Traveling with Gumption: Frankfurt, Hamburg, and the Power of Being an Author

Sabine Kvenberg: What are you still waiting to feel ready for? Because waiting is costing you more than you think. I know. I waited too, until one sentence changed everything. What a shame, Sabina, you are so talented. I was twenty years old standing on a sidewalk in Hamburg, Germany, when my former drama teacher stopped me and said those words. Not good luck or not how are you? What a shame. Because I wasn't doing anything with that talent, and he saw it. Within a week I had auditioned for an acting school. That one sentence on one sidewalk set my whole life in motion. A decade on German speaking stages, a performing art school, this podcast, and eventually a memoir. Called Gumchen. And this Sunday I am getting on a plane by myself with that book in my suitcase. And I'm flying back to Germany. To the Frankfurt Bookfair, to Hamburg, to the city where that sidewalk still is. And by the end of this episode, you'll know why the story you've been sitting on. Might be the most valuable thing you own and what it looks like to stop waiting for permission to tell it. And I'm taking you with me, starting the moment I land. Welcome to the Become Empowered Podcast. My name is Sabine Kwenberg, and this is the show where we talk about the courage to speak up, show up, and be seen. Before we go any further, a quick ask. If this show has ever given you a nudge, a new idea, a little extra courage, please take 10 seconds right now. Subscribe or follow wherever you're listening. Give the episode a like, and if you're feeling generous, leave a rating or review. It tells the platform this conversation is worth sharing. And it brings the show to more people who need to hear it. And if you're watching on YouTube, Hit the subscribe and the bell because over the next three weeks there's going to be a lot to see. Alright, let's talk about the trip. This Sunday I fly out of Tampa to Zurich and from there into Germany. I'll be gone for almost three weeks. So let me be honest about one thing first, because I think it matters. Traveling alone is stressful. Period. It doesn't matter how many times you've done it or how well you know where you're going. When you travel alone, there's nobody to watch your back while you run to the restroom. Nobody to double check the gate. Nobody to turn at the connection and say, Is this right? Every decision is yours. Every missed train is yours. Every where did I put my passport moment is yours alone. And I'm doing it anyway. Not because I'm fearless, because what's waiting on the other side is worth it. So here's why I'm going, and it's a full, beautiful list. First, the Frankfurt Book Fair. It's one of the largest publishing events in the world. Publishers, agents, authors, and booksellers from every corner of the globe. All in one place. And this year I am walking in as an author with a book already out in the world. Not someone who hopes to write one day or someday. That's a very different way to walk into a room. Second, family and friends. People I love, people I haven't hugged in far too long. And that part isn't business at all. It's the heart of the trip. And third, however. Hamburg Bookstores. I'll be sitting down with bookstores in in Hamburg about English language readings and signings of Gamchen. Think about that. The book that starts on a Hamburg sidewalk, possibly on a Hamburg bookshelf. Fourth, I'll be meeting the crew of MJ the Musical. So if you know anything about my life, you know musical theatre runs in my veins. More than thirty years as a performer and director and a decade on German speaking stages, getting to spend time with a theater crew in Germany that's coming home in a very different way. And fifth, I'm going to have a good time. I mean that. We don't say it enough. Not every trip has to be a mission. This one is business and joy. And that I'm giving myself permission to fully enjoy both. And there's more in the works. Exciting things I can't share quite yet. You'll want to be following along when they happen. Here's what I want you to notice. None of this happens on a plane. It happens in the weeks before. The emails, the planning, the outreach to bookstores, the packing list, the Am I really doing these conversations with myself at eleven at night? That's what I call the invisible stage. The work nobody sees before the moment everybody sees. When you see me on Instagram or YouTube standing in Frankfurt with my book in hand, you'll be looking at the visible stage. But the trip was made on the invisible one. Let me take you back to the sidewalk for a moment, because it is It's the reason this trip means so much to me. I was twenty. I had talent. People had told me so, but talent that sits still isn't worth much. And I was sitting still. I wasn't auditioning, I wasn't taking the risk. I was waiting. Maybe for permission, maybe for a sign, maybe for the fear to go away first. And then My former drama teacher saw me on the street and didn't sugarcoat it. What a shame, Sabina. You are so talented. That stung. It was supposed to. Sometimes the kindest thing anyone can do for you is refuse to let you stay small. I went home and within the week I auditioned for an acting school. That wasn't confidence. I didn't suddenly feel ready. It was gumpin, the willingness to move before you feel ready, because you finally understand that waiting costs more than trying. That's why I named my memoir Gumpchen. The book is full of moments like that, sacred whispers, the quiet inner voice that says this way. And boat moves the moment you actually listen to it. So when I say I am traveling with Gumpchen, I mean it in two ways. I am carrying the book literally in my suitcase, and I'm carrying the mindset, flying alone, walking into bookstores and asking for a reading, standing at one of the biggest book fairs in the world and saying, I am an author. And here is my book. Twenty-year-old me on that sidewalk, she had no idea that this was coming. But she took the first step. And every step since then started with that one. Now I want to talk about something bigger than my trip because it's the real reason I record this episode. Being an author changes how How the world responds to you. And it changes how you show up in the world. Let me show you what I mean. When I reached out to a bookstore in Hamburg about a reading, I'm not asking a stranger for a favor. I am an author offering a conversation to their readers. And when I walk into the Frankfurt Book Fair, I am not a tourist, I am part of the industry. When I pitch a stage, a podcast, or a conference, the book walks into the room before I do. And that's the power of authorship. It isn't about ego, it's about proof. And here's why that matters more right now than ever. We live in a moment where anyone can generate a paragraph, a post, even a whole expert article in seconds. I work with AI every day. I teach it. I love what it makes possible. But it has made average content cheap and endless. So what becomes rare and valuable? The real story of a real person who actually lived it. Nobody can generate your sidewalk moment. Nobody can prompt their way into your life. A book is With your name and your true story on it, can't be faked, copied, or outsourced. That's authority. And authority opens doors. Here are three things I have seen change when someone becomes an author. Number one, people take you seriously faster. Event planners, podcast hosts, media clients. I am the author of Does in five seconds what a resume takes five minutes to do. Two, you take yourself seriously. This is the one nobody talks about. Something shifts inside you when you hold your own book. The voice that said, Who am I to speak about this? Gets a little quieter. You have the answer in your hands. And number three, Your story starts working for you even when you're not in the room. A book gets passed along, gifted, recommended. It sits on a nightstand in a city you've never visited. Your message travels further than you ever could. As a best selling author of several books, I lived it. My first compilation book, Become Empowered, became a number one bestseller on Amazon. My memoir Ganshin became an Amazon bestseller, reaching number twenty five within two weeks of release. I'm not telling you that to impress you. I'm telling you because every door I am walking through on this trip, the book fair, the bookstores, the conversations opened wider because of those books. And I know that works for you too. Which brings me to something I'm really excited about. I am producing my next anthology, Become Empowered Entrepreneur, and I am inviting entrepreneurs and business owners to become contributing authors. Here is how it works: it's a multi-author book. Each contributor gets their own chapter with their real story, their lesson, their message alongside the other authors and me. You become a published author and we go for bestseller together with a coordinated launch and marketing push behind the book. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. ⁓ Sabina, I I'm not a writer. I don't have time to write a chapter. You don't have to. There are two ways to do this. You can write your own chapter, and my team edits it with you until it's ready and you give your final approval. Or you can choose the option most of our authors love a done for you interview. We sit down together, you tell your story, the way you tell it to me over coffee, and my team writes the chapter from that conversation. You review it, you approve it, and it's yours. And it's not just a book. Contributing authors get group coaching calls as we build it and a spotlight opportunity for speaking and podcast exposure. The goal isn't only to get your name on a cover. It's to use that cover to open doors the same way I am doing right now. But there are limited spots available because I want every chapter and every author to get real attention. So here is my invitation. If something in you has been whispering I have a story worth telling, or I want to be seen as the expert that I already am, this is your sidewalk moment. I'm not going to stop you on the street and say, what a shame. No, I'm going to say, you're ready, and here is the door. Simply go to sabinequenberg.com and ⁓ find the application tab. Of course, I will also put all the links in the show notes and the YouTube description. And the process is very simple. You fill out the application. Tell me a little bit about you and your story, and we'll take it from there. Now, back to Sunday. I don't want you to hear about this trip afterwards in a nice tidy recap. I want you to come along. Starting the day I land, I'll share the journey on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. The book fair, Hamburg, the bookstore, the theater, the train rides, family and friends, and yes. Gump chin traveling right alongside me, showing up in the frame wherever I am. The real moments as they happen. So if you're not already following me there, go do it now. Look up Sabine Kvenberg on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Again, the links are in the show notes. And when you see a post, say hello. Tell me where you're listening from. It means more than you know when I'm on. On the other side of the ocean. And if you haven't read Gumchen yet, this is a perfect time. Pick it up at your favorite bookstore, online, or around the corner and read along while I'll travel with it. The link is in the description as well. And if you are already reading it, the best gift you can give an author is a review. Or passing the book along to someone who needs a little gum chan right now. So here's where we land. On Sunday, I'll be standing at the gate with a suitcase, a passport, and a book I wrote. Traveling alone is stressful, but I'm going anyway, because on the other side are a world class book fair, people I love, hamburg bookstores, a theatre crew and Adventures I can't wait to share with you. Twenty years old on a sidewalk in Hamburg, I was waiting for permission. I don't wait anymore. I hope you won't either. Whether your next bold move is a trip, a stage, or your name on a book cover, you don't need to feel ready. You just need to take the first step. Follow along on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and Grab gumpchin at your favorite bookstore and if your story belongs in a book, apply at Sabine Quenberg. com forward slash book dash application and I'll see you on the road. Be fearless, be heard, be visible, and become empowered.