Hi, I am Andrew ‘Andy’ Kirchner and I would like to tell you how I became The Recycled Pirate
Hi, I am Andrew ‘Andy’ Kirchner and I would like to tell you how I became The Recycled Pirate. I became known for my ways of recycling life when I turned a “life after death” experience into a 2nd chance for people, products and business on the small Caribbean island of Curaçao.
In my darkest hours, I found the light to redefine myself and recycle life. I used old habits and new methods to create a new future for myself.
During this period I discovered that my calling was teaching others what I’ve learned on how you can reprogram ourselves with #SustainableThinking.
After a life altering accident that was supposed to leave me paralyzed, I found a new purpose in life. I quickly realized that if I wanted to walk again, I had to change my mindset as it relates to my emotional health and my self-expression.
As my cycle from wheelchair to social entrepreneur completed, I understood that the message I was taught, wasn’t mine to keep.
Sitting in a wheelchair I had plenty of time to contemplate life and that’s when I desired to earn a spot on a TEDx stage. After four years of hard work I accomplished that dream in 2016 and I realized I had more to give to the world than working 4 years for 15 minutes of fame.
I had created a project in the previous years, 2nd Life Curaçao, to get me from a disability check (welfare) to become a small business owner. It even won me the JCI IOBA Aspiring Creative Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2015 and as the first cycle from wheelchair to social entrepreneur completed, I understood that the message I was taught, wasn’t mine to keep.
📷 Kelly Roelofs, 2015 📍 2nd Life Curaçao Workshop
I started coaching people that were searching for their better selves, and still felt I was playing small.
It felt too easy listening to someone and give them advice on how to deal with their mental health and find little improvements in life. I wanted to go deeper into our human programming, and really understand why we feel sad, angry or jealous. This led me to dive even deeper into mindfulness, and intentional living. It altered my mindset completely. I realized on this journey that everything I learned, I already had in me. I just hadn't been taught to trust my instincts.
It became my calling to plant as many seeds in as many people as possible and teach them that they are powerful beyond means.
It became my calling to plant as many seeds in as many people as possible and teach them that they are powerful beyond means. As I spoke in more classrooms and corporate events, I would get very personal questions and I understood that the message starts within us. We often think that we are not meant to be who we feel. People want to know their why. Their how. And their what. And they're getting mixed signals in return. I help people with Enlightenment Sessions to find this inner light.
I shared my thoughts in blogs and quotes on social media to help start an inner dialogue. The responses were so inspiring that I wanted them to become more physical. "How can I start the conversation without making people touch their phones constantly?" Was a question that kept me up for a while.
📷 Jay Beaton 2021 for #everyoneApostcard
Postcards with quotes that came directly from my Source, was the answer. And so a new adventure started. My favorite Quotes soon traveled the world. T-shirts and other statement apparel followed soon. The postcards have a lot of added value, by giving someone personal attention in a mailbox 📬 full of bills, they receive a little spark of humanity between all the seriousness of life. The quotes started conversations, and the combination of the two gave me an opportunity to communicate with people from a distance. From a little island in the Caribbean, Curaçao all the way to the USA, Netherlands and even Australia.
If I can re-learn to walk, that means I can relearn how to think, so that's what I did. Now it my turn to help as many people as possible starting with YOU 🤗
The Recycled Pirate is about recycling life. It is about how we, as a society went to single use cups, to single use benefits, and I want to upcycle that into investing in the humans around me, around us, so we can have more meaningful conversations and more meaningful human beings.
Do you want to read more about what I do?
Consider Buying me a Coffee, follow me on Instagram where I post my quotes, join my Facebook community and if you prefer the more professional setting of LinkedIn, you can find me there. Your support with a like, share, comment or a coffee really makes a difference. You are the one that inspires me to create more intentional sparks ✨ of humanity.
See you around for a coffee ☕ some time?
🙋♂️ Andy Kirchner