Purpose, Dedication and Respect

Maybe you are not fully happy where you are right now in your career, maybe you will read my story to its end and maybe it will help you, to make a change.

This is quiet a personal story, but those that know me well know, I am an open book, so here I go.

At 38 years of age my dad was put in charge of a big hospital back home in Germany.?

One year later, when he was 39 years old, exactly my age today, one moment would change my families life forever and how we looked at life.

One day that year, I was five years young, my sister was three years young and my brother was one year young, our dad suffered a severe heart attack during a boardroom meeting in his hospital, surrounded by all his colleagues.?

Our home is ten minutes walk from that hospital, I grew up as a child playing around the beautiful mountain’s forests and fields, the hospital corridors became my playground at times and the staff were our extended family and still are to this day.

That day I stood next to my mum at our homes front door when she received the message by his colleagues as they were standing in front of us. I will never forget that moment. ?

For one year, as I grew older, I also worked within the hospital’s kiosk & cafeteria, selling patients magazines, toothpastes and?6am?morning coffees, speaking about their lives and learning about the true importance of sympathy.

Dad did survive, saved by his colleagues in that boardroom, but couldn’t work for four months after the attack

He would not have survived his attack anywhere else but in that room, we were told later on by the doctors.

In German we have saying: "Glueck im Unglueck" which translates to something like "luck within unluck".

This day changed our life and our outlook on life as a family.?

Appreciating the moment became our life from now on, literally.

It became my education on life, to be thankful, not to worry because things will be ok in the end, to be privileged to be born in a country of wealth, education and health systems, let alone not facing war.

I was able to choose my path freely.

But often I did not know where to go, what I would want to do, where my passion was at. I had a lot of questions and no answers at times.

Dad until this day keeps saying, imagine this problem or worry of yours today, imagine what it will mean to you in 300 years from now, let it go.

While he ended up being in charge of this hospital for over 30 years, I remember especially the time when he retired. Through a video that was shared with me by his former PA, I was already living in Australia.

I was able to share this special moment in his career, at least from afar.

The video showed hundreds of people wishing my dad farewell and I could see many tears in people’s eyes. Politicians held speeches.

I didn’t even know how much he had impacted the healthcare system in his field and lead this hospital to one of the best of its kind in Europe.?

Dad never brought work back to our home ever again, since that day.

He always was my hero and that day I realised how much he meant to his teams but also and more importantly, what they meant to him.?

Dad taught me about respect, treating staff and patients with empathy.

Hierarchy, titles, not part of his vocabulary.

My absolute passion is logistics, but for many years I had that urge, of having a true purpose to improve and even contribute to safe human life’s or make their life simply better.?

The world is an unfair place for millions and I was one of the lucky ones, not to loose my dad that day. My life would have never been the same.

About five months ago I joined Device Technology, a medical technology provider.

We serve fellow humans, every day, via hospitals and our other customers in ANZ, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Hong Kong.?

Just two days ago we arranged an urgent flight?at 2am, thank you Qantas, to Perth, for critical items to reach a hospital, for a surgery at 9am of a nine-year-old child, all across the continent.

Every day, our team of over 1000 strong and amazing members experience these situations every day. For the hundreds of people in this company who are with Device Technologies for decades already, this is their day to day for years on years.

It still is their passion, for me it is only the beginning.

The other night I told my Uber driver that I have found something special, though far away from my home country and family and my friends I grew up with.

I told him that I have found a purpose, an incredible company culture, sleepless nights to get things done via our global network of principles and customers and that I am glad that I had already lost all my hair prior joining DT, we have a lot going on.

But most importantly, the incredible experience, of the power of people, working together on one common goal to help others.?

Since I joined DT I am experiencing incredible stories every day.

I cried in that uber as I was telling him; I was happy and proud at the same time, of all the people that share and contribute to our mission.

Nothing beats the feeling of helping another human being, nothing.

I never thought that I would experience such a feeling through my work in logistics.

I am certainly not a doctor, but doctors need equipment and we will move mountains to get them what they need.

But just like my dad as a doctor, my mum who worked as a nurse, my brother who is a doctor now and my sister who is a speech therapist, I have found what I was looking for, helping others through my passion, logistics.?

It is incredible where life can take you once you decide to leave your comfort zones. Many ways lead to that special destination, as long as you keep walking.

Like Konrad Adenauer once said:

"Falling is neither dangerous nor a disgrace. Remaining on the ground is both."

Do not let your life pass you by if what you seek is still out there.

I wish you all the best on your own personal journey and if you are still reading this, thank you for reading.

Take care.?

Mathias