287. Real Stories About What's Possible | Interview with Piotr

Welcome to the Influency podcast. I'm Hadar and today we are going to listen to a real life story about English success. You are going to listen to an interview with one of my students who is going to tell you what is possible now that English is no longer an obstacle. Let's listen. I'm very lucky and honored to have one of my students with me today. His name is Piotr. Hello. Hello.

Hello. Hello. It's nice to see you.

It's so nice to see you. How are you doing?

I'm doing good. Really, really well and good. Stress like crazy, but, you know, very happy to be in the show. Thank you very much for having me the show.

Oh, thank you for being here. And you know what we always say, this stress is just energy that you can leverage and use towards just your voice and acting and communicating with others.

Yes, I already can, you know, shift this stress into excitement. And this is amazing about that.

Really amazing. And I'm very excited.

Just at the beginning, I want to tell you something that if you five months ago told me that, Peter, work hard, follow my recommendation, work on modules, and in five months you'll be in my podcast and we will be talking about your success story, I wouldn't believe you, but here I am. Thank you very much.

Wow. So I want to know more. I want to know more about being on the other side and what it feels like and what's different now than before. But before that, for those who don't know you, there are a lot of people who know you. A lot of our students are in the chat. But for those who don't know you, would you like to give us a little background about yourself?

Yes, of course. A pleasure. So my name is Piotr. Peter is my English. English version of my name. I'm 43 years old. I'm from Poland. I was born, raised, and still live in Poland. I work in a company in administration. This is just typical office job. But luckily I don't have to use my ears at work so I can listen a lot of English content. So that's what I do. I'm a husband, I'm a father, I have fantastic wife. She's my best friend, very supportive woman. We have great son. I'm very lucky about my family and my family means everything for me. It's like my air, my oxygen. Usually in Poland, we speak Polish and in my job, I don't have to use Polish language. So I don't use English language on my daily basis. But I love English. It's my hobby, is my passion. I spend every single free time learning the language. That's me in a nutshell.

That's amazing, by the way. So for people who might ask you, which I'm sure you've gotten those questions, like, what's the point? Right. Like, why do you do this if you don't use English on a regular basis? And I think it connects to. To English as self care, something you do for yourself, to feel good about yourself and to. It's kind of like expand your boundaries in a way. So what would you say to people.

Who say that, you know, it was my problem at the beginning of New Sound when you have to just tell about the reason why you learn English. But I don't know, I just love this language. And just because of that, I. A couple years ago I decided I want to learn this language. And I just do my best to learn. Right now I'm hearing words with you and I'm very happy about that.

So you joined New Sound and when you joined, what was the biggest problem you were trying to solve in English? Right. What was your biggest struggle? Why did you join?

Before New Sound, I had all possible complexes that are in this world about my mindset, about my confidence, about imposter syndrome because I've been learning English for so many years and people perceived me as a good speaker and it wasn't true. It wasn't true. And I really felt really, really bad about that. And you know, because of that, I was really sad. I blame other people. I blamed my job, that I was unhappy, blame my family. I argued with my family and I decided I have to do something with that. And this was main reason that I decided to join.

Wow. So it was impacting you on a much deeper level than just struggle to communicate or grammar issues or much deeper level.

I was master of grammar. After so many years using school methods, I was better than all Americans and English people altogether.

Wow. And yet you felt like it was not what it could have been.

Yeah.

What is different for you now? So let's talk a little bit about some of the biggest achievements that you've had recently. And you know, this, this interview series is called what's Possible. And I'm sure that a lot of people can relate to where you were. Right. Like feeling frustrated, feeling unfulfilled, feeling like blaming others, which is really such a vulnerable and good point because we blame the country we live in. We blame our third grade teacher, we blame our partners, we blame everyone else. So I think this is such a good Point of like, when did you realize that it wasn't anyone else, but something about you and how you approached it or what you had to do?

I think I knew that all the time, but I was maybe kind of excuse that I tried to excuse myself that this is not my fault. But I knew. Of course I knew that. I knew that all the time.

Yeah.

Only and only my fault. You also ask about what I feel right now after you sound exactly.

Yeah. So what do you feel like? What's the difference between back then and now?

I can say I'm a really completely different person right now. I mean, I still feel that fear before, you know, special events like for example, that we have right now. Yeah, but this is. But right now I feel that I can control. I still feel that heavy weight on my chest, but I feel that I can control this fear. I know that on the other side of the fear, only good things happen for me. And after that, I'll be proud of myself and I know how to control this fear. And this is my main achievement.

This is so good. Like, I love what you said about on the other side of fear, there are only good things for me. Like, I love that so much. I feel like, you know, fear is preventing us from doing things, but in a way, subconsciously, it is keeping us safe. Right. And unless we understand that the fear is not keeping us safe, it's just holding us back. And actually, fear is the currency of what you want in life. Because when we want things, we don't have them. We don't have them because we don't take action to do that. We don't take action because is we're afraid. Right. So ultimately, fear is essential, is needed for you to get what you want in life. Right. You got to make friends with fear. How did you do that?

You mean how I overcome this fear?

Yeah. How did you face that fear? What would you tell someone who is experiencing the same fears? Like, what have you done that has worked for you to manage those fears?

You know, I always heard on the Internet, on YouTube, that if you want to improve something, you have to do something. But, you know, it was simple, but it wasn't easy, of course, but. But hearing new sound, I felt like you just grabbed my hand and slowly, gradually, you know, walked with me through all this process. And we start really slow, little just short introduction and then other challenges like karaoke challenge, acting challenge, all that stuff. You know, you have to explore yourself. Worked and still works.

You were willing to be very vulnerable to be able to reach a Change. Why do you think it's important to become vulnerable, to see real change?

You know, for me, it was easier when I opened myself for being vulnerable. I told people that I have problem, talked about all my problems. No, I. I felt more safe because, you know, I don't try to hide anything and cheat people. I said how I felt. Always try to be honest when I have contact with other people.

Yeah. Talk to me a little bit about some of your wins, like, some of the things that you have done that you, like, would never have imagined. You mentioned the karaoke challenge, and you mentioned the acting challenge. Talk to me a little bit about that. And just for context, for all of you who just recently, then I'm just going to give context that Peter has joined New Sound, my program, my signature program that is designed to help you reach a transformation in English. A lot of it has to do through pronunciation and mindset. And, yeah, we kind of, like, take you step by step through small changes and challenges. So you took on a lot of challenges.

I hope I won't cry because it's very emotional for me because, you know, five months ago, I just consumed a lot of content. That's all Right now I have two speaking partners. I have two pen pals. We write letters, each other. I record one video every single day. I work the job you recommend every single day. Sprints, all this stuff. I listen at least 2 hours every day English content. I read at least 10 pages English books every single day.

Wow.

So it's a lot of that. Really a lot of that. And they are my habits. I don't feel that this is a hard, you know, job. I just love it. And I do it every single day, six days a week.

That's unbelievable. And I think what you said here is the key, because it's like, a lot of times, I'm sure that there are people that are like, oh, my God, I can't believe it. Like, I won't be able to do that. It feels like a lot. But you're saying that it gives you joy, right? Like, it's something that you love doing, you enjoy doing. And I think that when you turn something into a habit, it becomes a part of your life, and you're like, that's what I want to do, because I'm really enjoying it. It's like work for me, you know? Like, I love my work. I love my job, and. And it doesn't feel like work. Sometimes it does, like, when I do things that I'm not loving, but when I do things that I love it. Feels like I really want to keep on doing it.

I just want to say only one thing more, that five months ago in the bootcamp, I had the first conversation in my life with a real person, right? And it was amazing that my life changed so much just in five months.

And it's like the proof is in the pudding. Listen to you and look at you speaking and full of confidence and you're expressing yourself fully. And the first time you spoke to someone else in English was five months ago, all online, right? Because it's not like you have lived in an English speaking country or moved to an English speaking country, which is amazing. It's amazing. What would you say to people, you know, maybe they're thinking of joining New Sound and they're not sure and like, what are the main benefits? Or what would you tell someone who is considering it and not sure if it's right for them?

You know, I can give you one example. If you want to work on your body and you want to go, go to gym and you go by yourself and see all that tools or that weights, all that machines, all that stuff, and you don't know what to do, how many times a week, how many repetition, you don't know anything. You're probably gonna spend hours and hours on the gym and you won't have any result. And even words, you can hurt yourself. And the same things in English. There's so many resources and it's so difficult to organize work, you know, for me it's a waste of time. Learn how to learn. So for me, your program, it's organized really well. You just gradually worked with us through whole progress from the place we are to the place we want to be. So I don't want to say anything else.

Yes, amazing.

It's amazing. It's amazing program. And you don't have to think about anything, just do what you recommend.

So first of all, I'm so, so, so happy to hear that. And you know, again, I've seen the results and I've seen you show up and gradually like really opening up and feeling and hearing the change. But I also, like you mentioned something and I want to talk a little bit about that because I think that one of the things about New Sound or the fluency festival, art free events or the influency community or online community, the thing that ties the knot around them is like it's the community, right? And you mentioned it. So let's talk about why it's important to have a community around you and how is that different from when you learned on your own?

First of all, I think what is the most important? That when you, when you work alone all the time struggles many problems. When you are alone, you think, you start thinking that maybe you are not good enough. That I can say maybe even stronger, that you are stupid. You think about quitting. But you, when you work with community, you realize that we are all the same. We all have the same problems. We give ourselves feedback. This community helped me a lot. I love this community. This is completely different. Learning alone at home and with community, even, even, you know, recording video you can record and keep in your computer. But when you post to the group and you see comments you. They tell you about, about your progress, it's very important motivating. So community is one of the best thing in your programs.

And you know, I've been teaching privately like one on one for years. Right. When I started teaching, I started teaching privately since 2008 until 2018. Right. Like, I was just teaching one on one. And maybe I had small groups and I never thought about the fact that people need a community around them. I was just like, okay, just the right training. And then we started the influency community back then the fluency challenge. And then I realized the impact a community has on a person's learning journey and how important that is. And I think that everything that you said is spot on. Like, first of all, you have accountability. It kind of like gives you the motivation to post more, to share more. When you share, you get validation. You remember that communication in English is about connection and about connecting with other people and making an impact, which you certainly have inside of the community. Right. And sometimes, you know, by showing up, you make an impact, but also by giving feedback to others or supporting others, you feel like you make a difference in them like they have for you.

Yeah.

And also, you know, you practice a lot more because when you have a community around you, you want to talk to people. And then when you talk, that's like essentially what helps you improve your. Your English and your fluency, which is amazing. Let's talk a little bit about pronunciation. What was the biggest aha moment when it comes to pronunciation and why is it important in your opinion?

First of all, first of all, I want to say that I realized that my pronunciation improved a lot because I remember my first video, how difficult it was to record it. And when I listened to was horrible. I recorded again, again and again. And later I started to like my voice. And it was amazing for me because even, even when I Hear my, my voice in Polish. I hate my voice in Polish. But when I, I hear my voice in English almost every day because I record videos almost every day and I like my voice. This is amazing. And pronunciation, of course is, is important because you want to be understood by other people and you want to be understood without asking other people. Excuse me, what did you say? All that stuff. So of course pronunciation is very, very important in English.

Do you feel it helped you understand English speakers better?

Definitely, definitely. But as I said, I listened a lot. I listened a couple hours every, every single day. So I think also this helped me a lot to understand English speaking people. But pronunciation for sure also. Yes.

Yeah. So I think what Peter is saying also, like, if you want to get better at listening, definitely expose yourself more to listening. If you want to get better at speaking or building confidence, then you gotta practice speaking and you have to also take those challenges. Right? Like, that's what I'm kind of like getting. So what does the future look like for you in terms of your English practice, in terms of goals that you've set for yourself?

To tell you the, the truth, I don't know. I've heard great quote, it was Steve Jobs quote that it's difficult to join to connect the dots when you look forwards. You can only connect the dots when you look backwards. And I put my first dot at the beginning of our journey and I put my last dot today. And when I connect the dots, I'm here today and I'm very proud about myself. And right now I'm very happy. I'm the happiest person in this world. So tomorrow I put another dots and this is, this is still in progress. Compound effect. I'm going to be better and better every single day. And we will see what future with Britney.

I love that so much because I truly believe in that too. Like, you never know, you just have the right intention and you do something that you love and something will evolve. I also think that you kind of like create a possible reality right in, in two ways. One, when you have a dream or a goal and you set it. But another way is just like follow what you love doing and that creates more opportunity, right? So whatever that looks like, you know, whether it's in your family life or work or just meeting new people. I think this is so beautiful and it would be so interesting to talk again, let's say in five years or even one year and to kind of like understand in hindsight, you know, where all of that was leading you to. That's Beautiful. So, first of all, thank you so much for sharing your story and sharing with us. Kind of like that. Hope that it's possible. Because again, you know, I want to remind five months ago was the first time that Peter had a conversation with a real person, because up until then, he was studying on his own quite effectively, I must say. This is where you're at, like, only through five months of speaking, but you did an amazing job. And what was working, I think, from the outside seeing you is your willingness to make that connection and to be open with the community, because I think that was key in your success, being coachable, like, not coming with preconceived ideas about how English should be taught or, like, how you are going to be. And you were always open to new challenges and opportunities, and that was amazing to see. And I think this had a huge part in your success. And I'm saying all that, first of all, just to reflect on your journey from the outside, but also to tell other people what was essential for Peter, for him to be now speaking about his journey with such joy and, you know, and success and consistency. Right, like, and commitment to the work and turning it into a habit, which you have.

Yes. I also heard even today, great quote. Without commitment, you won't start. And without consistency, you won't finish.

Ah, so good. Without commitment, you won't start. Without consistency, you won't finish. And these are two such important characteristics, I think, to. To get what you want in life.

Yes, yes, yes.

What would be one piece of advice you would give learners or speakers of English as a second language who want to be where you are now?

Oh, my God. I think we've already said almost everything, but one thing, One thing. Okay. I also heard that today, hard work works. That's all.

That's it. No magic solutions. The magic solution is get into the momentum and build habits. But hard work works. I love that. All right, so thank you so, so much for being here, and thank you for your input and inspiration, and it's been a joy being your teacher.

Yes, I'm very happy. I'm very happy that you are my teacher. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. Really. I love you and your team, your programs. All about you guys. Thank you very much.

Jen, thank you for being such a huge part of the community. I love you, too, very, very much. And it's been a pleasure talking to you, and I cannot wait to keep on seeing how everything evolves.

Thank you very much.

All right, bye.