social integration (father, breadwinner, engineer), can undoubtedly encourage and motivate you or your employees and customers (empowerment). Furthermore, my achievements so far can be inspirational for society as a whole.

Lecture: With Passion to “my” Top, my success!

What is passion and motivation? What is success? Commissioned by the Nassau Recruitment Group and Humanage, I held a presentation about my passion and engagement, and how it can be inspiring for businesses. Also Alliander, SNSBank, Lexmark, Siemens or the European Patent Office asked me as guest speaker to their management or sales/marketing events.

I also explain what my views are on success. Success is simply the enjoyment of a goal achieved.

I show that various circumstances and personal traits must be present in order to achieve success. Risks, tenacity and humility are aspects, which I can illustrate very well from my own experience.

Even my mountaineering accident contributed towards my present ability to succeed. Failing also appears to be an important aspect on the road to success.

In a slideshow with breathtaking pictures, I share my passion for the mountains, my reconstruction and motivation in the willingness to perform again in sports. My testimony may be inspiring and help recognized intrinsic motivation and authenticity.

Also it can help in answering the following questions:

Is passion and authenticity nature or nurture?

How to stimulate passion and motivation?

How to make passion and motivation tangible?

How passionate are you?

Lecture: From the Mountains to the Seas

As an aspiring mountain guide in the Swiss Alps, I had achieved what I had always wanted: living with my family in harmony with nature and being able to live from nature. As mountain guide, you share your passion for mountaineering and the mountains with your guests. But these intense experiences are unfortunately not without risks. At the end of November 1998, while climbing a frozen waterfall, I was swept by an avalanche. After a fall of 60 metres, it appeared that my back was broken, resulting in complete paraplegia. It means that I am going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I illustrate this broken life and how I regained my will to go on and my ambition to perform again; my determination, which enabled me to achieve a first bronze medal in Athens at the Paralympics. After a period of three Paralympics campaign with two Paralympic medals and three World champion titles, I demonstrate that there is even another life as pioneer in a new sport: sitted kiteboarding.

My presentation shows breathtaking mountaineering pictures and footage from the Dutch K2 expedition of 1995, and many other sailing and kiteboarding actions.

Two proverbs are the guiding principle of these presentations:

Tibetan proverb: Better to live 10 years like a tiger than 100 years like a sheep.

My guiding principle: Better to live with risks than with regret.