COULD YOU TELL US WHERE YOU ARE ORIGINALLY FROM? WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO SLOVENIA?
Hi, I’m Anya Piatkowska from Poland. I have moved to Slovenia after living in a different countries for many years (22 years in Poland, 2 years in Ireland, and 12 years in the UK-London). I have moved to Slovenia 4 years ago to offer myself and my children life close to nature, in the country which reminds me both of Poland (landscape and culture) and London (a lot of international people and events here). Besides when I first visited Slovenia for just 4 days, I had that incredibly strong feeling that this is my soul home, and for some reason I just should be here right now. I listened to my intuition. So three months later, me and my family turned our life upside down and moved here. Because of my profession, it was like proving to myself and my clients that there is always a good time to follow your dreams and heart and make things happen. Especially when you already practiced your mental muscle and skills for years to be able to smoothly adapt to changes just this one.
COULD YOU TELL OUR READERS WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO? WHAT IS YOUR CAREER BACKGROUND?
I am international Life Strategist and Transformational Coach-Therapist, certified, from the Tony Robbins school, who works holistically with real-life problems. I help people to connect with more meaningful, simple being and help them to shape their mind, connect with the heart and trust the soul more. I like to connect practical tools like: how to communicate effectively, build good relationships, build confidence and own integrity, manage stress, anxieties and get unstuck from feeling powerlessness in own life with deeper guidance to discover own potential and living more conscious life. I love to run individual sessions as that is when I can really see the transformation and change happening during our work process. I also run training and workshops on various topics for private and companies groups, to help them to improve their interactions and fulfillment both in personal and business life. I am an author of the upcoming book ‘Art of Life Guide” which is the essence of my personal and professional experience gathered from worldwide known teachers. I created a guidance on what I wish my children and every person interested in living exceptional life would know for own life journey. It will be published in March/April on Amazon.
My mission and way of working with people is not to provide them with only ready solutions all the time so they have to come to me for a long period of time, but to teach them how to solve the problems, build a mental muscle and take responsibility for own life. While knowing how to go back to the inner peace and joy by themselves when life goes up and down.
I also run ‘Grow.Impact.Slovenia’ Facebook group for those who wants to grow and make an impact, being the change they want to see in the world. Exchange experiences and services and build a valuable relationship.
My background from university is in International Relationships field. Then I spent most of my life studying, practicing and teaching self development, conscious living and transpersonal psychology, which help myself and my clients to improve life enormously.
IN TERMS OF WORKING AND LIVING IN SLOVENIA. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE FROM YOUR HOME COUNTRY AND SLOVENIA?
I haven’t lived and worked at my home country-Poland for a long time, as I left when I was 22 years old. I had work in Poland when I was 18 years old to pay for my studies in office administration and a culture industry. So maybe I will mention my last 12 years of living and working experience from London.
I believe, as an expat, to moving to the different country to live the life of this specific country as much as possible, and to bring and share own experience in that country as well. This way we broaden our horizons but we can also help to broaden it for others.
In London I run my coaching practice for years and it allowed me to work with my clients in the convenient for them time, and be with my children as much as I needed and wanted. Life coaching is well known in the UK as great investment in improving life for yourself, your family or business. At my time of living there, country really supported small business. With positive attitude, resourcefulness and persistence it was a small business paradise. The costs of renting were much higher than in Slovenia though, but so was the income.
In Slovenia I am lucky to work for a company to support my cash flow, and now I have established my afternoon business, so I can serve people with my coaching sessions and workshops also here. Having a full-time business in Slovenia seems challenging for most of the people with entrepreneur’s spirit, and I must say there is a room for a massive improvement in this area here. I believe that ‘where there is a will, there is a way” though. We need to take the responsibility individually, and not only blame and wait for the change in the system. When you know what are your priorities and values you can definitely find a way to live the life you want to have, one way or another. Most people are looking in the wrong place 😉
WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING IN SLOVENIA? IS IT THE FOOD, PEOPLE OR SOMETHING ELSE?
I miss family from Poland and easiness of living and working in London (not sure how the situation looks there now). Apart from that I have a nature of free spirit and I love to soak and enjoy the life of the place I chose to came, but also to share my experience to those who are interested in it.
WHAT FIVE WORDS BEST DESCRIBE SLOVENIA?
stunning nature
small country with a big heart and messy head (as 1 word:)
international
safe
my home
WHAT ARE YOUR MUST-VISIT DESTINATIONS IN SLOVENIA?
Answer to this question everyone can find in each and every guide about Slovenia. For me Slovenia is like a box full of chocolates, and I do love all the chocolates. I wish people who love ‘chocolates-must-visit destinations-travelling’ have the opportunity to find them here, but also to always remember about taking care of their box after ‘eating chocolates’. Another words we must stop talking only about ‘must-visit destinations’ without mandatory talk how to care about such destinations while we enjoying it. Like simply always leaving the visited places as we would like to find and experience them at the first place. Even if it means picking up someone’s else trash or educating your children on the ways of protecting the nature and places we want to enjoy now and in the future, on a daily basis. When I recommend the must-visit place I always emphasize that such places should be hugely appreciated and cared about, and not only ‘used’ as another destination to be ticked from the wish list of places where it’s nice to have the photo from. I am advocate of nature, conscious living and travelling.
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SPEAK SLOVENIAN? IF SO, WHICH WORD THAT YOU LEARNED SOUNDED THE WEIRDEST OR SILLIEST TO YOU? WAS IT PERHAPS A CURSE WORD LIKE THE “THREE HUNDRED HAIRY BEARS”?
Well, I understand Slovenian a lot but do not speak so well yet because I work in English all the time for now and have little opportunity to practice. BUt doing my best watching movies with Slovene subtitles. There is a lot of Slovenian words which are at least confusing for me, as for example the name of one bird here, means ‘diarrhea’ in polish, and a few other funny cases like that.
WHAT‘S THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LIFE HAS TAUGHT YOU?
Life is an art everyone can master and everyone has absolutely EVERYTHING that is needed to do it, within. But it takes balls to make a decision about taking responsibility for creating this masterpiece for own and others good. I absolutely love to guide people on this journey.
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL MOTTO OR PHILOSOPHY ON LIFE?
‘Keep it simple, and enjoy life to the fullest inside out’
Anya Piatkowska – ‘Art of Life’ Coaching-Therapy-Education
www.anyapiatkowska.com
