It is always a magical moment, when I sit down to reflect who are the individuals I am indebted to for the role they played in you reading this page, today. Pioneers like Lennart Rohlin, the MiL Institute’s “crew,” together with Ernie Turner and the LIM founders, who ventured into a different way of experimenting with learning. The power of Action Reflection Learning (ARL) intrigued me to research and attempt to code the methodology, and over decades I continue finding new ways and settings to apply the principles, and honoring your pioneering work. Victoria Marsick, Lyle Yorks, and Jeanne Bitterman, from Teachers College at Columbia University, you mentored me through my discovery of what helps adults learn. Boris Drizin and Paul Roberts were the intellectual teammates who helped distill the theoretical foundations and define the principles: my gratitude goes to you. Thank you Jonas Haertle, who said to me, “Yes, do it!,” when I mentioned my idea to write about the learning principles that I had been using to transform the traditional way of teaching Oliver Laasch who said, “I support you,” and the colleagues of Business Expert Press. To Tony Pearson, whose patience is continuously challenged by my creative “Spanglish” expressions, and who has been my editor for 20 years now, helping me learn and elegantly shaping my writings. To Anders Aspling, for his thoughtful comments and suggestions to make this a better work. And to my inner circle of friends, at LEAP, the UN PRME Working Group on the Sustainability Mindset, at Nova Southeastern University, at Aim2Flourish, Mariam Tamborenea, Clara Arrocain, Veronica Legrand, Silvia Leon, Sandra Sowelu, my dear family and friends who are my “fan club” that shows unconditional support and encouragement, to all of you my endless gratitude. To Martine Marie, the Universe brought us together to do some very special things. My gratitude to you, for your playful and professional way of helping me imagine new horizons, and then following up in the details, all the while reminding me to go with the flow. To Martha Driemer, author in her 80s and my mom, for her feedback, inspiration, and presence as a role model for my life. To my dad, for the lightness of being he taught me. And to my dream and life partner, Ernie Turner: my gratitude for your continuous “why not?” attitude, that invites me to aim higher, and your “dream-plan-act,” which became the mantra guiding my days.
I said it is a magical moment, because once we are aware of how we are all interconnected, the list of individuals who—knowingly or not— influenced this book becomes infinite. Their names go across geographies, and across time. So let me end with a humble acknowledgment: Accept my gratitude, and since I will never be able to pay you back, I will pay it forward and do my part, do my best.