The Nomad is a series of stories, fascinations, encounters, observations, experiences, joy of the moments by me, Ulrike Reinhard – all around my travels. Stay tuned!
Ulrike Reinhard is The Nomad 🙂
Partners. Patrons. Pals.
I admit, this headline is a bit cheeky. However, these three words perfectly capture what’s coming next – relationships. ‘No worries’ (1), this isn’t a therapy session about love gone wrong, overrated gurus, or friendships that felt more like unpaid internships. No. These are stories about how ‘relationships’ shape my network. And vice versa. You’ll see, my network isn’t built on strategy or LinkedIn endorsements. It’s built on ‘real’ relationships – the kind that inspire, challenge, and occasionally drive me up the wall.
Trust Guides Me Through Balochistan, Pakistan
A friend of a friend connects me with Peter Scholl-Latour (2), one of Europe’s most respected journalists – think Walter Cronkite (3), but with a European twist. He’s a true “Welterklärer”, a rare breed who can untangle the complexities of geopolitics and explain them in plain language. I meet him, and during our interview about the Arab Spring, we discover that we’ll both be in Beirut, Lebanon, the following week. We plan to meet again.
In Beirut Scholl-Latour invites me to join him on a visit to Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President. Scholl-Latour has known Assad since he was a baby. How could I pass up such an opportunity? Over the next few months, our paths cross frequently, whether in the Middle East or in Berlin.
Fast forward to 2013: I embark on a very special journey: An appeal for dialogue and reconciliation in Syria led by Irish Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire; it leads from Tehran, Iran, via Damascus, Syria, to Beirut, Lebanon (4). I travel overland from Delhi, India, and join them in Tehran.
Me sitting next to John Shipton, father of Julian Assange, during one of the events in Tehran.
I take a train from Delhi to Amritsar, Punjab. From there I cross the Wagah Border (5) into Pakistan, and make my way to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. And then I hit a wall – no trains, no buses, no cars heading from the capital toward the Iranian border. The only options are military or United Nations convoys. What now?
I pick up the phone and call Scholl-Latour. “Give me a day or two,” he says. True to his word, two days later, his trusted translator appears at my hotel. I double-check with Scholl-Latour to confirm that this guy is the right one. He assures me he is.
I tell the translator my plan: I want to travel overland from Quetta to the Iranian border, a journey of about 600 kilometers. From the border I plan to head to Mashhad, the second holiest city in Islam, to celebrate the last day of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, before making my way to Tehran. He nods and tells me to give him a few days. Three days later, he returns with three very authentic, confident, and proud-looking men. Tribal leaders, I assume. I learn they control the region from Quetta to the border – men the West calls warlords. But they all share one thing: they know, respect, and trust Scholl-Latour completely. And this is why they are here. To support him because he has asked them to do so. They don’t care who I am – this doesn’t matter. They respect me because Scholl-Latour respects me, and they respect him.
Peter Scholl-Latour
I understand that I am at a place where the word, a handshake counts. I feel absolutely safe. It’s a chain of trust and respect. I trust Scholl-Latour – why wouldn’t I? He trusts his translator and his contacts, and they trust him in return. With this network of reliability, I know I will have safe passage.
The next day, my adventure begins. Over the next unforgettable seven days, I experience Balochistan – a place barely touched by development, where living conditions are harsh, but the warmth of its people is incredible. The landscape is breathtaking, a stunning contrast to the challenges of daily life. When I reach the border, I get my passport stamped, and the Iranian officials on the other side are – let’s say – surprised to see me.
Reputation in Relationships Shapes Network Power
This is also a story of reputation. Peter Scholl-Latour isn’t trusted in the region just because of his name or credentials – it’s because of how he operates. He is not serving or pleasing a certain kind of narrative. He reports honestly and objectively, he understands the region, he shows empathy, he handles information well, and is always safeguarding his sources. His unwavering reliability has earned him deep respect and access to people few outsiders ever reach. And it works both ways.
Here, it’s not about where you come from or what’s printed on your business card. What matters is how you act, day in and day out. Reputation isn’t a one-time pass; it’s something you earn – again and again.
Another story is the Janwaar story – it proves just how crucial reputation is within a network or community:
I built a skatepark in Janwaar, a small village in rural India. And the village flips upside down. Old traditions crack, doors swing open, and volunteers start arriving – something unheard of before.
I give my all to this village. I take nothing from it. We face every challenge and every decision together. We co-create solutions; we talk endlessly, and we connect as equals. Me with the villagers. The villagers with me. We share experiences – good, bad, everything in between. We live through them together. The bond is unshakable.
Then one day, three local men – a Raja (6) and two Brahmins (7) – try to take over what I’ve built. In any other village, I wouldn’t stand a chance. They’d simply seize control. But this is Janwaar. And here, my reputation speaks louder than their status. The villagers push back. They refuse to let them take over. And ask them to leave the village. They don’t want them – they want me.
Reputation isn’t something you can buy. You earn it – through your actions, every single day.
Diverse Relationships Strengthen Creativity (among other things) (8)
Take the creation of this book as an example. It starts with a retired lawyer and former Supreme Court Judge from Australia. I give him the topic, and he fires back with questions – we use Zoom for our extended conversations. He records them, sends me the audio, and I run it through an AI transcript. That text becomes my starting point. With him, I collect the evidence, as he likes to say.
Once I have a draft I’m happy with, I pass it on. A German artist in New York, a content strategist in Munich, and my senior consultant in Heidelberg – they go through it line by line, sharpening, tweaking, challenging. What to cut, where to add, how to refine. It’s intense, but it keeps me focused on what I really want to say.
Then comes the next test. I send it to a young business developer in Shenzhen, China, and a vlogger/writer in Bombay, India. They tell me how it reads – what lands, what doesn’t, what sparks curiosity, and what falls flat. Their questions reveal what truly grabs attention.
This book is a co-creation, shaped by people from different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. They don’t just fine-tune the text; they stretch my thinking, push the edges, and sometimes challenge me outright. And that’s the point.
Diversity is a commitment – a decision to step out of your bubble, to break free from the echo chamber. It expands not just my projects, but my entire life. When I look at my network, I see a web of deeply dependable individuals spanning continents, social tiers, genders, ‘tribes’, and age groups. A dynamic mix – anything but uniform.
Everyone matters. And everyone adds something unique, making this journey richer, deeper, and far more meaningful.
It’s a Game of Give and Take
Any relationship is a balance of giving and taking – without both, it won’t last. Right?
Take my interviews about the internet. I never monetized them. I just put them out there, free for everyone, contributing to the community. No paywalls, no ads – just open access. But in return, I gained something far more valuable: a deep, firsthand understanding of the internet itself. That became my capital and foundation.
Unknowingly, I was already operating on what the internet would later call a pull strategy – give first, and the network will respond. Share, contribute, add value, and the rewards will come. And they did.
What did I get in return? Not money. Something bigger. Global respect. Influence. Access to almost anyone, anywhere. Far more powerful than any paycheck.
Fluid Connections. Strong Bonds.
My network is not a club. There’s neither an entry fee nor membership criteria – my network is open to everyone. It is a kind of fluid entity that is constantly reshaping itself – like an amoeba (the term “amoeba” comes from the Greek word ἀμοιβή (amoibē), meaning “change”, due to the organism’s ability to change its shape constantly).
My network’s form depends on where I am and what I’m working on. A project, a place, a shared purpose brings people together. We collaborate, chase a common goal, then drift apart – until a new cause reunites us, often in a completely different constellation.
Being on my own doesn’t mean that I am disconnected from the rest. Or that those, who are not with me, are disconnected from me. There is an energy and activity surrounding us that picks up on where we are and what’s happening, our thoughts and thinking – our awareness. I am not entirely separated from what the others are doing. Naturally, the involvement is different with those who aren’t physically with me; I interact more directly with the people I am with – yet, the rest is still part of ‘me.’ We are all loosely joined.
(1) No worries’ is the quintessential Australian expression – short and easygoing. Aussies use it in almost any situation, and it perfectly reflects their laid-back, friendly nature. It can mean ‘You’re welcome’ when someone thanks you, It reassures: ‘Don’t stress about it’ or ‘It’s all good’ when something goes wrong, It’s even a casual way to say ‘Sure’ or ‘No problem’ when agreeing to something. In other words: Why make a fuss when you can just roll with it? I am mentioning this because I am writing this in Australia.
(2) see in detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Scholl-Latour
(3) see in detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite
(4) see in detail: https://australiansforreconciliationinsyria.org/nobel-peace-laureates-appeal-for-dialogue-and-reconciliation-in-syria-rejection-of-war/
(5) see in detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagah
(6) Raja is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles.
(7) Brahmin is a caste within Hindu society.
(8) There is quite some literature out there strengthening this statement. See here for example: https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/apps.12365