It was one year ago. We just signed the land, on Buka Buka Island. And here I was, owning a piece of paradise, in the middle of nowhere.

I said to myself: “Who are you kidding, Thomas?”.

I barely had a draft of project. And 3 crazy guys who blindly followed me, by investing in it. I still don’t really know why.

So I took a leap of faith. Or was that a jump from the bridge.

When I signed all the documents, I didn’t know anymore.

I just discovered the Togean Islands, in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It was a few months ago.

I fell in love with Buka Buka Island. A private, quiet and peaceful paradise. With no permanent resident.

The type of place I dreamed I could retired to one day. But I was 27, and a lot of dreams, that came before retirement.

Bur seriously, who was I kidding?

I had no funds to lead any sort of project to completion.
I knew nothing about building stuff.
And my experience in (sustainable) tourism was poor.

But I already jumped.
So I dived in.

For the past year, all my life have been about developing Reconnect.

I didn’t even know what it was, exactly.
Today, I am still learning what it is.

Somehow, I managed to raise funds, to get (countless) licenses and permits, to move there permanently.

Today, I write those words from the terrace of the first bungalow we built.

From a tiny island in the middle of nowhere.

From where I live.

Right now, a guy called Ram renovates our new wooden boat. Two others locals are finishing to clean the beach from plastic and wood. And one of the staff is preparing some iced tea.

My dog is here, as well, running around. Chasing goats from eating our plants.

I just finished to walk around.

I had a look at the newly finished fence, for our permaculture garden. I took a few pictures of our 6 first glamping tents. And double checked our first attempt to make a semi-outdoor bathroom (promising).

The sun just starts to set, and I see it all, right here, from where I sit.

It seems like an ideal day. But today was a tough one.

I had some troubles, to appreciate the small successes.
I got upset, from taking so long to get things done.

And I asked myself: “who are you kidding, Thomas?”,
when I saw all we still need to do.

When I walked back to the bungalow, I realised it.

This is the same question, I was asking myself the whole time.

When I didn’t know how to build things.
When I didn’t know how to get funds.
When I didn’t know if I could make it.

But today I’m here, on the island, enjoying yet another wonderful sunset.

And I am making it.

It does take time.

The learning curve is steep as a wall, indeed.
I also do thousands of mistakes, for sure.

But I am here, and step by step, things happen.

Not because I have some sort of awesome skill.
I don’t.

But because I dived in.
I committed to it.

And every day, I show up.

I don’t know who I am kidding.

But I know that next time I wonder,
I’ll just read this post again.