What others are saying
Testimonials about 'The Key You Didn't Ask For' from readers, experts and leaders worldwide.
Karl does two things excellently in this book. Firstly he is quite vulnerable when he gives you a glimpse of what he endured and is still going through after his diagnosis and operation. Secondly this book is more than just a story on cancer. It's a simple and well-crafted book that fuses key lessons in personal leadership with Karl's signature drawings & humor, packed with real-world scenarios, reflections and values that you can apply at any stage of your leadership journey.
Bluvn' Goan. It could have been the title of this book. Karl offers various tools that can help you see the way forward again. They can make you mentally stronger and give you willpower, so that life becomes meaningful again.
Karl Mortier has created a work that is at once gentle and profound, intimate and instructive. It is a testament to the power of storytelling, the clarity that NLP can offer, and the transformative potential of looking at one's own life with openness and humour. May this book accompany you to a deeper understanding and a renewed connection with yourself, with others, and with the world around you.
Karl's pivotal message throughout the book is that we can all deal with virtually any challenge, any crisis, any unexpected bad news. It's not really the crisis that matters — it's how we take it in and how we take it on. Bluvn' Goan my friend, and thank you for this wonderful, beautiful book.
This book embodies the spirit of "Bluvn' Goan" not as forced positivity, but as an ecology of will, meaning, and self-relationship. It is a gentle yet powerful companion for anyone seeking to grow their personal leadership in challenging times. Karl has created a work that does more than inspire — it quietly teaches us how to relate to ourselves and our experiences in ways that make new futures possible.
This personal and powerful work recounts a true heroic journey. What we in California call a 'cosmic wake-up call' challenges us to navigate a transition and learn to surf the wave of uncertainty while maintaining our balance. Karl gives this gift to the world. Many will benefit from this impressive healing journey. Thank you, Karl, for your courage, your authenticity and your truth.
As a long-time health coach and trainer, I was genuinely inspired by this book. Karl weaves his personal experiences with reflective wisdom and practical strategies in a way that is both engaging and deeply empowering. The clear structure makes the lessons easy to absorb and apply. This book is a valuable resource for transformation, and I wholeheartedly will recommend it to my clients and students.
As a visual expert, coach, and NLP specialist, Karl Mortier supports people in an original and meaningful way. Through his experience with visual methods, Karl helps people reconnect with their creative and inner strength. With his pedagogical and artistic talents, Karl also shares his personal experience of a deep and healing journey through illness. His story is a source of inspiration for anyone who consciously wants to improve their health.
This book reads like a train. It is also a wonderful ode to NLP and how it makes a difference in practice every time. This book will contribute to much more than just dealing with illness. It opens up new perspectives.
What stayed with me most is not the story itself, but how the book holds it. Karl doesn't try to explain life, fix it, or turn it into motivation. The mix of honesty, humour, visuals and NLP makes difficult inner experiences feel very relatable and human. This isn't a book that tells you how to lead — it shows, quietly, how self-leadership starts when you stop fighting what's happening and start relating to it differently.
As strange as it may sound, I enjoyed this book precisely because it does not shy away from difficult themes — it touched me deeply. It literally left me in tears, which says everything about how powerful and vividly the story is constructed. The alternation between the personal story, practical examples and NLP made it intense, human and particularly fascinating. A book that continues to resonate long after you close it.
In this work, Karl Mortier offers more than an autobiography; he provides an in-depth compass for those navigating the most difficult terrain of life. This is a powerful book, written by a strong and wise person who refused to be defined by a life-changing event.
What appeals to me is that this book does not describe a perfect person, but a conscious person who dares to act without complete certainty. Someone who asks questions instead of making assumptions, and who understands that timing is as important as intention. This book hits the nail on the head where many models of personal leadership fall short when the pressure mounts. Karl brings personal leadership back to its essence: staying present, acknowledging emotions without being driven by them, and taking responsibility for behaviour and communication.
This book is about personal leadership, but not as it is usually explained. It is about the quiet process of learning to listen to yourself, daring to make choices and taking responsibility for who you become. Karl played an important role at a crucial moment in my career. Not by providing answers, but by bringing visual clarity.
In the world of visual thinking Karl is a master. We have had the joy of working together for many years. This book is so thoughtful, useful, and heartwarming. Karl manages to connect the dots between a difficult personal situation and great leadership advice, and overall brings such a sensibly positive way to look at life through the power of visual storytelling.
Karl shares a deeply personal life story that feels unmistakably real on every page. The "keys" he offers are in fact golden life lessons, delivered through small stories and anecdotes that linger long after the book is closed. This work is a masterpiece in form, format, and content. A true must-read. When life presents you with an unexpected guest, take Karl's book by the hand — and read it again.
In this book, Karl invites you to step into an experience. The authenticity of the book, combined with its recognisability and simplicity, deeply touched me. Karl offers ways to remain close and present without abandoning yourself. What makes this book truly special is the integration of a personal story, the application of NLP, and an invitation to reflection — all presented in a very accessible way. Thank you, Karl, for sharing this story of personal leadership in its most authentic form.
Over the past years, I've seen Karl search, draw, and find words for things that are almost impossible to put into words. That you now bring all of this together in 19 lessons on personal leadership, infused with humor and visual storytelling, feels deeply right. Your blend of imagination, language, and humor is pure gold.
This book offers a lived perspective on illness as part of a wider human experience. It invites the reader into a journey of awareness during moments of uncertainty, waiting, and loss of control — showing how a person can continue choosing responsibility, presence, and self-leadership even when external circumstances shift beyond control. For those seeking an approach to personal leadership rooted in sincerity rather than performance, this book offers quiet companionship. It meets the reader gently and walks alongside them, one step at a time.
I have always dreamed of saving lives through words. With Karl, I had the opportunity to try, but unexpectedly, it was he who saved mine by reminding me of the true strength of our purpose. There are thousands of books on leadership, but few on the most challenging kind of all: Personal Leadership. This book is living proof that it is possible to ensure that pain does not hurt in excess.
Karl is an artist. A visual magician. A whisperer of words. He plays a new melody of playfulness and wonder, one that drills through any hint of heaviness with a childlike simplicity that disarms without asking permission. This book invites you into his inner journey and shows you how to become the artist of your own life through personal leadership. Enjoy the journey. It is worth it.
The skills that will carry us through the coming decades aren't written in a manual. They're in this book. Karl doesn't call them skills. He doesn't call them frameworks. He calls them keys. And he simply shows them. And the key that truly matters is precisely the one you never asked for.
At PMO, our training center for retail, Karl is one of the many coaches who are highly appreciated by the trainees. Personal leadership is the foundation for being able to truly connect with others. More than ever, there is a need for inspiring and authentic leadership. Especially the vulnerability Karl shows through his personal and intimate story can inspire our society and business world to accept moments of not knowing and doubt. The era of all-knowing and all-capable CEOs is definitively over.
I got to know Karl as someone with an infectious passion and a rare gift for making complex material clear and accessible. What makes him exceptional is the way he combines deep expertise with genuine humanity. Karl has a talent for awakening resilience in others. He lives what he teaches. That's why I would wish a Karl by the side of anyone who wants to take life by the horns.
