We turn down a side street off the otherwise busy Jægersborg Allé north of Copenhagen, and suddenly the city noise dissolves into birdsong and a calm that feels almost misplaced this close to the traffic. This is where former politician, now author, coach and speaker - Manu Sareen lives.
A place that feels far from the world he used to inhabit.
Because for years, Manu lived inside a performance-driven reality where ego sat firmly in the driver’s seat. A stress leave and an ADHD diagnosis forced a pause, and with it, a question that would quietly reshape everything: what actually makes life meaningful?
Today, he writes, speaks, coaches, and talks openly about emotions, ADHD and the messy parts of being human.
His mornings change depending on whether his youngest children are home. In the weeks they are, mornings revolve around time with them. In the weeks they aren’t, the pace slows down. There’s space to feel into what the morning actually needs.
But some things never change.
No breakfast. Coffee. aioss. Fish oil.
And one ritual that has reshaped his life.
“Every morning, no matter the weather, I step outside onto the balcony, look up at the sky and thank the universe for the day. I try to feel, right there, that it’s going to be a good one.”
For Manu, it’s part of living with intention. Living with the heart in front.
He talks about his body as a temple, something that deserves care, not neglect.
“I’m turning 60 next time. Health is not something I can keep in the back of my mind anymore. If I want to be here for many years and feel good while I’m here, I have to do something about it.”
These days, the good life looks different. Slower. Quieter. More intentional.
It’s about deep focus in his writing. Living in balance with ADHD. Spending as much time as possible with the people he loves, especially his family. And getting to know himself better.
For a long time, life was about how things looked from the outside. Progress. Status. More achievements. More recognition. More stars on the shoulders. A spiral that never really stopped.
“When I was a minister, ego and performance filled everything. Even after holding six ministerial posts, I could still feel the ego wanting more. That was when I realised I had to leave and find my way back to the heart.”
That transition lives on in his living room, where his resignation letter from the Queen hangs framed on the wall.
It wasn’t meant to.
“It was actually a mistake,” he says with a smile. “It should have been the letter from my first appointment as minister. But now it hangs as a reminder of the shift I went through, from ego to heart.”
Today, life is calmer. Nature plays a bigger role. Sauna. Cold ocean dips. Sleep that’s protected. Not as optimisation, but as support, especially for life with ADHD.
Nature is also where space opens up for writing and reflection. For years, that space came on four wheels. Manu calls it his 'rolling office', a California campervan he recently sold. A new one is already on the way so he can return to the road and the freedom it brings.
We end the conversation talking about meaning. About the feeling of finding your path - or at least being closer to it.
A journey he believes everyone must experience for themselves.
“I’ve reached a point in my life where I truly don’t care what other people think of me. And that feels incredibly freeing.”
There's no blueprint for what he's built. No shortcut to where he's arrived.
But spending a morning with him makes you want to find your own way there.
