Get to know me and my story
I believe we live many lifes in a single lifetime. When I look back at any picture or video of the younger me, I feel like it happened to someone else and I was merely a witness. It doesn’t feel like it’s part of this life anymore.
But all these experiences and memories made me into the person I am today. And I want to share a piece of my story in order to inspire you to live your wildest dreams. Because every day can be the first day of your next life.
If you are being completely honest with yourself. Are you truly happy? Are you truly living the extraordinary life you are dreaming of?
For me the answer to this question was no for the biggest part of my life.
I remember dreaming about a certain lifestyle and about doing the things I always dreamed of. But society and my limiting beliefs held me down.
As a kid I grew up in The Netherlands. The social norms had a major influence on my life decisions, which career path to take, how to behave, what to believe etc..
It is society who tells us to behave normal, and who teaches us what is normal. We are trapped in a reality that is made up by people. We live in a world that is based on imprinting fear on people. Anyone who breaks away from the norm faces a certain risk. We play the game we get told to because we think we need it for survival
Living happily is a matter of choosing to fulfill the positive demands of your inner self over your societal expectations. You don’t have to be what they want you to be. And that is exactly what I did.
We need more people to start living instead of existing. We need more people to come alive.
Where am I from and how do I describe myself?
I am originally from a small town in The Netherlands, where I lived until I was 18 years old. I would describe myself as a very passionate, adventurous and growth seeking person. I love to learn new things, I want to grow as a person as much as possible, whether this is on professional, spiritual or mindset level. I love making mistakes, learning from these mistakes and figuring life out by doing not by sitting on the side-line.
Why and when did I move to Bali?
I graduated as a tourism manager in 2020, when the world was on lockdown because of the well-known pandemic. So, long story short, my degree was at that moment useless because there was no tourism. Because of this I decided to work as a waitress to save up some money. That is when all catering businesses closed as well (for the same reason as mentioned earlier).
Now that I literally had nothing left to lose, I decided to go and follow my wildest dreams of becoming a content creator. Back then I still didn’t really know what that meant. But I knew it was better than sitting at home being depressed and unemployed. So, I took all my life savings and bought a one-way ticket in the middle of a global pandemic. It wasn’t sure when I was going to see my family again, but I wanted to make something out of life. The initial plan was to come for 6 months, but we are now 3 years later.
Why Bali?
I knew that if I wanted to become a content creator, I needed to surround myself with like-minded people and mentors. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find these people in The Netherlands and I knew Bali was the hotspot to find them. Plus, I also figured out that if you want to create content you need to be in beautiful surroundings and nature.
Terrified of the decision I was about to make I sat down my mom and told her about my plan. I cried and I was shaking of fear. I knew this was going to be a whole new life chapter. My mom, as the beautiful person she is, saw my unhappiness in The Netherlands and the urge for wanting more out of life.
Her words: “I will support you whatever you do and no matter where you are” – is what gave me the confidence to book the plane ticket.
Why Travel vlogging and how do I use my online presence?
Freedom has always been my number one value. I love traveling and connecting with other people and cultures. This is why I started this whole journey in the first place. After almost 1 year in Bali, working 10 hours a day trying to earn some kind of income (and not succeeding) – I was about to reach a burnout. At that time I was still learning, trying to find my online presence, doing a lot of courses and doing a lot of work for free to built up my portfolio. This is when a friend suggested I should give YouTube and vlogging a try. Up until them I was only using Instagram as a social media platform.
I decided to go all in, spend my last savings into hiring an editor for my YouTube channel and did everything I could to improve my videos and my storytelling. I was terrified of what people were going to think of me but within a few months I started to gain income from my channel and I saw the endless opportunities.
Now that I have a significant audience, I use my voice and story to show that everything you can imagine is possible. If I can do it, everyone can. I receive weekly messages that I inspired people to quit their job and that they moved to their dream country and started to work online. This is now my purpose and life’s mission and it’s only the beginning!
What does my typical day look like
A typical Bali day I normally start around 7AM. I do my morning routine until 9AM which includes meditation, stretching, sitting in the sun, getting dressed and drinking my morning juices. Then I go to my favourite café and read a mindset/self-development book until 11AM. Then I start working until 4/5 – this looks different every day. This can be recording new videos, working on my new businesses, replying to emails, editing, creating promotional content for clients, write blogposts, work on new digital products, team meetings, client meetings etc. And I love to end the day by watching a sunset!
See my Daily Life activities here
What my life in Bali brought me
Bali has given me more than I could ever wish for. I feel like I lived my whole life in a box and moving to Bali has removed this box and it showed me the world, what is possible in this world and lifetime. It showed me through experiences and different people that there is so much be to learned and that you should never stop learning. Meeting these people from all over the world with all different backgrounds/religions/frame of reference and so on, opened up my view of life. I am way more understanding, openminded and non-judgement.
The best thing about living in Bali
The local people. They have my whole heart.
What advice would you give to other people who are considering a move to Bali?
If this is your dream, do it. It will be a lifechanging experience in the best way possible. Bali will give you everything you need when you are ready to receive it. But please keep in mind you are a visitor and always be respectful to the local life and customs.
A lot of people always say “But what if I fail'“? - But what if you fly? - Think about it, what is your wildest dreams can become a reality? You literally have nothing to lose. Worst case scenario it didn’t work out. But at least you can say you tried. Because there is nothing worse than not even trying.
Want to be inspired more? Or need help with something - Book your coaching call with me here. I’d love to help you out.
