Six weeks in Europe; Back to the United States

A short drive to Schiphol; a lengthy flight back to the USA

In the wee morning hours, my mom and I got into her little Citroen (with pink detailing of course) and headed off to Schiphol Airport. The trip is one we’ve done many times together. And one I’m grateful she continues to be willing to make with me. Although this was perhaps the 4^th time in the last half-year we did this trip, this time was a little different. This time, I am staying away just a bit longer than those shorter trips. Where am I off to? Back to Concord, California. I have the honor and privilege to go live together with younger brother Kaj and to build up WUA Inc. in the USA. On Monday, I had a great send-off both from WUA HQ in Amsterdam, and with a delicious dinner at Loosdrecht’s ‘Het Drechthuis’ with my parents. And importantly, dad and I were able to finish the last suspenseful episode of Narcos just in time as well.

An extended stay in the Netherlands for the better

About 6 weeks ago I restarted this blog from the Netherlands. At that point, I had technically moved back to the United States already. But really, I’d gone on a long trip across the States plus Toronto with boss Klaas. And now, many adventures later, I am truly moving back to California. This is no small feat, it’s been more than three years since I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. When I moved to the Netherlands, I left to pursue a cooperative Master’s program. First in the Leiden, and then in Bologna, Italy. After graduating last May, I have been working in Amsterdam for WUA (as I summarized here). Since coming back from the US trip in March, I went on a fun company ski trip to France, enjoyed delicious food in Lisbon, attended Tony Robbins’ self-development seminar in London and celebrated King’s Day.

King’s Day in the Netherlands

What a great way to round up life in the Netherlands than with the biggest national holiday. Every year on April 27^th, the Dutch (and many travelling from abroad) don their best orange outfits to celebrate the King’s birthday. This was my second King’s Day I spent in the Netherlands, and in Amsterdam specifically. The city’s population doubles to over a million that day. Walking the crowded streets between DJ’s, outdoor bars, street food stands, kids having garage sales, and general debauchery everywhere is why I call this day the ‘Million-person street festival’. I believe it’s a one-of-a-kind celebration. But hey I’m biased. For the coming years, I will return celebrate once at Murphy’s Windmill in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. For that occasion, and in general, I look forward to seeing more of the Dutch community in the Bay Area.

The power of (a loving) team💪 . . . #WUA #WUAGlobal #TeamPower #ThinkBigger #PushingLimits #UPW2018

A post shared by WUA (@wuaglobal) on Apr 21, 2018 at 2:27am PDT

Tony Robbin’s ‘Unleash the Power Within’

This event had been on the calendar for quite some time, and had some anticipation built into it. Together with 18 WUA colleagues, we flew over to London to participate in the self-development seminar ‘Unleash the Power Within’. Four days immersed in the practical psychology of Tony Robbins. The seminar promises that “life will never be the same again”. And they constantly remind us of that by playing Haddaway’s ‘Life’ throughout the weekend.

Coming into peak state

To limit the length of this post, I’ll focus on two of the highlights of the seminar. First, finding and feeling a filling sense of gratefulness for life as it and for the opportunities that I have ahead of myself, combined with coming into what Tony calls coming into peak state. Exercising deep gratefulness helps prime a positive mental state manifests itself physically too (and vice versa). After lots of dancing (because ‘motion is emotion’) and coming into peak state the crowd of 13,000 was ready for the fire walk. Yes, literally walking over a hot bed of coals. Piece of cake, naturally.

Limiting Beliefs

Second, working on limiting beliefs. What’s a limiting belief? It’s any story we tell ourselves or belief that we have adopted that constrains us in some way. It could be: I don’t have enough time, I have too many responsibilities, I’m too old to change, etc. For me, one of the beliefs I took on was this: I cannot feel successful until I achieve results. One obvious impact is a lack of fulfillment, and an always elusory sense of achievement when you think something will make you happy (i.e. graduating from a master’s program). In the grand scheme of things, the lack of happiness/fulfilment effects how I interact with my environment, but also reduces motivation to achieve results in the future. In turn, this means I was holding myself back both interpersonally and in terms of personal growth. Can you imagine the negative feedback loop this can create? Through the Dickens Process, so called after the Christmas Carols revelations, I have replaced this limiting belief with one of empowerment. Now I celebrate the victories big and small while I raise myself to a new standard.

Moving forward in the United States

Now, I return to a life in the Bay Area with a new perspective gained from time, growth, and traveling. With all the variety and uncertainty that comes with moving as much as I have in the last five years, I believe that the stability/certainly will build more stable habits. With that comes more focus on creating beautiful connections in my environment that continue to stimulate and challenge me. While the last couple years have been about growth in a structured manner (master’s program and onboarding at work), what lies ahead feels wholly in my own hands. That is because I will grow WUA in the USA on my own terms, starting off as working from home. I look forward to this new adventure, and can’t wait to see where it goes.