What if everything you've been through - the wrong turns, the crises, the years of feeling lost - was never wasted? What if it was actually pointing you toward your purpose all along?

In this episode of the Design Your Success podcast, I am joined by Gabi da Gama, a Connection and Purpose Coach who helps people uncover their authentic gifts and life purpose by looking at the very things most of us want to leave behind: our wounds, our detours, and our hardest chapters.

Gabi shares her own story of leaving a long career in tourism, spending years feeling directionless, and eventually discovering how Human Design and Gene Keys together offered her not just a framework - but a profound permission slip to be exactly who she is. As a 3/5 Emotional Manifesting Generator, she recognised that her trial-and-error path, which she'd spent years quietly ashamed of, was actually her greatest qualification.

Together, Gabi and I explore:

• Why purpose is not a destination you arrive at, but a way of being that keeps unfolding
• How Human Design's Incarnation Cross and Gene Keys offer layers of confirmation about your life's themes
• The difference between what you do and how you do it - and why the how is where your purpose actually lives
• Profile Line 3 and the shame that so many people carry around "not getting it right" - and why that shame is the greatest misunderstanding
• Why most conditioned patterns aren't flaws to fix, but survival strategies deserving compassion
• The role of the nervous system, emotional waves, and the body in finding real direction
• How crisis often precedes clarity - and what it looks like when someone begins to rise

This is a rich, honest conversation between two women who have both found their way to alignment through Human Design - and who are now helping others do the same. If you've ever wondered whether your past has any real meaning, or felt like you've been searching too long without finding your answer, this episode is for you.

About Gabi da Gama:

Gabi da Gama is a Connection and Purpose Coach, who after feeling lost and directionless for several years after a long career in tourism, now helps other people find their life purpose, using clues to be found in the ups and downs of their life history, their emotions, childhood wounds and relationship challenges. By combining these with her clients' Human Design and Gene Keys profiles, she guides them to uncover their authentic expression and unique gifts to reconnect with their true potential.

Her life philosophy is that there is a gift in every hardship, simply by being willing to explore it. There is treasure to be found in every dark cave, and life leaves the clues, if we only understand how to spot them and have a map to help point the way. She believes that our truth can only be found inside of ourselves and that by reconnecting to our authentic inner selves, we can make empowering new connections with others, to enable our gifts and strengths to be recognised and shared. Her world vision is that of a large, colourful mosaic, with each individual finding their place and making their unique contribution, to help unite us all.

Connect with Gabi on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-da-gama-40891a269/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielle.dagama

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabidagama_22

The Design Your Success podcast is hosted by Nicoline Huizinga - Human Design business strategist, author, and international speaker. Each episode explores how Human Design can help self-employed women build businesses that are truly aligned with who they are.

In this episode, I sit down with Kate Kurdziej, a double-award winning business consultant, retreat strategist, and retreat host based in Spain. Kate and I actually met at a women's retreat just a month before recording this - and given that retreats are literally her business, it felt like the most perfectly aligned introduction.

Kate didn't set out to become a retreat strategist. She came from the world of business consultancy, moved to Spain with her young family, slowed down, and one spontaneous Instagram story later - asking "who wants to come along?" to a five-course lunch - found herself building an entirely new chapter of her business. That story alone is a masterclass in Generator strategy: responding to life rather than forcing it.

We talk about what it actually takes to launch and sell out a retreat - and spoiler: it's not finding a beautiful venue on Pinterest. Kate breaks down why selling the spaces is the real challenge, why the magic happens in pre-launch, and why you should be 50% full before you even open the doors. She also gets very honest about the mistakes new retreat hosts make, including putting down a venue deposit before doing the foundational work.

We also go deep on energy management - before, during, and after a retreat - which felt especially relevant seen through the lens of Human Design. Kate is a 3/5 Sacral Generator, and everything she shared about her structured workflows, her trial-and-error approach, and her gift for bringing order to chaos maps beautifully onto her design.

We explore her Gate 3 (the gate of ordering and structure) and her Incarnation Cross of the Four Ways, and how these show up in the way she helps clients see the complete picture.

If you have been sitting on the idea of running a retreat, or you are already hosting retreats but struggling to fill spaces or avoid burnout, this conversation will give you both the strategic framework and the energetic reality check you need.

About Kate Kurdziej: Kate Kurdziej is a double-award winning business consultant and retreat host who lives in Spain with her young family. She is an experienced retreat strategist who works alongside new and established retreat leaders to create the strategy and structure to launch and sell out their retreat - without burning out or losing venue deposits.

Free training — 5 steps to your sell-out retreat: https://olivier-consultancy.co.uk/five-steps-to-your-sell-out-retreat/

Work with Kate: https://olivier-consultancy.co.uk/retreat-planning-consultancy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kate_kurdziej/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-kurdziej/

Email: kate@olivier-consultancy.co.uk

In this episode of the Design Your Success Podcast, I’m joined by Ali Meehan, founder of the global community Costa Women, which connects women living in Spain or dreaming about moving there.Ali shares the inspiring story behind building a thriving international community over the last 15 years, and how networking, collaboration, and authentic connection have played a key role in her success.We also dive deep into Human Design in business, exploring Ali’s 2/4 Generator profile with seven open centers and how this influences the way she works, connects with people, and builds community. If you’ve ever wondered how your Human Design type, profile, and energy affect your networking style, decision-making, and business growth, this conversation will give you powerful insights.We talk about:- Why Generators thrive through connection and community- How your Human Design profile influences networking and attracting clients- The challenge of decision-making with many open centers- Why traditional business strategies don’t work for everyone- How to build a business that aligns with your energy and natural talents- The power of community-building in aligned business growthAli also shares her work as a Future Self Coach, helping women grow their businesses by focusing on who they need to become first — a powerful concept that aligns beautifully with Human Design.If you're an entrepreneur, coach, or online business owner interested in using Human Design to grow your business in alignment, this episode is for you.Learn how understanding your unique design can help you attract the right people, create meaningful collaborations, and build a business that truly works for you.