We were lucky to catch up with Veerle Beelen Da Costa David recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Veerle, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
A few years ago I was living and working as an expat in Australia. I was having the best time of my life and really felt at home there. Suddenly, during the pandemic, I lost my job and visa and within two weeks I had to pack my bags and leave. I moved back to the Netherlands, where I was born and raised. Even though I was familiar with this country, I didn’t feel at home at all. I was dealing with reverse culture shock and did not know what my next steps in life would be. I went through a process of grieving the previous chapter of my life that I had left behind, while adjusting to a new phase in my life.
After a few months of feeling lost, stuck and confused, I decided that I no longer wanted to be the victim of my circumstances. I wanted to take control back over my life and use my past experiences as lessons and fuel for my future. This is when I started to dive deep into my personal growth and tried many different tools and practices, like coaching, reiki, meditation, journaling, breathwork and more.
That’s when I realized that my search for a feeling of home starts within myself. If you can find your home within, you can feel at home wherever you are. This realization was the spark for me that led me to find my purpose. Soon after, I discovered a program to become a certified Travel Coach, and it was my stepping stone to start sharing my experiences with others. I found out that I was not the only one going through the challenges of searching for a sense of belonging.
Through this journey it became my purpose to help people on their inner and outer journeys and empowering them to feel at home wherever they are. Whether someone wants to travel, move abroad, is transitioning into a new country, or has moved back ‘home’, I’m so grateful that I can support them through these changes and that my challenges became my fuel to help others.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a certified Travel & Life Coach, and seasoned expat, repat and traveler. After a successful career as an immigration lawyer, I transitioned to coaching, in which I draw upon my personal experiences of traveling and living abroad.
As someone who has travelled to over 30+ countries and has moved countries several times, I know what it feels like to feel lost or overwhelmed while going through changes and challenges. Sometimes it can feel like you’re the only one going through a certain challenge, until you find the right support system to help you navigate that phase of your life. I understand what it means to search for a sense of home, purpose, connection and community and that this search for belonging can be challenging.
I also found out that I did not have the right support system available when I was moving countries, and especially when I moved back to my home country, the Netherlands. After working with expats for almost a decade as an immigration lawyer, I noticed that the only support that expats can usually find is focused on the practical parts of the journey, for example taxes, visas, shipment, housing. However, support on the mental and emotional wellbeing side was lacking. That is when I decided to step in and build my coaching business, so that I could provide this type of support as well.
In my business Unpackbyveer, I support people on their inner and outer journeys, so that they can feel at home wherever they are. This means helping people overcome obstacles, let go of limiting beliefs, and guiding them through their journey of self-discovery. Through coaching, someone can find clarity and will feel empowered to thrive in both their career and their personal life, regardless of the place they are at.
What I love about my work is that I support people in different phases of their travel journey and I have clients all around the world. Whether you want to include more travel into your life, you’re planning your next move abroad, navigating the transition, or seeking to thrive in a new environment, my coaching is designed to support you in each phase of the process. Even if you are in a phase in your life in which you don’t really know what you want your next step to be – we can figure it out together and discover your ideal scenario.
Besides working with clients in 1 on 1 coaching sessions, I also collaborate with companies with expatriate employees or remote workers and organize webinars and workshops. In addition, I organize online community events to bring people together who travel, want to move abroad or are already living abroad, to share experiences and inspiring stories.
Last but not least, I created a beautiful online program called “Feel At Home Everywhere” which helps you to find your home within, get clarity on what you want in life, work on your mindset, create a sense of belonging, and learn the tools to navigate challenges while you embark on cross-border adventures. This course includes video modules plus coaching support, so that you can ask any questions while you’re going through the content.
It is very rewarding for me that after my personal journey of searching for a feeling of home, I’m now able to support others on their journey and see them thrive wherever they travel or move to in the world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The skills and qualities that I have developed over the past few years are both linked to moving countries and becoming an entrepreneur. In a way, I feel that both situations have lots of similarities.
First of all, I learned how to become comfortable with discomfort. When you move to a new country, but also when you start a new business, you are doing something you have never done before and this can feel very uncomfortable. It expands your horizon, but at the same time it also stretches your limits. Not knowing what may happen tomorrow or how a new adventure or idea will turn out, is an uncertainty that I have learned to deal with it. It is really about stepping into the unknown. This applies to any situation in life, because eventually we will never know for sure what will happen. So finding a way to handle the uncertainty and be comfortable with not knowing how things would work out, has helped me in my journey.
Secondly, I was able to boost my confidence. Related to the previous point, by trying things out of my comfort zone I started to feel more confident. Every time when I decided to do something even though I was feeling scared, it gave me this boost of motivation and empowerment. Often people think that confidence is something you are born with or not, so you have it or you don’t. This is not true. Confidence is a skill we can all build, it takes time, practice and patience. In my own journey I have noticed that building this skill got accelerated through my travels and moves, and through my business journey, because of the new experiences and through showing up for myself in times of challenges.
Thirdly, I learned how to find home within myself. This knowledge changed my perception on life. For years I was searching for a place to call home, traveling to many places and moving countries. I always linked this search for home to a specific location or to the people around me. That’s why it felt like it was never really in my control. Because if the circumstances around me would change, I would loose this feeling of home and belonging again. When I dove deep into my personal and spiritual growth over the past five years or so, I realized that home is not so much about a place but it is more linked to a feeling. This gave me my power and inner strength back, because this insight meant that I could create this feeling of home no matter where I was. I was able to develop a toolkit for myself (and later on for my coaching clients) to tap into this inner home whenever I want to and this has given me a strong foundation to create the life that I want to live. Many of us are used to living from the outside in, instead of from the inside out. Once you are able to shift your perspective and focus on your inner world first, this will create massive ripple effects in your outer world.
My advice for other people who are on their journey of self-discovery is to really take the time to focus on your inner world. Experiment with practices like meditation and journaling, or work with a coach who can guide you in this process. This inner work impacts the way you talk to yourself, your self-awareness, the thoughts you have every day and how you show up in the world. It also supports you to find clarity on your purpose in life, to use your intuition and to show up confidently and authentically. Eventually it reflects what you and your life will look like on the outside. It can sometimes feel scary to sit with your thoughts and to reflect on what you want in your life, but when you give yourself that safe space and take the time to discover your true essence you will notice that this journey is totally worth it and will change your life for the better.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m always looking for people to partner or collaborate with, because I think it’s great when we can support and empower each other in our journeys. For partnerships and collaborations I’m looking for companies and individuals who provide services to expats, nomads, remote workers and travellers and who would be interested in offering my coaching services to their audience or clients. In exchange, their services may be beneficial for my coaching clients when for example they are preparing themselves for their next trip or move abroad, and we can create a win-win-win situation for everyone.
Besides that, I’m looking to collaborate with podcast hosts to be invited as a guest speaker or to be a guest speaker in another type of (online) event. I can talk about topics like travel, moving and living abroad, personal and spiritual growth, finding your purpose, making a career shift, and feeling at home away from home.
If you’d like to know more, you can visit my website: https://www.unpackbyveer.com
Or you can connect with me via:
Email: info@unpackbyveer.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veerlebeelen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unpackbyveer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unpackbyveer
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unpackbyveer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unpackbyveer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unpackbyveer
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veerlebeelen/
- Other: Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/Unpackbyveer
Image Credits
Avieta Claessens
