Jonathan probably has plenty of time left. We don't.

The Sindelfinger Zeitung, a regional German newspaper, reports on Jonathan, the giant tortoise on St. Helena. Researchers have found gene variants that are thought to contribute to a particularly effective repair of DNA damage. The hope: one day this knowledge will help us too.

The article asks a question: would we even know what to do with additional years?

My answer: yes. And I don’t have to wait for more years to do it.

For me, freedom began after the sale of my company. Since then, my wife and I have spent half of every year travelling, often in our MAN overland vehicle. We spend the other half at home, devoting more conscious attention to our family than we used to.

Most recently we spent three months in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. In the past, I never had the time for plans like these.

Putting things off until “after” is a familiar thought: after the next financial year, after the handover …

There are good reasons for this. Anyone who has built a company carries responsibility for its future. That responsibility can usually not be passed on from one day to the next.

But joint plans with a partner also depend on whether both have the time, means, health and energy for them. Whether everything turns out the way we hope is not entirely in our hands. For us, this “after” did actually come. I am grateful for that.

Perhaps even with additional years of life we would still put some things off until later.

What have you not put off until “after” – and are glad about today?

Source: Eva Maurer, “Jonathans Geheimnis”, Sindelfinger Zeitung, 15 October 2026 (in German) Photo: giant tortoise in the Galápagos, own photo (illustrative image)