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No.100 - It's about the Why and Crazy?

Life is a roadmap.

I am a big supporter of developing your own LifeDASH(board). Its a simple model that will help you to focus on your past building blocks (experiences), your current role (and what you like/dislike) and your future position (and what accelerates or blocks that vision).  Please check out the presentation that I did together with my Akvo colleague Laura Roverts in 2014 during Akvo TeamWeek: 'Be the master of your own development'.

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Over the last three months (it started on my birthday - 10 July, 2015 - Yangon) I have been working on different value propositions that resulted in the launch of my new company. Instead of buying an Apple Watch - an lacking to be that early innovator - I decided to invest in personal growth and started a two months personal coaching program with Frank Kuijsters (Digne Consult). This has been very rewarding - and I needed this to get back to my own basics and focus. 

Last week (2nd of October - 2015) I received the good news that my company has been founded in Singapore... under the name 'Crazy About Water'. Crazy?

Inspired - of course I would say - by Apple's 'Think Different' commercial I always felt a bit different as well. Doing a MBTI test you're never in one of the boxes... Working in champions league of a corporate life - and feeling alone. Great career path and than deciding to join a Sailing Race around the world and taking Sabbatical with the love of your life. So probably it takes time to understand, feel and appreciate the 'power of difference'. I decided to give my life for the theme of water... you must be crazy.. you're not an engineer or water expert. Water felt like close to my heart, concrete, important and interconnected with The Netherlands...

  1. Half of the country is below sea-level
  2. A brave Dutch boy: Hans Brinker
  3. At that moment in time, our prince as a truly water-ambassador will become our future King that will continue to embrace the theme of water.
  4. Dutch proverb: "God made the sea, but the Hollander made the land."
  5. and I thought about my recent TEAM ABN AMRO in the Volvo Ocean Race experience - also something with a lot of water ;-)

I feel privileged that I have been blessed to learn and enjoy my first 15 years career. The most important take-away is to stay close to your beliefs and define your ultimate bigger goal. This will provide you guidance and energy in time when you need it. Its definitely not easy, you need discipline and its hard-working but so much rewarding.

You must be crazy to leave Akvo.org - the perfect social tech enterprise - with a focus mobile monitoring in the water, agriculture and energy sector. You must be crazy to found a company in Singapore as you're current pass will expire in 5 months and you're not were you will be living than. But the once in your lifetime feeling to make a change by working and living in South East Asia is got my hooked. Being different in most countries I am working is something I definitely not to take that for granted. The most crucial is to be able to build that bridge to exchange knowledge and learn from each other. 

I am 'Crazy About Water' Pte Ltd - and we are here to stay!