FLAME with Brad Hook
It's Never Too Late and It's Never Too Early to Pursue Your Dreams
By 35, Tony van de Kerkhof had lived in China, learned Mandarin, travelled the world, raised two boys, and started four businesses. His message: dream-chasing isn't a lightning strike — it's a sequence of choices.
Tony's story resists the overnight-success narrative deliberately: each chapter — corporate work, China, the businesses — came from a choice made at a decision point most people don't even notice passing. His mission now is teaching people to recognise their defining moments while they're still open.
We talk about the courage economics of big moves, what living abroad rewires, and building a life where family and ambition feed each other rather than compete. Energising without the hustle-culture aftertaste.
In this episode
- Dreams as a sequence of choices, not a lightning strike
- Recognising defining moments while they're open
- What living abroad rewires
- Family and ambition as allies, not rivals
- Four businesses by 35 — the honest version
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