Yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night because of a scream. My 14 month old son cried with passion for my help. A bottle of warm milk got him back to sleep. I was tossing and turning with the question: ”Imagine that I would be doing what I dreamed of as a young boy?”

My life was completely in the light of soccer when I was 10 years old. The doorbell rang at my parents’ place to play soccer games every day. For me, that was the arena where I could gate my neighbor boys, practice stitch passes and – in my memory – score spectacular goals in goals that consisted of jackets that were gathered together. My pilot flame of ambition ignited into an unquenchable flame.

To fulfill my dream, I trained at the amateur club to master new skills almost every day. From an amateur with a left-chocolate leg to a multi-functional prof was the ultimate goal. To become more fit every day, and to be focused if it was about points on the weekends. No meters of pints during puberty, but sprinting though the dunes. The highlight of the week was to enjoy a well-deserved or sneaky victory with my team.

I went to see premier league games with my dad to observe master skills of the real masters. And if I was lucky, he imitated a spectacular radio report on the way home. And that was not inferior to the empathy of Jack van Gelder! In such a report I gave our club the European Cup in “the dying seconds” 8 years in the future. At night I dreamed of a transfer of my amateur club to the highest stage. The t-shirts of my dream club hang neatly against the wall of my childhood room, patiently waiting for my debut.

Just second before the alarm went off, I jumped up in bed. I realized that a professional soccer career was never really achievable. As a player, I seemed to be as slow as a snail stuck in syrup, with the ability to rotate of a mobile home. Add all the opponents with much more talent and gone was the prof career….

Anyhow, I can still be proud of the amateur level I achieved, plus the experience of an unforgettable American semi-prof soccer adventure. It could have been worse. The nights out I missed out on have been more than caught up with. Now I realize that my experiences with sports made me conscious of the other talents and passions I have.

After some wandering in the recruitment world, that sports mindset inspired me to find a new way. In collaboration with fellow enthusiasts, we created a unique method that improves happiness at work for everyone. Inherent to this, it helps employers to attract and recruit of talent. It may sound pretentious, but it is within hand reach if you know which tools to use. It does require to think differently radically.

The key concept with this is empathy. By thinking through the mind of the employee you reach an applied personalized profile. What are the needs, wishes and ambitions, but especially, what does this work offer him of her?

That also applied to me in sports as a critical factor of success. By empathizing well with my team mates, the opponents and the upcoming game, I could perform the best I could individually and as a team. Being fit and clear-minded also helped me to reach my goals. It was obvious that I experienced lots of energy, creativity and intrinsic ambition after a few days of effort. I am really proud that this new method works. Simply by helping people on those elements.

I wish everyone that pride and happiness at work. Especially because it is such an important part of your life. I apply my new dream in real life for everyone that is interested. We support this method and vision with a our community. We call this Het Arbeidsmarketingbureau. This name reflects happiness (at work) and expedition (in your career). We inspire each other concerning health, mind and career within this community.