17 Years in Canada: A Journey of Freedom, Growth, and Lessons Learned

Seventeen years, a few wrong turns, and one very different life.

Time flies. Seventeen years ago this week, I landed in Canada. I had a one-way ticket, my cat, two suitcases, and a whole lot of hopes and dreams packed between my passport and immigration papers. If travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer, this move was about to prove itself a case in point.

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Highs: Building a Life, One Chapter at a Time

Canada offered me something I couldn’t fully find back home: space. With roughly 16 million residents, the Netherlands felt full and overcrowded¹. I wasn’t just looking for physical space (though there's plenty of that here), but mental and creative space to build the kind of life I wanted.²

Here the executive summary of the last 17 years:

• I’ve built a career that took me from IT service management consulting to bestselling author, online course creator, and fine art photographer. My newly updated personal website www.wilko.ca highlights it all. Check it out.

• I wrote my The Freedom Project book series, which still resonates with readers today who are looking to take back control over their time, money, and freedom.

• I was never much into sports, but I learned how to run — literally — completing to date 14 (ultra) marathons I never thought possible, including races across continents.

• I discovered the stunning beauty of Canada itself — from the prairies of Alberta to the mountains of British Columbia, from the vibrant city life to the remote stillness of nature. My photography book A View to Take Home is my ode to Canada.

• I traded the safety net of what I knew for the uncertainty of building something entirely my own, in a place far away from home. This has proven to be an irreversible process, that’s in many ways still unfolding as I write these bullets today.

The Lows: Growth Comes With a Price

Of course, not every chapter was smooth. This blog, and my books, exist because I share the not-so-glamorous stories as much as the good ones.