At the age of 16 I already loved learning and, although my secondary school teachers advised me to take a "lower" level education, I started a bachelor study in Commercial Economics. I completed it in 2000.
My parents owned an equestrian materials shop, that turned into a wholesale company as it grew. My whole childhood was affected by anything horse related, and I still have a love for horse riding especially going for a hack. See the picture of me clearing a water crossing in The Cotswold's, UK.
After I finished my study it was a logical step to set up my own horse riding school, where I taught equestrian skills to hundreds of children and adults. For 4 years I passionately worked in my business and achieved The Dutch Sports Level for Horse Riding instruction. I gained tremendous experience in the way people learn and how they develop new skills.
My never ending desire to learn new skills was the basis for a new challenge.
I continued my career as an account manager in equestrian materials, working for my parents company, which I took over after one year. During the following 7 years I worked with many retailers, professional riders and suppliers in Europe and Asia. It was a fantastic learning experience, but something was bothering me.
In the meantime I became a mum to one boy and a twin boy and girl. That meant we had 3 kids in less than 2 years, big fun, but a little busy :-)
A new direction
One evening in the summer of 2011, I was enjoying a lovely sunset while the kids were asleep, my partner called. He was abroad for his work and always calls if he can. His memorable words were:
We need to talk....
What did that mean? I knew our relationship was (and is) good, but I wasn't sure if I liked what he had to say. He didn't even wanted to talk about it on the phone! (guys do not do that to a woman!!) He wanted to talk in person. OMG?!
Bottom line he received a job offer.
Cool he could have said that on the phone, what's the fuzz about?
It's in the UK...
I Loved it!
Maybe it was for the wrong reason, but to me it felt liberating to go abroad, physically away from my parents company that never 100% felt like my own. I realized that I had taken career paths that were not fully my own. I saw going to the UK as an exiting opportunity to really develop myself and live my life according to my values.
Working in the UK
It took some time to take the final step, but in March 2013 we set foot on British soil.
As a resident of the UK I started as a Dutch telemarketer for a technology marketing organisation. It was not too difficult and I progressed to the marketing department. My marketing manager gave me some books and I came to realize I could still learn anything. That said, my love for learning had only grown!
Although I enjoyed working at this company and I was learning a lot, it was not easy to combine with my family life. Therefore I resigned.
The Personal Growth Gazette
I decided that I wanted to live congruent with my life values, so I first had understand what they are. Next, I had to write them down, to make them come alive:
- Family first;
- Continuously grow as a person and be a life long learner;
- Help and teach others to personally grow and learn;
- Live a happy, enjoyable and meaningful life;
This part can be tricky, because sometimes you think you have determined your values, but they are more somebody else's... Believe me I have been there!
In the meanwhile I had set up the The Personal Growth Gazette. What a concept! Learning and growing myself, helping others do the same, working from home when the kids are in school or asleep and enjoying it.
Now I specialize in helping others live a meaningful and enjoyable life trough information on my blogs, social media and via public speaking.
I believe helping others to develop and grow as a person is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling tasks I can ever do.
I hope I can be of help to you too and like to invite you to have a look around on this blog, and please do connect via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn or just send me a message via the contact form.
Hope to speak to you soon.
Nicole
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