“Zukunftsgeist”—or Future Spirit—is not only the German title of Frederik’s book What’s Next Is Now. It became a living, breathing movement during his Zukunftsgeist Tour across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

But this wasn’t your typical book tour.

Instead of classical readings, Frederik invited people into a shared experience—to ignite their own future spirit. And it worked. The response was overwhelming: after each event, participants didn’t just ask for a signature—they leaned in, saying things like “I’m starting my future right now.”

“I didn’t expect a book event to move me this deeply. It wasn’t just inspiring—it felt like a wake-up call from my future self.”

“For the first time in a long time, I feel like I have permission to imagine a radically better future—and the tools to start today.”

From intimate conversations to standing ovations, people across three countries wanted more than inspiration—they wanted transformation. And in this special episode of The Future is HOW, Frederik himself steps into the guest seat to share the stories, surprises, and soulful moments from this extraordinary journey.

He’s interviewed by Andreas Horchler, the journalist, music composer behind the podcast theme, and producer of this very show. Recorded live in Frankfurt, they reflect on the power of presence, possibility, and what happens when optimism becomes contagious.

In this episode:

• 3:25 Future Bio: Frederik on leaving a legacy as an ambassador of possibility

• 6:55 How to prepare body, mind, and spirit for a 19-city tour

• 9:00 Voices from Frankfurt: What meeting Frederik meant to guests

• 11:04 From moment to movement: Creating a new mindstate

• 15:22 Charge the car, charge yourself: Finding strength on the road

• 20:35 Staying fresh, curious, and open (yes, even with hotel snacks)

• 21:55 Stories from the road—from 5am meditations to midnight rituals

• 25:25 The Mindstate Moment

• 32:12 Reflections on the first season of The Future is HOW

• 34:27 No turning back—only forward

• NextLetter – your 1:1 with your future

  A bi-weekly newsletter designed to help you meet your future—1 powerful question, 2 new perspectives, and 1 simple experiment to try. A pause. A spark. A next step.

• Radikal Besser – Entfache den Zukunftsgeist, der in dir steckt!

  The German edition of What’s Next Is Now—a guide to activating your future spirit and living radically better.

• What’s Next Is Now – the book

  Your future-ready mindstate to help you create what’s next—with tools, stories, and exercises.

• The Future Is HOW – Podcast

  Explorations with creators, thinkers, and doers on how to shape the future from the inside out.

• Are You Future Ready? Take the Test

  Discover how ready your inner world is to create what’s next.

• Step Into What’s Next for You

  Whether you’re an individual or a team—start shaping your future today with Frederik’s keynotes, workshops, and transformative sessions.

Inspiration is more than a feeling. Its´ an active force that fuels creativity, leadership and change. Today, Adam Galinsky joins me. Adam is an expert in Leadership, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Adam is a Professor of Leadership and Ethics at the Columbia Business School.

Among his many publications, he co-authored "Friend and Foe", a book exploring the science behin collaboration and competition. His latest book is "Inspire-The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others". Here, Adam explores the science of inspiration, how to find it, to develop it, and to use it.

In this episode, we talk about the origins and the power of inspiration.

•The spark of inspiration-becoming more inspiring

•Inspiration at the crossroads of creativity and usefulness

•Inspiration? Listen to your children

•Inspired travel

•Wood and water: Natural inspiration

•Variety helps

•Different people, different times, different needs

•Inspiration today, boredom tomorrow?

•The Copenhagen lesson: Improvisation and embracing vulnerability

•The mindstate moment by the ocean

•The universal continuum: Vision Example Mentoring

•The big picture energy: optimism counts

•Inspiration is daily work

•REIP: Reflect Emulate Intend Practice to become a more inspiring person tomorrow

•Too much clam chowder? The power in making things more scarce

•You can make things better: Look out for possibilities

In today’s episode of The Future is How, I am thrilled to be joined by my friend Kalle Ryan. Kalle is an award-winning writer, poet, and founder of Poetic, a creative consultancy dedicated to crafting compelling narratives, solving communication challenges, and unlocking creativity for organizations of all sizes.

Before founding Poetic, Kalle refined his storytelling and communication skills at Google and Meta. At Meta, he led internal communication strategies that connected employees globally through creative content. At Google, he drove Cloud9, EMEA's innovation hub, launching initiatives to foster employee creativity.

In our conversation today, we dive into the captivating world of creativity and storytelling, covering topics such as:

• What sparked Kalle’s love of storytelling

• The tale of "Bringing Batman to Work"

• The pivotal role creativity played in propelling Kalle’s career to new heights

• Viewing the world through a creative lens

• A creativity practice inspired by Pam Houston’s concept of "glimmers"

• Using your creativity to live more intentionally

• The essence of great storytelling: making people feel

• Building human connections through stories

• Kalle’s perspective on AI tools and why he remains optimistic for the future of creatives

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Where to find Kalle Ryan:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalleryan/

• Website: https://kalleryan.com/

• Poetic: https://poetic.ie/

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Where to find Frederik Pferdt

• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgpferdt/⁠⁠⁠⁠

• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/frederikgpferdt⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/frederikgpferdt/⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Intro

(03:02) Kalle’s future bio

(07:26) Our obsession with dystopian fiction and why we should be more optimistic

(11:23) How Kalle fell in love with creativity and storytelling

(16:33) Kalle’s story about integrating his creative self with his corporate self

(22:30) Why viewing the world with a creative lens allows for greater opportunity

(23:47) A creative exercise borrowing from Pam Houston’s “glimmers”

(29:47) The creative practice of one word at a time stories

(32:05) A moment to pause and reconnect with your creativity

(35:39) The power of storytelling to live more intentionally

(45:30) The role of storyteller in first nations of Australia

(46:20) Storytellers today

(47:40) The merits and shortcomings of AI for creativity

(57:08) Closing

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Music: Andreas Horchler

Art Design: Stefan Schuster, Dino Hohos, Flo Dietrich

Production: Jordan & Adam Bornstein