During my first 25 years on this planet I have conformed and executed everything that was expected of me. I graduated and got the degree I wanted. I got the job I wanted and got the apartment I wanted. After 4 years working for the same company I was headed for a long career conforming to the company policy, the company vision, the company values and the company politics. Little by little I started to realize that I didn’t feel happy doing what I was doing. The job I loved, doing the things I love (with the most lovely colleagues I can imagine), had become a struggle. I think of myself as a passionate, hands-on kind of person, but suddenly I had become the guy who needed to talk himself in going to work. This had to change!
At that time my girlfriend was just graduating after a 6 year study and wanted to have a volunteering experience abroad. I wanted to travel and wanted to find out what I was going to do with my professional life. We met each other halfway. I quit my job, we subletted our apartment and we set up a vague plan for traveling, volunteering in a school in Mexico and then travel further south.
We started our travels in Mexico in August 2015 and began working as educators from September until December (read: struggling to master the language, helped in the boarding school and eventually taught computer classes and English classes for children from 6-12 years old). Because of a lot of factors we decided to leave the project after 4 months and look for another challenge, meanwhile heading south.
In February 2016 we started working as volunteers in Nicaragua with Mpowering People, a Dutch organization struggling organizational and financial problems. During our time in Nicaragua we started a new educational project with the children from one of the León communities, we build a new website and started several fundraising initiatives.
During the 12 months I was away from Belgium, away from the stress, away from work rhythm, away from making money, away from friends and family, I made some realizations.
First of all, I love my job (I even looked for pro bono consulting jobs while traveling).
Secondly, I need my freedom to be able to enjoy what I’m doing. I realized that working as an employee just wasn’t cutting it anymore for me.
Thirdly, I need to be challenged.
When I did the math it became obvious: On my return to Belgium I need to do consulting, but independently.