Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Serena Loh.
If you're used to hearing thatintroverts are shy, anxious,
antisocial and lack goodcommunication and leadership
skills, then this podcast is foryou.
You're about to fall in lovewith the calm, introspective and
profound person that you are.
Discover what's fun, unique andpowerful about being an
(00:21):
introvert, and how to make theelegant transition from quiet
achiever to quiet warrior inyour life and work anytime you
want, in more ways than youimagined possible.
Welcome, Welcome to the QuietWarrior podcast.
Today, we have an interview withDr Cornelia Kawan, who is an
(00:43):
executive in the Swisselectricity regulator and the
founder of EnergyOn.
During her corporate career,she has held various management
positions in several energycompanies in Europe, all the
while founding two startups.
She stems from an Austrianfamily of entrepreneurs, which
is why building companies andproblem solving is in her DNA.
(01:04):
As a personal energy strategist, Cornelia empowers ambitious
entrepreneurs and businesses toreach their goals through energy
management and energeticbusiness strategies.
She explains to her clients theworld of quantum physics and
shows them how to manage theirenergy to reaching their goals
and to transform not only theirlives but their businesses.
(01:26):
As a public speaker and authorof Change your Energy, Change
your Life, Cornelia's mission isto make the simplicity and
magic of personal energymanagement popular.
Welcome, Dr Cornelia Kawan, tothe Quiet Warrior podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Thank you so much,
Serena, for having me.
It's a pleasure being here andI'm really excited.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I'm so glad.
The first question I have foryou, Cornelia, is the pivot, the
career journey.
How and why did you pivot froman engineering career to what
you do now?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Actually it's a very
good question and it was not
planned at all, and so being anengineer was always very close
to my heart.
But of course, then I grew upand learned that with the
Newton's theme, which in a waysaid everything that you can't
(02:23):
measure, you can't touch and youcan't see, that doesn't exist,
and uh, and then in a way, um,on doing my research, you know,
I, I discovered quantum scienceand, um, there, uh, I learned in
a way, there is so much morethan things out there we don't
(02:46):
see.
And it's in a way the same with, um, with our wi-fi or
electromagnetic fields.
Yeah, you all can't see them,or some people do feel them, and
but you always can measure it.
And so, um, I, I even dovedeeper and figured out you know,
there is so many similaritiesbetween our own body and
(03:11):
electric energy.
And if you look like at ourcells, right, there is always
between the cell center, or thenucleus, and the cell membrane.
If it's a really healthy cell,then it needs to have about
minus 70 millivolts.
And even our nervous system,our communication of our brain,
(03:33):
you know this is milliampere.
There are little currentsflowing through our system.
So if you look at it from afrom a physical point of view,
we are kind of a walking battery.
And then I thought you know, we,if we believe in all these
electromagnetic fields andelectric energy, why is it
difficult to understand that?
We are kind of have thiselectromagnetic field around us.
(03:56):
And then I startedexperimenting with this
electromagnetic field, kind ofapplying my expertise and
knowledge from the electricengineering field to our
personal energy, like rechargingor how to how to work with
resistances or blockades andeven how to expand my
(04:16):
electromagnetic field or setelectric boundaries, so I could
see that this everything applies, it works, and people started
noticing.
And then they came to me andsaid what are you doing?
You look differently, you'reacting in a different way, and
that's how the whole thing gotstarted.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Thank you for sharing
that.
I love that you call yourbusiness Energy On, but it makes
me think of a switch that isalways on.
So does that mean having yourenergy on means you are switched
on all the time?
You're engaging with people allthe time, and what about people
whose energy is naturally lowor soft or quiet?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, actually the
idea was to really kind of
switch it on right your energyand of course, if you feel like
you can also switch it off rightyour energy, and of course, if
you feel like you can alsoswitch it off right.
And I know people that do havetoo much energy, even in the
evening so they can't even fallasleep because there is too much
energy they haven't usedphysically during the day and
(05:17):
they can also kind of let flowthis surplus of energy out of
the system.
And then the other way, that'sthe same way as electric
electric systems work.
On the other way, you can alsorecharge your system if you
don't have enough.
And what I in a way, what I in away noticed that most people I
(05:39):
think there's a differencebetween people having low energy
and introverts, because Because, from my perspective,
introverts, they don't need tohave necessarily low energy,
it's just that their energy isperceived in a different way but
they still can have a lot ofenergy and can be a powerful,
(06:02):
quiet energy, whereas extroverts, they kind of have a louder
energy, people notice more, butif you have a strong energy,
people will notice anyway,either you're an introvert or an
extrovert, and this energy onis more about those people who
don't have much energy but wouldlike to have more.
(06:23):
And here it's more about yeah,you can like, we do it every day
.
We recharge our, our phoneswhen they, you know the battery
goes down, but most people don'tknow how to recharge their own
energy.
And that's what it is moreabout, because what I've learned
during my yeah, my journey withmy clients, in a way, and also
(06:46):
myself you know, when you havelittle energy, you're more in
survival mode, because then youget up in the morning already
with your long to-do lists, yourdays are very repetitive and
this is very tiring and you'reexhausted and you don't even
have energy to try something newor do certain things in a
(07:10):
different way or do more,because you're really on the
limit and you just try to keepup, whereas what I noticed with
myself, if you have like so muchmore energy, life is perceived
as easier and so much more fun.
And why is that?
Because you don't see it manythings as a problem, because you
(07:31):
know you have the energy tosolve it.
And you also see more solutions, because, in a way, your system
knows this person has theenergy to actually execute these
, um, these, these ideas andthese solutions, and that's why
you get the impression yeah, youcan manage, you're more
(07:51):
resilient because you're kind ofa high energy person, and
that's what's the idea behindEnergy.
On.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Right.
So this is not about volume,this is about capacity.
This is about expandingsomeone's capacity so that they
feel they have the ability tohandle problems, to come up with
solutions, to be more creative,to do all the things they want
to do and they're not constantlyfeeling tired or feeling
overwhelmed.
(08:20):
Or feeling drained.
Is that right overwhelmed?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
or feeling drained.
Is that right?
Exactly that's what I noticed.
With more energy, you're morein the.
You're more a person youdescribed at the beginning.
Right, Be more creative,because energy gives you this
freedom.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yes, so energy gives
freedom.
Now you see in your LinkedInprofile that the one thing ultra
successful business women aredoing is they are not managing
their time, they are managingtheir energy.
Can you talk to us about thedifference?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, you know I'm a
very good time manager and I was
for a very long time noticedand I see with people around me
is if you feel not so well ormiserable or exhausted and tired
(09:12):
, you can have all the time inthe world, but you can't use it
the way you would love to use it.
And for that reason I kind ofpivoted I like your word pivoted
from time management to energymanagement, because I think my
most valuable resource isdefinitely not my time, it's my
energy, because time we all havethese 24 hours it's limited,
(09:38):
whereas if you know how torecharge and to work or to
manage your energy, your energyis unlimited, meaning in a way,
you can do, achieve or whatever,or even enjoy much more in the
same 24 hours.
And that's why I think thistime management is kind of old
(10:02):
school for me and the future toreally kind of have a more
relaxed and also more enjoyablelife is definitely managing your
energy, that you are aware whatis draining my energy, what is
giving me energy, and that youeven know that if you're low on
energy, that you recharge andthen you're ready for your next
task.
So in a way, it's all aboutmanaging your own energy and
(10:29):
live your life in a completelydifferent way.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
It sounds to me like
even before we can talk about
energy management, we need tohave some level of
self-awareness, because yourefer to knowing what are the
things that energize us and whatare the things that drain us.
And not everybody, I imagine,would have actually stopped to
think about it consciously andask themselves what are the
(10:53):
things that really bring me joyor make me feel alive and what
are the things that make me feeloverwhelmed.
It's almost like we go aboutour day in a very autopilot way.
We do the same thing every day,we repeat the same routines and
we don't really stop to thinkis this actually helping me or
(11:14):
is this draining me?
So how does one go aboutbecoming more aware?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
that's a very good
question and I think it's with
most things uh, you can onlychange things when you're aware
of it.
You know it, regardless what itis.
Uh, it's more about that.
You figure out.
Oh, there is something in mylife and I don't want it this
way anymore and that's why Iwant to change it.
And I think this is the firststep, in a way, and then I'm
(11:45):
completely with you.
It's like this awareness and, uh, I see that many people don't
know what is giving them, uh,what, or who is giving them
energy or who drains it.
And this can be tasked right atwork, like, uh, boring meetings
or repetitive things, or justdoing the chores or cleaning the
(12:07):
bathroom, whatever.
Most of the time, we do thingsbut we don't reflect on it.
Does this, you know?
Do I really enjoy it?
Of course, you know, I thinkthere are only a few people who
enjoy cleaning the bathroom.
I really don't like it.
But if I am aware of it, youknow, I, I know, okay, I have to
do this right now, but then Ican do something afterwards that
(12:30):
really gives me joy and andrecharges my energy.
So it's kind of a compensationif I am aware and what I think
is even the uh.
It's not only tasks but it canalso be person, and we all know
these energy vampires right.
Sometimes we are on the phonewith a person or we meet.
This can be a family member orcan even be a friend, or can be
(12:53):
a not so well-known person.
You just talk with them on thephone or whatever, and then you
kind of feel completely drainedafterwards because they kind of
suck off all your uh and justnoticing this.
You know, of course we can'tavoid certain person when
they're in our life, but in away you can kind of when you're
(13:14):
aware that there are tools tokind of set energetic boundaries
or protection your energy, thatpeople can't access your energy
in and that uh in this wayanymore.
And on the other side, I thinkit's also very important then to
maybe have less contact withthis person or only when you
(13:35):
really kind of know you canhandle it and you're you have a
lot of energy uh in this momentand that when you're really down
or whatever, and then you callthis person that it's even worse
.
And so I think this is veryimportant, that you are aware
and most people don't even knowwhat they need to do to recharge
(13:58):
, right To go either in and thiscan be individual for anybody
like dancing at home for fiveminutes, or have a half an hour
walk outside.
For me it's like painting orswimming.
It's just good to find outwhere you can, things you can do
forever and you're kind of in acompletely different world.
This is the ideal way, but ofcourse you can't always do that
(14:21):
when you need energy.
There are shortcuts like um,you know, there's this quantum
uh science and quantum field allaround us.
There's unlimited energy there.
What I'm teaching is also howyou can access this quantum
field and this energy there.
So in a way, it's like you plugin your phone and similar here.
I plug in my body or my systemand recharge for three minutes
(14:46):
and then I can go into the nextmeeting and my exercises that
I'm showing also in my book, umis they are no longer than three
minutes, so you can go like tothe restroom and then do this
exercise there, and I know frommy colleagues at work they still
think, always wondering what'sshe doing in this restroom?
(15:08):
You know she really goes inthere and then she comes out all
sparkling full of energy andlet's rock the next meeting.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
So there are
different tools and ways
fantastic, and all these can befound in your book.
Change your energy, change yourlife.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
yes, correct, yeah
there are 44 really short energy
exercises on to recharge yourenergy, to set boundaries, how
you find out, even like, whatkind of food you should eat
because food, of course, is alsoenergy, it's very comprehensive
or which decisions are good foryou in the long run.
(15:51):
Or, if you have like to be verycreative, you can do a heart
brain coherence to really makeyour brain and your heart and
your whole body run optimal soyou have optimal results.
There are so many exercises inthere, you pick your favorite
(16:14):
ones and if there are only three, if they do them like for three
weeks every day, yeah, and weall have this kind of 10 minutes
it would literally change yourlife beautiful, so we'll make
sure to include the link to yourbook in the show notes so that
people can check out the book.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Now I noticed another
quotation of yours in your
LinkedIn profile, and that isyou said that success doesn't
happen when you push harder.
It happens when your energy isaligned.
Now, to those of us who don'tunderstand what that means, can
you explain?
What does it mean about energybeing aligned or not aligned?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
The thing is that I
don't know about you or your
audience and listeners, but Iwas brought up in a very
result-oriented environment andthere was a lot of appreciation
when you have good grades andfinished big projects.
(17:15):
And it's still this kind ofeducation, money, status, world.
And here, in a way, I thinksometimes we really just push
through, or even you know I'm, Ilike to get many things done,
but what I've noticed issometimes I'm on the computer
(17:37):
and there's only you know and I.
I know that no, I'm not on myat my best anymore.
So it would be actually thewisest decision would be to step
back, do my exercise or evendrink something or take like
five, 10 minutes for myself andthen come back and finish it off
.
But most of the time we are sodetermined let's finish that off
(18:01):
right, and then you kind ofpushing through just to get the
whole thing done and out of yourto-do list.
And that's what I noticed.
I don't want to push myselfanymore.
And it's also about beinggentle to yourself and also
noticing in a way, now your bodyor even your brain needs a
(18:24):
short break and even if I takethis break most of the time, I
even finish faster, with abetter result afterwards,
because you're more concentratedand you're more enjoying what
you're doing.
You're not just pushing through.
So this is kind of in the dailywork, to step back and really
(18:46):
noticing no, I don't want topush myself here now I step back
and then I come back and I knowyour mind will already scream
and say, no, we just need tofinish this off.
But it's worth a try.
And then you see the result andin the long run.
What I mean is sometimes youstart something and kind of
(19:14):
maybe in the middle or at theend, or you're starting even
something that is not aligned,which is actually good for you
because it sounds nice and I'm ascanner type, right, you know
there are so many cool thingsand projects and people out
there and I would be all overthe place because I want to be
(19:35):
part of it, I want to contribute.
But what I've learned is, yes, Ican do that, but I'm so much
more at my best when I selectwhat actually aligns with my
(20:03):
skills, with my energy, andevencheck with many things that
are coming to me.
Does this bring me any closer tomy vision in the long run or
not?
And this is very hard for me,but I think this is where I can
(20:25):
contribute the most and reallyget every day a little bit
closer to my vision, and becauseotherwise you're just so
scattered and you're doing somany things and most of them
they're nice to do and they giveyou, like, in the short term,
some appreciation or even somefinancial results, but in the
(20:49):
long term they're not good forme.
And this is also I'm a processI'm on.
I'm also teaching my clients tofigure out you know, where do
you want to be in six months orin a year or in five years, and
then that they learn to reallybe honest to themselves, to
cross-check does this bring mecloser to my goal or not?
(21:11):
And this is kind of aligningwhat I'm doing with my energy.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I like how you have a
short-term perspective as well
as a longer-term perspective,because I think, especially with
introverts, with highlysensitive people, the energy
aspect is also aboutsustainability.
And so when you add in thealignment piece, that comes from
a place of self-awareness whereI know what I'm here to do, I
(21:39):
know what is my life work, andtherefore I want to prioritize
certain things over other thingsand I want to make sure my
energy goes to the right thingsand the right people and the
right causes.
So I like how holistic andrealistic at the same time.
That is Because we need to know.
First of all, we need to knowourselves best.
In fact, we are the only oneswho can know ourselves best and
(22:03):
know whether this work is rightfor me in this season, with my
current state of health, mycurrent mental state, my health,
my hormones, my energy, mysleep, everything.
And then, is it feasible, is itrealistic to want to achieve
all these things, and how do Imake sure that in doing all
(22:23):
these things, they are alsocontributing to the bigger
picture, that long-term goalyou're talking about, the vision
that you help your clients tobecome clear on, and I think we
often are so busy with the dailyroutine and the rushing around
and all the to-dos, which arethe micro level of achievement,
(22:43):
and we forget what am I doingthis for?
What is the purpose of all thisrunning around and rushing and
not having enough rest and noteating well, and we think we're
doing a great job because on thesurface it looks like we're
doing a lot, but then, when youexamine it more closely, it's at
what cost and how is it addingto my life?
Speaker 2 (23:06):
That's so powerful.
Yeah, that's to the point right.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
So let's talk about
you.
Know, when you mentionedenergetic boundaries, I'm
thinking of highly sensitivepersons and I'm thinking of
people pleasers, because there'squite a bit of overlap between
them and introverts and quietachievers.
They would have difficultysetting those energetic
boundaries.
So what advice do you have forpeople who are learning to
(23:33):
assert themselves more strongly?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Yeah, there's a very
powerful exercise in the book as
well, and it's called thissetting energetic boundaries.
Because I think I'm not anextrovert but I'm not an
introvert either.
I'm kind of a I can't both.
You can do both, right.
But what I really was and I'mstill am a little bit is is this
(24:01):
people pleasing?
Because, yeah, the way I wasbrought up, right, it was really
kind of to make my parentshappy that they're proud of of
me and that I get some moreattention from them, because
they were really busyentrepreneurs, they were running
their own business and therewas so many things always coming
up and uh, uh, and I tried todo to do my best to really make
(24:25):
them happy as as well, andthey're really cool people, but
they were just so sucked up withtheir daily life and that's why
one of these reasons is, for me, it's very hard to say no, and
I think for many women they'rein a similar situation, right?
Because then, most of the time,you have to explain.
(24:47):
Sometimes you even think, ah,then the person doesn't like me
anymore, or, and we all don'twant that, right, we want to be
liked and um, that's intrinsicin us.
So that's when I just developedthis, uh, this very powerful
exercise and my clients reallylove it and you can best you do
it in the in the morning is in away that you claim your space
(25:12):
and what I said at the beginning, like we're kind of a walking
battery and if we we think ofour phone or battery, going back
to the physics class, rightthere, if there is current
flowing, then you have thiselectromagnetic field around any
electric device.
And so if we I haven't seenthis electromagnetic field, I
(25:36):
have to admit, even if I'm anelectric engineer and I haven't
met anybody who really can seethis field, but we all believe
that it exists because we weretold so in physics class.
So if we do believe that wehave these electromagnetic
fields, around electromagneticfields and we also are a walking
battery, why is it so difficultto understand that we have this
(25:56):
electromagnetic field around usas well?
And people, if they're trainedor not, we can't feel this field
.
It's just there.
And especially introverts, youknow, when you're observing you
can feel like and Patrulla alsonoticed when you know there are
people in a room at a party andthen somebody enters the room
(26:19):
and everybody turns around, evenif it was not announced,
because this person has such astrong energy body, people can
just feel it and we want to knowwho is this.
And that's why I think we havethis energetic field around us
and, if we manage it, we canexpand it to make it even bigger
(26:41):
, to make it stronger.
Charismatic people have a verystrong and powerful energy body
that is very large Becausepeople can already feel it.
Wow, there is energy, there ispower, and you can even be an
introvert and have like thisstrong energy body because your
energy speaks for you.
But what I wanted to say is wealso spoke about it If you have
(27:05):
a very strong energy and youhave your energy around it,
there are always people and outthere kind of trying to get
either your energy, um, and then, if you set these boundaries,
you will feel the people startnoticing you more because you
claim your own space.
(27:25):
It's just saying like this is myspace, right, and people you're
limiting and saying thisbelongs to me, not to you.
And people, when they'reapproaching you, they will feel
there's a little buffer inbetween.
They will notice, if they wantor not, and what I've noticed by
setting these energeticboundaries, that more and more
people they will feel that thisbuffer or even this obstacle
(27:51):
around you, and it will keepthem from even asking, because
you are kind of protected.
And so what I noticed when Iset up this energetic boundaries
, people asked me less to dothem a favor, and so I didn't
even have to say no, because ifnobody asks, you don't have to
(28:14):
say no, and it made my life somuch easier and it's not that
I'm not going to be there forother people, but it's just you
know there needs to be.
I want to decide, in a way, ifI want to do it or not, and I
figured out many things I deepfrom my heart I wouldn't have
done anyway, but I couldn'tbother to say no, so that's why
(28:35):
I ended up doing so many thingsI didn't even really want to,
and that's why I think thisexercise is so important for
people pleaser, or people forthem.
It's very difficult to say nobecause you don't have.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
You use your energy
as kind of a buffer that is a
very handy strategy to have, ahandy skill to have.
What is the simplest way youcan help someone to set that
kind of buffer?
If they, let's say, tomorrowthey're going to be having a
difficult conversation, orthey're going to be having a
difficult conversation, orthey're going to be walking into
(29:12):
a room that maybe has gotsomeone who's hostile to them,
how would they set about setthat buffer for themselves?
Is there something they can sayto themselves, like an
affirmation, or do they justthink about it, just imagine it,
and that's enough.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It's in more details
described in the book, but in
general you can just kind ofspread your arms right and then
you said I am setting my today,I'm setting my space here, and
you do it all around your bodyand say this is my space, this
is my energy.
And you claim it and uh and.
(29:50):
At the beginning it might feelweird or something, but most
people say they feel moreprotected and more confident
because they have now markedtheir space.
And uh and, and then in a way,you will even notice when, when
you really claim the full spaceAt the beginning maybe it's not
(30:12):
perfect, but it's already a goodbuffer and then you will get
better and better, and then youcan even, you know, make the
buffer smaller when you, maybewhen you're with your family or
if you have like a verydifficult meeting, then you can
make this buffer really verybroad, like an arm's length on
both sides, and say this is myspace and it's really about.
(30:32):
This is me.
It's outside of my body, but itstill belongs to me and I claim
it.
And it's so interesting becauseone of my clients, she had like
this experience that she wasvery often when she was in a
mall or at just um in a busystreet, people were kind of
(30:53):
bumping into her so as if theydidn't notice her.
Uh, early enough, so theydidn't step aside, and uh, and
then she started doing thisexercise and like the next
morning or the no, it was notthe next morning, but the no, it
was not the next morning, butthe day afterwards she called me
and said it's such a difference, people kind of notice her
(31:13):
energy and they walk by.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
That is exciting.
I'm going to practice that andsee, and I'll let you know what
my results are.
Sure.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
It would be amazing
to get your feedback and your
experiences on this.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
So, cornelia, what is
the best way for listeners to
connect with you and find outmore about your work?
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Oh, the easiest way
is definitely, of course, on all
social medias it's Corneliaunderscore energy on, or on my
webpage, it's CorneliaCarvancom,and there you can even.
Either it's um, corneliacarvancom, and there you can um,
even, either, you know, if youwant to check out how my, how I
work with um, or how you canexpand your energy, or work on
(31:59):
your energy, um, you can have acomplimentary half an hour
personal energy strategy session, or, um, yeah, you can download
my free ebook about newenergetic stress management, so
doing stress management in adifferent way.
So, yeah, I'm really, you know,looking forward to to get to
(32:20):
know people who are interested,to want to learn how to manage
their, their energy, because Ithink it's so powerful I think
it's so powerful as well.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Like you said, it's
much more important than time
management.
It is the future, because allof us have finite reserves of
energy and we want to know howto replenish, and we want to
know how to manage and use theenergy wisely for the right
purposes.
So what you are teaching isenormously valuable.
So thank you so much forsharing your time and your
(32:51):
energy with us today.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Thank you so much for
having me, Serena, and for
holding this space, and so yeah,for your audience and also for
your guest speakers, I reallyappreciate it and thank you so
much for having me.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
So we're going to
make sure we have all your links
in the show notes so thatpeople can check you out.
So if you've enjoyed today'sepisode, be sure to leave a
five-star rating and review.
To help the quiet warriorpodcast reach more introverts
and quiet achievers around theworld, and I've also put
together a free resource for you, called the introvert toolkit,
full of valuable tips forintroverts and leaders working
(33:29):
with introverts, as well asparents of introverted children.
The link to download is in theshow notes as well, so make sure
you look out for it.
See you on the next episode.
I'm so grateful that you'rehere today.
If you found this contentvaluable, please share it on
your social media channels andsubscribe to the show on your
favorite listening platform.
(33:50):
Together, we can help moreintroverts thrive.
Thank you.