From Noise to Knowing: The Stillness That Transforms Business, Leadership, and Life w/ Markus Neukom

Business with a servant's heart. Servant's heart. Welcome to the podcast. Inspiration, motivation, take servant's heart. Listen to the podcast.

Welcome to Doing Business with a Servant's Heart podcast. I'm your host, Steve Ramona. Every episode is invitation to you, a reminder that business and life isn't just about profit. It's about purpose. It's about showing up with a servant's heart in every deal, every decision, and every day. Today's guest is going to light you up, and I spent an hour with him a week ago. He lit me up, so I know he's going to light you up. You're going to be motivated, you're going to be challenged, and more— most importantly, you'll walk away with tools that inspire action both in your life and your professional business. And this way you can share it with others. Before we dive in, here's your homework. How you serve yourself and others today. It doesn't have to be— it doesn't have to make a big impact. Even a small act of kindness or courage can change the game for anybody. Think big, that's great, but you can think small too and have the same type of impact. So lean in, take notes, and let's discover how servant leadership in business can create ripple effects that last far beyond the bottom line. Hey, a quick shout out to my sponsor, Epic Impact, the 4-step storytelling framework that's transformed how I pitch, post, And podcast. If you're a coach, founder, or creative trying to connect with your audience and move them to action, this is your secret weapon. Engage, persuade, inspire, and close. I use it every day and it works so well. Grab your free Epic Impact Starter Kit at epicimpact.com. Start engaging and making a difference. And thank you, audience, and more importantly, thank you, guests. Doing Business with a Servant's Heart hit top 20 in small business marketing last week. Thank you all, because with your hearts and willing to listen and guests coming on and sharing their story, we're making an impact to lots and lots of people. With that being said, servant's heart comes from many countries, many people, but it comes from your soul. And we're going to talk about it today. Markus, welcome to Doing Business with a Servant's Heart.

Thank you so much for having me, Steve.

Okay, I want you to— I didn't write it down, but you say you have the Soul Council. Is that correct?

I have to what? Sorry.

The Soul Council. But you have a council that you want to talk about.

Oh, the Stillness Council.

Stillness Council. I apologize. See, audience, I can screw up too, and we'll still get this. Talk about the Stillness Council because I don't know anything about it. I want to learn more.

You see what's interesting when people ask me what differentiates you from probably any other coach or consultant? There is stillness. And how stillness differs, Steve, is I was a business coach and I was an executive coach and I was damn good at what I was doing. However, I realized As a coach and as a consultant, I always added more to my client's life. One day it hit me like a ton of bricks. The people with the most amazing breakthroughs were the people who came into stillness with me. The ones who said to me, you know what, Markus, when I meet you, I just calm down. When I meet you, the noise just seems to disappear. When I meet you, there is almost like a field I can enter and I feel safe. That's when I understood what really differentiates me is stillness. So that's when I decided, what if I actually stop offering programs? offering products, but instead have only one offer to anyone who feels called to, and that's the Stillness Council. So the Stillness Council basically is working with me. It can be in groups, it can be one-on-one, but what it comes down to is literally shedding anything that you believe you are actually yourself. So I can sum it up in saying, You are coming to the point where you have been before the world defined you as who you are. So the Stillness Council literally comes down to— there is stillness. And as I shared with you before, stillness is not absence of action, but stillness is coherence. So coherence is mind, brain in coherence with your heart. And the most beautiful thing is your soul starts talking. So when someone is in stillness with me, what usually happens is suddenly that person says, I don't know why I tell you this. I've never shared it. And I don't know where it came from. I have this feeling. So basically what I'm doing, Steve, with the stillness counselors is I'm giving a person the chance. to kind of come home to themselves. I literally keep all the noise out. This is all I'm doing, basically giving the stillness, and everything else just happens in that field, in that room with that person itself. So as you can imagine, it's so freeing having been a coach who had to be a know-it-all, do-it-all, be-it-all. And now all I need to do is be in presence, and the presence creates the stillness. So everyone who is interested in any trick, please find out more on my LinkedIn, reach out. And so I can highly recommend to at least have one session with the Stillness Council because it's definitely life-transforming.

So what I'm hearing too, stillness develops trust, because for us to sell anything, they have to trust us and like us. Tell us about that.

So, you know, the know, like, and trust which marketing uses, uh, I never bought into it because I realized somebody gets on a call with me once and that person trusts me. Did they get to know me? No, they saw this little fraction of what I represented, right? Did they like what I represented? Maybe. But the trust doesn't come from the know and like. The trust comes from showing up authentically, showing up transparently, saying, you know what, what you see is what you get. And I believe it has to do with frequency somehow. You know, remember, like, when we met, it was like an instant trust. It cannot be produced. We could have spoken for years and we could not have produced that trust because we both showed up and said, you know what, it's who we are. And I believe that's where, where trust comes from. Because I literally show up and I decided, yeah, probably a year ago, um, to drop all that, uh, business privado, which, you know, as a business consultant was my shield protection when I decided, you know, sorry, my French, screw it.

Yeah, I like that. So stillness, what role does it play in leadership?

Belief is the key. It's literally the key. You know, you saw on my LinkedIn profile, I first developed Leaps. And we don't even have to go into Leaps so far because Leaps was the answer for me. How can I get somebody who believes that leadership or management is a God-given talent, which is not, So I got them to understand what it takes to actually, you know, become real with themselves and at least have a tool in their hands. But then I realized, gosh, as soon as I leave a company as a client, they actually fall back into the same situation. So I couldn't stay with them all the time. So that's when I thought there must be more behind that. And then I suddenly realized, Steve, There is actually most of the times a factor in the owner, in the CEO, in the president, whoever is in charge. And I realized once I actually got these people on a call and they were just able to breathe, you know, like so many high-level executives, they came to me and they said, Markus, when I meet you, I can breathe. And that's when I realized stillness is the key to any success that should be lasting and fulfilling.

Yeah, I like that because that stillness can allow you to be a better leader, better listener, better coach, better whatever, because you are bringing value by, uh, Not thinking about other things and, and just shutting down. It's not shutting down, but it's— yeah, I like that. We don't do it enough, especially nowadays with all this stuff coming at us with social media and, you know, TV and radio, whatever it may be. There's so much out there, almost too much information. Stillness is— so meditation sounds like part of stillness then. That's what I'm thinking.

You know what's interesting? Um, Meditation is more silence, which is actually quite an interesting differentiation. Because, you know, as you can imagine, I have a lot of people who are very spiritual. And what usually happens is they go to these retreats quite often, twice, 3 times a year. Yeah. They go into silence. They might experience a kind of stillness. And guess what? How long it takes once they return? And they're back into where they were. So they need to go back into that meditation thing again. And when you meditate, you know, I'm an avid meditator and You literally go into silence. Like there is no thought. There is literally a void, basically. But stillness is the opposite. Stillness is— picture it this way. It was beautiful. I had a call today with a friend and he suddenly said to me, because this reminds me of that story I read about the astronaut. who went into space and who came back. And he said when he was in space, he expected it to be empty. And he had the most profound spiritual experience you could imagine because he suddenly realized space is filled, it's frequency.

Yeah.

And this is what people experience when they come into stillness with me. It literally feels for them like, how is it possible? We are quiet. There is something taking place. It's like they suddenly realize, wow, something's going on in my brain. Is this guy going to my brain? No, I'm actually not at all. Or suddenly something in their heart starts moving or their soul starts speaking or their body starts tingling. And that's what I'm saying. Stillness is It's heightened activity, but it's coherent. And that's when the soul, probably for the first time, Steve, in certain cases, can actually speak because the noise is gone.

Yeah.

The chatter is gone.

Yeah.

It's literally like, like someone actually once explained it, talking with me is almost like Coming under a cloak is protection. But all the chatter, it's just 5 minutes before they came on the call, was still noise, noise, noise, noise, noise. And then they land and say, wow, I actually hear my blood in my ear. You can imagine how it feels, right? If you experience this for the first time.

Yeah.

Being a high achiever, You know, a human having, human doing, human achiever. But you know what's missing? It's the being part.

Yeah, that's the missing link. Definitely.

Yeah.

So you're not a chemist. You don't look like a chemist, but you talk about alchemy. What is that and what's its purpose? Because I love that phrase.

You know what's interesting? Basically, anything I've been doing in life was my way of understanding what was really going on. So when I left Leaps, which was very powerful, but I understood there is something that's missing. I talked with the universe and I asked, is there a acronym like Leaps which actually highlights what I'm doing. And, you know, I've always been called the alchemist. So I suddenly realized, you know, what I'm doing is pure alchemy. Mm-hmm. So I'll just quickly lead you through the alchemy part. The first thing is awareness. That means becoming fully present to what is and being without filters, which is very difficult for most people. The second one is letting go. That's the L. It's releasing old stories, noise, attachments, because all those things cloud the original design. And as we understand, that's what we want to actually get to, the original design. The third one is coherence. As I said, bringing mind, heart, and being together into silence, into stillness. And the stillness then produces the gateway to the soul. Then the H is holding. It's about creating the vessel, and that's usually the Stillness Council, as I mentioned, which sustains clarity. This is a space where new truth can stay. As you imagine, when you suddenly have this epiphany, gosh, I get it. So there needs to be this holding, this vessel which is safe, a space where this new truth actually can stay and grow. The E is embodiment. It's about living what's remembered. Because, you know, the entire process of what I'm doing, Steve, is understanding that when we were born, we forgot in an instant. And I believe the purpose in life is to remember who we really are, to remember what our calling is in this world, which is purpose, and then actually to live it. So living what's remembered, the truth moves from insight into daily being. That's the embodiment part. And the M part is movement. It's acting only from alignment. And now you can imagine if you look at a high achiever movement, oh goodness me, they're familiar with that, right? But now it comes acting only from alignment, moving with purpose, not impulse. And I can tell you, this was the hardest lesson for me when the universe told me, you know what, Markus, you do not move Before you are acting from alignment. So that means I had to learn a lot of patience. And the last one is yielding, remaining open and surrendered. Basically, you know, letting the field orchestrate what comes next. Like when people talk to me, um, how to acquire business, I don't. How do you get to your clients? You don't. But how do you make your living? It's literally— remember the old movie Field of Dreams?

Oh, yeah.

Kevin Costner. And so many people actually make themselves ridiculous about that movie and say, yeah, you know, build it and they will come. That's just bullshit. It's not. It's not. If you are moving really from alignment. And if you do remain open and you are actually surrendering, the field, you know, which I call the universe, literally orchestrates what comes next. And I know you are very much in delivering that yourself.

Yeah.

So Alchemy Steve basically is a living map. For me, it was the return from noise, which I said before, to my original design. And then what happened was a transmutation of what was true into clear sovereign action. And that's when I knew the Stillness Councils is what I'm here to do. So I have no program, I have no products anymore. All I have is the invitation to those Stillness Councils.

So with all that, which is powerful, What does servant leadership mean to you? What's your definition of servant leadership?

Most importantly, it's not about me. It's about the people I serve. At the same time, I say, you know, there's this movement which divides leadership from management. So quite often, sadly, people who cannot manage call themselves leaders. And I think it's very tempting, very dangerous. So I believe servant leadership is once I have come to an authentic understanding about myself, it all starts with me all the time. Only then I believe I can be a real effective and efficient leader.

It's powerful. And that's a great— there's so many ways you can answer that, and you answered very well. I like that because it is— if it's about you, it becomes ego and not servant leadership, and that doesn't work with leadership. We're coming to the end here, but I get asked this question. It's not from the soul, but I'm gonna use the soul as part of it. So when your soul is attacked by other people, how do you stay grounded? How do you stay still? When the attacks are coming?

Stillness itself is the key. It is literally believing that if you go into stillness and you stop doing, it actually becomes. That's the hardest part for human beings to understand. Because let's be honest, most people are human havings. Human doings and human achievings. But the human being is what for most people is extremely unfamiliar. Yeah. But when you get into stillness, basically what you can do is you can just close your eyes for a couple of minutes, and then you suddenly realize you are connected with a source, which usually only comes in very, very special moments. Because the noise is way too much out there. And, you know, our soul is growing, our soul is learning. The soul didn't come to this earth fully equipped. So sometimes the soul even can work against you because the mind influences it.

Yeah, that's a great point. Oh my God.

That could be like a second session, right?

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Oh yeah. Um, let's find— let's end with a fun question. You've really dived deep in some great stuff, and we're going to bring him back, audience. If you're thinking he's coming back for part 2, no doubt. We've got a reservation for you at a restaurant, table of 4. You're sitting in one of the chairs, you've got 3 empty chairs. Who's Markus going to invite, whether they're dead or alive, doesn't matter? Who would you want to talk to, and what food does Marcus order?

It's a good question. Let me give it some thought. So the one person I definitely want to have at my table is Viktor Frankl, the late Austrian psychiatrist who survived the concentration camp. Second one is alive, and that's Sadhguru. I can't wait to meet him in person. And the third one just comes to mind, I don't know why, is Barack Obama.

Interesting. I don't know why.

Yeah, yeah, it is an interesting table. So I was first thinking Michelle Obama. Like, if I, if I would have to choose a woman, I would choose Michelle Obama. So let's switch. Michelle Obama.

Yeah. Yeah. That's good.

And what I would order is first an assortment of Italian antipasti. And then actually something I really love is all different sorts of pasta. With different sauce. Yeah, pretty much.

Well, I'm Italian. You're just talking family style right now. Hey, baby, you got me hooked, that is for sure. Interesting. And your soul is definitely about stillness because Franco is probably one of the best examples of stillness that he portrayed in that prison, in that, you know, camp.

I would say he pretty much saved my life, by the

way. Yeah. Amen. Oh, really?

Pretty much. He saved my life.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, people can do that from the grave, tell you. Yes, from heaven. They can definitely do that.

Yeah. Yeah.

This has been a blessing. I knew it would be. You've dived into things that people need to learn, need to practice stillness. This is not something you do once and keep moving on. This is a practice, and we'll bring it back and talk more about practicing stillness with Markus when he comes back. I know people are going, I gotta reach out to Markus. I want to be part of the Stillness Council or just want to get coached or learn more. How can they find you?

The easy thing is really go on LinkedIn, put in my name, Markus Neukom. I'm the only one there. You'll see me immediately and just reach out, send me a message, connect with me.

Beautiful.

I really love that.

It's beautiful. And we'll put the link in the chat. So if you actually can't write it down or didn't see, you just be able to click on the link and connect with them. He is very active there. I've seen some great stuff that he's put out there. And Markus, thanks again. Appreciate your time. Appreciate your transparency and, and your knowledge and inspiration you truly give out to people.

Thank you so much, Steve.

You're welcome. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. And this is a perfect example of this show. You get it sent to you as your subscriber. What a gift you can give to others. What kind of impact did you make when you teach people or they learn about stillness through Markus? Maybe they reach out to Markus. Maybe Markus coaches them. Whatever journey they take, you started with a gift. That's what podcasts are when you listen, and it doesn't have to be mine. Anybody's podcast that you're listening to, and I do this all the time. He did very Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary Vee. I shared it with somebody, one of his podcasts I was listening to, and the guy was blown away. I taught him. Gary taught him something through a podcast. Subscribe, share, bring him his gifts, and you'll be very excited that you did that because you're going to make a difference in the world. With that being said, me and Marcus want to thank all of you for watching or listening to this podcast, and we'll see you all in the next one. Next episode of Doing Business with a Servant's Heart. Have a great day, everyone.