As you might have read, in April I visited Bulgaria to give a workshop for managers and entrepreneurs about business constellations. Many people wondered why Bulgaria. That is an interesting story indeed!
It all started with my mom and dad
The story starts in 1999 when my mom and dad (they are always the beginning) went on a spiritual journey to the Altai mountains in Siberia, Russia. This is the energetic centre of the earth, a very special place. My mom wasn’t into these kind of spiritual things those days, but for some reason her intuition told her she had to join my dad on this adventure. My dad on the other hand really liked spirituality.
During this trip they met this guy, Rob Bac. This seems unimportant but as it turns out it is very important indeed. This happens more oftend. That you meet someone and in the end it turns out it is a very important person in your life.
This connections proves to be of utmost importance in this story.
A lecture I knew I had to attend
Time passes and my dad passes away in 2003. My mom lives in a new house in Norg in the North of the Netherlands (I grew up in the West, near The Hague).
She starts organizing spiritual lectures in her living room. In October of 2003 she facilitates the first lecture in her house.
While looking for interesting speakers she asks Rob Bac and he tells her about this guy he met during one of his own lectures. It was an interesting man who can see more than we can sense with our five senses. This man was Evert Jan Beverwijk. I tell my mom I want to attend this lecture. I don’t know why, I just had to. Even though I don’t know what the lecture is about.
During this lecture I am impressed by Evert Jan. Something deep inside of me is touched. There is more than we can see with our eyes. The things he says are so true and set things in motion.
Where an adventure starts
I am working as a consultant for SME’s and in that role I contact Evert Jan again. He is very innovative with internet marketing and I ask him to give a workshop for my customers. That’s when a journey begins. I learnt a lot from him about internet marketing, but also about energy, past lives, forces that go on in the world and beyond.
In 2007 it was him who gave me the necessary kick in the butt to start my own company and he became one of my first customers. We did great things together: from internet marketing and Maya workshops to television.
An intuitive walk brings me closer to Bulgaria
When our business connection becomes less strong and we went our own ways, we still met for a walk and talk. That is what happened in 2013. We met in Ommen, which is half way between his and my home. After a cup of tea in De Zon (a restaurant called The Sun) we decided to go for an intuitieve walk. We would follow my intuition. For me it was a kind of awkward to do this, but it also felt good.
That is when my attention was intuitively drawn to a nice big building not far from the restaurant. We walked to this building and Evert Jan pointed out that there was a sign with “Coaching” on the gateway, so we continued walking towards the building. On the front door there was another sign with “Coaching”. I thought this was very cool and wanted to leave and continu walking. But Evert Jan opened the door of the building and walked in. It later turned out to be a training location called OldeVechte.
A young Turkisch woman named Pinar welcomed us and offered us tea and a cookie (as is very common in Holland). It was as if she had expected us. We had a conversation about intuition, cultures and coaching. She told us that the director was inside the big room training a group of European young people. He would soon be available.
Connected by intuition
Not too long after that the director, Marko Vlaming, came to join us. We talked for a while and he was interested in the intuitive way I was coaching and training. We exchanged business cards and Evert Jan and I continued our intuitieve walk.
Because Marko had shown interest, I sent him information about the workshops and trainings I offered. Later he told me that these “SPAM” mails triggered him to attend an information evening. That was when he decided to attend the training Intuitieve Coaching I was giving with my collegue Marjolein. Later he also attended the training on how to facilitate constellations. Het wanted to integrate this new approach in the trainings he gave in Ommen to the young people from all over Europa.
I wanted to expand my business abroad
At the end of 2014, the beginning of 2015 I set an intuitive goal to do more work abroad. I have always been interested in international connections since I spent a year in High School in Fort Wort, Texas in 1988. That is also why my first ideas of going abroad were about the USA. My international business plan did not mention Bulgaria! (actually I did not have a plan).
How the Bulgarians found me
Marko used family and business constellations in some of his trainings and the participants were very enthousiastic. One of them was Yassar from Bulgaria (yes, there it is!). A friend of his, Rossitza, wanted to organize seminars with business constellations and had asked him if he knew anyone who was good at facilitating constellations. Yassar asked Marko and Marko said “Then you have to ask Martijn Meima”.
That is how I got to meet Yassar in Ommen and had my first Skype meeting with Rossi. This was the beginning of 2015.
That is how I ended up flying to Sofia on March 31st, 2016
Some time passed until I really stepped on the airplane on March 31st 2016 and flew to Sofia, Bulgaria. I had never met Rossi in real life and she had never seen me facilitate constellations. We both had put complete trust in the other without questions.
On April 1st she had gathered a group of 50 business man from Sofia and I gave a workshop to experience business constellations. The people really liked it and so did I. Rossi also arranged a TV interview for Bloomberg TV Bulgaria. The rest of the time we spent getting to know each other and for me to see Sofia.We also did our own constellation to find out how to best go forward with this business.
Not one, but two contacts in Bulgaria
The strange thing is that there was this other guy from Bulgaria who contacted me. Tihomir was one of the participants of a 6-day training I gave in Ommen for a group of 40 young people from all over (Eastern) Europe. He asked me if I were interested in contributing to an international conference on organizational learning in Sofia end of May. This conference was organized by SoL (Society for Organizational Learning, founded by Peter Senge).
When I was in Sofia in April, I also met with Tihomir. The thing was that I did not understand what this SoL conference was all about and what I could contribute. It was also not clear if I could make any money out of this. I talked with Konstantin, who was in charge of the conference, but still it was not clear enough to me.
My intuition said that I needed more information before I could say yes to this. Especially since there was no money they could offer me to come to Sofia again. So I talked with Tihomir and we met with another guy, Evgene who knew a little more about the conference, but still I didn’t feel that this was it.
How things fall together – synchronicity
Then Evgene said we should talk to Natalia, the woman who knew a lot more about the conference. The only problem was that it was 17.30 and that she was busy all day. He decided to call her anyway. And yes, she just had a meeting that was cancelled so we could stop by right away.
We had a great conversation and she cleared a lot of questions for me. Later she told me that also for her it was very important to have met me. That made her confident that I could add something to the program (even though we had not talked about my contribution in detail).
When I got back, I joined a few Skype calls of the organizing teams and on May 19th I flew to Sofia for the second time.
Great conference where I met a lot of great people
It was great to meet all the people from Bulgaria and the ones from other parts of the world involved in this conference. It really felt like I had known them for a long time. The conference was a great experience and the constellations I facilitated really added a lot of value.
Although I did not get paid for this conference and I even had to pay my own traveling cost, it was worth the investment. People have experienced me and the way I work and I am sure there will be new business opportunities.
Besides that I also felt that I made a great contribution to Bulgaria as a country and that this was necessary for me to do. Call it karma, call it destiny, I don’t know. It was the thing I had to do and I am glad I did it.
The 7 lessons I learnt
This is a very important story for me. It has tought me some very important questions about live and about doing business.
- Everyone you meet in you life is there for a reason. Sometimes for a short time, sometimes longer. Sometimes for now and sometimes for later. Sometimes it is very clear and sometimes it is not.
- It helps to see life as an adventure opening up for you.
- Never make plans. They will not come true. Put a mark on the horizon; a wish, an intention and let go. Don’t make yourself depending on the result.
- Go fo an intuitieve walk more often and take one step extra. Open that door, talk to someone, ring that bell, do what you intuitievely sense is right, but might feel uncomfortable.
- Decide to trust someone completely and blindly. Let your intution guide you. If it is right, it is right!
- Be happy and grateful to life unfolding to you, even if you cannot make money out of it
- Everything starts with your mom and dad, be thankful to them