Hi, I’m Joel aan ‘t Goor, and I’d like to share a bit of my story with you.

A deep void within overcame me in Lisbon, where I was living abroad for six months, in connection with my Business Administration studies. I was 22 years old, and I decided to run away from my studies.

What triggered it?

It wasn’t like living and studying in Lisbon were a challenge. My time under the Portuguese sun mainly consisted of parties, alcoholic refreshments, and trying to remain upright on a surfboard.

Yet after four months of schedule-free living, something had started to gnaw at me: What was the point of all this? How did my life matter? How do humans really matter in the short time they’re here on this earth?

And what is humanity doing here on this tiny planet, in this universe, with all its trillions of stars?

I became convinced that it didn’t matter, and that all the beauty and suffering in the world were fleeting. This conviction gave me that feeling of emptiness and deep meaninglessness.

My “solution” was ingenious: I kept a busy schedule to steer clear of that empty feeling. Full of ambition, I wanted to make things as fun as possible for myself and those around me. So that’s what I decided to do: work hard, play hard, and show the world what I was all about.

Ten years after Lisbon, I had to conclude that running away from the void was no longer working. What was I actually doing? All those questions that had always preoccupied me came rushing back: What am I doing this for? What do I really find important in this life? What do I really want to commit to? Who, really, am I?

During the two-year search that followed, I tossed out many of my old convictions, and a lot of new doors opened. As a result, I’ve undergone a transformation.

I look at the world differently now. I experience life differently. I especially look at myself differently, and I have a better understanding of why I’m here. I’m more in touch with, and have more feeling for, everything I do. “Feeling,” which for me had always taken a back seat to the rational mind, has assumed a more leading role.

The feelings of emptiness and loneliness have disappeared. Now, instead of nothing having meaning, everything has meaning. My life is getting richer and more beautiful by the day.

I have become happier, more optimistic, and, above all, content. Who I am and what I do have a place, and I have a sense of Purpose. I have made a number of conscious choices, which have helped me enormously. They have given the undercurrent of my life more Purpose and direction.

That sense of Purpose doesn’t come from thin air. We have to develop a feel for it.

In 2017, I founded Awake Origins. The mission of Awake Origins is to accelerate the transformation of life on earth towards a joyful society by helping entrepreneurs become inside-out manifestation powerhouses.

We are living in exceptional times. Awake Origins is about how you, as a human being, leader, and entrepreneur, can become part of the enormous transformation that’s unfolding in the world.

We are at a crucial juncture.

It is important to make a choice: drop out and stay behind, or join in and help chart a new course in this world.

Be part of the transformation. Join the course through which we’ll create a more joyful and loving reality that allows us to experience our individuality and our unity. A reality of the “I,” “We,” and “It.” Let’s create an amazing experience on earth together.

How? Accelerate your transformation and become an unbeatable, inside-out, purpose-driven entrepreneur.