Special people
Andreas Salcher has the privilege of being able to build personal relationships with very special people from the worlds of art, science, spirituality and business. Read how their convictions, ideas and knowledge have had a decisive influence on Andreas Salcher's life and work.
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende's life story reads like a novel. Born in Lima in 1942 and raised in Chile, Bolivia and Lebanon, she left Santiago de Chile after General Pinochet's bloody military coup against her uncle Salvador Allende's government and went into exile in Venezuela. When her grandfather died in 1981 at the age of 99, she began writing letters to him. This resulted in Allende's first worldwide success, "The Haunted House". Numerous novels followed, such as "Of Love and Shadows", "Eva Luna", "The Infinite Plan" and "Paula", which is dedicated to her dead daughter. Her novel "The Wind Knows My Name" was published in 2024.
Andreas Salcher: "Isabel took part in the Waldzell Meetings in 2005 and 2007. I experienced her as a charismatic fighter for the rights of oppressed women all over the world. As a world-class writer, she touches our hearts with her stories."
Paulo Coelho
Andreas Salcher has been a personal friend of the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho since 2003. With 225 million books sold, he is one of the most widely read authors in the world. Coelho had to fight hard for this success after a difficult childhood, persecution by the Brazilian military dictatorship and many life crises. Paulo was the patron of the Waldzell Meetings at Melk Abbey and contributed significantly to their success. When Andreas Salcher sought his advice for his new "Curriculum Project", Paulo Coelho made it clear to him that he saw no future for the traditional school system due to the growing importance of the internet. Together with the former abbot of Melks Abbey, Burkhard Ellegast, Andreas was able to regularly take part in Paulo Coelho's St. Joseph celebrations
David Steindl-Rast OSB.
"It is not happiness that leads to gratitude, but gratitude that leads to happiness." This is the central wisdom of the Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, known as Brother David. Andreas Salcher on his most important spiritual teacher: "His spirituality is visible when you look into his eyes, it is audible when he raises his voice and it touches you because you immediately feel connected to his heart. I see myself more as a seeker than a practicing believer. Brother David was the first to give me a hint of what the principle of Jesus must have been, what true love of man means. I don't know how Brother David does it, but after my personal encounters, I just always feel the desire to become a slightly better person."
Andreas Salcher in conversation with Brother David
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More informationWhat do we need in difficult times and what can older and younger people learn from each other?
Alan Webber
Alan Webber was editor-in-chief of the "Harvard Business Review" for many years and co-founder of "Fast Company". He then wrote books and columns for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Washington Post. He has been mayor of Santa Fe in New Mexico since 2018. Andreas Salcher: "Alan is a sparkling intellectual with whom you can spend an entire night discussing any topic. He was instrumental in the success of Waldzell and opened many doors for me in the USA. He is one of those people who are always characterized by the question 'What can I do for you'. That makes him a great role model for me and many of his friends around the world."
Abbot Burkhard Ellegast ( 1931 to 2022)
The former abbot of Melk Abbey, Burkhard Ellegast, was a great pastor and a high ecclesiastical dignitary who repeatedly touched people with his publicly expressed self-doubt. At the Waldzell Meetings in the cellar of Melk Abbey, a life-long friendship was established between the former abbot and Paulo Coelho. Paulo Coelho came in person to the presentation of his book "The Way of the Raven" in the abbey church, which was packed with 1,000 people. Much of Abbot Burkhard's wisdom has also found its way into Andreas Salcher's books.
Ernst Scholdan ( 1953 - 2014)
Andreas Salcher on Ernst Scholdan: "He was my teacher, my mentor and above all my friend, to whom I and many other people owe great things. I learned from Ernst that the only thing that remains of a person is their thoughts."
Andreas Salcher has dedicated the epilogue of his book "Ich bin für Dich da - die Kunst der Freundschaft" to Ernst Scholdan.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ( 1934 to 2021)
After the bitter experiences of the Second World War and his escape to Hungary, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi decided to dedicate his life to the study of joy. He became world-famous for the flow he discovered by chance while watching children playing. Flow is the feeling when we are completely absorbed in an activity and forget about time. "Mihály was an incredibly intelligent and humble person who I was often allowed to interview for my books in his house in Claremont," says Andreas Salcher about his scientific mentor. Read the portrait in the "Kurier" about this outstanding scientist, who passed away on October 20, 2021. He set standards as a happiness researcher and co-founded positive psychology.