How Carolien became the go-to event planner creative entrepreneurs

Carolien is a vibrant, inspiring, and creative woman. Her love and passion for connecting people through unique experiences led her to start her own event planning business. With more than 100 business events under her belt, Carolien clearly has become the go-to event planner for coaching and creative entrepreneurs around the world. Here’s how she achieved her dream.

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

When I was 14 or 15, I dreamt that I would get up every day and never feel unhappy to go to my job. I wanted a job that inspired me and that would keep me interested and excited about what I did every single day. When I grew older, after I went to university and I had my first jobs, I realized that my dream was to create my own company so that I could be location independent. I didn’t want to be tied down to one location but instead I wanted to travel. That’s exactly what I did. I’m building my own event planning agency and I’m traveling around Europe, US and the world to host in-person events for my clients, and to help them create their own events from scratch.

Did you always had this dream?

As I mentioned before, it grew on me when I was 14 or 15. I even wrote on my bedroom wall: “I have to create myself”, as Sartre said (L’existence précède l’essence – Existence precedes essence). This quote is the red thread in my career choices. I chose for myself, and made it work.

I opted for Ancient History rather than Medicine at university. I remember feeling confident that I would find my way in the adult world after uni, even if I didn’t choose a topic that typically let to an outlined career path. I picked the subject I liked the most, and had great fun and academic success along the way.

Then the time came to find my first job. I headed to the The European Art Fair in Maastricht, one of the top art salons in the world of fine arts. I had a couple of printed resumes with me, and presented myself in all the booths with Archeological Objects. I got one interview on the spot with an art auction house from Brussels, and they hired me! There I learned about organizing auctions and events.

After 2 years at the gallery, I wanted to get into meeting and event planning, and I got a job at an event planning agency. I was in charge of the logistical planning, and for running for conferences and meetings for the European Commission and other high profile clients. I loved the project cycle of putting together a live event where people could connect and transform together. What was missing for me at the agency was the freedom to travel and to choose my own clients in the industries I loved, like the online education industry. I wanted to work with clients at shaping the event concept, and I also wanted to offer full marketing and communication services to sell tickets. That’s why I founded my own event planning business in late 2015.

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

I took a course about freelancing, to learn more about what it is to run a business, and how to do it. This was back in 2013. Then I started getting clients on the side as a freelance translator, along my day job at the auction house. I picked translation because it matched with my skill set and it’s a service you can operate completely location-free. I missed the human contact I had when organizing events, so I eventually moved into event planning instead.

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

The biggest challenge was to find a clear focus. I was asking myself a lot of questions: “Should I build a business, or should I find another job, or maybe stay at my job? What kind of business should I build? Should I go full-time or not?”

I wanted to be flexible and location-independent. I first tried translation, but this didn’t fit so well with my own desire to meet people and see my clients reactions at the end of the project. Again, one of the reasons why I went with event planning. It’s daunting to leave the security of a full-time job for a new project. I had no guarantees, but I felt a big urge to go for it. To make the transition, I started out in a startup incubator first, where coaches helped me find my way with market research, my first sales calls and my first clients. I actually landed my former employer, the event agency, as a first client with their help.

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

I wish I would have worked on my mindset earlier. I let myself be held back because of fears I had. Doing mindset work really helped me reach next levels in my business.

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

I’m on my way, every day. I’m building my company.

What do you think helped you achieve it?

Support, both hired and from my circle of friends, business buddies and family. I regularly chat on Skype with other entrepreneurs that I meet during networking events or online, to check in with each other, and to hold each other accountable.

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

Don’t let fear hold you back. You can figure out a way to get there. When I first started I was terrified of being visible online, on social media, and of doing sales conversations. I was afraid people would judge me, and I didn’t want that. But I realized there would be no business if no-one knew about me or if I didn’t sell anything… So I worked on my mindset and developed ways to get over my fears.

Carolien hosting one of her signature event planning workshops

More about Carolien – carolienmertens.com

Carolien Mertens is the go-to event planner for coaches and creative entrepreneurs. She planned over 100 business events and welcomed more than 10.000 participants. She’s a regular a contributor for the Huffington Post and Thrive Global on live event topics.

Carolien gives her clients the opportunity to focus and thrive at their live event through her signature flexible planning strategy, that ensures smooth event flow & intense participant experience.

Use her 5-step guide to start planning your own live event.

Watch Carolien’s Event Experts interviews on her Facebook Page. The last edition is all about branding your event.

Carolien’s favorite quote:

I have to create myself
– Jean-Paul Sartre

Carolien’s big dream for the world:

More access to education and opportunities for everyone.

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 Sarah became a textile designer

I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah at a screen printing workshop she was teaching. I was immediately struck by the clarity with which Sarah was able to explain the technical aspects of screen printing, but also – and more importantly – how at ease she was with her own creativity, and mine. In the most gentle way Sarah pushed me forward, helped me to dig deeper so I could find that spark within myself.

When I meet rare humans like Sarah, I need to know more. How did they figure things out, build their careers, go after their big dreams? So here’s how Sarah became a textile designer and created her own label of interior objects.

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

It’s a difficult one to answer because finding out what your big dream is, is not a fixed thing for me. I see it more like a constantly evolving process. In fact, during some periods of my life trying to define my big dream was more a stress factor than a blessing.

It felt like I had to have one otherwise it was as if I didn’t mean a thing or I didn’t even exist. I couldn’t find one thing because I have many passions and don’t like to put myself in a particular box while there are so many things I’m interested in.

It was hard work to let go of trying to figure things out, but the moment I did everything unfolded in front of me. I realized that my dream was already in me and in everything that surrounded me. I just needed some distance to observe what was already going on and look at what I did best, believe in my skills and do what I love the most, regardless what other people think of it.

The thing that I love to do and do best is to create and to help others through my creativity and art. I love to awaken the power to create that I believe is in everyone of us. Creativity helps you to be real, free and simply you. It doesn’t need to be perfect either. Whatever is being created is good enough in it’s own unperfected, raw way of existence. As long as it’s made in an honest dialogue with yourself it’s actually perfect.

Did you always had this dream?

I think it’s always been there, I just tried a lot of different roads to get to this point.

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

Go out there and try things out. Don’t be afraid to enter the work field, meet people, confront yourself, experiment as much as you can. It will help you figure out what you need, and what you don’t.

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

Sometimes you make decisions or you start projects that don’t turn out the way you want.  Some of those decisions have huge consequences.

The biggest challenge is not to see it as a personal failure, but instead to see those moments as valuable lessons. When you fail, take your time to heal yourself, be kind to yourself and take a fresh look at the situation. Asking yourself what the problem was, and how you can react differently next time will make you stronger and more prepared for the unprepared that will eventually follow when you start something new after your “failed” project.

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

Sometimes I wish I would have regained my self-confidence a bit sooner. Being mad at myself, or disappointed, and harsh for yourself takes a lot of energy and keeps you stuck in a negative spiral.

When that happens there’s no room for something new to emerge. On the other hand, sometimes things take the time they need to ground. In the end, it is what it is. So overall I don’t have much regrets.

Would you say you’ve achieved your dream yet?

I’m living it. I’m grateful for what I have, what I can do, what I’ve been given and I’m blessed with the perfect daughter, a funky family and golden friends!

What do you think helped you achieve it?

Never giving up, and keep on building and working in a loving positive way. Loving myself, and surrounding myself with things and people that are good for me!

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

Be honest with yourself. Also accept the hard things that come your way. Life is good as it is, duality is part of it and keeps the balance we need.

Sarah teaching during the first session of the screen printing workshop I attended.

More about Sarah – sarahpatoor.com

Sarah grew grew up in an artistic family. Her parents taught her the importance of developing her personal talent. Through this encouragement, and subsequent studies at art school, she formed skills and a way of looking and searching. That foundation of questioning, and responding to things led to an interesting process that keeps evolving.

For the last fourteen years Sarah has lived and worked in Antwerp as a freelance textile designer. This includes creating patterns for different purposes, coloration of collections, styling of interiors, designing exhibition stands, creating trend boards, and so on. She’s also developing an own label of interior objects. The label stands for high quality, locally manufactured objects, with a clear artistic vision behind them. They’re made in limited productions, each production has its own story.

You can find our more about Sarah, and her work at sarahpatoor.com, or follow her on Instagram @patoorsarah

Sarah’s favorite quote:

It’s everyone’s right to be a white raven, envolez-vous et suivez votre rêve.

Sarah’s big dream for the world:

Love, light and connection.

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 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 Natalie is building her own beauty education brand

Natalie is a Makeup Artist & Beauty Coach, and the Founder of Natalie Setareh.

Natalie’s big dream is to empower women through beauty education. She believes makeup is a tool that has the power to truly transform how women feel inside, and to make them confident and comfortable in their own skin (with or without makeup). Here’s how she’s making her dream come true.

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

I guess my big dream right now is to be the household name in education. Like the new Bobbi Brown! I truly believe that makeup is a tool and accessory that has the power to truly transform us (from the inside out) but there’s a lack of real, tangible, practical education on how to buy, wear, and use makeup in ways that suit our own unique self and personality.

Did you always had this dream?

I wish I could say I’ve had this dream my whole life but that wouldn’t be true. What’s true is that I’ve been doing makeup on others for as long as I can remember. I’ve also always had the dream of helping a lot of people without having to go to medical school (much to the dismay of my Persian father). Through the course of my adult and professional life, I followed a few different rabbit holes until one day, I decided to go for it and start Setareh Beauty, a new freelance makeup artist business. During the first few years, I was fine with my “freelancer” title. It wasn’t until recently when I started reflecting on client experiences, analyzing my testimonials, and watching how people engaged with my content that I realized I graduated to full-fledged business. See, in nearly everything that I created or wrote, things always pointed back to makeup and beauty industry education, and the empowerment found therein.

It was then when I discovered (lightbulb moment) that it’s SO much more than makeup. It’s about feeling empowered (to try new things and be your own makeup artist), be back in control (shutting out all the “buy-this, buy-that” clutter the beauty industry relentlessly sneaks into our pocketbooks), and confident (with or without makeup, making the choice for ourselves and owning it).

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

Aside from starting my business and shamelessly putting myself out there, working back-to-back weddings and long, long “hours for photos” days (or small amounts of money) in order to build my professional portfolio, I remember randomly being asked if I offered private lessons. Taken back (wait, I’m an ‘expert’?), I panicked but said “Yes, I do!”. I developed a private lesson structure that evolved into a workbook and sequence that would eventually become the major influence and backbone of my Makeup Reset Workshop Series.

My workshops have been the vehicle to my entry into beauty education. See, I wanted to offer the world an affordable, hands-on workshop where I encourage participants to bring their own makeup bags and learn instead of simply imitating. Participants follow along in this now 26-page book that I wrote by myself. A makeup artist colleague of mine even told me that my book was better and more comprehensive than the one she received in makeup school. And that’s saying something!

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

I’m knee deep in the challenge. As a woman, I wear so many hats. I wear the artist hat. The business owner hat. The wife hat. The mother hat. The friend hat. Etc. You get the idea.

Having an amazing gift to offer the world takes a team. It takes time. Patience. And a LOT of hard work. So finding time to make sure I work smartly towards getting my message out is always the challenge.

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

I believe that everything I’ve done so far has led to where I’m now. I suppose I wish I would’ve, at a much younger age, been confident enough in myself to stand up to my family and show them that I got this whole “entrepreneur” thing down. I spent so many years of my life trying to prove I can climb the military officer ranks, corporate ranks, education ranks when really, I should’ve spent that time showing the world what I’m capable of building my own ranks, and climbing them on my own.

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

Definitely not! But it’s within reach and sight!

What do you think helped you achieve it?

I wish I could say friends and family, because that’s the expected answer. And don’t get me wrong, they have supported me in so many ways and without their support I wouldn’t be able to keep creating and doing what I do.

But really, the most support I’ve received in my business and what has helped me achieve my dreams has been fellow entrepreneurs. Organizations like the Rising Tide Society and attending local Tuesday’s Together chapters. Tuesday’s Together meetings has been life-changing for my professional and personal growth. Having an entrepreneurial organization at my fingertips has been instrumental in my growth and realizing my dreams.

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

Write down your goals somewhere. A napkin, the back of a piece of paper, a Instagram-worthy mood board… it doesn’t matter. Write down your goals no matter how big or small. Then, try to fill in the gaps in how you want to get from short-term goal to long-term goal. And finally, get ready to roll up your sleeves and put in lots of long hours and hard work.

In this age of side-hustles and entrepreneurial endeavors, we are constantly pressured to buy this system for these results, or automate this process for unparalleled growth, or hire a VA/build your team, I think it’s important to remember the core of it all is {strategic, focused, and smart} hard-work.

I love Yoda’s quote from Star Wars, “Do or do not, there is no try.” Really, it’s not rocket science but hard work does pay off.

Natalie at work during one of her Makeup Reset Workshop Series

More about Natalie Setareh – nataliesetareh.com

Natalie is a US-born makeup artist, educator, and aficionado based in the beautiful spa town of Wiesbaden, Germany. She offers a wide range of conventional makeup artistry services but also offers makeup education for non-beauty professionals, such as her popular Create Your Signature Look and Makeup Reset workshops. When she’s not making up, she’s hanging out or traveling with her two little kiddos and husband, teaching ice skating lessons for the local skating/hockey clubs, and seeking out amazing little coffee shops.

Natalie’s favorite quote is:

I see myself as a huge fiery comet, a shooting star. Everyone stops, points up and gasps. ‘Oh look at that!’ Then -whoosh, and I’m gone…and they’ll never see anything like it ever again… and they won’t be able to forget me- ever.
– Jim Morrison

Natalie’s Big Dream for the world:
I’d love to build a tuition-free makeup school specifically for refugees, asylum seekers, displaced people, and women escaping abuse, that upon graduation, gives them the skills and know-how in how to build a successful, portable, translatable makeup artistry business. Too many women in the beauty industry don’t get a fair deal and I want to change that!

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.