One year later: Retirement or a sabbatical?

Inspiration shot July 2026

Lessons and insights from the best year of my life

A year ago, I announced my “retirement.” At the time, I couldn’t think of a better word. I wanted to create space. I no longer wanted to run a business, manage a team, or fill every day with meetings and commitments. So I stopped. I wanted to shift from doing to being and discover what would remain if I no longer had to do anything.

Letting go took time, but I trusted the process. Before long, I couldn’t imagine how I had ever worked so hard. I attended spiritual retreats, spent a lot of time doing absolutely nothing, and slowly discovered what I did want: helping people, coaching authors, and working live again with small, personal groups. As soon as that became clear, the right clients seemed to appear naturally.

Looking back, it wasn’t retirement at all. It was a sabbatical. A year in which I discovered that creating space is sometimes more important than setting goals.

Perhaps the most important question this summer isn’t, “What am I going to do?” but rather, “What do I want to make space for?”

Lessons from a “retiree”

One year later, I feel more alive than ever. I work fewer hours, my calendar is much lighter, and yet I accomplish at least as much as I used to, sometimes even more.

I realized I never wanted to stop working. I wanted to stop running a business.

A few lessons from my sabbatical:

• The most important one: Create space in your calendar and your head.
• Turn off your phone more often.
• Batch your appointments and tasks.
• Schedule not only productivity, but also rest and connection.
• Regularly ask yourself: What really matters?
• Stop doing things that are successful but no longer fit who you are.
• You don’t have to wait until you’re exhausted before slowing down.
• Give yourself permission to do less. You don’t have to be busy all the time.

From virtual assistant to Codex

During my sabbatical, I had plenty of ideas but no team or virtual assistant to execute them. That forced me to think before taking action.

Then, in May, I attended a workshop in Mexico where I learned from experts how to use Codex and Claude Code without having a technical background. It completely changed the way I work.

Today I’m very clear about where I want to spend my time, and these tools help me turn ideas into reality incredibly fast. I spend much less time behind my laptop and almost all of my working hours coaching people, guiding authors, and working with small VIP groups. AI isn’t the goal for me. It’s simply an extension of my brain.

Apparently my enthusiasm was contagious. I decided to organize a hands-on AI workshop in Amsterdam to show fellow entrepreneurs exactly how I use these tools. The first edition sold out immediately, and so did the second. Both were a great success.

That’s why I’ve scheduled a final AI-workshop on September 29.