angelo meijers

I'm the ONE Helping people to become the best version of themselves

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• Angelo Meijers

The First Episode – Growing Up

My journey started in a small town in the south of the Netherlands on January 3, 1967. The first six years of my life were easy and happy, as my parents had created a loving home, and my older brother was very supportive and caring. My sense of peace and contentment changed dramatically when I began being bullied. It became so bad my brother often had to step in and protect me from my tormentors. Changing schools didn’t really help, because I withdrew more and more in my shell, until I had built a wall around my heart that no one, not even I, could penetrate. Then I found a way out: tennis. Not only was I good at it, but by the age of 14, I had achieved the status of national champion. I had found a stage where I could shine. However, even this accolade was not enough to quell the turmoil inside. When I wasn’t playing or competing, I was unhappy, insecure, and introverted. At age 18 I decided not to become a tennis pro and instead go to college. This decision sent a shock to my system and sense of self. The applause was gone, the lights were out, and I didn’t know anything about the boy staring back at me in the mirror. The escape from myself had not lasted.
Although I did very well in college, I felt no joy, no spark, no life in me. My first foray into working life proved to be even worse. When I got my first job with an accountancy firm, I was fired after six months. The CEO sent me away, sneering that I was the worst employee he’d ever had. Not surprisingly this took me further down into a pit of depression. There seemed to be nowhere to turn. My life, which had started with such bright promise, had become irreversibly dark. Or so it seemed. I went into therapy, and at the end of the first session the therapist made me look into a mirror and say, “I love you.” But I couldn’t. I burst into tears, realizing just how much I’d come to dislike myself. From here on, there seemed only one lasting way out — upwards. I needed to find the light within myself, and deal with the ghosts that haunted and hectored my mind. I immersed myself in self-help books, spirituality, New Age, meditation, positive thinking. And pretty soon, I found myself rising and feeling a sense of hope again for the first time since my very early days of blissful boyhood.

The Second Episode – Family and Business

After a few jobs I didn’t really like, I found work that I really loved. I was 26 and for the first time I was actually good at what I did. And I felt respected, even loved. My confidence returned and I realized I could actually be someone and achieve something in my life. The light was shining deep inside me, and it was wonderful. At the age of 30 I got married and we bought our first home. At the same time I quit my job and started my business. Although there wasn’t a lot of money, and I had no experience at all in running a company, I just knew I had to follow my vision. And it went well. Very well. Along the way there were challenges, of course, and I’ve written about them in my books, but overall we made it through. Today I feel very blessed to have experienced not only the successes but also the obstacles, as they helped to make me the person I am today. Fifteen years later, I decided to sell the business. Although I loved the company with all my heart, I needed to move on and wanted to spend more time with my family. We had two beautiful daughters, and I didn’t want to be the father they only knew through stories. Now financially independent, we were poised to start anew. The next decision wasn’t so much a rational one as a whisper my wife and I heard in our hearts. So, in 2012, we packed our stuff, said goodbye to dear friends and family, and moved to Canada, where we started a new adventure.

The Third Episode – Canada

My intention when I walked away from my busy work life and moved to Kelowna was to use my gifts and life experiences to help others. In what way, I didn’t know. One insight was clear, however: my efforts should come from a pure place in my heart. Soon I felt the urge to start writing. Though it was a new challenge for me, I dove into the work and haven’t stopped since. So far I have published two books and I’m currently working on a third one. Through my writing, I hope to touch people’s lives in a positive way. To encourage them, inspire them, and help them to find their unique gifts and fine-tune their voice. The desire to help others has grown in other directions as well. I also do volunteer work in an outreach program where we serve dinner to those who can’t afford a decent meal. Some are homeless and many are struggling with addiction and mental illness. It’s my way of giving back to life, which has given me so much. In addition, I coach and mentor clients, both in their private lives and in their careers. To see that I can make a difference in someone’s life is all the reason I need to get up in the morning and feel inspired to do my best. Looking back and ahead, I feel my travels have taken me to a place where I found my own voice, and prepared me to walk with others their journey. I hope I can lift a little bit of their burden and be a light whenever they need it. We all need someone who cares when we’ve lost hope. We all need someone who listens when we’ve lost our voice. We all need a shoulder to cry on when we’ve lost someone we love. And if I can help you on your journey, I invite you to walk with me.

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