I've always wondered whether the destination waiting for us might be very different from the one we imagined when we first began. Last week, I wrote that rhythm carries us from where we are to where we hope to be, one small step at a time. But what if reality turns out to be richer than we imagined? Ba Na Hills gave me my answer. Before we went, I had done my research. I knew we would visit the famous Golden Bridge, and I knew there was a French-inspired village on top of the

Last weekend, we spent four days exploring Da Nang, Hoi An, Ba Na Hills and Hue as a family. I left each place with a different observation about human performance! This article is the first of four reflections inspired by that journey. Like most family trips ours too began with some chaos, flight schedules, hotel check-ins, keeping two teenagers happy, deciding what to see first, adapting to a new city, and trying to make the most of four short days. By the end of our first

Mountains have never really been my happy place. Give me an endless coastline, the sound of waves, or the horizon, and I instantly feel at home. Until Sapa. Walking across a glass bridge above the clouds and standing on Vietnam's highest peak, I experienced something I had never quite felt before. My heart felt more open. My mind felt quieter. And suddenly, the problems I had been carrying no longer seemed as heavy. The problems hadn't changed. My reference frame had. Problem

Last weekend, my family and I spent two days exploring Ninh Binh, one of Vietnam's most breathtaking regions. We cycled through rice fields before the roads became busy. Climbed nearly 500 steps in the summer heat to Hang Múa. Floated through the peaceful waterways of Trang An. Explored ancient temples. Learned about Vietnam's history from our wonderful guide, Lana. Our internet package in Vietnam is limited. So, we checked our phones less. Instead, we talked more. Laughed mo

There is a question that has been following me during my first week in Hanoi. As a coach trying to understand what shapes the way we think, work, recover and perform, spending time in a different environment has given me a fresh perspective. I've been paying closer attention to time allocation, energy ROI, financial choices, and creating space to live, learn and reflect. Between coaching sessions, business meetings, a Vietnamese cooking class, discovering local supermarkets

The biggest challenge of spending time in a new country is rebuilding the systems that make you feel like yourself again. We've now arrived in Hanoi! One of the first things we did was rearrange the furniture in our apartment so we could recreate the routines that matter to us. I've always been a person of routines. Meal times. Deep work. Sessions. Exercise. They all have a rhythm because these systems support the way I think, work and organise my family and profes

Every year around this time, something interesting happens. This is the fifth year my family and I have chosen to spend part of our summers living and working in different countries. It has become one of our favourite ways to learn, grow, and experience life from a different perspective. Our suitcases are almost packed. The plans are in place. And still, I wonder why I feel a level of anxiety alongside my excitement... Problem: Preparation Doesn't Eliminate Uncertainty

In a few weeks, I will be leaving Vienna and spending several weeks in Asia. When people hear that, they usually imagine the trip itself. The flights, the cities, the experiences. But what occupies my mind these days is something entirely different. Preparing future workshops and coaching sessions. Planning blog content. Working on business development. Creating space for new collaborations and projects. Then there is preparation at home. Creating routines that will support o

Over the past two years, I lost 12 kilos and rediscovered a fitter, more energetic version of myself. The most interesting part came afterwards. People seemed far more interested in the weight loss than I anticipated! At networking events, client conversations, and professional gatherings, people often wanted to know how I lost the weight before they asked about my professional practice. At first, I found it amusing. Then I became curious. Because the biggest return had less

Personal and professional life quality is often biological before it becomes psychological. The more I observe high-performing professionals, the more I believe this. We spend a lot of time searching for better strategies, greater clarity, and more motivation. Yet sometimes the real advantage is much simpler: The lifestyle architecture carrying our life and career. Problem: We tend to think success is primarily psychological We talk about mindset, confidence, resilience, and

For years, I wanted to change my career and could not act on it. Deep down, I knew I wanted to work with people. To help them grow, find clarity, and create a better future for themselves. But whenever that thought appeared, I pushed it aside because I couldn't find enough energy to take action. Looking back, I can see what’s missing; it was my ability to stay with it long enough, to make it real. Where I was and where I wanted to be had a dark, foggy and non-visible road in

I have to admit something honestly. As a business owner managing many things on my own, as a mother of two, and as a professional carrying both business and family responsibilities, I do not attend professional events as often as I would actually like to. But every single time I do, I leave with the same thought: I should do this more often! Last week at ViennaUP 2026, during co-moderating the stage at Tech Summit-Road to Global event, I found myself reflecting once again on

I’m a huge fan of "The Diary of a CEO" podcast by Steven Bartlett. And this episode with Stanford neuroscientist David Eagleman was one of the most mind-expanding conversations I’ve listened to in a long time. One sentence especially stayed with me: “You are not one person in one brain.” I thought about periods in my own life where I deeply wanted transformation while simultaneously resisting it. Leaving architecture behind. Building a new professional identity. Moving co

Human potential and team performance have always fascinated me. And over the years, I’ve come to see something very clearly: Most teams need collaboration workshops as much as, if not more than, skill-based training. Because skills alone can’t create performance. The real challenge is this: How do you bring different strengths together in a way that actually works? And that rarely happens in the middle of daily operations. It requires a space outside of the usual pace. A

I genuinely enjoy being in front of people with what I create. Sometimes it is a safe space for someone to open up, reflect, and act differently for the better. Sometimes it is a virtual or physical room full of people eager to learn, practice, and grow. It is the energy I feel when I speak, when I write, when I engage, that makes me come alive. And seeing how quickly a conversation turns into real connection and trust, through my voice, my presence, my body language, mak

In my early years in architecture, everything was drawn by hand. Then came AutoCAD. Then 3D modelling. Then renderings and animations. The tools kept evolving. But the question never changed: How will people feel in this space? Today, with AI entering our work, I find myself returning to that same question. Because lately, many professionals I work with are asking: “What will happen to me when AI becomes more present in my work?” But underneath that question, I believe

As a coach, I always try to ask the right questions. And at the same time, I know that sometimes the question I ask can be… not the most helpful one. And that’s part of the work too. This particular coachee often expressed how important it was for her to feel understood, seen, and acknowledged. In this session, she was sharing how her nights had been lately. Waking up at 3am. Work-related thoughts not letting her rest. Falling back asleep, then waking up again. Her energy

A few days ago, a dear coachee of mine said something I didn’t expect. “Dilek, you're not just a career or leadership coach for me. You helped me design who I am personally and professionally, and I want to thank you for these soul talks!” I felt genuinely happy hearing that. Because it captured something I care deeply about, the idea that our work is not only about what we do, but also about who we become in the process. There is a version of you forming at work. Throug

For years, my relationship with food moved in cycles. Moments of discipline. Moments of letting go. At some point, I knew I needed to redesign the whole system in order for it to work for me. I removed gluten. Shifted to two meals a day. And I changed the order of how I eat inspired by what I learned from Jessie Inchauspé, the Glucose Goddess. Starting with vegetables, continuing with protein and vegetables again, then carbohydrates, and finally sugar. In six months: bett

Across industries and countries, I keep hearing a similar reflection from experienced professionals and leaders: “I thought I would feel more confident at this stage.” But what they describe next is something else. They pause more before answering. They think longer before deciding. Not because they are less capable. But because they are seeing more than they used to. More complexity. More perspectives. More consequences. And somewhere in that expan