Embracing Human-Centric Living: Shedding the Shackles of System-Centric Life - Michaell Magrutsche : 116

Have you ever contemplated how societal systems shape our realities and experiences? The recent conversation with Michaell Magrutsche, a hospitality industry veteran and insightful thinker, led to a candid discussion about systemic living and his life story.

Michaell is a multimedia artist from Austria who now resides in California. He is the author of five books, a podcaster, a speaker, and a former Arts Commissioner of Newport Beach, CA. Michaell's experience-based, outside-the-box upbringing, forced upon him due to his neurodiversity, led him to become a creativity-awareness educator. He shares his personal life stories and unique paths as a neurodiverse child who was not aware of his disability at the time but now considers it a superpower.

The conversation wrapped by touching on the dichotomy between human-centric and system-centric living.
His story exemplifies the importance of embracing one's uniqueness to create a fulfilling and successful life.

Let's enjoy his story!

Connect with Michaell  https://MICHAELLM.com
His podcast: THE SMART OF ART - The Power of Art and Creativity

Transcript

Daniela SM : 0:01

Hi, I'm Daniela and welcome to my podcast, because everyone has a story, the place to give ordinary people, stories, the chance to be shared and preserved. Our stories become the language of connections. Let's enjoy it. Connect and relate, because everyone has a story. Welcome my guest,

Daniela SM : 0:34

Have you ever taken a moment to reflect on how societal systems mold or realities and shape our experiences? Well, Michaell certainly has, and at the age of 54, he had a profound realization about the concept of human-centric versus systemic-centric living. Hailing from Austria and calling California home, michael is a veteran in the hospitality industry, an insightful thinker, author, podcaster and captivating speaker. In our conversation he opens up about his life journey, offering us a glimpse into the unique path of his neurodiverse childhood. Back when we didn't know much about the subject and we would call it a disability, but today he knows it is his superpower. I relate to that from growing up, as I often receive criticism for my shortcomings. People in the past and still now, but much less, tend to judge differences rather than find opportunities. His story exemplifies the importance of embracing one's uniqueness to create a fulfilling and successful life. Let's enjoy Michael's story. Welcome, michael, to the show. I'm glad you're here.

Michaell Magrutsche: 1:52

Hi, daniela, good to talk to you.

Daniela SM : 1:54

Yes, and I'm excited because I know you have a lot to say and to share Too much, too much. Yes, I know we can't stop talking. So, michael, tell me, why do you want to share your story?

Michaell Magrutsche: 2:07

I hit the wall till I was 55 and nothing has changed. I didn't get a better relationship, I didn't get a better job, I didn't get anything. I didn't move to another place, just the consciousness, the awareness about we living in a systemic life, in a metaverse, but we are really. Our true habitat is nature, and we are so disconnected from nature that we want to save nature instead of. You can't save something that you're part of, and just that awareness is my life system relevant or human centric, and the more I thought about it, the more I feel like we are living the lie and that's why we have all these disturbances in life. So I believe that 80% of our problems, human problems, are systemic. They are not coming from humans to humans. They are just because we live in an artificial environment that we created. We created that environment and we pretend, through our adaptability, that this is reality. This is the reality. It is, but we haven't considered our adaptability. We are extremely adaptable and because we are so adaptable, we got used to it over generations to live in systems played by system dynamics and constantly jump from religion to politics, to your job, to your family, all these systems, and constantly adapting. And that's why we're so exhausted? Because in nature, yeah, we have to adapt to. It's raining, you've got to find a tree and be underneath. You need some food. You go search for food, you constantly adapt and adjust, but it's a different adaption. It's almost like you're going in this environment and you go in that environment and you have to. There's rules and regulations that you have to abide for.

Michaell Magrutsche: 4:17

And when you think about, we are not the same system wants to see us as 8 billion humans. But we are 8 billion humans, one of one. Everybody has their own fingerprints, their own DNA and their you know, their own irises. So my question is have you ever met two people that are the same? Never, that's. From your you can sense that there's no such thing. But we are systemically treated. All these people have to do the same thing. All women have to be this way, all men have to be this way. The biggest enlightenment I had is you cannot systemically fix what you created, meaning the system divided us in genders, the system divided us in race. Now they want to divide us in sexuality. Define us, you know to define you, and then stereotypical, and then we are adaptable and we take in that on, and then we become racist, we become sexist, we are genderphobic because we want to belong to the tribe. That's another drive that comes from nature. That's why I do that.

Daniela SM : 5:33

So after 55, you became kind of like a philosopher. You discovered these on your own by reading. How did that happen?

Michaell Magrutsche: 5:42

I wrote my book, the last book, the smart of art. I couldn't believe why artists worldwide live on the poverty level. For me it was my savior, because I'm extremely nervous. I can't even read the six books that I wrote. I have to computer read it. I couldn't read, I was stuttering. I had all these stresses because I couldn't fit into systems ever. So I had to repeat classes. I have zero education, everything is self-taught here. Art teaches me everything. And then I said, oh my God, why are all these artists poor? Because we're looking at the product, we don't look at the achievement anymore. And so this is how I have found that out. So I didn't learn and I'm not a philosopher.

Michaell Magrutsche: 6:21

Perhaps I'm a philosopher. The philosophy has a lot of problems too, because it is systemic. It looks at human from a system, not from human. When you look at all content, all these philosophers, they're saying very valuable things, but the breakdown is because they are systemic and they look in defining humans systemically, meaning I'm a scientist, a natural scientist, and I'm defining who you are. Now I can't do that. I have six senses and I can meet you, like here, and then I can interact with you and that's it.

Daniela SM : 6:55

That's all I can as a human Interesting. When does the story start then? Because it's sort of 55, but now it started sooner.

Michaell Magrutsche: 7:01

The story. I didn't even know my story. I was dumb as a wall. I was just trying to survive moment by moment. I was a sick child. I went to school at seven and then I couldn't read and write because I'm also this graph. Then they say, okay, you're dyslexic, but you still have to read in front of the class, you still have to do all this stuff In Europe. You have to repeat the class. I had to do two grades and the third grade I couldn't repeat, so I had to go to the job. I went to hospitality because that's human centric, and I learned how to dance with other human After third grade, you stopped studying.

Michaell Magrutsche: 7:36

I have no education zero. I failed in English. I failed, yeah, I tried to go till sixth grade, but I couldn't repeat anymore. I failed fourth, fifth and sixth graders something like I'm not sure about.

Daniela SM : 7:50

Yeah, sixth grade you're 11. You didn't study anymore, but you went to work in a hospitality at that age.

Michaell Magrutsche: 7:57

No, when I was 15, 14. I worked for my dad. We had a company, so I worked 14. I started working but I tried to do it externally, you know, with the help and tutors. But I couldn't. I couldn't pass it. I never got the grade. I never passed the Education.

Daniela SM : 8:17

Mm-hmm, wow, that must have been hard.

Michaell Magrutsche: 8:19

No kidding, but I wasn't aware of it.

Daniela SM : 8:21

Do you feel dumb? People were telling that to you.

Michaell Magrutsche: 8:24

No, never, never, Never. I just see it from now. Wise now and aware and wise now. And it was, I was, and I thought always it's very funny because my, my drivers, I want to know everything, so I and now I don't care if I know anything, I just plug in, I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean meaning meaning if I have the same conversation with somebody else, it's a different conversation.

Michaell Magrutsche: 8:48

I'm always in the moment and I know that even if you and I wanted to repeat this Podcast, we can't. It will totally be different.

Daniela SM : 8:56

Besides the dyslexia, do you have other neurodiversities?

Michaell Magrutsche: 9:01

Yeah, this graph here, my handwriting I can't, and so my brain doesn't detect the context of what I write. So when I write now and there is a short word, you know Unless it's so obvious that you could have said it without the there or is or whatever I can't do that. I look at it five minutes. I said what could that mean? In what context did I write that? And I can't decipher it.

Daniela SM : 9:23

Have you made others that hadn't the same neurodiversity as you? Yeah, I do what everybody does no typing, typing and voice voice recorder and typing and then so you went all these years, but you didn't know that you had any of these, because I'm sure that, but but when you were younger they neurodiversity Issues. They were not a conversation Anywhere there were no conversation.

Michaell Magrutsche: 9:44

No, they just said you were dyslexic, that's it, but it doesn't make it a different you know I was Just like okay, you're dyslexic, okay, then you know good.

Daniela SM : 9:55

But how can we help you that there wasn't the case?

Michaell Magrutsche: 9:57

No, no, because you were the one that was outcast. You were the one Everybody followed the rules and you couldn't follow the rules, but I was in the rebel. See this, I wasn't the rebel. They say screw everybody. You know, I wanted to belong, I felt my sense of, I want to be part of, so I was very clear about this. I wasn't rebelling, you know, and that created tremendous self shame.

Michaell Magrutsche: 10:23

You start shaming yourself and saying you know, you know something wrong with you which it can't be. There can't be something wrong with you by nature. Your proof of being valuable is that you exist. You would nobody if you believe in God or nature, any. You wouldn't exist if you were not valuable. Because the system hasn't figured out how to use you is a complete different story and the system, you know, you know liking you better than me. That's out of our hands Because you, perhaps you are more system that are relevant for the system. But if I go to another system and I'm more relevant than you, then I'm more relevant there.

Michaell Magrutsche: 11:06

Life shouldn't be a job, but life in systems is a job Because you can't pay your rent. You can't. There's 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and that's what I say. We need to wake up and say, hey, why, if systems are so great, why don't the AI? Ai, for example, if I so great, why can't it not figure out? We know we're everybody's different and we know we all have a place on this earth, otherwise we wouldn't be existing. In two years, the human connection will be one like that. You and I know each other right. That will be the most valuable thing in two years, because you don't know anymore. So you have to only trust the people that you know.

Daniela SM : 11:48

I Can see that as a very interesting point, it coming back to you. So you went to the hotel industry at 15, and then what happened after that?

Michaell Magrutsche: 11:57

Restaurant in an hotel. My love was always art. So I was from a little kid. Always, could you know, like a lot of kids, you know the draw and do all this thing because that brings them in a moment to feel good. So I. It made me feel good and it made me survive. Because when you are 15 and you have to repeat the second, you're at the same class with little kids, but you're the dumbest, you're the one that that doesn't. That's a hard thing.

Michaell Magrutsche: 12:24

Art was always my escape. It was my savior. I Started early. I sold tapes out of my trunk when I was 14, you know another for my trunk, of my bicycle trunk. I was a DJ. I produced fashion shows, I went to advertising.

Michaell Magrutsche: 12:40

So when I was 30, I did a pivotal shift. I Realized that it doesn't really matter that I fit in systems or people say I'm an artist or not. I Couldn't do anything else I other than helping people in the restaurant. But basically I couldn't do anything else. So I did these side jobs. That was that's what most artists do. They have a job and to have their really their vocation that's their calling is art and that's what I did and it kept me happy and it kept me good. That was it.

Michaell Magrutsche: 13:15

I'm an artist and I think that was major because I talk to a lot of artists. I know artists all over the world. It's my family Established artists that sell paintings for $40,000, $50,000, have a hard time to call themselves artists Because it's not. It's understood through systemic. If the system says, daniela, your paintings are beautiful, then you're an artist, but what is? Your paintings are Systemically I hate Daniela's painting Then you are nothing.

Michaell Magrutsche: 13:47

You can be the best artist today and the worst tomorrow. You can't be dependent on what other people say. You have to understand what is your uniqueness. You are one of eight billion people, one of eight billion Daniela. If that is not a self-worth, if anybody says I'm not worthy, I don't think I should exist. You are one of eight billion, one of a kind. So life is figuring out what kind you are.

Michaell Magrutsche: 14:16

What is your unique puzzle piece? And not for systems, but for the humanity what is? I know I'm different than eight billion people and there's a reason. Nature made that, or God, or whatever you believe, made that that way. So if I find out what my human puzzle piece is, once you're aware of that, the system takes care of itself. Then you know exactly where to go, what to look for, and you're not tainted by your image. But what is true? Because in system you are an image, you're a lawyer, a fire chief, you're a policeman, but in the human sense, oh, daniela is really good at listening. That's her superpower. And then she comes up with one-liners and it's beautiful, and if that resonates with you and you do that over and over and people say that's Daniela, that is Daniela, I don't know what, but somebody cooks. You know, there's somebody that cooks so unbelievably it's like magic, and she's not in a restaurant, she's not thing, but she cooks like anything she touches.

Michaell Magrutsche: 15:25

I had a friend that passed he could do a burger and I made that because I'm always curious, you know me, I want to try to figure out everything. I had the same burger, frozen burger, from the same patch, and I said I want you to do one and I want you to do it Medium, rare, the chef and the owner. The owner was a friend of mine, the owner on the same grill and I said I don't want to know who did which. Let me taste and I could tell you which one was the thing, and I don't have an intuition or anything. I could tell you who was and it was like three times as much better. The same Betty. If you tell this to anybody systemically, they don't even understand.

Daniela SM : 16:08

Wow, interesting. Yes, I believe that that's what we hear in this world to figure out who we are and what we're supposed to be doing. People, I think, passed away without knowing what they're supposed to do or the purpose is, and I think that's the stress that we always need to find a purpose. I feel like also, when you get to be 50s, your brain somehow wires in a way that it makes you start 50s, the double, the soul double.

Michaell Magrutsche: 16:37

That's history. They say that that's when the soul looks at what did I do with my life? 50, 55, between it's like the wounding is when you're like 13, or 13 to 18. And then it's like but everybody, it's like. In 10 religions they say the same thing 13 is the what.

Michaell Magrutsche: 16:55

So 13 is the wounding when something happens that affects your whole life. Your father dies, your mother dies, you have a sexual encounter, something happens, an accident, you survive, the other ones don't. That's about 13 to 18. And then 55 is when you actually look what you did with that.

Daniela SM : 17:18

Yeah, interesting. So, michael, you did a lot of jobs interesting jobs actually which I think is very rewarding and is also very rich to be able to work in different industries.

Daniela SM : 17:30

that yes yes, a ton of jobs, a ton of jobs, I give you a perspective of different things, you understanding different people, while people that are always doctors or their life or a profession that they have, a profession and they only know about, that is a bit more. It's more rigid when you are being on the same career of all your life, and so I find it fascinating Like I have had also many jobs in different industries where I have experienced so many different areas that I find myself that that is successful to me. But you still have in the back of your mind thinking well, I didn't become a director or something because this is what the system says.

Michaell Magrutsche: 18:13

I had, with no education. I co-produced with Robert Evans who did the Godfather, did Chinatown Love Story. I lived in his house. I was city arts commission of Newport Beach. I wrote six books. I did the system relevant thing but I wasn't fulfilled. And when I was 55, because you said the word, his perspective gives you a lot of jobs. You say the keyword. It is not something you do differently, it's not a three-step process, it's the awareness that you gain. You get an awareness and you can't forget that awareness, especially if it resonates. And there's something you never forget the important things for you, because you're one of eight billion, there's no. Oh, I'm going to get the same awareness that you got. No, I got mine.

Daniela SM : 19:06

Yeah, yes, and it's true. I mean I am learning the exercise, food savings, finance, that everybody is ahead. You know, everybody has their own way of doing things and things work differently for everyone. I mean, it will be easier for sure if you can just take one formula and then you just, then you work, Because then you can move to the next thing. But everything takes a long time until you figure out who you are and it's just, it's a lot of work, it's a lot of work.

Michaell Magrutsche: 19:33

Yeah, but it is less work is more pleasure, if you are seeing it, not the outcome. See, the system says you got to get the Oscar. Daniela is such a good actress, you got to get the Oscar. So you work all your thing with the thing and you're not looking what your way to the Oscar was. So you couldn't even teach. If I was your daughter, you couldn't teach me how you got to the Oscar. Because you're focusing so much on the Oscar, you don't know why you got it. You think, oh, because there's five people they voted for me and I got it. That's not it it's. That's just a system accolade and a feedback loop for you.

Michaell Magrutsche: 20:12

Okay, you did the right thing systemically, but it is not about the outcome, it's not about the reward, the money, whatever it's. I told you nothing has changed for me, or just my perspective on life, another religion, nothing, just to see it from a right angle. And boom, the light went on and nothing. I didn't have a shock. There wasn't the light going on, there wasn't the sun that going or anything. It was just it very soft, like nature, is it just seeped into my existence and I said, oh my God, that makes sense. Oh my God and the process was writing my book because I couldn't believe why the people, the artists, are so poor. Because the system focuses on the achievement but on the product. And if the people, you're dependent on other people liking your product, your painting, your song, you, whatever, I like the analogy about the Oscars.

Daniela SM : 21:05

Can you elaborate more about the journey, because we always hear it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. But that's just kind of like a cliche, yeah it's a super cliche.

Michaell Magrutsche: 21:15

But you know why? It's exactly because you systemically express something, you express wisdom to it. It's the journey. Otherwise not every religion would have that. So there's a human centric wisdom in it's the journey.

Michaell Magrutsche: 21:28

But the journey doesn't make sense in systems. In systems, it's the product, it's the money, it's the buying taken over. This being the CEO, being the doctor, achieving this, winning the war, it's the result. It doesn't matter if a million people died in that war, we won the war. Humans are just products. I'd call it on the wheel. It's about the journey.

Michaell Magrutsche: 21:51

You are old enough, like me that, not as old as me, but you are old enough that you can say it wasn't always like that. People valued, when we were young, more the achievement. Today, nobody cares. You are nothing if you don't show results. And it's not about the results. It's systemically and this is what I say You're separated Systemically. It's about results, human centric, to learn what is your puzzle piece? There we go back to the puzzle piece, your human puzzle piece.

Michaell Magrutsche: 22:27

It's about the journey. In the journey, when you are present, like I'm with you right now, I'm very much this. I'm not thinking, oh, I have to pay a bill, I have to run the dog. I have to do this. When you see yourself engaged and observe yourself at the same time. You're learning about the journey and you're learning about okay, how do I fit? I said this and Daniela liked that. Oh, again. So my colleague oh, I'm good at that. Oh, daniela didn't understand or couldn't connect with this. Oh, that's not. No, not as good in that. So I'm more this puzzle piece versus that puzzle piece, so I can actually, in the journey, engage with my six senses, or probably more than six system, and I can create a system to help us, not that we submit to them. It's very simple, though it's not hard.

Daniela SM : 23:21

It's very simple, interesting, interesting. A lot of food for thought. But I want to go back to you. You grew up in Austria, then you moved to the States, and that was because Because I couldn't fit in.

Michaell Magrutsche: 23:35

I couldn't fit in and also I knew it was more systemically than America. Then what happened was that I always knew I was going to be in America. I didn't know how long, I didn't know why, but I knew it and there wasn't like an anxiety that I have to go to America. No, I just knew it and then just traveled when I was 18 around with a couple of friends and then I said, yeah, I wanted to know America. And then I saw all the stuff and I said I know it's not enough, I need more. And so I got a job here on Sunday. I lived in New York and then lived in Westwood and then in Newport Beach.

Daniela SM : 24:14

That became the Arts Commission there and then you've been in the States for how long now?

Michaell Magrutsche: 24:18

43 years or something.

Daniela SM : 24:20

When you go to Austria. Has it changed?

Michaell Magrutsche: 24:23

Oh, a lot. I was there before COVID. I did a party. I did a lot of photos. When I was young I put those photos about all these clicks, the aristocrats, the doctors, the business, the industrialists and all that stuff. And I was invited to all because I'm human centric, I'm fun, interesting and I didn't do drugs because of my dyslexia. If I do drugs it's really bad for me. So drinking or drugs is not good for in my neurodiversity that you get a cheeser or something. So I was bored. I didn't smoke either. I just had a little camera and just photographed and people can't even remember. And so we made a party after 36 years, gotten everybody together in Vienna before COVID.

Daniela SM : 25:08

And so you made a party and posted all the pictures on the wall.

Michaell Magrutsche: 25:11

No, I posted the pictures first because I slept them around and there were slides and I said I got to go through them and I probably will use 50-100 slides that I keep. The rest I will throw away, because there were like 4,000 slides that.

Michaell Magrutsche: 25:25

I slept around New York, westwood, everywhere, wherever I live, and I said I say, okay, I'm going to look at them and finally sit down. And then I looked in 2018. And I started posting them and people said more and more and more and I made our own group. And then people think and then I did a in 2019, I did a party.

Daniela SM : 25:46

When you say a party, what do you mean by that?

Michaell Magrutsche: 25:48

Like a get-together. We're making a big party where there was 300 people invited and 200 showed up and they came from all over the world. Because it was so special, because they loved it on what they said. They wanted to see the people.

Daniela SM : 26:00

Oh, so there were not necessarily family, there were just people that you took pictures.

Michaell Magrutsche: 26:04

There were the people that are on the photos, on the 4,000 photos, Ah that you have taken through years. No only between 15 and 18.

Daniela SM : 26:14

So they were all from Austria.

Michaell Magrutsche: 26:15

Austria, and you can see them on my website. You can look at it on my website.

Daniela SM : 26:19

Cool as an artist. You draw and you take photography and you are also an author.

Michaell Magrutsche: 26:26

I paint, I do music, I write, I write poetry, I do everything. I'm a multi. I would get two port. Right now I'm not painting that much. I do some digital paintings, but I'm doing, I'm writing, I've got. So I get so much fulfillment of writing, you know.

Daniela SM : 26:41

And there's five books that you have published. When do you started them and are they different kind of subjects?

Michaell Magrutsche: 26:48

Yeah, they're all art related. The first is a screenplay. The second was I did 300 paintings in three days. The other one was because I see people cannot place art. They're not aware what it is to place art. It's not like to place a sofa, it's something different. And because I was arts commissioner, so combine that because I see it, there's so much and I needed to do a document where people understand how to place art correctly, Because any picture you have in your house should be that you can walk into it.

Daniela SM : 27:18

Oh, wow.

Michaell Magrutsche: 27:19

You need to feel like I can just keep walking into that picture, then you. It's the maximal connection with the artwork and the see. We just gave away a free book.

Daniela SM : 27:29

How did you learn that?

Michaell Magrutsche: 27:31

I by myself.

Daniela SM : 27:32

These rules that you wrote in the book, or these ideas they are not systematic, then are just your ideas.

Michaell Magrutsche: 27:39

No, it's my perception, my six senses of what is best and obviously it was very lucky. I have an old friend, peter Blake, who has a one of the aesthetic genius and we talked about it. He told me how he sets up his gallery, what he does, and it all was concurrent with each other. We have the same feeling that everything is hung too high, that everything is. You know, statues are pushed on the floor versus in eye height, eye level, it's everywhere. It's the same. Everything is in grouping of nice, the all color, all gray pictures, all green pictures, versus.

Michaell Magrutsche: 28:17

The brain loves contrast. The heart of the contrast is we worked in the Hunk Beach Art Center and there was separated in photography, watercolor, oil paintings, sculptures, and you look at the grouping and you just say, oh, I like this. You don't even give the other one attention. But if I mix it all up and make a mess, then the brain likes to discover. So this is just a function of how we get engaged with the brain and in this discovering I'm extending your journey, like we talked about journey, and then you get aware about stuff that you weren't aware of.

Daniela SM : 28:59

That's interesting, that's a good talent to have. I mean for me. Sometimes I know that something is wrong, but I don't know how to fix it. You know, you can tell that this doesn't go well or something is not, and so that's the problem. I'm bringing the problem, but I'm not having the solution.

Michaell Magrutsche: 29:17

First you gotta see it. You cannot have a solution without seeing it.

Daniela SM : 29:20

Yes, yes. So you go to people's homes and you're like already saying mm.

Michaell Magrutsche: 29:25

Yeah, no, no, I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying look at this yourself, and I always say it to anybody If you're before you hang a picture, have your husband, you know, hold the picture and then you will see. When it goes too high, you disconnect. There's a disconnecting point. People never talk about this. I've not heard anybody about that. You lift the painting and there's all of a sudden a disconnect. And it's funny. You cannot do it too low because for some reason you're not intimidated by the painting. So even a low hanging painting is okay, but you can't do it too high.

Daniela SM : 30:00

Interesting.

Michaell Magrutsche: 30:01

And then art is very intimidating, because art is already intimidating and people don't know what it is. So it's a conversation. It's a result of a conversation between a non-physical human and this physicality. That's my conversation, and what comes out is the piece of art. That's just the result of that.

Daniela SM : 30:18

Wow. Okay, that's book number three. So what about four and five?

Michaell Magrutsche: 30:21

Four is a German book about art, and then the five is smart of art and the six is gonna be smart of art too, with systems and human centric how we create our reality, how we create our metaverse or something. I don't know the title yet I'm working on the title.

Daniela SM : 30:42

Wonderful. The thing that I'm still curious, michael, is that so you didn't change anything, which is a great lesson. Yeah, it's nothing outside you is all inside you. But this process was like what you were sitting, lying in bed, you, every morning, you were doing something, you just one morning, you just thought about it. How did it happen exactly?

Michaell Magrutsche: 31:05

It slows, you know, in the journey. It slowly seeps in. So I'm writing and constantly upset. I'm upset. Artists don't make money. And it saved my life. Why is it so? I thought. Oh, perhaps it's just in Europe to make money, or just in America to make money. No, it's everywhere. I've still friends to live in their cars. Being confronted with that ambiguity of this is not true. Like you say, you see things that don't fit, but you don't know why. But if you sit, you know why. If you would sit, if you would give it time and would sit, that why does that not fit you?

Michaell Magrutsche: 31:41

know, or you say why does it not fit? And walk away, come back, it still doesn't fit and you just say why? You just ask the question without expecting an answer and you go back. And there will be a time, whenever the time is right, that you will know that. And for me it was not before 50, 55. I wrote my book with 50, 51 or so and then it took me four years to integrate that system versus human centric. You know.

Daniela SM : 32:12

And this human centric? I have never heard of that word before. Is it something you invented?

Michaell Magrutsche: 32:17

I did, I did I also. My job is a creativity awareness educator. I have to make words up because you can't compare me. I'm one of one. So human centric means that we are part of nature and we live life as the part of nature, having the ability to be collaborative, creator animals that can create their own habitat. But that still doesn't disconnect us from nature. We still have sexual drives, we still feel things, we like food, we go together and share food and stories. That's our human side. That's not a systemic side. Our systemic side is that there is podcasts. But if there was no podcast, you and I would meet at the fire and make food, exchange it and talk.

Daniela SM : 33:11

Yes.

Michaell Magrutsche: 33:12

So it's not that you go back and say you know what's human-centric is that people talk on podcasts. That is human-centric, but it is through a system. It would be better you and I would meet in person, obviously, because our senses would exchange on a full spectrum.

Daniela SM : 33:29

But it would be harder, like I think that the technology has given the opportunity to meet people all over the world that I wouldn't have.

Michaell Magrutsche: 33:39

I know, but that should be. That's what we created systems to help us. If we also have a cell phone where I can call from everywhere, I don't need to stay at home and wait till my phone rings. That's what systems are good for. But based all the time filling out forms, doing all the work, why do we think AI is so? Everybody hopes for AI. It's gonna be the solution for everything. Because they don't want to do the system work. We are so tired of system work and the problem is we need to renew system and re-adapt them so they become human-centric. They serve humans, not human-serve systems, because if there's no humans tomorrow, systems are irrelevant. If there's no systems tomorrow, humans still can fend for themselves. And when we create new stuff, because we are collaborative, creator, animal by nature, it's collaborative, not competing. Life is dense, it's a process. It's never ending.

Daniela SM : 34:38

Yes, life is a dance, that's true. We should dance more. And so, michael, besides being an artist and having all these talents, you do have a regular job as well. I believe you will mention.

Michaell Magrutsche: 34:49

Yeah, hospitality, hospitality, and I do a lot of consulting. I had a big talk yesterday with a company that wants to do jobs for people in the human-centric way.

Daniela SM : 34:59

I see that's great. When we talked the first time, you mentioned that when you used to work in restaurants, that you used to say something to your customers. Can you elaborate that again?

Michaell Magrutsche: 35:10

When we come to a restaurant I see somebody's real bad mood and I'm usually the matriot, the chef of the front of the house. I say beautiful to have you. You know we have a dance together. This is an experience together. So I can give you the best experience that I can do. But you can amplify that experience times 10 if you play with me, if you communicate with me and the people you know you are part of that experience. So what you experience, you are part of. So you can't come and say, okay, daniela, okay, talk to me, that's done, and I just sit here and you ask me a question. Okay, that's why it is you are dance, you are partner, you are a big part of your experience that you want to come. You don't want to have just food thrown into a thing. You want to have an experience, a human experience, because you could have eaten at home or could have some do-it-ash or grab a. Bring the food into your house.

Daniela SM : 36:09

Yes, and you said that you also tell them I will provide you the best food and the best service and the atmosphere. You will put it something like that.

Michaell Magrutsche: 36:20

You said the moment I say you are part of your own experience. If you dance with me, it's perfect. People get the human sentry because we have six senses. They feel that that I don't come from, you better behave, otherwise I'm going to throw you out. I'm not coming with that. That is not the energy. I come and see the differentiation of I'm inviting them to dance with me versus I am, you don't. This is a Michelin restaurant. That's a difference and it's just a perspective too. But the nuances is our strengths, that's our superpower. That's why you go in a restaurant. The restaurants are the last remnants of the campfire, but even restaurateurs don't see it like that. They want to make money. If you focus on the money, on the outcome, it's focused on the outcome. Life goes by, life is just dwindling away if you focus on the outcome.

Daniela SM : 37:13

Wow, Michael l, thank you so much for sharing your perspective the human-centric versus system-centric. I enjoyed it very much. I would certainly take it with me that concept. So again, thank you for the gift.

Michaell Magrutsche: 37:29

Human-centric or system-relevant. Never forget that we are a part of nature. We can't save nature. We can save our part of nature. It's our habitat that we have oxygen and water, but we can't really save nature.

Daniela SM : 37:42

Thank you, it was awesome.

Michaell Magrutsche: 37:44

You're welcome, pleasure I appreciate it.

Daniela SM : 37:46

Thank you, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. I am Daniela and you were listening to, because everyone has a story. Please take five seconds right now and think of somebody in your life that may enjoy what you just heard, or someone that has a story to be shared and preserved. When you think of that person, shoot them a text with the link of this podcast. This would allow the ordinary magic to go further. Join me next time for another story conversation. Thank you for listening. Hasta pronto, music.