Fred Wilberts

When I was invited to join Choose Again in early 2012, I could hardly believe it. It felt as though everything had finally come together. I knew, in that moment, that this was the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to live the life I had always imagined for myself, one devoted to Truth and self-discovery.

Something very similar had happened about 20 years earlier with another deep passion of mine: cooking. Back then, too, I was given the chance to turn a hobby into my professional path. Looking back, I still find it remarkable how both of these beautiful opportunities seemed to appear on their own. All I had to do was say yes. And I did — a wholehearted, unmistakable yes, then and now.

That does not mean I never encountered obstacles. But it has become clearer than ever that this is exactly what those challenges were for: to meet the walls I believed were there and discover that they were only the result of my own limitations, placed there by no one but myself.

In my previous work as a chef and job coach, I already focused on supporting people who were going through difficult times. Political refugees, people arriving from war-torn countries, those struggling with drug or alcohol issues, former convicts, psychiatric patients, or people who had been unemployed for a long period — people perhaps not so different from me. In creating a safe space where they could reconnect with their self-worth, I found that the same healing was taking place within me as well.

So now, the work I do within Choose Again is simply the next step on that path. It makes perfect sense to me that what I give, I receive — or, put another way, your healing is my healing. I am deeply grateful to continue this journey with you within the clear Choose Again framework, using the six-step process available to us. It is simple, practical, and highly effective.

And let it be a joyful journey. Yes, let us be honest and courageous along the way, absolutely — but let us also remember to laugh at ourselves, because in the end, laughter is all my insanity deserves.