18123_NSFM-mei-2021_Guts_Totaal_UK_1_Spreads_LR

Sandra de Rooij (Breda) –
What do you need guts for?
“Taking over my in-laws' farm at the age of
22 and buying a 2-hectare plot two years
later, that really did take a lot of guts.”
When Sandra met Coen when she was 17,
he immediately said: “San, if you’re the one,
then you’ll end up living here, because I'll
never leave!” A prophetic statement, as
Coen and Sandra would become the 5th
generation of the De Rooij family on the farm.
It is an old farm located in a fairly rural area
that dates back to 1912, and consisted of
two houses. Coen’s parents and
grandparents lived there together. The fact is
that Sandra really loved coming to this place;
the house always felt like a warm blanket to her.
When Sandra and Coen were about 22 years
old, the farm became their home after his
parents moved to the village. It all felt very
unreal at the time, for two young people to
take such a huge step. It was almost like
someone else was doing it.
Time seemed to have stood still on the old
farm. It took almost a year of renovation
work to turn the two houses into one
beautiful home. Before they finally moved
into their homely nest together, there was a
big party and a fabulous wedding. Sandra
was adamant about that, as she absolutely
didn’t want them to live together before they
got married. Two years after the wedding,
the neighbours’ land suddenly came up for
sale. An opportunity that doesn’t occur very
often in rural areas. Coen felt that the land
would be great for horticulture, and he
wanted to take the plunge and buy the plot.
Sandra had a rather sleepless week as a
result. Deep in her heart, she didn't have the
guts to take this step again. But all the same,
they found the guts together, and with their
love for each other, it all worked out fine in
the end.
Sandra would do it again in a heartbeat.
The past 25 years have been beautiful,
valuable, educational years. Through a
process of trial and error, Coen and Sandra
truly understand that nothing should be
taken for granted. Her motto: If you want to
feel rich, count everything you have that
money can't buy.
Kurt Chan (Hong Kong) –
What do you need guts for?
“Retrieving the basketball from the playing
field where more than 30 gangsters are
involved in a fight. When I was 13 or 14,
I didn't have the guts to do that.”
Kurt and his friends were playing on a
basketball court in an older neighbourhood
of the city. At that time (16-18 years ago),
there were also many young gangsters
hanging around. While Kurt and his friends
were playing basketball, an older brother of
one of his friends came along with his gang
and played a game. Shortly afterwards, a
rival group of the gang appeared.
They recognised each other and both groups
immediately challenged each other. It didn’t
take long before a confrontation developed.
Kurt and his friends distanced themselves
as things quickly got out of hand.
Although the boys managed to escape the
fight, they couldn't take all their basketballs
and one or two balls stayed on the court
with the rival gangs. The boys hung around
for a while to see if they could retrieve them,
but had to leave without the missing
basketballs, in order not to get involved
in the fight.
If it happened today, Kurt would make sure
he collected all his stuff before things got
out of hand. No, that’s a joke, he thinks it
would be more important to make sure all
his friends were safe, call the police and just
ignore the balls. If he went for the basketballs,
it would only show that he was NUTS
instead of having GUTS.
Richard Uijtdewilligen (Breda) –
What do you needs guts for?
“Not having a natural gift for languages
and learning Spanish in 3 months at the
age of 42.”
When Richard joined Aartsen, he was one
of the few employees, apart from Dutch,
could speak some English. In his field, Dutch
horticulture, that wasn’t any kind of issue.
After all, he spoke the language of the
grower. After fourteen years at Aartsen,
Jack Aartsen suggested that Richard join
the Spanish team. He would have to learn
Spanish, though.
A plan was drawn up: he spent three weeks
at the Regina Coeli language institute, where
he focused exclusively on learning Spanish
from morning until late evening. After these
three weeks, Richard left for Spain for two
months, with the main aim of applying the
Spanish language in practice and developing
his language skills further. The first week in
Spain was hard for him. After 3 days in
Almeria, he didn't even think he could do it.
He wanted to get in the car and drive straight
back home. His wife Chantal proved a great
support, however, and pulled him through it.
To this day, he's still very grateful to her for
that. Richard soon made considerable
progress and gained more and more
confidence. He has now been working in the
Spanish department for 8 years, and forms
part of the Commercial Management Team.
Richard has benefited greatly from his
decision. He hasn't regretted it for a moment;
after all, he has had the opportunity to expand
his knowledge, take on a new business
challenge and discover a new culture.
nonstop
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