Alex Rak "Polka w Ameryce" is a Polish woman living in the US. She worked as an actress in New York, owned a travel company in Italy, and now she runs three YouTube channels and a podcast, all while giving tours around New York and Miami. Today, she’s going to talk about how she got started, the obstacles she had to overcome, and her plans for the future.

Alex's main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolkawAmeryce

My guest today is Shawn Williams, who is a voice actor, a musician, a live event host and so much more... we dive into his past, what made him do what he does, what his thoughts about today's music industry are and what his most proud of.

Today I’m going to share something I’ve been hiding this whole time — and I think it might be useful for some of you. Then, get ready for another big (at least for me) announcement. This episode is short, but packed with valuable information.

If you have a full-time job and also do side work, I found that it can be very helpful to have a few days off to fully focus on your side job. Additionally, you get a break from your 9–5, which for some, or actually most people, can be an awesome time in itself, even if it meant spending a week at home doing nothing and not going anywhere.

So for me, it’s worth taking at least a few days off from work to work on something else when I have a very clear goal and a list of things that I want to accomplish. If it’s just for the sake of having more free time and doing ‘something’ without defining what that something is, then I don’t think it’s worth wasting my precious vacation days.

In this episode, I break down three types of businesses: “We need you,” “We might need you,” and “We might want you.” We’ll talk about why creative work like writing or podcasting carries high upside but high risk—and what that means if you’re building something alongside a 9-to-5. Should you go all in, stay safe, or monetize practical skills first? This is an honest reflection on balancing big dreams with economic reality.

What it’s like to want to learn a language so badly that you kind of miss out on your own culture, trends and the things that are going on in your country?

And also, after years and years of learning the language you still don’t know the it as well as you’d like to.

This is a story about how English has influenced nearly every aspect of my life—and how it still does.

There’s a quote from a film released almost 20 years ago. I was a teenager when I first watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

One of the characters says:
“I don’t know what I want. I only know what I don’t want.”

And later another one says:
“Chronic dissatisfaction—that’s what you have. Chronic dissatisfaction.”

If that sounds uncomfortably familiar, this episode is for you.

How am I trying to fit in? Why does listening to yourself talk hit differently? And what about those guests?

Be my guest

https://www.monikawawrzyniak.com/wed-love-to-hear-your-story/

My take on English words like rarely, humbling, and gravitate. How YouTube titles scream at us, how I used AI to come up with a horror story, and why my job still won’t be stolen by AI.

What do I do in winter? Adult reflections. What's gonna change about the podcast and what stays the same. The impostor syndrome and more...

Works quoted in this episode:

"The Actor’s Life - A survival Guide" by Jenna Fisher

"Gossip" by Måneskin

“What is imposter syndrome and how to combat it" TEDed video