"Only those who know can let go."

Katharina Schäffler

Mr. Gottwald, the world is burning at all corners right now. Middle East, Trump, Europe, economy. Many people feel overwhelmed. You say this is no coincidence. What do you mean by that?

Mathias Gottwald

In my personal conviction, we are currently experiencing a global transformation process — I call it a global reset. I have been observing and communicating certain societal developments for years. 2012, then 2017, then 2019. Back then I pointed out developments in my environment that I considered likely: stronger state control, restrictions on mobility and entrepreneurship, new health crises. Much of that has come to pass. That doesn't mean I know the future. It means I try to read systems. And my personal assessment today is: The agenda continues. Regardless of whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or not.

Katharina Schäffler

You are often called a conspiracy theorist for this. How do you deal with that?

Mathias Gottwald

People who point to certain developments earlier than others are often first ridiculed. In the first year. In the second. In the third. In the fifth year the first ones start to doubt. In the eighth they say: Oh, you were right. That's a pattern that repeats itself. What I find sad about it: not that I was right — but that expressing an opinion in our society increasingly has social consequences. People who think freely, who question things, who are communicatively provocative — these are the disruptive factors. Yet these are exactly the ones who see the connections in the end. You can like that or not. But it's an observation I consider significant.

Katharina Schäffler

Who is the "we" you speak of — when you say we communicated this in 2012, 2017, 2019?

Mathias Gottwald

That is Gottwald Holding LLC. A global network of people — from the CEO of an international bank to the person who mows his lawn tomorrow morning. What connects them is not their income or their title. It's the ability to think. And I generally think little of titles. My experience is: The more academic degrees someone has, the less they often really think independently. That sounds provocative — but it's an honest observation from many years and many conversations.

Katharina Schäffler

You speak of systems that work against people. What is the deepest cause of this — in your assessment?

Mathias Gottwald

The conditioning of humans. My personal conviction is that very few people ever really know who they are. Not because they are stupid — but because they never had the opportunity to find out. We are shaped from birth: by family, school, media, societal expectations. This is not a conspiracy — this is simply how social systems function. Those who don't consciously confront these imprints live according to foreign scripts. A psychiatrist once told me something I never forgot: Why do you think that's your problem — when your parents' difficult relationship history is older than you yourself? That hit me. Because it's so precise.

Katharina Schäffler

You spoke of family who didn't understand you in difficult moments — or actively worked against it. What did that do to you?

Mathias Gottwald

I read a book whose core message shaped me greatly: Screw it. Not as indifference — but as liberation. Today I feel sorry for such people. When I have time and think of it, I include them in my prayers. And that was it. Not because I'm cold — but because I learned that I'm not responsible for others' decisions. This applies to family just as much as to neighbors, business partners or acquaintances. Everyone decides for themselves how they live and how they treat others. My energy belongs to the people and projects that really matter.

Katharina Schäffler

How do you recognize true allies — people you can really trust in this time?

Mathias Gottwald

Not by what someone says — but by how someone reacts. Facial expressions, body language, breathing — how does someone change when you bring up an uncomfortable topic? I'm sensitized to this because I had to learn it. The hard way. My approach today: I don't state. I only ask. Those who speak are vulnerable. Those who ask lead. That's my personal experience — not a universal recipe, but a principle that has helped me.

Katharina Schäffler

Many people know something is wrong — but don't act. Why, do you think?

Mathias Gottwald

Fear. Fear is the biggest driver for people staying in their comfort zone. Self-constructed cages in which they move — not because someone forces them, but because leaving would have consequences: social, familial, economic. The image I use for this: An animal that was in a cage its whole life. The cage is opened. The fence is gone. But the animal still runs in the same five square meters. Because the fence remained in the mind. This is not criticism — this is human. But it's recognizable. And it's changeable. Those who truly look at, acknowledge and accept both sides of their coin — the bright and the dark — can begin to decide what they let go of. Only those who know can let go.

Katharina Schäffler

You describe a method of inner stillness. What is that concretely — and how did you come to it?

Mathias Gottwald

It took me ten years to find a way to really think nothing. Ten years. That sounds long — and it was long. But then it was suddenly so simple that I was surprised myself. You lie down, comfortable, totally relaxed. Right hand on heart. Left hand on navel. Eyes closed. And then you give the head a clear command: We stop thinking now. The head reports back naturally — with thoughts, worries, tasks. And you answer calmly: I heard you. The shopping bag — is saved, we'll take care of it later. The argument — noted, comes later. No repetitions. Real peace. Are we agreed? And then — when this moment really comes — the heart starts to work. Not the brain. For me personally, this is the most direct path to myself.

Katharina Schäffler

What happens when this moment comes — when the head really becomes quiet?

Mathias Gottwald

It becomes incredibly loud. Sorry, I have to laugh right now — but it's true. It becomes loud in a different way. The mind is quiet. The body is relaxed. And then something starts to dance — the organ that no one can operate on. Because no one has ever been able to surgically remove heartache. The heart begins to refuel. It's a feeling like a small child with a total surprise. Pure. Unmixed. Without judgment. I wish this feeling to every person in this world. Not as a promise — as an invitation to try it yourself.

Katharina Schäffler

When someone experiences this silence — how does the view of the world change afterwards? Of crises, politics, people?

Mathias Gottwald

You see mainly sadness. And pain. And disappointment. Because you know: Each one of us could end it all. Right now. If tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock no person in this world picks up a weapon anymore. If no person bullies, insults, humiliates another anymore. If everyone gives everyone a smile — because it costs nothing, but brings much. If everyone starts doing things differently — not because they have to, but because they can. This is not utopia. This is a decision. That everyone can make. Now.

Katharina Schäffler

You say wars and conflicts begin inside. What do you mean by that?

Mathias Gottwald

This is my deepest personal conviction: Aggression, hatred, division, wars — these are reactions from people who have never really gotten to know their own shadow. Who have never looked at, never acknowledged, never accepted their dark side. Every person has a good and a bad side. That's not weakness — that's human. But only when you really look at, acknowledge and accept both sides, can you decide when to let go of what in which moment. And then — only then — can you really act freely. Instead of from fear, insecurity or the desire to maintain power.

Katharina Schäffler

Is peace in this world even possible — as long as we don't first guide every single person into inner work?

Mathias Gottwald

I believe, if the message — and the core is feeling, not thinking — if that arrives: Yes. Every person loves. Every person has this familiar organ that no one can operate on, but everyone has. Everyone. Without exception everyone. And if everyone starts feeling there again — only feeling there — and if what they feel is only the best in themselves and for themselves: How can that ever be bad for someone else? That's not possible.

Katharina Schäffler

You have had everything and lost everything. What did your greatest loss give you?

Mathias Gottwald

The security, the faith to have, to know who I am.

Katharina Schäffler

Was gibt Ihnen trotz allem Hoffnung?

Mathias Gottwald

I am today, according to the Gregorian calendar, a little over 44 years old. I have experienced all highs. And all lows. And in every low there was a moment when it continued. Always. Because there is no end. You were never born, because you always are. And because you always are, you also cannot die. And when you really understand that — then you ask yourself: Who is actually stopping me? Who is limiting me? And the answer is: No one. Except the fence in your own head. And that can be opened.

Katharina Schäffler

What is your message to the world?

Mathias Gottwald

Stop. Now. Stop. The whole world. Everyone individually. No matter who did what. No matter who was what. No matter who is where. Now. From now on you only take care of the people you love. Who are really important to you. Who lie in your heart. You only do what gives you a task, what gives you a feeling. Where you feel at home. You only do what in every moment of your being creates a feeling of your being. And if that is always the case — then you are in every moment. And if you are that, then you are everything. Full speed ahead.

Katharina Schäffler

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