One year in our new world
One year!
Today!
Since my family and I left South Africa!
We arrived in Los Angeles on the 19th of April 2022 to a new world and one of the greatest adventures we have ever experienced.
All I can say is that when something is meant to be…
IT IS MEANT TO BE!
2011 was the first time I came to LA. It was a great place to visit. I had an amazing family in LA but I never ever imagined that one day I would live here. It wasn’t even a thought.
But…
Ever since I left I have felt a force that has been pulling me to come back.
At the time, young and in love, my life was set up for a successful road in Johannesburg South Africa. Business was pumping. I had bought my first house in a prominent area. The house was a mini cluster with 3 levels and a roof garden. The house was bought off plan which means that I could design it the way I wanted it from the ground up. It was beautiful. I literally watched every brick being built from day one to day completion. This is the house where I proposed to the love of my life and guess what?
She said YES!
My family lived around the corner. I had my friends. I had my people. I had my community…
I had everything!!!
Anyhow my fiancé joined me when I went to LA for the first time. We got married in Las Vegas. It was done on a whim of having fun. Pastor Buddy Yates married us. My 90 year grandfather and 85 year grandmother were ring bearers. It was awesome!
The pull that I felt was constantly there and was even more intensified by the messages of life that appeared literally right in front of my eyes.
The first one was when I first entered SA from the first time I returned from LA.
I was stuck for hours at passport control because my passport was unscannable. I left the country with a 10 year visa a few weeks prior. My passport barcodes were perfect. And on return with an untouched passport it just wasn’t working.
What was this message?
DON’T COME BACK!!!
Our fun and jovial marriage in the State of Nevada, unbeknownst to us, was bound by the antenuptial agreement of Nevada. This agreement is not what you would want in South Africa. Something that is actually quite devastating! Our lawyer provided a very cool but unrealistic solution a week prior to our wedding. He suggested we go back to Vegas and get a divorce.
What was this message?
DON’T COME BACK!!!
There were many other signs and I could go on forever but I would like to point out two more in order to provide clarity of the forces of why I am here in LA doing what I am doing.
The first one revolves around business and the roots it creates when scaling.
Although I created many successful businesses in diverse industries such as health and wellness, food and beverage, insurance, tech, property and telecommunications they never reached scale.
I don’t think the reason for this was anything related to the decisions I made, the actual business nor models, the people I placed in them nor the distribution channels.
It was much more powerful than anything that us humans can control. The businesses were always at a level of success.
I mean the life that was built in South Africa was a great one!
But each time it got to a certain level something happened which I couldn’t quite control. Something on the lines of the pandemic but not always the pandemic. Something that kept on pushing me out. Out of my environment and not allowing me to be rooted in SA.
I reference the last business I created in South Africa as a further explanation of this force.
My usual wellness event company was shut down on the brink of Covid. South Africa was in lockdown. No one could go anywhere except to pharmacies / drug stores to get medicine. Instead of taking health care to people, like I did before Covid, I got people to go to the one place they could go - I created a low cost medical insurance business that provided primary health care at these pharmacies / drug stores.
I onboarded 30 thousand members on the launch of this business.
They could go to more than 3,500 pharmacies across South Africa and the SADC regions of Africa where they would be able to redeem their benefits for no charge.
Benefits included health screenings, over the counter medications, prescription medications, doctor and nurse consultations, breast assessments, flu vaccinations, Covid screenings, Covid vaccinations, dentistry, optometrists and the likes.
This model was extremely innovative at the perfect time - Providing 30 thousand people that had no healthcare with comprehensive healthcare in the middle of the pandemic and all for no charge to them.
Surely this was a long-term scalable business?
At the renewal of the contracts a year later, literally before final signatory, there was the devastating 2021 South African unrest where there was widespread rioting and looting in major provinces in South Africa. This caused chaos, death, injuries and economic distress, specifically in the exact industry of my clients. Based on this and a loss of hundreds of millions of Rands to this industry I lost the contracts and that business.
Although this was heartbreaking and at first a sense of failure, I knew that something better was coming. It did help using the tools of Be The Bubble with the mindset of that whatever takes place happens for you and not to you and guess what?
One day when I was dealing with politics in that business I decided to search for job opportunities for my wife all around the world. In 30 minutes I found about 15 opportunities for her. From Australia to New York and Singapore to Los Angeles. The search for these opportunities was not because I wanted to get out but rather a "random" exploratory search whilst in the middle of political boredom.
I sent her an email with these links and said let’s chat about this later.
Within 10 minutes she responded. I just applied to one. Chat later!
I could not believe this!
She applied to one that seemed like the best fit.
6 months later we arrived in LA with everything in alignment.
When I say everything, I mean everything!
6 months to get here is not often heard of. It all just fell into place.
On arrival the second sign I referred to earlier presented itself. We had lost our SA passports somewhere on the trip from SA to LA
Now the only bad thing about that is that we would not be able to return to SA. I think you get it?
What was this message?
DON’T COME BACK!!!
The don’t come back part has no reflection from me on SA. I love SA. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. It is going through hard times and my wish for SA is peace, happiness, love and a good future!
What is meant to be will be!
I have been in LA for one year!
What am I doing one year in?
Before I get into that I would like to explain one of the biggest lessons that I have learnt through this emigration - how everything simply fell into place for us.
The lesson…
I am not in control of anything that happens to me.
I do have the choice and decision to make. That is a blessing and possibly a curse.
But…
I need to sit at the table that is placed before me.
The expectation of what I would be doing in LA was to get more into Be The Bubble - my purpose! Scaling my book, my courses, workshops and talks. But because of my commitment to that lesson - sit at that table where I was placed!
I am now the COO of EQNMT which is a cutting edge psychedelic health and wellness start up. I am building this from the ground up and working alongside some of the best and intellectual people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.
EQNMT is authentic!
EQNMT is real
EQNMT is what the world needs right now!
EQNMT is my purpose.
Although it is not Be The Bubble per say. It is in complete alignment to Be The Bubble and I am in this position because of Be The Bubble.
So what is EQNMT?
EQNMT is an evidence based integrated health and wellness company that cares for the whole of you - body, mind and soul!
It uses psychedelics as a catalyst for sustainable good change.
Wellness or in fact anything we do or don't do all starts in our heads. What psychedelics do for us is that it rewires our brains so that we can let go of the trauma that we are holding onto, release the anxiety we feel, stop depression and start loving ourselves.
Alongside the psychedelics, EQNMT has a best in class psychotherapy framework and an immersive health and wellness program that takes care of our complete body, mind and soul.
The one thing I love about this is that it merges science with spirituality so that we have a practical action plan to live our best lives.
My personal psychedelic experience is when I looked for answers outside of Western medicine. Although I had accepted what had happened to me in 2004 and recovered miraculously, I was suffering symptomatically on a physical level because subconsciously I was holding onto the trauma I had been through.
The hypnosis probably lasted a few minutes but it felt like I was under for a lifetime. I went to a place I’d never been before. It was beautiful. I felt happy in a way that I can’t quite put into words.
Something interesting was happening. My wife was the first to consciously notice. She told me I was calmer and more confident. That I had a much stronger sense of my self-worth and I was acting more decisively.
That confidence was evident in my behavior. I was taking control and following my passions. I was doing things that I’d always wanted to try, but was held back by doubt or fear. It was an incremental process, but it was real.
Here’s one example. From the time that I’d recovered sufficiently, people have asked me to speak publicly about my journey. I always agreed in theory, but couldn't bring myself to follow through. I told myself I wasn’t ready, the time isn’t right, yadda yadda. It was all cheap excuses. The truth is, I was afraid. I had the usual fear of public speaking, but there was also something else: I was afraid I didn’t have anything worth saying. My life story was unusual and certainly full of color, but I was worried it wouldn’t inspire anyone or teach people anything new.
My newfound confidence, and my resolve to take action, finally pushed me onto the stage to tell my story.
In 2016, I finally started speaking publicly and this provided me with an epiphany in the middle of a public talk. I literally stopped for a moment and basked in a realization. I felt nothing but contentment for where I was at the moment. It took me back to that place where I went during my regression under hypnotherapy! I was in a bubble on a cloud where my past, my present and my future culminated in a single moment.
Who was in that bubble?
It was just me, but it was me looking at myself. For the first time truly seeing myself naked, in every sense: my whole being, just as I am, defined on my own terms.
We can’t usually bring ourselves to see ourselves without defensive filters, unmediated by society’s view of ourselves. But in that bubble, it was just me and myself - my true self - and you know what? I loved it. I loved seeing myself as I was, and I trusted myself. I was beautiful, inside and out, and I didn’t need any affirmation from outside myself.
In the bubble, I saw everything I needed to succeed, all the resources I needed. I had to surrender to myself with love and trust. And, at least on some level, I woke up from the bubble with that knowledge intact. It was driving my behavior. But I only gained conscious recognition when the conditions were right.
I perceived that I was successful right now. I stopped anticipating success that was yet to come. My perception of success acted as a compass, guiding me to what I needed to do here on earth.
My psychedelic experience happened many years after my incident. It is what pushed me to write my book, to realize who I was and to live life on purpose.
I am one of the lucky ones. Not just for surviving and living life in the way in which I do but for this experience that most people never ever get the chance to.
It took me about 16 years to find this after my incident. In the grand scheme of things this timeline is not long but it is still 16 years. Most people never in the history of their lifetime find this.
This is why I think that EQNMT provides an instantaneous gratification program of finding ourselves, our purpose and pushing us to healing, clarity, love, health and wellness. With the psychedelic assisted therapy it clears our defensive filters and we see ourselves for who we really are.
Although it is not instantaneous, the insight happens instantaneously. In a matter of 2 weeks, people will experience something that is beyond beautiful, what is certainly necessary and creates positive sustainable change.
Where are we now with EQNMT?
Early July we are running our first program in LA. The location is a piece of heaven. The program includes best in class health and wellness activities such as ketamine assisted psychotherapy, strength training, cardiovascular training, yoga, breathwork, heat and ice therapy as well as play in the form of pickleball and hikes.
All of the sessions with the best of breed doctors, psychologists, therapists, trainers, yogis and nutritionists.
The last year has been absolutely incredible. Yes, I do miss my people! I do miss my things!
But all in all…
What is meant to be will be!
My boys have been phenomenal acclimatizing to their new worlds. I am blown away by them. Proud of the people they are is an understatement.
Tands is killing it at work and at life! She is my best person in the history of mankind - well at least in my head!
And me…
I am being the best version I can be of myself - sitting at the table that is presented to me.
I have faith!
I have trust!
While I sit at this table...
I have love and gratitude for my journey!
To end off I would like to take a moment to say a few things to the following people:
My family and friends I left in SA:
Thank you for trusting me and believing in me on this journey. I know it has been hard for you to let us all go and it certainly has been hard for us too. But even so you have given me the full support and love that I have required. We miss you and will never stop.
To my California family and friends:
Thank you for welcoming us with open arms and complete love and sunshine. We couldn’t have done this without you. Your love and support is beyond appreciated. We love you!
To the person that connected me to EQNMT:
Thank you for seeing what you saw! I am grateful!
To the EQNMT team:
Thank you for allowing me to sit at the table with you. I have loved every minute of building this company with you and I am grateful for the connection that we all share. We have a long and good journey ahead and I cannot wait to be on it with you.