Hi, I'm
Niels
What I believe in
I.
Freedom is the most intoxicating feeling in the world.
It's:
leaving a job that you hate.
setting your own hours.
traveling the world.
spending time on the activities and people you love.
having sexual and romantic options.
answering to no one but yourself.
II.
To feel truly alive, we need to break free first.
III.
There are at least 8 different types of freedom:
Financial freedom: You don't have to work for money.
Geographical freedom: You're not tied to one place.
Sexual freedom: You're not bound by monogamy or marriage.
Freedom of time: You spend your day exactly as you choose.
Freedom of passion: You only follow what excites you.
Emotional freedom: Nothing and no one can shake you.
Intellectual freedom: You look beyond ideological limits.
Spiritual freedom: You can exit your beehive-like mind.
IV.
Freedom looks different for everyone.
Some people feel most inhibited by their 9-to-5. Others want to escape a bad marriage. Yet another person wants to ditch consumerism and live in a hut in the woods, Walden-style.
There is no right or wrong here — you need to find the right "freedom mix" for you.
V.
You cannot maximize every form of freedom at once. If you try to chase financial freedom, location independence, and relationship freedom all at the same time, you will paralyze yourself.
You must prioritize.
VI.
Nobody can make you free but yourself.
No government, no system, no other person.
It is on you.
VII.
Most people think freedom should feel easy and fluid. It does not. Freedom is an engineering question. To break out of societal defaults, you need systems and habits that will carry you.
Ironically, to become free, you must first become more structured.
VIII.
Freedom is the question — lifestyle design is the answer.
We must architect our way to freedom.
My story
Early
2006
School's out forever
Having just finished my master's degree, I abandon my plan to become a professor. There must be something better out there than writing papers no one is ever going to read.
Breakup
My relationship of 8.5 years implodes. I just can’t bring myself to believe in the white-picket-fence life. Yet, I still cry myself to sleep every night for the next 12 months.
Late
2006
Early
2007
MMA gym
I need money, but the idea of working a 9 to 5 gives me the shivers. So, I do what anyone with a humanities degree would do — I start an MMA gym. This becomes my main gig for the next 7 years.
Redefining love
I am finally done with moping over my ex. Talking to attractive strangers becomes my new big thing, and I soon enter into my first open relationship.
Late
2007
2010
Coaching
Together with my girlfriend at the time, I start a coaching business, teaching clients about dating and alternative relationship models. Later, we expand into sales coaching.
Minimalism
I get rid of almost everything I own, including my furniture and appliances. Sleeping on the ground takes a bit getting used to, but I have never felt more free.
2014
2015
Digital nomad life
I sell my MMA gym and start life as a digital nomad. Over the course of the next few years, I will live in 20+ countries. I work from my laptop, first as a copywriter, later as an SEO marketer.
Pivot
I lack a bit of inspiration; creating technical SEO content is a rather dry affair. I start creating my own content around freedom and lifestyle design. This eventually turns into my current coaching biz.
2021
2025
Bulgaria
I move to Varna, Bulgaria — partly to optimize my taxes, partly to have a stable workplace setup. The goal for the next few years is to get better at content creation and see how far I can take this.
11 random facts about me
1.
I was born in Germany, close to Frankfurt.
2.
As a child, my dad took me to the US several times, which started my ongoing love-hate relationship with the States. I also studied there.
3.
I am an utter nerd. Fantasy novels. Model airplanes. Juggling. LARPs. I have done it all.
4.
Being bullied as a kid led to my interest in combat sports. I am a black belt in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo.
5.
I have broken my left collarbone three times, had surgery on my right knee, ripped the LCL in my left knee, separated my shoulder, and broke my nose — all while training.
6.
OCD is my middle name. I make lists for everything, like to place stuff symmetrically, and must check that the oven is turned off multiple times.
7.
My favorite places in the world are New York City, Rome, and all of Southeast Asia.
8.
For the last 16 years, I have only been in open relationships of some kind.
9.
To this day, I have not met a person who can eat more than me. Same thing with drinking alcohol (even though I almost never drink).
10.
Speaking of food, I have been eating a paleo diet since 2013. It cured my lifelong chronic sinus infections.
11.