Our very own CEO Raymond Cloosterman defines purpose in his own way, by what gets him up in the morning and where his drive comes from.

In his journey to discovering these, both the loss of his father and his mother’s inspirational mindset have shaped how he sees the world. This is Raymond’s story. 

Do you feel that you have a purpose in life? If so, what is it? 

I like to think of purpose in two dimensions: what gets me up every day, and where my drive comes from. Adventure and friendship are two things that drive me on a daily basis. I'm an optimist and I like creative, positive people that give me energy. I enjoy the company of people with real craftsmanship, be that constructors for a house, people who create music or innovators. Whether it’s in my business or my private life, I strive to create ecosystems of people that radiate positivity, energy and fun. That’s what gets me excited every day, is being around people who are making something out of life despite all its problems and getting energy from them.  

 

At a deeper level, I would say my drive and my purpose in life is to make sure that it has been worthwhile. To leave something behind, that could be a wonderful family, a better planet, or a beautiful company that wasn't there before. These are the bigger things that drive me. 

 

Was there a certain point in your life where purpose became clearer? 

Going a bit deeper, I think when I lost my father at a very young age, I was suddenly confronted, at the age of nine, with a whole different level of responsibility. As the oldest child in the family, it gave me a different perspective on life at that very young age. I felt I was carrying a lot of responsibility for myself and maybe a little bit for my father too.  

 

It was a sad situation, but it also gave me a lot of positive things. One is my drive in life and the second is my sense of urgency, to meet all the wonderful people in this world and have as many adventures as possible. So, that has really helped me a lot, in hindsight. From a very bad experience, I think something beautiful came. 

 

In the early days, I learnt from my mother that happiness is not about money. She taught me that happiness is about these small moments, making something special of every birthday, making something special of every Sunday morning breakfast even, and surprising loved ones with small things. She taught us never to gossip and to concentrate on the good things. We didn't have a lot of money back home, but, there was a lot of love around. That, in a sense, shaped me, to have a mindset where I don't put a lot of value on money but I do put a lot of value on these small things in life. The foundation of that philosophy became the anchor for Rituals.  

When do you feel most alive? 

New things excite me. I don’t like living life on autopilot, when things get too predictable. I want to make sure there are things to discover and that life offers surprises. I do this by creating bucket lists and action lists. I love to take trips to discover all kinds of new concepts, to ignite my curiosity or go away and have fun with my friends and family.  

 

What’s on your bucket list? 

I’ve got a long bucket list and every year I try to do one thing from that list. Last year I crossed the ocean on a sailing boat. There was no toilet, no shower or fridge, I didn’t get much sleep. It was quite dangerous but it was an adventure. I also want to learn to speak French, I'm planning to go to this institute with nuns for a week where you do 12 hours a day speaking French. So, that's a glimpse at my list, but you can also have adventures every day, by setting up meetings with people who you think you're inspiring or who you can learn something from, for example.  

 

I always set New Year’s resolutions too. In 2023 I had 23 resolutions, in 2024, I have 24, etc. These might be what I want for my business, what I want for my health, personal life or friends and family. This helps me to stay in a permanent state of wonder. My mother has stayed in a permanent state of wonder I always admired that about her. There’s a beautiful quote that I think about a lot and that’s ‘a life filled with wonder, is a wonderful life’. 

This article is part of our How to Find Your Purpose masterclass, a series of articles and videos designed to help you live a life with more meaning. If you want to start debunking the myths around purpose, reveal what makes your heart beat faster and bring more joy into your life, you can find the rest of the content here.