Through a powerful realization about work-life balance midway, my 45th year was transformative beyond significant professional milestones. These achievements came at the expense of my well-being despite my peaceful environment in Japan but I already feel the positive impact of first intentional changes honouring both aspects of my life.
A Pivotal Moment Of Clarity
A moment of burnout during my December holidays led me to pause everything and reevaluate my situation. My triple role at Japan Travel KK as business development manager, tourism/hospitality consultant and trusted guide led to unique opportunities over the years but generated substantial workload and time-management challenges. Valuable lesson during my 45th year, this crisis triggered an action that instantly cut my workload without degrading my KPIs: I stopped courting tiny-profit clients. I still accept small-scale orders but will not go out of my way to secure tiny additional sales. Besides, I now reach out with more ambitious proposals in terms of scale & ROI. I’ll hopefully consolidate the accounts/projects I need to reach my KPIs. With this in mind, I keep leveraging my extensive network to build a successful & purposeful future 👍
Achieved ✔ Diverse Firsts
Like every year, I stretched my abilities and stepped into new territory during my 45th year. I notably:
- Secured my first-ever sales to a multinational, with content created & published in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
- Guided for the first time a European ambassador & minister.
- Interpreted between Japanese journalists and European businesspeople (Japanese ↔ English/French).
- Interviewed the manager of, and promoted, a business founded ±450 years ago (Sengoku-jidai warring-states period!). It felt more surprising than my past work for a 550 y.o. Buddhist temple lodging because religion favours long-term continuation.
- Guided a visually-impaired traveller, representing 3D designs and combinations of elements by moving her hand up & down and sliding a finger on her palm.
Achieved ✔ Timely Contribution
Inspired by my weeks as Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games staff, I looked forward to Japan’s next world-class event. I’m grateful to the clients who trusted me for their 2025 World Expo projects in Osaka and to colleagues who recommend me for related tasks. Thanks to them, I:
- Worked 7 days at the Belgian Pavilion, which felt particularly purposeful & vital as it focused on worldwide vaccination.
- Guided European CEOs, sharing insights/expertise on site and beyond during business visits.
- Promoted the on-site restaurant serving cuisines from 70 nations, some vegan and Muslim-friendly.
- Attended the opening day of Expo 2025 as a member of the press.
My work on site was surprisingly stress-free & relaxing. Each project eased the following ones, and all on-site tasks preceded the rainy season, summer heat and typhoon season.
Achieved ✔ Long-Term Goal
Fruit of my 10 years promoting plant-based tourism in Japan and of ±20 nurturing my LinkedIn network, Japan Travel KK’s first vegan luxury tour with Miyoko Schinner successfully unfolded in February. I enjoyed guiding this exceptional & delicious tour, and am pleased that we immediately got repeat bookings for 2026. Congratulations and big thanks to all my colleagues involved in making this a success!
There was no drawback on my side. I had few other tasks to do on evenings or before breakfast because this period was quiet (end of the Japanese fiscal year so most governmental projects were complete). Besides, I quickly recovered sleep afterwards.
Needing More Personal Time & Care
My fascinating morning with an A-bomb survivor in Nagasaki and other exciting business trips filled my year. When I recuperated, it was typically at home with walks in the neighbourhood. My only “big” holiday trip was for the 3-day Earth Festival on Sado Island. I keenly felt the weight of my schedule when I prepared & gave a pro-bono talk at J. F. Oberlin University, met a close friend visiting from Europe, and took care of our oldest cat in her final days.
Thinking about my 45th year brought greater clarity, and additional changes will start tomorrow as my 46th year begins 🙂