I remember the early days in Chicago. I had just moved to the US and had to realize little by little that my plans could not be put into practice so easily. The promised job was gone because of the delayed work visa, the other job opportunities suddenly all felt unexciting and I asked myself: What now?

Fully educated, with plenty of work experience, without any obligations (like children) I found myself at the other end of the world and had to idea about my next steps. To be honest, this was not an easy time. It is not pleasant when the big goal is gone and you have to question yourself. Why do I run? Where am I running to? In which direction should I go now. This is a time full of work on yourself. Instead of investing your time and energy into work projects, you invest it in yourself. That was definitely a new feeling for me back then. 

You question habits, reflect on what is important to you and where you want to go from here. A stressful time, of course. But also a very exciting time. This can only work if you stay with yourself. You have to fade out the background noise from outside. This includes nicely meant advice, the worries of the family back home and the glimpses into the curated life of others on social media. 

This is the moment when the head fights the heart. Both share a stage and one is always louder than the other. The one strives for security and the known. The other longs for change and big plans. Back then I hired a coach to help me.  I just needed someone who was neutral and had no agenda or ideas for my life. And bit by bit my intuition came out more and more. The vision for Share-the-Love was born. I thought I couldn’t possibly be the only one who found it difficult to continue the career abroad. A short research has shown: I was by far not the only one. 

80% of expat partners do not work. Most of them would like to work, but there are some hurdles that you didn’t think of before. These findings made me so angry in a positive sense. So I worked obsessively on this topic. I worked through tons of academic papers, endless discussions and finally I decided to go for an extensive coaching training. All this not because my head advised me to do so but because of my intuition. 

It felt right and valuable to dedicate my time and energy to this topic. The exchange with others encouraged me in what I do. My head would have quit at the beginning when it was clear how much time one invests without receiving any financial compensation like in a classical employment. Fortunately, my intuition understood that the real value of the work is different. I draw my energy from the great feedback for my coaching sessions and the „aha“ moments in the conversations when the penny dropped and my clients changed something in their lives and looked positively again at their professional future. 

I have learned that things like reach and income come naturally if you trust the process and stick to your vision. In conclusion, I can definitely say that the time abroad has brought me back to my intuition. Simply because my head would not have gotten me any further. I was forced to reconnect with my intuition. That is the great gift of being an expat! You start listening to your intuition and instinct again and give yourself more space.