As spring transforms my olive grove into a sea of flowers, I find myself undergoing a transformation as well. Returning to yourself after a long period of recovery can be quite challenging, especially when you have lost yourself in a disappointing relationship for years. Nevertheless, I am slowly regaining the color in my life. I even purchased a colorful protest sweater, plus I am learning a lot from nature. It brings me joy to be here in Puglia where I am not only connected to the internet (World Wide Web) but also to the 'Wood Wide Web' 🌳 🌳 🌳. In this Inspiration Shot, I will share some insights and tips on how we are all connected; both to each other and to everything around us.

When you travel extensively and seldom stay in one location for more than a few weeks, how do you sustain your business? How do you work with your virtual assistants, and what tasks and responsibilities do you delegate to them? I have been getting many questions on this topic lately. With many people being (too) busy, they often even lack the time to explore outsourcing options. Therefore, this Inspiration Shot offers a variety of practical recommendations for working smarter and outsourcing duties to virtual assistants or ChatGPT, the popular Artificial Intelligence tool. Great news for entrepreneurs and writers on a tight budget. Let yourself be surprised and motivated by the possibilities available to you.

Puglia is becoming increasingly popular; trendy travel magazines, newspapers and special editions: everyone is writing about the area. Unfortunately, most journalists visit the same places, while there is so much more. Do you want to discover the real Puglia? Since I have been in Puglia for a few months now, almost without interruption, I would like to share with you my love for this authentic part of Italy. In this Inspiration Shot you will find tips, insights and fun facts. Whether you want to take a vacation here, want to practice remote working (during my Workation in April?), want to come and live here or perhaps even invest, here we go…

“If you had to choose, would you rather be blind or deaf?” Do you remember how you answered this hypothetical question? I always chose sight. Even though I know that sound is important, and being able to have a conversation; as a writer, reader, and traveler I value my eyes the most.  So it was quite a shock when I suddenly had flashes of light in my right eye a few weeks ago. I rushed to the emergency room of an Italian village hospital… It turned out that part of my retina had detached; I have permanently lost partial sight in one eye. I gained a lot of inSIGHTs from this experience, which I would like to share with you in this inspiration shot.

To me, an airplane is a kind of 'time machine'. You enter with a certain climate, time zone, culture, and language and a little later you exit in a completely different world. Fast travel gives me a kick! But I've wanted to take it easy for a while. So when I saw this super deal on a 1st Class Interrail ticket; 3 months of unlimited travel through Europe, I bought it without thinking. In this inspiration shot I'll take you on my trip and will share some inspiration examples to reflect on your (life) journey: do you prefer fast or slow?

How patient are you? I hate it when things don't go fast enough…. Do we need to learn to be patient? Or is it heatlhy to want to speed things up? Here in Puglia, South Italy, living on a construction site, I am confronted daily with situations testing my patience. Construction workers arrive late, or much earlier than agreed, or sometimes don't come at all. Material is delivered much later than expected. Suppliers can't find the address, but don't bother to call or view the Google maps location, which I always include. My neighbor Mario, who has built my tiny house, laughs at me every time I want to do something quickly, which of course never works. He says, “Esther, you have to learn to be patient. That's how it works here.” And yes, maybe that's why I ended up in Puglia, to learn to be patient. But my drive for efficiency is being put to the test. What's more important? Efficiency, or feeling relaxed?