Running her own business of buying and selling gorgeous Iberic horses, riding dressage, modeling for different brands around the world and living in sunny Ibiza – Equestrain team rider Linda Verwoerd is doing very well for herself.
“I don’t mind working hard, I just need to be compensated in some way: creativity, money or freedom”, Linda states.
Linda was born in the Netherlands, where she studied fashion and turned that into a career. But she had also discovered her passion for horses at an early age, and later ended up pursuing her dreams in the equestrian world. Now her schedule is packed with horses, social media content creation, photoshoots and clients around the world.
Being an entrepreneur can be taxing at times, but Linda also loves the freedom it allows. She can call it a day when she feels like it and binge watch Netflix. So as a counterbalance for hard work, she also knows how to take time for relaxation. But it’s not all unicorns and rainbows.
“If you speak positively to yourself, and avoid putting yourself down in your head, it sticks with you”
“It hasn’t been a good year for anybody”, she says. Difficult economic times reflect directly on her customers and the business. On the other hand, though, she declares: “There’s no point in sitting at home crying because things are not going as expected.”
Linda talks a lot about mindset, and how it can change everything. She admits she might get stressed out sometimes, but she makes sure she doesn’t dwell in those negative emotions. Instead of just waiting for the horses to sell, she gets creative and finds new ways to make a steadier income – like all the brand collaborations and modeling she is doing.
“I have to reinvent myself immediately before my companies get hurt, you know?”
She doesn’t really have a typical day or week, and she is not counting her working hours. Having a very specific routine is nearly impossible when she doesn’t always even know where she is going to be next week. In a busy life filled with a lot of traveling, you need to stay focused on your wellbeing to have the energy needed for all the ventures. This requires some planning and discipline, but she makes it work.
Linda does regular strength training and goes for runs. She has gotten used to doing her workouts from home, gym or wherever she happens to be. Equestrain has provided her with some versatility when it comes to training, which she noticed when she did the 22 minute morning workout. Her normal go-to session would include strength training for mostly legs, glutes and abs, but this workout had a gentler approach with a bigger focus on mobility, which suited Linda perfectly after long hours of traveling to New York.
“Pay attention to the details. Like how are you going to do this and prioritize yourself?”
“I really felt that it was great”, she recalls and says she’s excited to try different workouts, especially when they’re easy to do anywhere in the world.
Eating healthy is also important for her, as she has noticed how eating clean helps her feel more energetic. She stays away from gluten, lactose and sugar as much as possible, chooses fish more often than meat and drinks green juices to consume more vegetables. But she might still get some occasional McDonald’s, because she doesn’t want to limit herself too much.
“I need my rest to process everything”, Linda says when asked about sleeping. She goes on to explain how she tries her best to prioritize rest and her mental health. She doesn’t go out partying that often and drinks very little alcohol. When she’s jetlagged from traveling, she pays extra focus on rest. Sometimes it means skipping something else, but she makes those calls easily when she knows it will give her the energy needed for the next day.
One thing Linda is very keen on is protecting her energy. She has learned to prioritize her own wellbeing by saying no when something doesn’t suit her and cutting off everything that is too draining. Mindset in general is very important for her – and something she has worked on. She is very mindful of her self-talk.
“If you speak positively to yourself, and avoid putting yourself down in your head, it sticks with you”, she explains. She says she used to be a lot more insecure, but worked on that a lot and realized how important it is to have the right mindset. “Obviously you need to be humble, but you have to have confidence in yourself and allow yourself to fall sometimes – and then get up again.”
But how does one keep up with good wellness routines and get things done while having a hectic and somewhat unpredictable schedule?
“I think it also comes down a little bit on discipline”, she says. She goes on to explain how it might be easy to choose fast food at the airport, but with a little effort you can typically find something healthier as well, especially nowadays when plant based options are easier to find.
“There’s Joe & the Juice everywhere these days, you know? You can get a juice there”, she points out. She also recommends planning ahead, a little preparation can go a long way. Pack some healthy snacks to take with you and make a conscious effort to choose healthier options wherever you travel.
It’s not just food she plans ahead. Linda likes to write down her goals and plans at least once a month. She writes things down like they already happened to create a good confidence booster. But for her it’s not just about daydreaming, you need to really think your goals through. Instead of just writing down what you want, you should figure out how you are going to achieve all that.
“Pay attention to the details. Like how are you going to do this and prioritize yourself?”
During our interview, Linda mentions being lucky at least a few times and says she is very grateful for what she has. However, it is evident in our conversation that she has also worked very hard to build everything for herself. Perhaps it all comes down to this one piece of advice she gives:
“Really work on that mindset. You know it’s everything.”
You can follow Linda’s journey on her Instagram
