WORDS OF WISDOM IN MONACO
‘ Dualae Collection ’ limited furniture line
never black or white , there ’ s always grey .’ And I have passed that knowledge to my children .
: Did you have a turning point or a challenge that you needed to get through in your business or private life ?
Marieux van den Broek : It was very early . In 1976 – 77 , I was travelling and trying to discover the world . As an inexperienced young man at that time I went to , for example , the Middle East . I was in Saudi Arabia 1978 – 1979 . In 82 – 83 , I had my first showroom in Jeddah and found myself dealing with big shots who were much more mature . If you meet the wrong people , and as a young man , you have so much belief in these people , then you are bound to have many disappointments . But the disappointments are necessary to grow , anyone would say that , but it really is true . You need your disappointments . And there ’ s not one book that you can learn from . It ’ s only from experience . When you have your driver ’ s license , that doesn ’ t mean you can drive . You can only drive by experience , and that ’ s life . I ’ ve had many ups and downs .
: What does being yourself mean for you , how would you define your personality ? Who are you ?
Marieux van den Broek : I ’ m a curious man who enjoys life every second . I ’ m positive and I adore beauty in the widest sense of the word . I ’ m a man that is into ‘ quality ’ in a big way , someone who is never happy with anything less than 100 %. Sometimes , you start a design , you start a project and you ’ re not 100 % happy , but 99 %. But sometimes , the 100 % does happen when you say , ‘ This cannot be better !’ that ’ s a wonderful moment .
: Do you believe that 99 % happiness exists ?
Marieux van den Broek : I believe that 100 % happiness exists , but only for moments . Everyone believes that the grass is greener on the neighbour ’ s side , but sometimes , there are moments when you ’ re driving in your car and you think about your children and you think about your life , your business , and ‘ Everything is fine , everything is good . Wow !’ And you have that 100 % happiness feeling . It doesn ’ t come very often , but it arrives sometimes and that ’ s wonderful .
You need your disappointments because there ’ s not one book that you can learn from .
: What makes you happy ?
Marieux van den Broek : Balance . Balance is not money , balance is not only success ,
My mentor & mentrix , My father & mother balance in life means that you understand what life is about . That is what makes me happy . And of course you need your partner with you , you need everyone who you love with you , but I believe that balance in life is extremely important .
: Do you think that everyone can choose to be successful ?
Marieux van den Broek : No , I don ’ t believe that . It ’ s more than that . It ’ s not just choosing to be successful . It is very hard work to be successful . To understand ‘ how ’ is important . For example , if you want to be a salesman but you don ’ t know how sales works . If you cannot draw , how can you be an artist , how can you be a designer ? If you don ’ t know mathematics , how can you be an architect ? You need your skills , everything has to come together . But the most important , I believe , is endurance . If you endure and you learn from your mistakes then when you fall down , you work twice as hard when you stand up , to reach it again . And when you fall again , maybe you have to work ten times harder than before . But if you do that and you learn from it , and not point fingers at anyone , saying , ‘ it ’ s his or her fault I can ’ t ’. Point your finger at yourself , always point it towards yourself . That ’ s my philosophy .
: Your hobby is collecting amazing American vintage cars , that look brand new inside and out , but are actually from the 1950s . How did this hobby start ?
Marieux van den Broek : America in the 50 ’ s , my god , what a time ! Humphrey Bogart ,
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