Beginnings are hard.
I wanted to be many things in my life. Starting from imagining myself as an opera singer on a big stage, to being a hairdresser crafting the weirdest cuts, to an architect planning dream houses for family n’ friends, and at age fourteen, a designer making beautiful kitchens. However, industrial design school rejected me three times so I studied architecture instead, which became a real passion. But still, rebel and fool that I am, I felt it was a box.
Not that there’s anything wrong with boxes, but I somehow had this nagging feeling: there must be more. I’ll be honest, architecture felt like a land of crushed dreams (graduates not finding jobs and countless exploited at work, many leaving the profession altogether and sarcastic blog posts giving the impression graduates could be lucky to survive) — but I feel more than the pain, my search was driven by an intense curiosity: What else is possible? How far can architecture extend?
Then in 2018, after graduating from Tu Delft in Holland, an awful 27th birthday evening shook me awake, catapulted me out of my comfort zone and made me realize that I was living life on the fringes of superficiality — I moved to Australia, my second home, and declined a corporate job offer at one of the world’s top ‘star-chitecture’ firms that many would dream having on their resume. I still vividly remember that fateful call when their secretary delivered the news; I respectfully declined with an ‘I have decided to follow my dream. Maybe we can collaborate one day’, with full-on terror that she would smash me. *Breath hold* Her response: ‘If you have a dream, you should go for it, and we hope to hear from you in the future’. *Exhale*
Soon after, I heard a calling to come ‘home’, whatever that meant. It was beyond thought, rather a warm and peaceful feeling, I just knew I was ready for it. Then I felt pregnant. Something was taking root, I could sense it in my womb and bones. I followed my internal whispers and hunches, and what once started as a hobby, turned into a calling — involving all I could ever dream of and more. WASDNTY: What Architecture School Does Not Teach You was born, an empowerment platform that links outer change with inner transformation.
And so my heart-based path began... and it’s all about people.
1. Architecture is not a Box
Architecture, to me, like every other field and discipline, is like a funnel. More precisely, the bottom of it; it’s a lens to view the world, a glimpse of a larger reality where all is interconnected and borderless. And I like to explore this reality. All our systems and structures make it seem like everything is separate, from our buildings to our school subjects to our professional jobs, but really, this is just a perceived separation put in place to make ‘sense’ of the world. In reality, all fields and disciplines are merely different faces of one of the same thing.
The point: It doesn’t matter what we studied, or what our background is. I honour each of our paths, in whatever shape and form it may have manifested itself, but what I’m interested in is: Are we moving the needle? See, often we just blindly follow the path that has been laid out for us (by family, friends, schools, etc.), only to go through life without real depth and meaning, chasing things that we think will make us happy, and unconsciously putting ourselves in — yeap — a box.
But let’s not forget: Any box is a figment of our imagination.
2. We are a Bridge
There is a life outside of the box waiting for us. If we step out, there will be a bigger box, and a bigger box, and a bigger box. So if we step out, and out, and out, and eventually explode that box altogether — we’ll open up to wider layers of awareness, lighter states of consciousness and ever-greater numbers of possibilities. That’s because we’ve resisted being sucked into the funnel where everyone and everything is converted into a measurable, tangible, replaceable ‘thing’ and, instead, made our way up towards our boundless, free nature.
This, to me, is the essence of leadership.
We are here to be different and do stuff differently. You are here to do stuff differently, and deep down you know that. It doesn’t have to be big or grandiose. Not at all. It just has to be out-of-the-box; and that can be through an action, a word, a feeling, or even a thought. It can be subtle, quiet, intuitive, playful, passionate, considerate, slow. Anything that deviates from the ‘norm’ is transformative and inevitably ripples out into the collective… even, and maybe especially, if it’s invisible.
However — that doesn’t mean we disregard the bottom of the ‘funnel’, either. Everything that has come before has served a purpose. Nature doesn’t waste; nothing is transcended. So we want to make sure to honour the past and embrace the future. We are not above anything or anyone. We are simply the bridge between the old and the new. That could mean merging known disciplines only to create something weird, unknown and unheard of. It could also mean specializing in a ‘traditional’ profession, but doing things differently so that it moves the needle in some way.
I am curious: What does ‘the box’ represent in your life? How are you doing things differently? Could you start stepping out of the box even more?
3. You are a Leader
The most radical out-of-the-box act is to realize that no planetary challenge is merely ‘out there’ for some kind of leader in ‘power’ to solve — that is a fragmented approach to leadership that can only lead to more of the same. We all have a role to play. You have a far greater role to play than you think. When you start pointing your finger right back at yourself and realize that you hold the key to change, you activate innate powers you didn’t even know you had — and quantum change becomes possible.
Fact is: You are here to LEAD — in your own way, at your own time, and there is no one-size-fits-all. Leadership is not something you can ‘read’ yourself into; it is a journey that requires patience, deep self-reflection and wisdom. The impetus arises naturally from within and matures the more you nurture it.
Hence, this page is here to accompany you. To get the most out of it, I invite you to not merely read it but see it as an arrangement of words and patterns that you soak in over time, if necessary, coming back to them over and over again for them to penetrate deeper into your being. The intention is to provide a different leadership lens — one that tickles the spirit, activates the mind, and inspires the leader in you to step up, transform and soar.
If you are here, I warmly welcome you. Remember, you are needed. Thank you for being here.
4. Schedule & Subscription:
My lifestyle revolves around travelling Australia, my second home, while caring for many pets along the way and writing a book. I like to contemplate and have long patches of rest which means I don’t necessarily adhere to a strict publication schedule. My natural cycles of creativity ebb and flow, and I have to honour them. But when I do publish, you can be sure it’s quality over quantity, and will land straight in your inbox! 🌊
For now, you can choose the paid or unpaid subscription to receive the same benefits and content. *Whaaaat, yeah I know* If you do enjoy my content, please consider opting in for my paid subscription. The difference is an extra buzz of gratitude for supporting my joy. In any case, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing :)