How Kristien became a horse trainer and traveling trail guide

Kristien is a multi-passionate woman with a bachelor degree in Psychology and a master in Theatre and Film. She first started out working in marketing and PR and later decided to specialize in fashion. Although Kristien seemed to follow her interests and come across engaging opportunities; she soon realized being stuck in an office all day staring at a computer screen wasn’t for her.

To find a job to match her talents turned out to be a challenge. Something always felt a bit off. That’s when I met Kristien. I’d coached Kristien’s sister, and after a successful coaching series with her she asked me if I could coach her sister.

Strengthened by the support of coaching Kristien realized her childhood dream of working with horses and being in touch with Nature was still very much alive. By the end of her 3 months of coaching she secured her first job as a horse trail guide, and was off to live out her life’s adventure.

Today, Kristien has two magnificent experiences under her belt, respectively in Hungary and South Africa, both working as a Trail Guide with horses. Soon she’s headed for Portugal where she’ll be working with Lusitanos, a proud Portuguese breed of horses.

What was your big dream, and what inspired you to go after it?

Life works in strange ways; you grow up and all kinds of things become important that weren’t before: what others think, what’s cool (especially when puberty kicks in), (first) love … Those things can easily side-track you from what you really want and soon I found myself lost and trying all kinds of studies and career choices that didn’t seem to fulfill me. I didn’t have a clue about what I wanted anymore. I pursued different things and lost my calling.

Finally I met you; in my opinion at the perfect time. I knew something had to give and I was open to receive the help that I knew I somehow (despite all of my enthusiasm) needed. What I truly craved for was someone who told me it was OK to change direction, to dig deep and disregard what all others desired of me and most of all to have someone by my side who believed in me.

It was only then that I could realize what my big dream was: working with horses and living an adventurous life.

Did you always had this dream?

Since I was young I just loved Nature, animals in particular. It was my escape from the human world, going into the woods and discovering the magical realm that lies beyond. I always felt that connection to Nature but that didn’t mean I listened to my gut feeling.

What was one of the first thing you did to get you started?

A life changer was the reading and workbook material you recommended to me.

When I started my sessions with you I wanted to start my own styling business – believe it or not. What the material did for me was to re-evaluate what I really wanted to do with my life. I was taken back to my childhood, I had to dig deep and think about my own style and what truly makes me happy in life.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in working toward achieving your dream?

What’s still a major hurdle, is the opinion of others. Let’s face it, 90% of the people who surround us lead traditional lives. When someone suddenly breaks out of the regular way of doing things people take notice and will have an opinion about it.

Reactions I faced for example were: ‘Oh poor girl, she’s still finding her way, she’ll realize how life works eventually’. Also within my family it was hard to be taken seriously. That being said, I couldn’t have undertaken this journey without their love and support. In general though, it seems that whenever you take a different path, you’ll have to find a way to prove yourself even more.

What do you wish you would have done differently? What would you warn others about?

The only regret I have is not doing this earlier!

Sometimes I wonder: what would my life have been like if I followed my true passion earlier? How much further would I have been reaching my goals? Of course I realise a lot of things happen for a reason and my guess is I probably wasn’t ready yet and still had some lessons to learn.

My life has always been interesting so I can’t complain too much but I do feel everything makes more sense now I know what I’m working towards. So my advice is don’t let your life drag on, let it take the right direction in which everything naturally flows!

Would you say you’ve achieved your big dream yet?

Absolutely … NOT! And thank goodness for that, it’s so much fun to keep on learning and growing. It will take time but time I have. As they say, it’s all about the process.

What do you think helped you achieve it?

An open mind, can do attitude, and the energy and willingness to change my life. Career coaching sessions with you, and the support of (a) special someone(s).

What’s the best advice you have for others who want to follow their big dreams?

Don’t be afraid when your goal starts to change over time. At first I wanted my experience to be all about Natural Horsemanship. But when I was at a horse festival in Portugal I suddenly thought: wow, this is where I want to be, these are the majestic horses I want to work with, this is the culture I want to experience … and when suddenly the opportunity arose, I simply took it. Although it wasn’t what I initially saw for myself.

Be ready to be flexible with your dreams. Before you know it your initial dream will come knocking at the door again and it all will seem to intertwine naturally.

Kristien working as a trail guide in Hungary

More about Kristien

Kristien is a multi-passionate horse trainer and traveling trail guide with a Natural Horsemanship perspective. Her next stop is Portugal, but who knows where her big dreams will lead her next?

You can follow Kristien’s travels, and adventures on Instagram @fiery_manes

Kristien’s favorite quote:

People only get really interesting when they start to rattle the bars of their cages.

– Alain de Botton

Kristien’s big dream for the world:

For horses to be treated as the magnificent creatures they are, with the respect they deserve. For animals in general to not be used for our never ending need of consumption anymore – I’m aiming to become a vegetarian. For people to believe in themselves and others instead of a higher power.

And of course … world peace ;)!

If you want more inspiring stories, I’ve got great news for you! This story is part of an interview series, you can find all entries here.

How Maria Jose spoke at The General Assembly of The United Nations

Marie Jose is a Mental Performance Consultant, and PhD Candidate. One day a friend of hers told her about an essay contest to speak at the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Maria didn’t believe she could win or even know what she could write about, but the dream of winning an all-paid trip to New York, and to be able to speak at the UN pushed her forward. Here’s how she made her dream come true.

What was your big dream, and what inspired you to go after it?

One day a friend told me about this essay contest “Many Languages One World” to speak at the general assembly of the United Nations. This was a very cool contest since if you were selected, you would win an all-expenses paid trip to New York for a week. It did not matter where you were in the world they would fly you out to New York, and by the end of the week you would speak at the UN.

When he told me about that contest, I said, “great, you love the UN and you have a lot to say. I won’t apply because I’m not the kind of person who likes to write, I never wrote an essay in Spanish, and I’m certainly not going to write one in English”. I didn’t believe I had the skills to win, and I’m not the type of person who wins that kind of stuff anyway.

The topic of the essay was: “What does it means to be a citizen of the world?”. This only made things more difficult for me, as I did not feel like one, so I had no idea what to write.

However, days passed and the topic was on my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the reasons why I didn’t feel like a citizen of the world, and why I wasn’t qualified to write that essay. Suddenly it hit me… I could write about why I DIDN’T feel like a citizen of the world.

For a month I wrote notes on my phone whenever an idea would come up. Two weeks before the deadline, I was clear on what I wanted to write, so I put all my notes together and wrote my essay. I sent it to an advisor who gave me feedback, and suggestions on where to go deeper or explain some ideas more.

The night before the essay was due I edited it one last time. It was a Saturday night, and I was sleeping on an air mattress at a friends’ house. I remember thinking, “what is the point of writing this, I could be partying with my friends, I’m not even going to win”. But there was also another voice inside of me saying “you’ll have to swallow your words soon when you win. You’ll see! And it will be proof that you and anything can achieve whatever they set their mind to“.

The thing is, the friend who motivated me to participate – and who has a UN screensaver on his computer! – never turned in or even finished his own essay.

Did you always had this dream?

No. I didn’t think it was possible to speak at the UN unless you were President Obama or someone very important like him.

What was one of the first things you did to get you started?

I started writing some ideas on my phone, and thinking about the all the reasons why I was not a citizen of the world. I believe that it’s easier to start a difficult task if you have something done already. So, I knew that if I had enough ideas written on my phone, when I sat down to actually write that essay, it would not be as daunting.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in working toward achieving your dream?

My own self doubt, saying I was not the kind of person that could win a contest like this, let alone speak in front of the United Nations.

What do you wish you would have done differently? What would you warn others about?

Believing more in myself, having more imagination about the things that I could accomplish, and at the end recognizing that I actually wanted to win, instead of listening to the voice of doubt in my head saying I didn’t care when I actually did.

So I’d say my advice is trust that you want something, that it is a valuable goal, and believe that it’s worth spending your energy, and time on to achieve it.

Would you say you’ve achieved your big dream yet?

I certainly achieved this one! But I have many other dreams that I am working on!

One of them is to build my own consulting company, and to have an online practice about mental performance. I am working on an online course for people who want to perform at their best under pressure like athletes, and musicians do.

What do you think helped you achieve it?

Believing that it was worth the effort. Focusing on the process, more than the result. Taking it as a game, having fun, and teasing my own ideas. And writing from an intimate and authentic place, not trying to show or achieve anything, but connecting with my emotions and figuring out what was important to me.

What’s the best advice you have for others who want to follow their big dreams?

Trust that they are valuable dreams, and even if you don’t think you can achieve them, just because you have the dream makes it possible. People who achieved big things are just like you and me, but they trusted their dream, and went for it!

Maria Jose Speaking at The General Assembly of The United Nations

More about Maria Jose – www.mariajoseramirez.cl

Maria José Ramirez C. is a 34 year old mental performance consultant. With her work, she supports people perform at their peak potential by providing the tools they need to overcome their mental barriers and excel in their chosen field.

After 10 years of working with athletes, musicians and business leaders from around the world, and 15 years of study around the world (Chile, Canada, UK and The United States) she developed a program specifically designed to enable people to perform at their best under pressure, while living more authentically. Maria Jose currently lives in Pennsylvania, where she’s pursuing a PhD at Penn State University.

You can view Maria Jose’s UN speech online here: https://youtu.be/N-esrD9sIjo
You can read Maria Jose’s UN essay online here: https://acei-global.blog/2016/08/12/i-am-not-a-citizen-of-the-world/

Maria Jose’s favorite quote is:

Heed these words, You who wish to probe the depths of nature: If you do not find within yourself that which you seek, neither will you find it outside. In you is hidden the treasure of treasures. Know Thyself and you will know the Universe and the Gods.

– Delphi Oracle

Her dream for the world is:
That we can all live a more sustainable life. We need to realize how fortunate we are. We live in paradise but it is our insecurities, our lack of connection with ourselves ,and with what is truly important that makes us live superficial lives that are detrimental to us and the environment. When we live authentic lives we are aware of what is important to us, we have a why bigger than ourselves, and it becomes easier to choose to use our skills to serve ourselves, others, and the Planet better.

If you want more inspiring stories, I’ve got great news for you! This story is part of an interview series, you can find all entries here.