The Netherlands – Go Big or Go Home

Keukenhof Gardens during the Tulip Festival

The Story

The Netherlands doesn’t do things halfway. Everywhere I turned, it was beauty on a grand scale.

The canals of Amsterdam, winding gracefully through the city, felt like stepping into a painting. The Tulip Festival Parade in Haarlem rolled by with floats so elaborate and over-the-top that I half-expected them to break into song. And then came Keukenhof—the legendary tulip gardens, where fields upon fields of flowers stretched out in jaw-dropping color. It wasn’t just a garden; it was a spectacle, a floral cathedral designed to make you gasp.

If France whispered through food, The Netherlands practically shouted through flowers: “Look at this glory! We’re not here to be subtle.”

The Reflection

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer audacity of it. Why plant a tulip bed when you can plant a tulip universe? Why have a parade when you can build floats that look like Broadway stages? The Dutch don’t seem interested in “just enough.” They give you everything they’ve got, and then some.

It made me think about how often I settle for “good enough.” How often I choose efficiency over excellence, or hold back when I could lean in fully. Watching a country go all-in on beauty and joy was inspiring.

The Lesson

The Netherlands taught me that if something matters to you, give it your best effort. Go big. Create the wow factor. Let excellence and wholeheartedness shine through what you do.

Beyond Travel

We don’t all have tulip fields or parade floats at our disposal, but we do have opportunities to bring that same energy into our own lives. Whether it’s the way we show up for our families, the way we pursue our passions, or even the way we host a meal or a meeting—we can choose to go all in. Half-heartedness doesn’t move people. Wholeheartedness does.

One Year Later

Looking back now, The Netherlands is still vivid in my memory for its grandeur. It made me realize how much I admire boldness—not perfection, but boldness. A year later, I carry that lesson with me: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing with heart, with color, with courage.

A Question for You

Where in your life are you holding back, settling for “good enough”? What would it look like to go big instead?

Next Stop

From tulip fields and grandeur in The Netherlands to medieval beauty and a sense of “not enough time”—next up, Belgium.