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What made Klasie Wessels close the office door one last time before striking out in a completely new direction – with much less pay – when he was at the pinnacle of success? by Wilma de Bruin

En route to a richer life

Norbulingka Institute of Tibetan culture. Dharamsala behind main temple.

Meeting the Prime Minister of Tibetan government in exile. Norbulingka messages

Tibetan flags behind main temple.

Pretty in red. Group with Tibetan flags behind main temple.

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Dharamsala women in rice field.Dharamsala Thosamling nunnery. Group with monk Bagdro.

For the 54-year-old former managing director and chairman of Draftfcb – one of south Africa’s leading advertising agencies – it was a no-brainer. An avid adventurer with seven ironmans, three Cape epics and numerous sani2C challenges under his belt, Klasie says, “i had simply reached the point where i realised t̒his isn’t

working for me anymore̒; it was the same over and over again. After 25 years in the industry, i decided there’s got to be more to life.”

no sooner said than done.six uplifting weeks in nepal (thanks to a plane ticket as a farewell

gift from his company) – where he spent five days, eight hours a day, meditating at the Osho Meditation Centre – followed by a trip to everest base Camp, planted the seed of taking people on journeys to fascinating places for personal enrichment.

This led to the founding of street school (streetschool.co.za), which offers development journeys to india and nepal for adults and senior learners, he shares over a cup of chai tea one Wednesday morning in Johannesburg.

“There is a spiritual depth in that environment, which is very special. Regardless of the hordes of people, the poverty and decay, there is a singular calmness; also in the Himalayas – you can’t leave there without having been deeply touched,” he muses.

Klasie realised that if he were to provide people with life coaching, he first had to build himself a credible platform. This prompted him to qualify as a life coach, and to do a course in logotherapy (meaning-centred counselling) at unisa. He explains that the latter mostly revolves around meaning and purpose, and how to help people find a deeper sense of both.

The r̒e-schooling̒ was an extremely positive experience, to the extent that today he has joined unisa’s Centre for Applied Psychology as a lecturer, where he pays special attention to advanced students, hoping to obtain an international qualification in this field.

His first journey as life coach was to a Delhi slum in October 2011. On returning home, while reflecting upon the experience, he realised something was still lacking. “Although doing welfare work in a slum was good and satisfying, it still didn’t feel like the people were connecting with their own consciousness; tapping into the power needed to do what they really wanted to do,” he emphasises.

A few months later, in April 2012, Klasie took a group to everest base Camp. The group included the youngest south African sisters yet to reach base Camp – Kim and Julia Huysamer, then aged 12 and 13.

The journey to everest base Camp is challenging, to say the least,

Klasie remarks. “but it’s not just about the physical challenge and survival, it also gives you time for introspection, to feel proud about what you have accomplished, rediscovering old dreams and ideals, and setting new goals so that this exercise can continue yielding fruit.”

Planning the next voyage had his thoughts drifting towards Dharamsala, a small town in the Himalayan foothills and home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, to offer tour members the opportunity of truly connecting with their deeper awareness.

“i started phoning around, did research and drew up a programme with the logotherapy structure, focusing on the Dharamsala environment. it drew a lot of interest; i wanted to take between 10 and 12 people – eventually we had to draw the line at 28.”

The group largely consisted of learners from Gauteng private schools who had to do community work as part of their school programme. by joining Klasie on a journey to do charity work in indian and nepalese communities and schools, they earned ̒golden̒ credits from the international organisation called The President’s Award.

The w̒orkshop̒ for the learners consisted of a p̒receding̒ journey, the r̒eal̒ journey and a c̒onclusive̒ one. “briefly, it’s an intensive, long-term life training programme taking place both in south Africa and abroad,” Klasie explains.

in the run-up to their departure, all the tour members got together for a complete briefing that included the Tibetan ambassador to south Africa, by now a personal friend of Klasie. in the following two group sessions, Klasie spoke incisively to the youth, encouraging them to cultivate personal awareness so that they can ̒get over̒ themselves and talk freely about their life dreams and expectations, and abilities.

in Dharamsala, where the learners, among other things, interacted with Tibetan schoolchildren, the conversation changed gear and level. “For instance, we’d notice certain things in their daily interaction with the Tibetans, and in the evenings we’d discuss these during coaching sessions at the hotel. A typical question on the agenda would be whether they view community work as a sacrifice or a contribution – asked within the framework of happiness and fulfilment coming from not focusing on yourself, but on your fellow man.”

About two weeks after their return to south Africa, the group met again for the concluding phase – to take stock of the journey and establish what had been significant and meaningful for each of them, which lessons they had learned and how to apply them.

in April this year, Klasie took a group of adults and senior school girls to everest base Camp, while 12 school boys of various cultural backgrounds

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Klasie Wessels in August this year with pupils of the Everest Seconday School in Kathmandu.Former advertising executive Klasie Wessels and two young mountaineers Julia (left) and Kim Huysamer (right) on their way to Base Camp at Mount Everest.

left for Kathmandu in August, and in september he took another group of adults to Dharamsala.

some of the tours have expanded to such an extent that his wife sue and their three daughters have become actively involved, all of them developing an intense awareness of what life can offer.

The tour programme is adapted for adults. “Among other things, tour members receive lectures from monks about the buddhist philosophy; they meet ministers and senior lamas and chat to monks of the Gu-Chu-sum Movement, who fled China through the mountains to Tibet. in turn, the monks learn english from the tour members. On one occasion we met the Dalai Lama himself and on another, Gyalwang Karmapa, head of Karma Kagyu, one of the four major schools of Tibetan buddhism.

“We don’t get involved with their religious teachings at all, but we do take counsel from their physiology and philosophy. We also visit a museum where tour members can view age-old buddhist texts.”

Meeting the Dalai Lama was an absolute highlight, he says. it happened in the small settlement of McLeod Ganj, roughly seven kilometres outside Dharamsala, home of the Tibetan community. The tour coincided with the Dalai Lama’s 77th birthday.

“We had gathered with thousands of people in the main temple, awaiting the Dalai Lama. We were very lucky to find a spot near the gate where he entered. We had a south African flag with us and we were waving it frenetically. it caught his eye when he showed up two hours later: he looked at us, stopped, turned around, walked over to us and asked whether we were from south Africa. The people around us were overwhelmed that he came to greet us, causing an unforgettable moment in everybody’s life.”

Klasie believes that two important aspects distinguish this tour from others: “besides tour members having interaction with lamas, monks and Tibetans – which regular travellers do not normally have – personal training forms an integral part of the whole programme. Therefore it’s a rejuvenation journey stimulating positive, internal development, personal creativity, energy and a sense of purpose in life.”

The t̒ransformation̒ the journeys trigger in tour members is remarkable, Klasie says.

That it’s a life-changing experience is evident from the numerous letters he receives from learners who have participated in the tours. “before our departure, it revolves mostly around the self: personal and career success, material wealth. upon their return, they primarily want to make a difference and contribute to the community.”

He tells of a father and daughter taking part in a base Camp journey.

On the one hand it helped the man, who could not get over the death of his only son, to forge a close relationship with his daughter, while on the other hand it helped him to find peace of mind and calm over his son’s death. Things happen to people in that environment that you don’t plan for. That is what people hope and search for. “That simply doesn’t happen in a boardroom in sandton,” he muses.

What excites him is the final programme of the year, which will offer up to 20 school-leavers and grade 11 learners the opportunity to spend their school holiday in the magical indian province of Kerala, once again engaging in enriching life conversations and experiences. The programme includes elephant rides, courses in ancient indian martial arts, traditional dancing, hikes in tea plantations, cycling through spice gardens and boat trips on the rivers of Kerala.

What do these journeys of discovery mean to Klasie personally?“Just the other day i was chatting to a friend who is very sceptical

about the turn of events in my life and what i’m doing now. in that half hour i nearly burst out in tears twice about some of the life encounters i have experienced on the trips. My tears are a level of truth. if i can work and it’s in touch with my level of truth, then that’s in order.

“What can give more satisfaction than unique life experiences offering personal growth and development, giving sense to life and placing it in a completely new orbit?”

Then again, he reflects, he would not have been able to do what he’s doing today and what he’s deriving so much pleasure from, if it hadn’t been for his ̒schooling̒ in the advertising industry. “in its time, the advertising industry was right for me. it was fun. i was with FCb for 25 years, straight out of Tukkies where i had studied a bCom marketing. but way back in standard eight i told a pal during a break that one day i want to be like Livingstone and visit wonderful places. That urge never let go of me…”

The challenge from here is to take the street school to the next level by presenting corporate development programmes in extreme environments for business people, as well as leadership development programmes for learners in south Africa.

“in 2010, i climbed a mountain in south America to raise money for One school at a Time, which is the social development project in black schools run by my advertising colleague Pepe Marais (chief creative officer of Joe Public). While presenting the money, i realised that it wasn’t enough: we must have conversations with small groups of learners, which they choose themselves. These modules, dealing with subjects such as role models, future dreams, trust, fear and group pressure, must be implemented wider so as to help young people realise their full potential.”