Uncertainty as a comfort zone

Inspiration shot November 2021

After 30 years of entrepreneurship and more than 15 years of location independent living, you could say that uncertainty has become my comfort zone. For me, this means staying both alert and flexible, resulting in a more interesting life.
If you let go of all expectations, there is room to be surprised. Sometimes positively, sometimes… less positive… 🙂 I don’t know what’s in the air, but last month was full of surprises! Have you experienced that too? I would like to share some of them with you.

Buying a Medieval apartment?

I went to Puglia for the olive harvest, the restoration of my trullo and to buy the neighbors’ land. Who would have thought that I would eventually also buy an apartment from the year 1200? Seriously! The house is located in the historic center of Ceglie Messapica, between the castle and the church and it is no less than 800 years old. I still can’t believe it. It will be a mega project to restore it (unfortunately in the 80s it was stripped of any character), but then it is a really unique place, with 4 rooms and a large roof terrace, in the middle of the village. To be continued!

Brilliant choreography

The Universe’ plans sometimes resemble a dance: one step forward, two steps back… When I saw this video, I knew I needed to share it with you! How do you come up with something creative like this? This ‘dance’ is not at all what you expect. Simple, unique and beautiful. Even the face masks are integrated in this beautiful spectacle.

Hiding in plain site

After ‘Searching for Sugarman’ I found another surprising documentary about a unique artist that everyone thought no longer existed: “The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski”

Digital delegation

I get a lot of questions about working with Virtual Assistants: which tasks do you outsource, where do you find them, what do you pay them? That’s why I decided to write a book about it, together with Noel Andrews of the hiring platform JobRack. While I always advise other writers to start the book promotion early, I completely forgot about it myself this time! So here’s a surprise: The book Digital Delegation; free your time and grow your business with a virtual assistant is now with the designer and will be released next month. You can already order it and immediately receive bonus information that you can use, such as my ‘job ad’, selection of test assignments, and much more.

Cheap year-round rental car insurance

Oops! I sometimes get involved in car accidents. (This month it has been 8 years since a car accident + whiplash in Curaçao changed my whole life).
I myself have not had a car for years and rent one when needed. Just like you, I always reluctantly paid 30-40 euros extra per day in insurance for a rental car. Stupid really, when you consider that regular car insurance is only a few hundred euros per year. Then I found a comprehensive year-round car rental insurance policy in the UK. I earned back the investment within a week. Unfortunately, it stopped because of Brexit.
After a long search, I finally found an alternative: for only €99 a year you are insured always and anywhere.
Now I rent cars for only a few euros a day and I don’t have to pay that hefty extra ‘surprise’ when I pick up the rental car. If there is any damage, you must first pay the rental company and then claim to receive it back. It really works. I already tried… 🙂 Would this work for you?

Did you know...?

…that I can’t sleep sitting up? That’s why bus trips and night flights are real nightmares for me. After a very short visit to my father in Miami, I flew on to Puglia for the olive harvest. To avoid mega jet lag and to be able to spend a few more hours with my father, I booked an upgrade to KLM Business class with points. And what a pleasure that was! Now I am already saving for my next night flight, probably the way back from South Africa where I will spend the winter.
Are you already saving miles/points? Even if you have to save for a few years, one day you will probably enjoy it as much as I did. 🥂 🍾

Where is Esther?

I am writing this Inspiration shot from my land in Puglia, Italy. It’s sooo beautiful here! The olive trees give me peace. It feels like ‘landing’ after the travel to France, Mexico, and Miami in the past month.
To enter the USA to visit my father, I had to be outside Europe for 14 days. Last time I flew via Curaçao, this time via Mexico, where I could also attend the Dynamite Circle conference (my location independent entrepreneurs friends). So much inspiration, and how wonderful to see everyone again! Even nicer was that my artist brother Michael was also in Mexico. I rent a larger Airbnb and we spent quality time together.
Unfortunately, I was not allowed to enter the USA on the planned day, because according to US Immigration I was not yet 14 days outside of Europe; they didn’t count the travel days… 😱 As a result there were only 3 days left with my dad in Miami… In the end, we both thoroughly enjoyed the time together!
From Miami, I then flew in one long trip to Italy for the olive harvest and Puglia inspiration trip. From November 18-22nd six entrepreneurs will visit to see my trullo, other plots of land for sale, and enjoy my favorite restaurants.
On November 29th I’ll fly to South Africa to spend the winter in Cape Town, just like last year. This means that I will have only 3 days in the Netherlands to distribute all the olive oil. Please order your freshly pressed olive oil before November 25th, so that I can personally send it to you.