Getting ready for my very last goodbye…
I’m writing this article to you from the patio of our house on the mountains of Tenerife, surrounded by pine trees for as far as the eye can see.
I’m typing this article on my iPad, in the warm gentle sun, eating a peach I’ve just picked from the tree and the only sounds I can hear are the birds between the trees and the soft jingle of a bamboo wind chime.
This peaceful rural lifestyle is the result of the Life Plan Vered (my wife) and I created about 9 years ago.
It took some years to make this lifestyle a reality, but since 2 years now – we’re living almost an exact copy of our Life Plan.
This was the 3rd Life Plan I designed and manifested in my life.
The first plan, I designed almost 30 years ago, and implementing it over 4 years, made me a self-made millionaire at the age of 23, employing 25 computer geeks and living on the 15th floor in 200 East-End Ave, in Manhattan.
Today I’m in the middle of the 4th time I’m going through the Life Plan Design process.
After 49 years of being on this planet, 31 years as an entrepreneur and 22 as a trainer – I’m ready for a new life. A very different life…
And this feels like the right moment to say what I have wanted to say for a while…
It’s time to say, “Goodbye.”
Although it may sound shockingly sudden, it’s a process I’ve been going through for the last 3 years…
You see, back in 2014 I started to feel that it was time for me to begin walking a new path, but Vered convinced me to keep Open Circles Academy alive, as she felt that so many people still needed our work.
Then in 2015 both Vered and I were ready to say “goodbye” – but then our CEO and our accountant urged us to keep Open Circles Academy active, so not to “throw away” the success we had built so far.
In 2016 – it was time. We opened a new company in Tenerife and at the end of 2016 closed Open Circles Academy in the Netherlands after 20 years…
What you might not know is that recently, I have transferred the rights for my business education legacy (the video recordings of all my training programs until December 2016) to the Spanish company, which under the Biz Kaizen brand set for itself the vision to make top quality business education available to every small entrepreneur.
I am very proud of what the Biz Kaizen team created. Check it out here!
I chose 2017 to be my last year as a teacher. I created a series of brand new training programs where I share my top strategies to living life by design, and how to create a happy, healthy, wealthy life.
From 2018 – I will no longer be a teacher, a trainer, a coach or a mentor. That part of my life is over now. I’m so ready for a new adventure… To implement my 4th Life Plan…
But before I go, I’m going deliver the 3 best training programs EVER.
And I’m not alone… During the last events of my career I will share the stage with one of my best friends – he is one of the world’s best trainers, a transformation agent like no other, one of the most generous men I have ever met, and together… We’re going to rock the house for the last 3 times…
Read more about my decision and the last 3 events we can still meet and work together.
Closing thought
A lot of things have changed through the years. The content, the focus, the methodology… All have evolved in some shape and form. And everything will continue to do so over the next years, especially now that I will no longer be holding the keys.
But there is, however, ONE thing that has not changed for all these years. And it has been, and still is, the foundation of what Open Circles Academy was all about.
You. And the Open Circles community.
Your participation. Your passion. Your relentless commitment.
To a certain extent, throughout all these years I’ve depended on you to help me fulfill my vision of creating a better world.
And I want to use this opportunity and let you to know that how extremely grateful I am to you for being in my life.
My personal wish for you is that you live your life by design, so your life is filled with happiness, health, wealth and wisdom…
Oh yes… and that you enjoy the ride…
And before you do… I’d like to ask one last favor…
Something I can take from you on my new journey…
If your life have been impacted, in any way, by our work… Would you be willing to share it with a short sentence, a paragraph or a 3-page essay… in the comment box below?
That would mean the world for me (and for Vered).
Life fully, be awesome…
To your success,
PS. A very needed clarification on our communication to you
During this year you might have gotten several emails every week from me or one of my companies and as a result, you’ve seen my name popping up in your inbox for different purposes.
Although I am striving to deliver tons of value with each and every one of our emails and blog posts, I know it can feel excessive when you get too many emails and is simply not able to keep up with them. Also, having my name associated to several diverse businesses is a sure recipe for confusion and overwhelm.
So here is a quick explanation:
- If you were on Open Circles Academy mailing list, you will keep getting an email newsletter every Tuesday with a link to a business-related blog post on bizkaizen.com
- If you’ve opted-in to any of my special offers of Happy Healthy Wealthy & Wise OR you’ve been connected to me on LinkedIn – then every Thursday you will get a personal-development-related blog post on HappyHealthyWealthyWise.com
- If you’ve bought any of our online programs (e.g. BizKaizen or Zero to Million) – you will get your paid episodes or updates once a week.
If there’s any of our communication you don’t want to receive, simply click on the unsubscribe link in any email that you’re getting from us.
HOWEVER, be very careful when clicking that unsubscribe link, as all your information in our database, is tied to your email address, and when you unsubscribe, we risk not to be able to send you any communication anymore – including information you’ve asked for, and even paid for.
tremendously !
i’ve gotten insghts
clarity
awareness; ….
of who i am
why i am
what i have done,
what i’m doing now and
what i want to do
how i’ve gotten here
how i can get where i want to be
how i can help others,
what i already can
what i need to develop or learn
what i can discard
why i should spent time and effort to develop:
a mindset
a purpose,
a reason,
a set of goals, strategies, planning and implementation plan (yes, you’ve imprinted that well 😉
why i should celebrate successes, acknowledge my achievements and honor and value my loved ones
So yes , in those regards, those areas of my life you sure had a huge influence…and i thank you for that.
I am glad and gratefull i didn’t take the blue pill and stayed in wonderland.
I am glad and gratefull i stepped in at the right time, and so did my wife.
I am glad and gratefull i witnessed the OCA2BK transformation.
I am glad and gratefull Nisandeh and Vered, for your contribution to the quality of our lives !
Dear Nisandeh and Vered
Thank you so much for everything. You have helped me to focus and choose my path. It’s a big process, it’s still going on. I have many things I love to do, and it’s a real path for me to find to choose and focus and leave things out. You have helped me to see things big, to make me enthusiastic for making money, that didn’t interest me for the biggest part of my life. You have helped me to set goals and visualise them. I did that before, but not so structured. I see the results, and that’s big fun. You have helped me to see how I can write a book. That is a deep wish for me for many years, to write a book. Now I know how to do that, I will certainly do it, and send you a copy of my book in Tenerife. All your advices are in my head, they pop up at times when I heed them. And I find myself telling others your advises, so the knowledge continues. Reading your farewell makes me a little sad, and nostalgic. The end of a happening, I’m grateful to have been part of it. I wish you all the luck with your spiritual path, I hope you will find what you are looking for. I hope you find the god inside you, the god you are. Or probably you have found that already. 🙂 Namaste and lots of love
Laura
Dear Nisandeh and Vered, thank you very much and good luck.
When I am grown “a one and five zero’s” more, I will visit you in Tenerife to celebrate my success.
Best regards,
Erik
Dear Nisandeh,
I would like to thank you for the inspiration and the enormous enthusiasm you shared throughout the years. Although I have more like an ant energysystem, you seem to have more like a bird of prey energy. Quick, focused, crystal clear and with a big overview. That brought you where you are now.
I do wish you all the best together, curious to your new plans also. I really admire you and your wife for all you did.
Thanks for who you are!!
Edieth
Your impact on my life and business has been enormous and therefor I am very grateful!
Your impact on my mindset has been the biggest one. I’m worth it!
The first thing I implemented was highering the prices. And it was the best thing I could do. Little by little my partner sees (after 6 years) the value of that. Because of this, our company grew even more, since people see the value we give (we always overdeliver).
I can write pages, but this is the main impact. Take care Nisandeh and Vered, thank you both.
PS with Vered I smashed the wooden plank, and she helped me overcome my fear of presenting and ACCEPTING the applause.
Thanks for all the value information. Lots of eye openers. I will continue to improve.
Dear Nisandeh and Vered, this is a touching and inspiring story, many thanks. My sense is that you follow you heart where ever it takes you unfolding what your soul wants to express in this world. I’m sure this will impact us all positively. And I guess that the first 3 Life Plans were merely preparations for the one to come… Many thanks again for modelling this for us all.
Hi Nisandeh en Vered,
in the last 5 years you impact my life in several ways.
Some results of it:
– My vision about marketing and business is totally changed
– I was able to live in Thailand for 1 year with my family
– I build a business/joint venture that in the first 5 month of 2017 generate more than €100000 income
And more of all, I have the self-confidence that I can, like you, impact positively my life and other people life’s.
There are no enough words to say how grateful I am to have followed your inspiring trainings, blogs, video and teaching.
I just want to say, from the deep of my hearth:
Thank you!
All things are designed twice in your life, you once told me. One time created in your head and one time created in real life. This frase is what I read here in this article. You created a life and started living it. A wonderful example to others. This is what I am trying to do also.
Yesterday I read of a T-shirt: Try and fail, but never fail to try.
Another insight I got from you earlier on in different words.
And yes by failing miserably I grew incredibly. But only when you are ready to take action and learn. So many lessons I’ve taken to heart from both of you. It’s always a pleasure to know that everyone can grow infinitely, but only when you believe in it. I now give many of these lessons to others, live my own lovely life. I design my wonderful life. I am grateful to you and know you will find what you want. As will I. Good life can happen, once you know how it works and are willing to put in the work for it. Thank you and good luck.
I also take a Dutch quote from an old friend with me: Zonder geluk vaart niemand wel. (without luck no one fares well) Although I know luck does not only happen by chance. 😉
After the Business Bootcamp I did a number of years ago, I finally decided to start a Facebook-page and a twitter-account, which I had kept at bay because I did not see the use of either. Especially the Facebook-page has turned out to be a great way to stay in touch with my audience and to share my views on my work. I finally started my academic studies in September 2014 and will have my bachelor’s degree this June! Next year, when I won’t be studying for a year (starting my master’s in September 2018), I will dive into the Bizkaizen-material I have received so far, in order to make a plan as to how to combine my professional and newly acquired academic knowledge to get closer to my goal: making the world a better place by advocating children’s right to devoted attention from and presence of their primary caregivers especially in the early years, so that they can grow up to be stable, responsible, empathic adults who don’t fight wars, but take care of the world with the attention and dedication that they were taken care of. Much to strive for, so hoping to keep learning! To your health!
Dear Nisandeh,
From a very selfish point of view I’m very.very glad that you didn’t quit when you felt it was time to walk a new path. After struggling for so many years, I was only ready until 2016 to open my eyes and change my life 180 degrees. Before that Open Circles would have never been able to be part of my life. When I was in your bootcamp in January I was totally surprised to hear you say exactly all the things that I just discovered myself! But you made it more clear and visible to me: with a picture in my head it’s easier to implement all the insights.
When you said to a thousand people not to watch television and news I was sitting there with the biggest smile ever. I was sold.
Last year I embraced you and Vered’s insights in the trainings. Some I loved, some was highly valuable, some was boring, some I really hated. However, all of it was a great lesson since I keep things to myself (Why does it make ME annoyed? Why am I bored? Oh, I already studied everything he wrote or vlogged not so many people do the same. How do I apply this knowledge to my future trainings?)
For the last year you’ve been my study object: I read all your blogs, saw your videos, free webinars, business boosts, I grabbed as much opportunities to learn from you as possible and talked with people behind the scenes. Recently I concluded that you and your blogs were becoming to distracting, since I’m too busy with my new business now. It was time to stop studying and start “doing”.
I thank you for your and Vered’s hospitality in Tenerife. Seeing how both of you have created the life you wanted, makes me optimistic about my future as well. One day you will receive a letter from me telling you I’ve created the life I wanted; and how this started with the trainings of you and Vered. “Thank you, thank you, thank you”.
Vered I already thanked in a personal letter. I wish you all the luck and enjoyment of life with your 4th life plan is. I have an idea what that might be 🙂
Love Shirley-Jane
PS. I’m happy and proud to say that I am FINALLY able to fill in my Ultimate Website address down below your blog, instead of a general wordpress.com address. You have NO IDEA how frustrated I was every week I responded to your blogs while my website was STILL not ready… Woohoo, here I go from the slide of life!
Thanks For the lessons learnt from Open Circles NL which i have implemented succesfully!
I was a struggler who felt lost. Because of your educational programme I got control again. I learned to be proud of myself and to be grateful for all the things that are happening in my life, the good and the bad. I still have a lot to learn and will continue and keep on learning my whole life to become a better person who has something to give to this world. This was always in me but i forgot as i grew up busy living the rat race. Open Circles, the teachers and the students made it clear to me that there is a different world and i can create it for myself so i can fulfill my life purpose.
Dear Nisandeh,
From the moment I learned about you and the first time I met you in Open Circles, I was a big fan of you and your work. There were times I thought: how is it possible that one person can inspire over 1.000 people, who come together from every place on earth you can think of and work together as if they know each other from the beginning.
It inspired me so much to be with you all those years and I got so much from you and later on from Vered.
Sometimes it seemed a little much perhaps, but always you had to say interesting and helpful words. I felt seen and understood. Thank you for being my coach/trainer for so many years and as an elder woman, I can say: you are in my heart and never go out. I will remember those beautiful times we spend there in Nieuwegein, the breakthrough as a High End happening for me: and: I break through now! This is my time to follow your footsteps. The implementation goes still forwards.
I am very grateful for all you taught me and in my heart, we keep in touch. That love and success may stay with you, Nisandeh and also to Vered who taught me to look inside myself and to overcome old grieves.
Both of you: dear persons to me and staying in my heart forever.
I wish you
Your input on my life is great and beyond words.
This week with the result of the comming out of my book! “Hoe vertellen we het de kinderen”
Greatful, Joyful, learned sssoooo much! Still implementing and much to come!
Hi Nisandeh and Vered,
Meeting you both on my lifepath is the best thing that ever happened to me. Your passion, knowledge, love and wisdom helped me a lot to develop myself and my business. Highlight until now was my visit at your house in Tenerife. There I saw that the both of you really ‘practice what you preach’. And your gift, a one-on-one session with Nisandeh, is unforgettable. As you taught me, there is nothing more valuable than lifetime and you gave me one and a half hour of your time to me. Thank you for that. I wish you both a happy, healthy, wealthy and wise life and hope our lifepaths will cross each other again.
Marius
Your presence in my life and career was an enormous boost for my entrepreneurship. You taught me how to do it. Before, I was a good professional, but had hardly a clue of what it takes to be a good entrepreneur. You made me sensitive to that difference and showed me how to improve my mindset and business. I’m implementing your teachings. My success grows. I’m not fast, I did not yet reach my goal, but I enjoy the road. So, all in all, it has been life changing. No less. I’m very grateful for the value you delivered. Thank you both for that.
Having said that: I’m very curious about your fourth life plan. What is it? I’d like to follow you on your track. It will probably be just as inspiring for me.
Insight in money flows.
Thanks Nissandeh and Vered. Because of you I understand a lot more about money flows. Not only because of your trainings, but also because of the books you recommended. Vered, you blogged about books in vacation time. “Start with a why” and a couple of other books. I enjoyed reading them very much. I think you are exceptional guys and trainers an I will miss you. I hope you’ll find meaningful things to do, because you are to young to stop. Maybe it is a good idea too be a student again in a different area than what you’ve done. And afterwards help the world in a different way than financially.
Proud
Nisandeh for me what you teach and have given to the world is
`the yoga of business`.
I am a yoga trainer and developer of books and games on children´s yoga and work as a mental coach for soccer players and found out that what you have given to me so far was the right track.
It is connected to heart and mind. Implementing your ideas and suggestions brings positive energy to the world. For sure!
I love you!
To your succes.
I am an entrepreneur, I have no doubt of it and I know exactly what to do and where to go – or to look for the clues to know this. This is because of you and I am forever grateful, thank you!
Dear Nisandeh, dear Vered.
You have impacted my life on so many levels that deprive the ability to describe in words.
However I am more than willing to share some of the biggest impacts you had on my life.
1) You have been an “inspiration of possibility” to me. To see what is possible for you made me believe that the same (although in different form) is possible to me and for my life.
2) You made me ask the big questions if life. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? What do I want to do/create/give/experience in this privileged time on this planet that is given to us with our birth.
3) You (Vered) helped me heal and re-interpret emotional issues & experiences of my past and assisted me in setting myself free from my past.
4) Both of you helped me experience the kind of person I want to be and strive to be.
5) You provided me strategies, methods and models on how to set myself free from “the rat race” and free myself from working by the hour. I am in the process of designing the life I want to live. A life of absolute freedom over my time and freedom and abundance of financial resources. Which allows me to be able to spend my life-time with the things I feel are worth spending my unique life-time on. Be it creating something for others, adding value to others, doing the things that make me feel happy to be alive, writing/creating/performing music, being a roll model and leader for my family, friends, students, partners, etc.
6) You helped me face my fears, look them in the eye and assisted me to to grow beyond what I thought was possible.
7) You helped me crush the glass ceiling I have bought into through social conditioning.
8) You helped me discover the true needs of my soul, my purpose.
And there is so much more, that I cannot recall right now but will add soon.
Nisandeh, what is your 4th life plan? We are all very curious to hear about it and if we can in any way contribute to it.
A big hug!
Amir
Hello Nishandeh and Vered,
only one year ago I was on the last BBC. I was in the back and very skeptic!!!! But I learned so much only the first day, that I was also there the second day. I met a lot of very good people. I decided to take the offer for the M.E. + F.F. + B.T.S
OH MY GOD!!!! !!!! !!!!
The question you ask about €10.000 product changed my whole life.
I made a €10.000 product and sold it one week after the M.E. and I asked my ‘boyfriend’ (we where only dating at that moment for 7 months) to join me in my business and join me on the next trainings by you.
Right now I live together with the love of my life. I changed my company to a new level. I have a dream so big and the trust that I will make it happen. I will never forget the feeling when I looked in your eyes before I hit the board during the B.T.S.
Now almost one year after the BBC my live is completely different in a positive way.
Every day I say to myself “I will do what ever it takes’ Not always easy or fun.
Now I’m 34 years young and for as long I can remember I said: before I’m 40 I will stop working because I can. I never knew how. Now I do!!!!! So thank you with whole my heart. You make me realize that my dreams aren’t just dreams but my destiny. one year ago I was only giving massages, now I transform people’s lives. because I feel that this is what makes me happy.
Now I make plans to move to Curacao that’s the place where I received my cliënts for a transformation training for 11 days. (€10.000 product) And that’s the place I want to live en give everything I can to the community over there.
I can’t say thank you enough.
Nisandeh, you have simply changed who I am. You have helped me to start a process which I am still busy with…..and maybe will always be- and I mean it in the very best way! Thank you
Dear Nisandeh and Vered,
Yes, you had great influence on my life. Through your enthusiasm at events and training weekends, the inspiring thoughts you shared with us. Although I picked out the cherries out of the Open Circles Academy basket, that were the most tasteful to me, there are still a lot left to be eaten by me. At the moment that I am ready for that.
So, thanks a lot for all. And all the best with fullfilling your 4th Life Plan. I am sure you will realize it.
Warm regards and a hug for the two of you!
My process of transformation as a person started in 2007 when I choose to join intensive therapy sessions. It opened my eyes in several ways. The process of transformation of my business started with the Business Bootcamp in june 2013. Since then I joined a lot of OCA trainings. As a result I am growing as a person and my business also grows. Nisandeh and Vered, thank yo so much for your contribution in my process of growing.
Thank you so much for all your great lessons and insights. And thank you for the Biz Kaizen platform. Like this I can keep on learning for my business. Next to business lessons, you gave me personal development lessons and I can only say that you changed my life and my view on mankind via the course Breakthrough to success. It was the best thing that happened to me, period!
I will miss your inspiring presentations at the live events but I respect you choice for a new path. Much love and happiness to you and your loved ones.
Het ga je goed
Thank you for inspiring me, for teaching me, and for guiding me to the big leap of professional independancy, which brought me freedom and succes. But most of all, for the connecting strong and ambitious mindset you share.
Thank you for Bizkaizen platform. I wish you all the best there can be for you and I’m sure you will keep on sharing and loving to others who need it.
Dear Nisandeh and Vered,
Thank you for all the great lessons I have received from you during the last 6 years. It has inspired me to make some steps I would not have taken without all this wisdom. In 2012 I released a new product and based on your valuable lessons on Biz Kaizen I just have completed my first business book – in 28 days! 😉
You are totally right that you can decide how to build up your own life. It’s all about making the right decisions, plan the right actions and go for it.
Now, looking back on the launch of the Biz Kaizen platform, your retirement does not come as a total surprise. You first wanted to share your legacy with all of us before saying goodbye. A clever move that brought all of us a lifetime of added value! Thank you for that.
All the best!
Hi Nisandeh and Vered,
don’t know where to start or end with what difference you made in my life. I felt listened to, freaked out many times, resented and loved you for touching some very tender personal issues, stepped in and out of a lot of comfortzones, heard both your voices for years when looking for answers, dared to ignore you every few years 🙂 and was happy to see you again after that.
A simple thank you for all that and more.
Have fun with the next chapter in your lives and living in beautiful Spain (still my favorite country, so i understand)
So long and a big hug to both of you.
I have learned a lot, but am still on my journey. I climbed out of a burn-out (because I also worked too hard for too little money) and understand a lot more about doing business than I did before. Before I didn’t know anything, because I didn’t WANT to know it. We Dutch are ‘humble’ and find it hard to step up for ourselves. But now I know it’s not a bad thing to stand up for yourself and ask for what you want. Difficult but I am learning!
But Open Circles has actually helped me to bring me back to the person I have always been. I have always been that socially ’normal’ person, but still a bit different. Not on the sidelines but definitely not in the middle. Just not quite like everybody else, but still blending in. But I had my own opinion and nobody could bring me down. I have been down, very down. But I have gotten up. Because that is how I was born and how I will hopefully always be!
Thank you for the insights and positivity. I am still a bit ‘Dutch’ and will always find it hard to go the total Open Circles way. But I have grown and picked the things that suit me. And I am, and even will be more awesome in the future!
Dear Nisandeh and Vered,
We met you for the first time in Antwerp on one of the seminars we attended and were greatly inspired. We then decided to step on a journey with you, where we both followed practically all of your trainings. Your train the trainer training helped us to start give trainings to groups. And your business training helped us to look at business from a different greater perspective. In one of other the financial trainings we realized that we were already financially free and could afford to live of our passive income from Real estate and online in our dream location and so we did. We moved 3,5 years ago to Florida, Palm Beach. We are happy we followed your trainings together, They have been a great inspiration to us. We thank you for your work and dedication. And Look forward to hear from you about your new endeavors. Do no hesitate to come and see us in Palm Beach ! We would love to see you again.
Hello Vered and Nisandah,
also from me a heartwarming farewell.
i have cursed and cried over your teachings, in the end it made me a stronger man.
personally and in my business i am now a lot more in control and feel i have the rudder of my life back into my hands!
Good luck in your new endevours!
Your trainings gave me goals and the insights and energy to achieve them.
Thanks Nisandeh and Vered.
I know you now for many years. When open circles was founded and was based in the basement of a house in amsterdam. I had very inspiring personal development trainings with you. Which changed my life for ever. The most helpful for me as the manifesting result. I think I did it twice with you and also twice with trainees from you. I am still busy to imagine my results. And my path as teacher of taijiquan is growing with the development of my skills in taijiquan. What is a lifetime 😊 happy job. In which I can help people to find their own strengths in relaxation and letting go. Thanks for traveling together and wish you and your family happiness on the path you designed.
Because of what I learnt from you and everybody in the Open Circles adventure I have a business. I work less and earn more. And I got the tools to become financial free. Passive business income course was what I wanted in the beginning. Did the course and got what I wanted: Growing a ‘Money Tree’ and receiving money every day, even when I’m enjoying a relaxing life.
So thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the wise lessons that brought me to doing what I love the most.
liefs,
Martine
Dear Nisandeh and dear Vered, I also like to thank you for the valuable contributions you have offered to me personally and for my business. Your sessions did help me to think big in my mission, to be in line and stay in line and to trully increase my financial IQ. This has offered so much added value for which I am gratefull.
Respect for sharing the steps both of you have taken and still are taken. This in itself is inspiring for me and others too.
Wish you all the best. Onno
It has been an amazing journey ever since I started Open Circles trainings, especially Life Skills University!
You are an inspirator and for me you lead by example, designing your own life. Although the business trainings were of a very high standard, for me the personal trainings worked best. It’s always the mindset and belief system that keeps us small or.. makes us grow! You have definitely played a part in that and.. still do! I love the Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise weekends. We only had the first one (Happy) and it has changed my pattern (I am running more than ever!) so I am looking forward to the other weekends.
It’s no good news that you stop training, but.. I know I will follow you in some way or another and you never know how paths may cross again. I grant you the things you are working hard for!
I respect and honour what Vered and you have done and I am so grateful to be part of the last trainings, which are (again) life changing. I will always be grateful for that and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Wish you all the best and hope to see you in the future, in whatever way…
xx
Dear Nisandeh, Your question is íf my life has been impacted, in any way, by your work? Yes, of course! The trainings I followed with Open Circles Academy made me a real entrepreneur, with a fitting new mindset for it!
And this mindset not only helps me in my work – in having a business and in working with clients – but it is also helping me to grow and change as a person in my private life.
The trainings of Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise are for me a great follow-up, where I can optimize my life and the skill of living by design. So Nisandeh – and Vered – thank you very much and success with your 4th Life Plan!
The first bootcamp in 2011 had a hudge impact and I realised I always played small. Your ‘How you do anything is how you do everything’ unrevelled over the years my behavior from an abusive childhood. Personal tragedies happened since than but I slowly started to heal and recover. It is still my mission to empower women after giving birth. Good luck and thank you for being in my life and the lessons I learned. Gr Anita (allways with capital A;)
Nisandeh and Vered,
Thank you for all your inspiration. Not only trough your life trainings, but also your books and dvd’s. And now there is biz kaizen, the platform that alows me to follow your strategies at my own pace in my busy family and business life.
You inspired me to keep following my path and not to give up. You tought me how to believe in myself and my plans. But I especially thank you for teaching me doing this the right way. Instead of peddling my way through life following my dreams, you thought me to row my boat.
Since following the business bootcamp, our business thrives. Not because we have the moneyflow we want yet, we’re not there yet, by far. But everyone works with their noses in the same direction. Business doesn’t feel like business, it’s no longer a struggle. It’s become a place of inspiration. A place to learn how to fall and stand up quicker every time. I still have a lot of biz kaizen lessons to learn, but I have the confidence dat we will get there. My life plan is made. It’s my second one. The first one was, when I look back, exactly the way I imagined it up front, so I know by my own experience that setting a life plan works. Peddling trough it though, I never imagined I would get trough successfully. I eventually did though and then I could start my second plan.
This second one is more complicated, but you convinced me it can be done. I’m living it and it’s tremendously intense. I’m sure that with the help of all your lessons, classes, blogs and vlogs this second plan is also going to be a succes. Only this time it will be at rowing pace. I’m sure I can therefor get to enjoy living my thirth life plan much sooner than I planned up front. First I’m going to enjoy this second one though, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but also enjoy every step I take.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your work, dedication, passion and faith in the goodness of other human beings. Your giving nature made it possible for me to believe in the combination of business (in other words money) and caring again. I’m no longer afraid to give in stead of asking first (as many people try to convince me to do because they like me to be a ‘real’ business woman). I love over delivering and love the responce of my clients even more. You made me fall in love with my work again.
For this you get back the love of every man and women you inspired. Every man and woman that is now able to give first and get back what they diserve, both in money, wisdom and oportunity. And may that be multiplied for you by a milion times…
To the succes of your 4th life plan Nisandeh and Vered!
Dear Nisandeh and Vered,
I can’t explain how sad I am to hear you say you won’t be my mentor anymore. You’ve not only inspired me and given me practical insghts, but also touched my heart to become the wonderfull being I am and shine my light.
I’ve just started two new businesses and went from being a therapist to an entrepreneur.
I took every chance I had in the last year (yes it’s only a year. I’m so glad I got to be in all your last programs) to be in your live programs. Normaly I’m the one keeping the energy high. It felt so good to be in a bath of uplifting energy and feel this loved and connected, not only to you both, but also to my dearest new friends and my love.
I’ll Always be thankfull to have met you. You shurely touched my life.
Wishing you all the love in the world and beyond.
Merel
Ah.. where to begin..
You don’t mind a 3-page essay you say?
I don’t remember how I was alerted for the Business Bootcamp. I never heard from Open Circles before, as I can recall.
I had some interest in marketing. And subscribed to some channels. And at one point, a landing page for the BBC was coming up. And that was my goal for the BBC: Learn more about marketing.
And then last year I walked in the room of the last BBC ever, as an employee (not your target audience as I learned later).
I had some vague idea’s about “at one time start making an income for myself”. But I had my priorities scattered. I was working on a fiction novel, a side-project at work, busy in music, and experimenting in game-development. There definitely was a drive to learn. But I did not give it that much pressure and there was no ongoing focus. The thing is, I was quite comfortable in my position as an employee. Working from 9-5, no worries about income. And doing ‘my own thing’ in the evenings/weekends. There was not a real urge. We were doing alright – Status Quo.
Inside I knew that there was much much more potential in me. But that was absolutely not the intention for me attending the BBC.
The moment when I stepped in that room in Nieuwegein, I was overwhelmed by the energy and participation around me. And skeptical – at first.
“What is this? Rocky? He’s making everybody cheer, making everybody do high fives, and dance? When is the marketing-stuff coming? Where did I get myself into? This is not me.”
That skepticism took no longer than an hour or so.
And then it hit me.
It hit me hard.
Really hard.
‘Wait, I can do this’
‘And I can start. Right – Now’
Even: ‘I started already – by being here’
And: ‘This is what I have been unconsciously waiting for’
And even: ‘It is my obligation to take action. I have a purpose to do so’
From that moment I was ‘ON’.
My life was about to change drastically and I knew it.
Brain paths where rearranging. Parts that have been in rest, revived rapidly.
Hello potential, welcome back in full glory.
I was digesting every bit of information that you were teaching on stage. Writing – writing – writing down. What a huge pile of information was thrown from the stage!
When I came home that night, I was exhausted. But so enthusiastic. My wife noticed the sign of upcoming madness in my eyes. We sat down and I started to tell. For hours I rattled and rattled all about what you told that day. Ideas came up. We contribute to our lives and lives of others along with it! We can take matters in our own hands! We can do so much more! My wife got enthusiastic as well. I wanted to put our idea of Status Quo on income on the stake. I had a vision! And I was full of trust. And my wife agreed instantly with ‘OK’.
I hardly slept that night.
I knew that our life’s had taken a new path.
I also knew already – there was no-way for a turn back.
No-way
The next day I was prepared. I knew what was coming.
I was ‘on’. Determined. I went in the room head-first.
And I came home that day with 8 treasures:
– A blowing mindset
– A life changing experience
– A goal
– A vision
– A drive
– Full of trust
– Tons of notes
– And 2 books
At home I read the notes again and again and again, every day for more than a week or so.
And I read your books. And books of others. Some pieces twice or more.
Attended more events and training’s. Online classes. And learned, learned, learned.
I have written piles of notes, ideas, strategies. For about 6 months. Continuously. No vacation since then. No days of doing-nothing. The drive was there.
And I think I have seen only a single movie: Star Wars (which by the way was a big disappointment).
Cable-TV is gone – waste of time.
And I started out as a ZZP-er. Building my own product, my own service. Developing training’s and building community.
And my enthusiasm infected others around me. They started thinking about their potential, taking classes in their expertise and one of them started his own business as well.
And then.. BizKaizen came. Right – on – time. Of course.
And I was ready for it. And I took the ridiculous no-brainer offer. Of course.
Almost finished my first short-read-training-book, in merely a few weeks. 48 Pages stuffed with highly valuable information.
And other books are already in their first drafts (some of them only a few words but I know I can write lots and lots of helpful value on these topics).
This week I got an email from one of my prospects who was so happy with an advice that I gave her. She finally was able to pull something off, thanks to a single email with some tips. Although I didn’t make direct money from that advice, it really touched me, having made that impact. And I was again shown that I am on the right track.
And yesterday I had a very inspiring talk with some business- and marketing geniuses on a promising initiative with a high potential for building passive income. For me and others. I love it.
In about 5 years from now, when we live in our dream house, our lives enriched with fulfillment, I’ll look back at these days with sincere emotions as the days when ‘it really started to kick off’.
I have thanked you before. But again; thank you sincerely for this kick in the b#t that you gave me and all the high value that came with it. And for the impact that we will be able to bring to the lives of others as well.
I wish you and Vered all the love, health and intense happiness that you can take.
Have a wonderful journey.
Arvid
Dear Nisandeh and Vered,
Thank you very much for your sharing and caring in the Open Circles Academy.
What you helped me most with is my mindset. You opened up my eyes, ears, heart, and the will to look for my place in this world. I feel free to think about my life as an entrepeneur in transition and looking for ways in the new economy, using my knowledge I learned in Open Circles. Especially the continuous process you show us of growing and developing the ideas that are the roots of our goal. financial goal and personal goal. As your life is changing and going on as you mention to us, so is mine and is ours. Sometime we are part of the same flock of birds like the sparrows in Holland that look for their evening tree to spent the night. Sometimes we fly on our own and find another flock/family to fly.
I wish you and Vered many happy, healthy and wealthy years to come.
Marieke de Hoop
Wow my life has been tremendously impacted. I visited my fist bootcamp almost a year ago, and the courses after that were life changers for me. I used to work ‘uurtje factuurtje’ for the teenager magazines during 20 years! Bye bye magazines, they are dead. My eyes are wide open at the moment, and I say no to a lot of small writing assignments, because I’m finishing a workbook-serie with the title ‘YES I AM… ME!’ to empower girls & their mothers. I know exactly what to do to finish and whem I have a team, we will follow your biz kaizen courses to promote my work through indiegogo. I will empower teenager girls and their mothers, in a fun, no nonsense way. With my experience in fashion and in magazines i will prove them that they are beautiful. That Instagram and Photoshop are great tools, but a curse for your self esteem. That Ralph Lauren is laughing because we buy his expensive perfume to be a part of his world. Fashion, beauty and shopping are part of our society, but it’s a very unfair market. Buying beauty articles should be better dosed, it surely would help the world! I will be pinpointing natural beauties that want to show their curves instead of ‘plastic’ hungry models.
I know for sure my workbooks and no nonsense lectures will be a succes, because low self esteem is a huge problem among teenagers. And maybe also among their mothers? Anyway, the only way for me is to point my arrows at mothers & daughters, because they can make a change… together. Thanks Nisandeh for these great insights, I can work with this for years. Thanks Vered for tons of inspiration, of the stories of your mother and your own youth. You discovered yourself you are beautiful, and it opened my eyes to help girls who are not that wise yet.
Hi Nisandeh and Vered
Thanks to you I could give my dreams hands and feet. Thanks to you I gained more confidence and allowed myself to grow. Your impact has been enormous, I can’t thank you enough for making the effort of delivering something so valuable and connecting with me. And the circles are creating new ones. I wish you both lots of happines in your next step.
2 years ago I went to my first Bootcamp. Did not know anything about business, marketing or social media. You opened my eyes very fast and gave me all the tools I needed to start my business in the right way. You inspire me every time with your enthusiasm and knowledge. Thank you for everything. I wish and Vered Succes and happiness on your 4th path💛👍Aafke
Dear Nisandeh and Vered,
I keep thinking of your words, many times said…stay in line! That’s how you build. Thank you so much for all you’ve done, I keep lining up with my passion.
Nisandeh and Vered, I am most grateful to all you taught me. You opened my eyes, and offered me the opportunity to change and to shine. Forever indebted to all that, I wish you all the best, for now, and for all times to come xxx Saskia
I would like to express my thanks to you both. Thank you for the inspiration and for the lessons you have enabled me to learn. It has brought me a lot – both as a person and as an entrepreneur. My journey with Open Circles has put me in touch with many beautiful people, with whom I now have fantastic working relationships. My toolbox has been expanded by gaining insight into the ways to make myself more visible. Four years down the line, my life has shifted from the feeling of working hard to working effortlessly. That is what appeared to me as the missing link. So, I am extremely grateful, and I am wishing you both all the happiness in the world, for now and for the future.
With love,
Sylvia
Hi Nisandeh and Vered, From moment into a Herengracht session I knew that I had to go another path than I was walking on. It long me 2010 that I met a few people who worked tighter even though they ware competitors of each other (in holland not seen) So I had to go and see what you were doing in the bootcamp. The biggest insight was that you have to change the services if the clients no longer want them.That took me about 5 years to get a match between my passion and what the client wants. Further more My favourite clients happened to be the lost generation (men after midlife crisis) I really lost them, With all those changes outside of me I had to change myself so tremendously that I nearly lost myself. However your trainings were for me life saviours, because in your hug vered I could feel the real love so I know now that only with love and the right intentions the business will be a success and mine is a real success, thanks both of you and all the E-team members
Dear Nisandeh an Vered,
Thank you both for giving your energy and motivation into your programm. The lesson material still exists and can still make a difference for entrepreneurs who are still going to start or to reboot. I hope to meet you soon and tell me about my success
All the best en enjoy life! Bram
Dear Nisandeh,
I am not surprised by your step, it was a matter of time I guess, but it is surely another big leap, I can imagine. The OCA training programmes had a major impact on my personal and business life. Amongst many many other things I learned dozens of marketing and communication skills and insights; that there is no such thing as failure; that visualizations have an amazing power; that supporting and non supporting beliefs impact my feelings and decisions; that what other people see, feel and think about me tells me something about them and not particularly about me; that vulnerability is a strength; and I can go on, and on and on. Thanks for making me laugh, cry, weak, proud, stronger and smarter:-).
The most life changing insight from OCA must be the one I got during the Life Skills University in 2013. During the Excellent Health Programme Stans van der Poel was giving examples of Olympic athletes she coached on breathing techniques to improve their performances. She addressed the correlation between dairy products and astma and she monitored our breathing frequencies: mine was apparently in a danger zone. My eyes almost popped out. I decided to quit dairy products to see what happened and my ‘astma’ (this is the official diagnosis I had for 46 years) disappeared after one week. My ‘astma’ appeared to be non existing. Instead it was a dairy/lactose intolerance… I have never been ill since the day I stopped eating and drinking dairy products (4 years ago this month) and stopped using my astma medications. A Facebook article I wrote about this two years later (2 june 2015) went viral with over 30.000 likes & shares. Many people responded with exactly the same experience after reading and trying it – so my Life Skills experience turned out to have impacted the life of many others as well.
Thanks again for sharing all your insights and please keep inspiring others Nisandeh in any way, shape or form,
Wout
Dear Nisandeh,
I have seen you first on stage with Roy in Germany, – I think through Omega seminar, – Than in Amsterdam also with Roy – Live in abundance, and Elements of succes. After the business bootcamp and and some smal weekend workshops… and one day workshops, and I participate on de ZTM. I have learned so much! And I am very inspired.
I can understand, that you will spend more time with your familie and hope you will inspire us with other things, like books….
Thank you so much and have a great time with all that comes…. Enjoy it!
Dear Nisandeh and Vered, (who was one of my very first Xing contacts),
You enriched my life so much, thank you for your inspiration, empowerment, never ending will to improve and to support us. I wish both of you a long happy and healthy new life, doing what ever you wish to do, as this is true freedom.
All the best,
Heike
Thank you so much for being an insipration for my and so many. Thank you. Thank you, thank you.