We had the good fortune of connecting with Marta Czajkowska and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marta, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Every single one of us has only one life. As a teenager I was fortunate to awake to the notion that if I don’t create my own life the way I want it, I will never have it. For as long as we listen to what others have to say about what’s good or bad for us, we are limiting our life to other peoples fears. Too many of us live like this.

We have to take a risk in order to evolve. It’s only at the edge of our comfort zone where evolution happens. We can let chance create our growth, or we can direct our growth by taking risks. The latter is much more powerful.

Uncertainty and change can’t be avoided. The path of following the society’s guidelines and recipes for success might seem relatively risk free, yet it’s not any less difficult or painful than any other path. Life throws curveballs to everyone. Nobody is life-proof. So living risk averse life only makes as good at living in an environment that’s sheltered. The more we practice a skill, the better we become. Being proficient risk taker has always been on my top value list.

I believe that taking risks in life is the most powerful way to evolve. In this way of thinking risk-taking becomes a strategy for self directed growth. Makes us resilient, flexible and good at problem solving. The bigger the risk I take, the more I’ll grow in an attempt to achieve my goals, and even if I don’t quite make it, I have won, because I’ve grown.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When I first started doing LIFE coaching I was worried that people that knew me for years would think: “man, she’s such a mess in her life, how can she be a coach?”. I’m sure many thought that. What I realized, though is that the life I lived, full of risk, chaos, heartbreak, drama, spontaneity, destruction and bad decisions was precisely what prepared me to be helpful to others. If you haven’t had the experience yourself, you cannot take others through it. These days I’m proud of my messy and imperfect story, I wear it like a badge of honor.

The biggest thing that I stand for is sovereignty. In order to create the earth with systems that will support us, each of us has to find our own authentic truth and stand for it. Each person is a different person and when we lean into it, we unleash each of our talents and capacities. Not only does it feel good to operate at our highest level, it also serves everyone around. This means coming into awareness and radically accepting all parts of ourselves, including the ones that we don’t like, that are not popular or socially accepted. By doing this we unclog and lift the burden off of those that come after us and free their authentic expression to shine and solve the bigger issues we have going on on earth.

The work of developing awareness is delicate because for many of us our emotional system has been wounded and has developed protection mechanisms that keep us safe while standing in the way of evolution. In order to transcend these mechanisms we have to befriend them. This is what I help people with. How to love ourselves in the parts of us that we have a hard time accepting. With this skill we are gradually able to be aware of more and more things that we can work on. If you can feel it, you can heal it. What we gain in this process is freedom to be untethered from our old pain, old conditional love. With this freedom we are limitless. This is what my work in this world is all about.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the solitude of the desert. My ideal scenario is climbing or hiking deep in Joshua Tree national park, away from the crowds and the road. I also love Noah Purifoy Outdoor art museum in Twentynine Palms as well as soaking in hot water in Desert Hot springs.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So many people deserve recognition in my evolution and growth. Nancy Shipley Rubin who jumpstarted me on my healing path and helped me see that I was more than my ego, Christina Berkley who was my first business coach and taught me deep values of this industry, and always to start with myself first before I can help others. My climbing mentor David Griffith who put in over 10 years of teaching me all the things climbing related and forged me into a world class expert. My mentor Steven Gilligan for continuously reminding me to go deeper, find more compassion and common ground, and to befriend and invite my darkest fears to a tea ceremony.

Website: www.coachingwithmarta.com

Instagram: coachingwithmarta

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachingwithmarta

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PaintedCaveStudios

Image Credits
Sierra Farqhar Tyler Stallings

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