Ditch Alcohol and Create a Abundant Life with Karolina Rzadkowolska

In this enlightening podcast episode, host Alexandria dives into a deep conversation with entrepreneur Karolina, as they discuss the transformation of Karolina’s successful journey from a corporate cubicle to a manifestation queen and alcohol free mentor. They touch on topics such as the effects of alcohol, rewiring belief systems, balancing relationships and business, and redefining success. Karolina shares her perspectives on navigating changes and adapting to a more fulfilling, abundant life. Exploring the connection between an alcohol-free lifestyle and the unlocking of potential, Karolina sheds light on how ditching alcohol has not just influenced her life but also blossomed her into an inspiring business mentor. 

Listen as Karolina shares the secrets behind her exponential business growth and how she helps women break free from old habits and achieve success on their terms. This episode is an abundant source of inspiration for anyone looking to explore their desires and redefine their life.

Connect with Alexandria:

Website: https://www.alexandriamaria.co.uk

IG: @iamalexandriamaria

Connect with Karolina:

Website: https://euphoricaf.com/

IG: http://www.instagram.com/euphoric.af

Book: https://www.euphoricbook.com/

I hope you enjoyed the episode. To make sure you never miss an episode hit subscribe and leave us a review. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram @soulyespodcast to keep up to date with our episodes!

Thank you for listening.

Love & Light,

Alexandria xx

00:44 Gratitude and Lifestyle Discussion

01:02 Transition from Corporate Life to Entrepreneurship

01:25 Travel Experiences and Business Management

02:04 The Impact of Alcohol on Personal and Professional Life

03:12 The Journey to Alcohol-Free Confidence

04:26 The Misconception of Alcohol and Confidence

04:41 The Shift from Alcohol-Induced Confidence to Genuine Confidence

07:45 The Cycle of Alcohol Consumption and Its Impact

10:34 The Power of Alcohol-Free Living

11:04 Identity Shift and Personal Growth in Alcohol-Free Journey

15:54 The Influence of Alcohol-Free Living on Social Circles

21:06 Recognizing if Alcohol is Holding You Back

25:17 The Business Aspect of Alcohol-Free Living

26:38 Changing the Conversation about Alcohol

27:10 Debunking the Myth of Alcohol's Health Benefits

27:33 The Social Pressure and Misconceptions about Drinking

27:50 The Power of Intuition and Community in Overcoming Alcohol Dependence

28:25 The Rise of the Alcohol-Free Movement

28:45 Changing the Language and Perception of Alcohol Addiction

29:09 The Role of Alcohol in Society and Its Impact on Individuals

30:11 Taking Back Control: Reframing the Narrative around Alcohol

31:24 Building a Successful Business while Navigating Personal Transformation

32:01 Redefining Success and the Journey to Entrepreneurship

40:54 The Power of Confidence and Healing Money Mindset in Business Growth

43:51 The Role of Mentorship and Continuous Learning in Business Success

45:14 The Importance of Daily Rituals and Current Inspirations

48:06 The Journey of Building a Successful Certification Program

48:43 The Power of Coaching and the Impact of Changing Lives

Transcript

0:04

This is the Soul Yes Podcast. I'm your host, Alexandra Maria, a Manifestation Queen and Business Mentor for women ready to build empires and create legacies. If you're ready to manifest with ease, unlock your infinite potential, and create a life and business even better than your vision board, then you're in the right place. The Soul Yes Podcast is an activation of your most Abundant, successful, and aligned self who is ready to make her desires a reality. Claim it now. I am ready for my next level. Let's go babes. Welcome to the Soul Yes podcast. The first thing that I always ask is, what are you grateful for right now? I am so grateful to live the lifestyle I'm living. I just got back from a road trip in the Redwoods of California, and before that was in Europe. And it's incredible how I get to like run my business this way, you know, that I get to like travel. I used to work in a cubicle and dream about this. And I have to sometimes pinch myself that even though there's still some stress or hardships in like everybody's life, like this is everything I always wanted. Oh, I love that. And I know that feeling very well. I was, I was in cubicle life scrolling Instagram being like, why not me? So I totally get this. I just want to hear about your trip festival. You said Europe, where were you? Fill me in. Yeah. So I did a retreat up in Northern California for a business mastermind with some incredible alcohol free coaches. And afterwards I did a road trip around the Redwoods. So the Redwoods are those gorgeous 300 feet trees that are just so magical and mythical. And it was such an incredible experience. And you know, running the business along the way, right. With, I have some help for my team so I can take a little bit more time off and those times. And just before that we got back from Europe. So I like to spend every summer in Europe, like at least a month or so. And again, like I used to have only two weeks off from work back in the day when I was in that cubicle. So just again, one of those pinch me moments. Oh my God. I love this. And was there like a previous version of you that could not imagine doing the things you're doing now without alcohol being part of it? Yeah. I mean, you know, like alcohol and my like corporate and or nine to five life were so tied together. And it was such a pattern that I lived in where like, I, I didn't drink during the, during the week, basically. So I wasn't any one of those like rock bottom stories or anything like a severe heavy drinker or anything like that, but I drink every weekend and that was just normal. That's what I did with my friends and stuff, but it was such a TGIF energy. Like. Every week I couldn't wait to get through the week so we could get to the weekend and I could finally unwind and go to the winery or whatever it was. And I feel like I was living in that like short term cycle of just like, what's the most immediate gratification I can get instead of actually reevaluating why I'm not happy with the week, you know? And so, you know, when I took a break from alcohol, I started just to like completely open up and get these downloads from the universe of like. You are not meant to work here. You are meant to have your own business. You are meant to help other women. You are meant to travel as much as you want to. The things that you're drinking over basically, like the things that you're trying to just get through are not meant for you. And that really, that break from alcohol gave me so much more confidence to go after all this, like lifestyle I wanted. And I will definitely say there's just this version of me. Like, even though my drinking was pretty normal and on the weekend and what everyone else was doing, I was playing so. Small and have such a like little belief in myself. Like I didn't believe I could be an entrepreneur. I didn't believe I could be an author, all these things. And when I ditched alcohol, like all of a sudden this flood of confidence came through. Like if I could do this. Why couldn't I be an entrepreneur? Why couldn't I write a book? Why couldn't I do all these things? And ever since I've let go of that, it's been this like way of like playing so much bigger in my life and really being so in tune with my intuition and creativity. So I highly recommend it for any entrepreneur to like experiment with because like the ways that you're going to be able to hear like deeper things from, you know, program ideas or how to serve your clients or how to make more money. Like it's incredible what happens. I think it's so powerful the way that you approach this because I think it really, instead of like taking something away and feeling like you're losing something, the way that you talk about this really gives me the sensation of it like opens the door to so much more, so much reconnection to yourself, so much opportunity, so much possibility. I love that you mentioned confidence there as well, like talk a little bit more about that because I think a really common, I guess, misconception is that alcohol equals. Confidence. But you're saying the opposite. You're saying like confidence skyrocketed without alcohol. Yeah. And so I grew up really shy and I'm introverted. So when I first started drinking as like a teenager, that's exactly what I thought it was. Like I thought it was this magical elixir. All of a sudden I turned into an extrovert. I'm talkative. I'm able to be the life of the party. And I really carried this like party identity with me, especially in college. Like that's the way I like met most people, you know? And so I used it as a tool for confidence for years, you know, and then into my twenties and into my, you know, careers and jobs, networking, all that stuff. And the thing, what happened is that like, I just recognize how much it was robbing me of confidence. Like. Every single time I came to that situation, like nothing changed. It's not like I actually developed real confidence inside of myself. It was like this bandaid that never really worked. And let's think of the times that like, I literally embarrassed myself, right? Like it's happened to all of us. We drink a little too much. You say something out of character. You have those like wine stains on your lips and mouth. Like it's not cute. You know what I mean? And you wake up the next day, totally ashamed. And just like, Your self worth is deteriorated after that. I also feel that every single time, like I was reaching for a drink for that, like artificial courage. Again, I was never building it within myself. And it was almost like telling my subconscious, like Carolina, You're not interesting. You have nothing good to say. Nobody actually wants to talk to you, but here, grab this drink and then you'll be better. And so like in a deeper subconscious way, it was robbing me of self confidence. And every single time I broke a promise or like, you know, I would say no drinking tonight or only the one drink. I would break that promise. And I would feel like. Total lack of trust in myself and lack of like ability to even do the things I said I would do, you know, so over time my confidence totally goes low like if alcohol really helped us build more confidence, then we should see that going up over time. No, it's not doing that right like it deteriorates our confidence and self esteem and self worth. And what I found so amazing is that not only when I let it go. Like in social situations, I know how to practice something that I didn't really practice ever before. Like I had to practice being comfortable in my skin and talking to people and anything we do like over and over like that, we will build that skill within ourselves. So that's incredible to see that. But it's also like this, like ditching something that was my Achilles heel for so long. Like I never thought I could go a month or two months or three months or five months without alcohol and be so happy, like completely just a static without it. So that's like almost like, I feel like a super woman. Like, it's like, Oh my God, I'm smashing it. I'm killing it. Three weeks, a hundred days, 200 days. Like you feel like a bad ass. Right. And that confidence started to spill out into other things in my life. And it was like, if I could do this. Maybe the other things I was telling myself I couldn't do are all BS. So, like, really showed me, like, my innate power, my innate, like, rebelliousness to, like, not have to conform to society's standards of, like, being a drinker and stuff, and really finding my own way that's aligned with my values and my bigger dreams. Like, alcohol was not helping me achieve my bigger dreams. Let's just be honest, right? I want to dive into that question because I know there's a juicy question around that, but I just want to like, go back a minute because there was also something incredibly you spoke about at the start, which was this cycle you were in. And I find this so interesting because when I was in corporate, I really feel like I was in this cycle. And. My job, I was an insurance broker. It was like super, super boozy. And like, it wasn't even TGIF. It was like, thank God it's Tuesday afternoon. And we've made it to Tuesday afternoon. You know, like the cycle is getting shorter and shorter. And something I really reflect upon is, is I'd kind of get to Monday. Remember that I didn't like my job and that I didn't really want to be doing what I was doing or it was boring or whatever, however I wanted to describe it. By like, Tuesday, Wednesday, I was like, I really should do something about that. But then the drinking would begin. Thursday, Friday, I'm out drinking with everyone. And then the weekend I'm so hungover that I like, just don't have the energy or the drive to do anything about it. And then Monday starts up again and I'm back in that cycle. And I think it's just really interesting that you kind of made that connection because I think a lot of people. Gets in that cycle, and it does, it kind of keeps us numb to what we desire and what we want and our greater purpose. Because like you say, it's, I guess it's immediate gratification that it's just like, okay, this feels easier until it comes to Monday and you're like, oh, I'm back here again. Yeah, exactly. Like instead of actually solving those Monday woes, like, well, why am I feeling discontent? Why am I feeling stressed doing that? Digger, Digger Deeping, sorry. That deeper digging into your soul. I prefer you, I prefer your version babes. You know, to understand like what's at the core of that discontent, like we just numb it, we just put a bandaid on it and then it never gets solved. And you could literally do that. Like that is how most people function in the world. Right. It's just like, let's just put the bandaid on, never do the deeper introspection and keep repeating over and over and over again. And so it's interesting is that like, especially as women start to leave behind that, like, you know, the nine to five and start, you know, launching their own businesses and getting into coaching and just like really fulfilling their deeper passions and stuff is to recognize like, are we. I don't know if you can see it, but we're now taking those old habits that maybe weren't serving us from college or from our work life or from whenever we picked it up. Right. And bringing them into this life. And then it's like, is there now a point of reevaluation? Like, what if I was so much better? At making money or so much more creative or so much more like passionate, but I, what I was doing and just felt in more integrity with like what I was doing, if I decided to try a break from alcohol. And I've seen like, like Jenna Kutcher, for example, has just gone a year alcohol free. I was on our podcast recently and it's like. I'm so impressed to see a woman who's already such a badass and she's been a badass for like years, right? Like she's slaying it for like the last decade or so. And now she removes alcohol and there's like even more, there's even more of her to give. Like she is so vibrant, so radiant. She's lost a lot of weight. She just looks amazing. And she's like really like sharing things in a completely different way now, you know? So it's like. In some level, I was the person who needed to ditch alcohol in order to actually launch a business and go after my dreams. But in so many other ways, even when we're already on that journey, like, like for Jenna Kutcher, for example, she's like such a role model. Like she did it and her business and her like radiance and like influence, I think is exploding even more now. Mm. So, so powerful. And I think that's what's so interesting when we were saying earlier about opening the door of opportunity, but something you've touched on a lot there as well is like the identity shifting. So can you talk a little bit more about, because you said earlier, you know, my identity was the party girl, like you had onto that identity. How, how did you navigate that journey of, of the identity, I guess an identity death in many ways and the rebirth? Yeah. Yeah. So for sure, when I started drinking, it was that like party identity, right? And like, I was totally fine with that. I was drinking way too much in college. And then as I got older, I tried to get healthier and I tried to get more mindful. So then I became like the, like the fine wine identity, right? Like I know my varietals, I go to the wineries on the weekend, like not like a snob, but like, that's literally kind of, I was into food and wine. And I would like, still have embarrassing moments with alcohol. It's not like it was glamorous or anything like that by any means, but like, that's what I was trying to fit myself into. It's like this sophisticated Parisian woman that I wanted to be. Right. And so as I like was struggling with those Monday morning woes, every single Monday, I like, didn't want to let go of like, well, can't we just make this work? Can't we just try a little harder to drink less? And I had all the rules. I actually did drink less. Every single year that I was like conscious about it, like I would track it and stuff like drinking less didn't work. Like I would have one drink and still wake up the next day feeling gross. You know what I mean? Like there was like no point in it. Like it really wasn't, didn't matter whether I was drinking less or not. And so I kept trying to like, hold onto that ideal for so long. And I think when I took a break from alcohol, it like just cracked me open. And I started learning about. All these really successful badasses on the planet who don't drink. So like Tony Robbins doesn't drink. Brené Brown doesn't drink. Gabby Bernstein doesn't drink. Deepak Chopra doesn't drink. Like the list could go on and on. And I started to shift it instead of seeing it as like a weakness or something that I just couldn't like handle or like something wrong with me. I was like, Oh my God. Like. Alcohol is the problem, right? And these incredible badasses, these movers and shakers, like have found the secret. Like they're so successful and so radiant and so incredible because they don't play around with it. They don't have time for it. You know, like so many seven and eight figure business owners do not drink because like they've got, so they've got legacies to create. They've got monuments to build. They've got lives. They're meant to change. And alcohol is just going to keep us stuck in these cycles and just. And negative stress hormones. There's so many negative effects of alcohol. We could go into as well. And so that shift for me, instead of seeing it as like a person who stops drinking is embarrassing or a defect or weakness, I shifted it and seeing it as someone who stops drinking is a bad ass they've got lots to do with their life. They're going to change the world. And that's what helped me let go of those other identities. Like, and now being a non drinker is such a point of pride for me. Like you can't make me feel small or embarrassed about it. Like I am so, so ecstatic about it. You know what I mean? And I needed to like, let go of those other things. And those other things were never really me. I mean, the party identity is not, it's like, it's our, it's like our inner child trying to find acceptance. You know, it's not really like the core version of us. You know, I've learned to like, love myself again, fall in love, heal the things that needed to heal and just be so much more of a well rounded holistic person. And something that was amazing is that. I used to be, I think, pretty petty and, and, and a jealous person, like you were saying earlier, how we're scrolling in our like cubicles. I was so like, why not me? Why does she get to live this life? Like I thought small and I was like very small in my thinking, I think too, you know? And so it really cracked me open to like, Not only do I have this one life to be living my passion and my purpose, but I'm going to share that message with as many people as can hear because it's all available to us. Like every one of us gets to win. Every one of us gets to live this purse purpose and this passion. And it's just so incredible to see that like without alcohol introducing any of those like negative stress hormones in my brain, or, you know, having me repeat any of those like cycle and those mental slumps and all that stuff, like my mental energy is so. Clear and on fire. And I get these intuitive hits all the time now. So I think it was the best identity shift I could ever make. Wow. So the way that you speak about it, it's just like, I see why you're so powerful at getting people on this bandwagon of alcohol free. Cause you're like, you know, you can feel the passion coming from you, but I want to ask about this as well. Cause you were listing different people there who don't drink and like what badasses they are. I'm curious because something that I definitely notice as my relationship with alcohol changed and for full transparency, I do drink, but like way, way, way, way less than I ever used to. And something that I really noticed was the rooms that I wanted to be in completely changed without the kind of lubricant of alcohol. So I'm just curious, is this something that you felt in your own journey as well? Did you notice that the people that you were maybe connecting with or hanging out with, that that started to shift as well? Yeah, so if something isn't fun. Without alcohol. That means it's not fun for you. Very true. That's just not right. And something that alcohol does is it like, it really hijacks our brain chemistry. So it releases a high level of dopamine in our brain that's very artificial. Our brain knows it's artificial, like the same way like cocaine or heroin does. And so what our brain does is like, Oh my God, first of all, it has to combat this with all these stress hormones. So it releases cortisol, adrenaline, and dynorphin, which is like the opposite of endorphins. It makes us feel really low. Which really explains why we all felt so low on those Monday mornings, you know what I mean? But it also, what it does is it retracts the receptors that catch dopamine. So people who drink regularly have less dopamine, serotonin and GABA than people who don't. Right. And so I think that what is so incredible about this question is that as we go through this and as we're like learning to change our relationships with alcohol, it can be just so compelling to find like, what is it that really makes me happy? Cause like, obviously if you put like a like a electrical stimulus to your brain and it's like triggered your pleasure center. Yes. That's going to feel good. And that's like what alcohol is doing, but like, is that real joy? Is that real fun? And so what's really brilliant about discovering like drinking less or taking a break is like, you now get to ask yourself. What do I find fun? What is pleasurable for me? Like what brings me organic joy? Not that like artificial, you know, version of it. And so like a lot of times, yeah. Like staying up at a party for like seven hours talking about, about repetitive things with people who are just complaining. Is it fun? You know what I mean? Maybe maybe going to sunrise yoga in the morning is our idea of fun. And I think that that's so beautiful because like that's real. Like it's like a real personality coming out and dictating what you actually like and what you don't like. You don't have to put up with stuff anymore and just drink with it, you know, to get through it type of a thing. And so definitely I've seen like yeah. Especially women often supercharged their, you know, alcohol free break or just reevaluation with a supercharge into their personal growth. So it's like all of a sudden their goals are mattering more. They're maybe their businesses or their books or these passion projects that they have are starting to matter more. So it completely does change the rooms you do want to be in. Right? Like I say, like we want to be with growth oriented women who get our goals, who get our dreams, who get our passions and definitely not people who make us feel. Small for not drinking, you know, like, why aren't you drinking? Like what's wrong with you type of a thing. And so for sure, like I see that, you know, women influence other women too. So it's not like there's you have to leave your social circle behind like a lot of times at least in the United States. 52 percent of all Americans wish that they drank less or not at all. So it's like when you're the first one in your social circle to take a break or to drink less or to ditch it all together It's not like you're not the first one who wanted to do that You know what? I mean? Like other people are thinking it too, but they might not yet have that courage or the intuition or the bravery to do it So you have no idea how you can even shift Some of the current circles you you're in, like I've influenced so many people to change their relationship with alcohol, not in my career, like just in my personal life, which is so incredible. And I've seen it happen with other friends groups, which is really cool too. But also to like, if there's a group of friends that, you know, you just get together and you just complain or talk about office gossip or whatever it is, it's like you start getting hungrier. Like. I want to talk about the stuff that lights me up. I want to talk about building an empire. I want to be with women who really get it. And it's so special. Obviously the groups that you run here is like, you're providing that community for people to like, be so like minded and have those greater ambitions and goals for themselves, you know? And I think that that's like what like connection really is. Connection isn't small talk or having to drink and like get through a conversation with someone you don't really get along with. This is what connection gets to be. Yeah, I absolutely love that answer, and I find it really interesting because my closest friends that I'm kind of live around at the moment, not really any of them drink. And when we get together, alcohol isn't, we do actually have a really good alcohol free rosé that we love, but it's alcohol free, but like, alcohol isn't the primary focus. We're not getting together to drink together. And it's so interesting that it's not even like a, it's not even a thing. It's not even like... Or like you're missing it or anything like that, like the connection's so beautiful and so magical. I do just want to do a quick plug because when I was like giving you a little cyber, cyberstalk, I know she had a freebie on your website which I thought was awesome for this because it was, is it 25 or 50 ways? Yeah, 50 things to do instead of drinking. Yeah, I thought that was such a good freebie, because again, I feel like it's that like, re navigating, shifting the focus away. I want to ask you some business focus questions as well, but I just, I want to ask this question, because I thought this was brilliant. How to know if alcohol is holding you back? So how, like, what are the signs, what are the kind of like, Symptoms, so to speak. Yeah, so I think, like, in a typical society, the way we've been, like, trained or groomed to think about alcohol is, like, you're gonna ask questions about, like, well, is this a problem, or am I drinking too much, or even am I an alcoholic? Those are the wrong questions to ask. Those are not the right questions, because are you a problem compared to what? You know, are you a problem compared to the person drinking, like, liters of vodka underneath the bridge? No, of course not. Right? Like it's, it's not the right question to ask. And it's going to just keep spiraling you into a stuck area because it's not going to be an intuitive answer. Why would a like confident, independent, strong woman want to label herself as something negative? You know what I mean? So the better questions to ask are, is alcohol aligned with my values? Like if we value maybe health or connection or growth and ambition, like, is alcohol allowing me to live into those values? Maybe another question to ask is, does alcohol make me truly happy? Not the 20 minute buzz, not the immediate gratification, but like over the longterm is alcohol improved my mental health? Does it help me feel happier? That's a really good question to ask. And then the other question I love to ask is, is alcohol helping me achieve my dreams? Is it allowing me to be the version of myself that I want to be? And these, like, if I would have asked these questions, you know, 8, 10 years ago when I was struggling, I would have had such a clear answer for you. You know, and if you asked me if I had a problem, I would have been like, well, I don't, I don't think so. I mean, it's pretty normal compared to other people. You know what I mean? It would have been this circular thing. And so I like to tell people, like, I don't care if you drink 10 drinks a day or one drink a week. If you don't like the answers to those questions, You have permission to explore it. It doesn't mean you have to go drinking tomorrow. It doesn't mean you can never drink again. It's not about that. It just means that like your intuition's guiding you here and trying to have you find more fulfillment and more sense of peace and clarity in your life. And it's a beautiful thing to explore. You know, like alcohol is such an unconscious habit. We pick it up as teenagers. Society tells us that that's how we adult. It's in every social situation. Like. All throughout our adulthood, if we never think about it, it's just going to be this unconscious habit that we repeat over and over again and just never really think about. So I actually think it's the most intuitive woman that stops and asks herself, wait a minute, is this serving me? And guess what? You get to redefine what that looks like. So if you, if. It's like, like not ever drinking again is not something that you're interested in. Like maybe it's like, looks like changing your relationship and just drinking a lot less or like a lot less infrequently or more occasionally, or maybe it looks like taking a break. This is what I really recommend. Take a break. That's like finite period of time. Like I really love two months and that's what my book guides people to do. And see how you like it. Like, I promise you, you're going to love how you feel alcohol free. And only then after you experienced that apples to oranges, like then you can decide, okay, do I want to keep going? Do I want to go back? You always have all the choice, you know? So it's just like always allowing your intuition to keep answering those questions and to keep exploring, keep getting curious about it. You know what I mean? It's just a growth journey. And I think it like unpacked so many other things. Like, for example, we were just talking about confidence earlier. It was part of my life. journey to learn how to be confident within myself. And it was only through the vehicle of alcohol and then ditching alcohol that I was able to learn that lesson. There's so many things that are going to come up like that, like being playing a bigger game, being more visible, like not being scared of procrastination and perfectionism or all the things that might like hold us back in our businesses as well. Like it is a healing journey in the sense that like these things are coming up for a reason. Alcohol is just a bigger metaphor. It's just like a symbol. It's not. Like the core thing that you're meant to heal. And I think it's just so brilliant. What comes up for so many women on that journey of like boundaries, for example, right? Like we're just talking about friends or maybe family members, like learning how to stand up for like what you believe is aligned for your life versus like just people pleasing. Like it's gonna make you such a stronger person in so many different ways, so much more emotionally resilient. and have so much more clarity and intuition that I just think it's like a brilliant exercise for anyone to go through, if even just for that short period of time just to experiment with it. So, so incredible. This actually, I feel, feeds in really well to a question that came from one of our incredible expansion mastermind ladies. And She asks, how did you create a business and position yourself when talking about the symptoms and transformation that is typically taboo and frowned upon in society? So clients will feel difficulty relating or putting their hands up and owning they suffer from issues around this. I feel like you started to touch on this a little bit already and kind of moving away from the problem kind of language and the focus, but is there anything else that you would add to that? You know, I think no matter what business we're in, like there is some kind of pain point, like whatever problem we're trying to solve for a client, there's a pain point. And that pain point is not feel good. It's vulnerable. And it might even feel embarrassing because it's like, well, I should have this figured out. And all of our clients are feeling these pain points in complete isolation. You know, they think that there's something wrong with them. It could be like, even like, Oh my gosh, why can't I hit 10 K months? Everyone's hitting 10 K months. What's wrong with me? Like that is a pain point, right? That is a source of vulnerability, source of pain, source of things. And so mine is like doubly painful because it's like this historically. Taboo thing, like you said, that is treated as like, Oh, you're a problem. You're a, you know, a word you need to go over here. You messed up with alcohol type, type of thing. And so my mission in life is to completely change that conversation. And I've studied this so extensively to understand that. Most people drink too much. Like, most people overconsume alcohol. The health guidelines are really freaking low. Anytime a woman has more than one drink, she's engaging in heavy, risky drinking. So, how many people is that around the world? Like, most everyone who drinks, right? We all have a problem to some degree because society taught us to drink like that and to use it all the time as a tool for everything. Like, so it's like, no wonder. You know, even in the 90s, there was one man. One man, one doctor. Who literally started saying alcohol is good for your heart. And then all these flawed studies came out to, to show that that's been so debunked. Now there's no benefit to your heart health for drinking. It only deteriorates and causes more heart disease, but it's like, we were taught, we grew up in a time when literally doctors were telling us drink a glass of wine every night. So there's no, like, there really shouldn't be any source of like, Oh, this happened to me, or I made this happen or something like that. If you're like grew up. Without living under a rock, you're going to have some kind of usual relationship with alcohol. Obviously, some people don't, but it's like for the most part, typically people do. And just getting to a point of like asking yourself these deeper questions of re evaluating it, I make it a point of strength in my community. It's like, wow, you're intuitive. Wow. You're listening to those deeper insights from your soul. Like I make it seem like that it's actually a point of pride, not something to be embarrassed about. You know what I mean? And like recognizing that we're all in it together. We all kind of had those drinking episodes in our life together, I think brings that like community and that vulnerability piece. And then, like I said, the identity shift of like being a non drinker can be something that is so like, Exciting. So prideful. And there's this whole alcohol free movement. I'm not the only one talking about this where really, like, there's a lot going on. And so it's almost like, what if you're the trendsetter? Like, what if you're just like the first in your social circle to like adopt this? Like you are the trend center. You are like getting on the Health and wellness and consciousness bandwagon before other people. And like, how cool is that? So definitely I've changed. Like I, I strive to change the language for like my clients. I don't use words like sober recovery, relapse addiction. Most of them don't really even apply to, because I'm working with women at like, like we call it the gray area. It's like they're, you're not drinking vodka in the morning, basically. You know what I mean? But even in those cases, like, I think we need to remove a lot of that shame and a lot of that like language and stuff and really recognize that. Alcohol is addictive to all people over time, like when they study rats and give them alcohol, like it's not genetics or it's not some weird thing that makes one rat more addicted to it than another, like the more exposure we get to alcohol and the more like personal relevance we put on it, like that's what alcohol does to our brain, you know what I mean? And so I think like really taking it back, the power back and recognizing like alcohol creates these habit loops, alcohol like releases this neurotransmitter, alcohol does this, alcohol does that. It stops to become less of a personal thing. Like it really isn't that unique, you know what I mean? And it starts to become something you recognize as like, wow, how do we let the alcohol industry get away with this narrative for so long that it's all about like personal responsibility? You know what I mean? When they're really selling. I hate to say it like this, but this is what doctors say. It's like a, it's poison. It is, you know what I mean? And we see like other things like cigarettes a little bit more clearly like that. Like, okay. They're very addictive. And like, you know, any, any cessation is a good thing. Whereas with alcohol, it's still this like weird thing. Like, Oh, you had a problem. You know what I mean? It's like, I want to change the conversation. Like. You can't control what story people are going to make up about you, but you can own the story as much as possible. You know what I mean? And like, I teach my clients how to reframe it. Like when people ask them why they're not drinking, like, oh, I'm taking a break and I feel amazing. Who's going to argue with that? Who's going to be like, no, I want you to drink now so you can stop feeling like crap again. Yeah, I remember I took a big break from alcohol in my life, it was about six months, and I remember I went to a party with friends, I still remember this really, really clearly, and I, I wasn't drinking, and someone said something along the lines of like, you've not even lost that much weight, and I remember thinking like, I'm not, not drinking to lose weight, like, I'm not, not drinking for my hormones and my health and like a whole host of other reasons and it just shows, like, there's so many, like, links that we have that, that get to be broken around, like, or the worst, the worst one to me is, a woman's not drinking, are you pregnant? Like, what the fuck? Like, not an acceptable question, like, let's just break up with ever asking a woman that ever again There was something I was going to ask on this, it's now floated out of my head. I want to go slightly more into like the business side of things because I think Alongside this incredible journey and the amazing work that you do supporting other people on this journey, you've also created a fricking bad ass business, which is just so, so epic, like a total empire. So I just want to hear a little bit more around that. And I think the first question that I have around that is what is your definition of success? And the reason I asked that is I know there was something for you around that. I think it was to me around schmoozing VCs was not the pathway. So fill me in on what that journey's look like. Yeah. So, you know, I think before success to me was something so external, like it was like validation for what mattered to other people. And in that way, it was like your job title or it was like what degrees you had. And so in a way, like I could do that really well back then. So I'm someone who's gotten multiple advanced degrees literally for no reason other than to like prove that I could to other people. Like there wasn't like a smart choice or anything like that. And so like, it was easy for me to do that. It was easy for me to get my MBA and it was like, you know, just like climb this promotion thing and, and, and meet, meet success in those terms. And so like when I was even first thinking about like being an entrepreneur, I was just like, I didn't think that I met the, like. the identity of one at all. Like I'm this shy person. I'm foreign. I grew up totally introverted in all these things. And it's like, I thought that there was these white guys who lived in the Silicon Valley and they schmoozed with venture capitalists. You know what I mean? And that's like kind of what I thought of as success. And I just felt like so lacking and all of that. And just like my confidence wasn't there at all by any means. And when I ditched alcohol, all of a sudden, like I go on this explosive, like internal journey of like, well, what do you want Carolina? You know, and that confidence that I was getting, I was sharing about earlier was like, why not? Why can't you have it? And so my definition of success was not to get that corner office and not to have the highest title at that company. I was like, no, I really, really want to not work for anyone. I want to work for myself. I want to travel. Like I want to see the beautiful world. Like I don't want to wait till I retire to see the world till I retire. I want to see it now. So like I started really forming my definition of success based on my internal desires. I want to have a successful business. I want to travel the world and I want to help as many people as possible. And those have been like my three guiding posts to like create the company and the empire, as you said, that I created, because that to me is success. And that's another thing is that impact. Like I've always wanted to make an impact in the world. Like it was really important for me. And I remember when I did graduate from my MBA, a lot of my cohort members went on to like work in Wall Street, and I remember being like, oh, look at them, like, they're just after the money, they're just going to like Wall Street, they have no souls, and so I worked for a non profit instead. And like, even that was like, I was so stuck and confused about like my beliefs about money and just like what success meant. Like I literally thought you could either have like success and unhappiness or no success and be an integrity with like your values. And so the idea that I could actually help people for a living and make a huge impact with the lives that I'm able to touch. And be successful and abundant is like, whoo, you know, like that broke me open, you know what I mean? So that is a huge measure for me too. And I have to tell you the truth, even when I worked in that nonprofit, it was a university. Even though we like stood for all those good things, you know, about like impact and social innovation, like. I didn't personally feel it. I didn't feel it within my job, like whatever I was doing on a day to day basis. So for me, that success is actually feeling fulfillment every day. And I feel like we feel fulfillment when we help other people, you know, so especially in the coaching industry and helping anyone in any kind of masterminds or writing books and sharing advice with the world. Like that is so, so, so fulfilling for me. And that's definitely my definition of success. And you know, that travel doesn't hurt either. I love the travel element. So, something that's really cool on this is that you have retired your husband, your husband works with you now, you get to travel the world, like you said, you've just been in Europe, California. How does, how has that impacted your relationship dynamic as partners? Yeah, good question. So I remember I was able to quit my job in 2020 and I was so ecstatic. It was in the middle of the pandemic, but I was like, finally, I can travel now. And this is going to be amazing. And I went on a few trips by myself for like retreats and with my parents because they're retired, but my husband still had his full time job. And I was like, This dream doesn't work unless he's like, along with it. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want to do this all by myself all the time. And so like, that was a huge goal to achieve to like, be able to quit my job and like, support myself full time. But then like, I was like, but let's take it up a notch. Like, let's get my husband, like, let's get this company being the breadwinner for the whole. Yeah. Family. And let's have him ditch his job. And I remember when we would talk about it, like, you know, there's always that disbelief of like, well, you know, is this, can this really happen or can we really live our lives that way? And I remember it was definitely in like a heated moment. It wasn't like a romantic, sexy moment by any means, but it was like a heated moment where I was like. Look, I'm going to the moon. Like, I have this one life. I am going to go to the freaking moon. Like, I'm getting on that train, and I'm going. Will you get on the train with me? And he said yes. And it's not always been easy, because like, I've been more steeped in that personal development, and like, he might not have always believed that it was possible, but like, he said yes. He was able to retire from his work in 2020, early 2020, we've been traveling like full time. Basically we spent three months in Europe since then I've integrated him into the company. So now he's my CFO and COO and we're still definitely working on that and like learning how to navigate, like how, how to delegate more because it's like, it's basically all in my head for the most part. And it's like, how do you like, how do you really systematize it and create like a really great company out of it, especially for our other team members. But I'm so grateful for the version of myself that believed in this possibility, because I have to tell you, when I like started my business, I remember getting in some masterminds where the leader was like, you can't work with your husband. It's not going to be good for your relationship dynamics. He's not going to have the skills that you need. You should hire out. And I was like, well, that sucks. Like that's my dream. That's what I wanted to happen. And guess who I was getting advice from someone who was single. Someone who had no experience sharing what she was experienced, what she was sharing. Right. So I decided to follow other entrepreneurs that worked with their husbands. And so a lot of entrepreneurs that I really look up to, like the woman is the face of the company and like sharing all the things on the social media. But the husband's behind the scenes, like running the company with her. So she can be the visionary and he's doing a lot of the operations. And that's who I started learning from. And I'm like, this model can work. It does work. We now both have like no ties. We can travel whenever we want. We work from the road. And, you know, there's a lot of ways that we're still integrating my husband, like I said, but the coolest thing that's come out of it is like, he's now my strategy partner, like any moment, any day I can go downstairs and just be like, Oh my God, this just happened. Like, what do we do? Or like, what should we do for this big launch or something like that? It's so, so cool to see that. It's not without its challenges, obviously, but like. This is the life I want. This is like what I'm choosing. This is my bigger desire. So like finding a way to make it work is so important for me. And I, I really do believe that like, we can own our own financial futures. We can own our own financial destinies and the impact we're going to make. Like, I really don't believe in the idea that an employer is going to like Take care of that for you. An employer is going to drop you tomorrow if they feel like it, you know what I mean? We have actually so much more power. And even those things that you worry about, like, well, what about health insurance or what about your 401k or something like that? They're all solvable. You know what I mean? There's a solution for all those things. So I had shivers when you said, I'm going to the moon. Are you coming with me? I was like, Oh, I freaking love this. And I think again, it speaks so much about shifting that. That focus, because like you say, like, okay, you can have someone who hasn't been through that experience, how you don't work with your husband. And then there's all these incredible examples. Like I have so many friends that I have that their partners are integrated into their business. And like you say that in CFO or COO roles, like. Really kind of doing that nitty gritty bit and they're getting to be the visionary. And it's, it's so incredibly powerful that you, you get to go on that journey together. Just want to tap into something before we go into the quick fire questions, I kind of close up, but you actually start to speak to this a little bit already, and you spoke about the kind of scarcity coming through in terms of the beliefs of, I have to be miserable in their money, or out of integrity in their money, or either or. You have experienced exponential growth. Like you just spoke about, you quit your job during the pandemic 2020, you know, we're in 2023 now, that's three years. You've retired your husband. You've got this incredible book. You have these incredible programs. You run retreats around the world. Like. I think there's a lot of questions in that, but narrowing it down, how did you navigate this shift from scarcity to abundance and how have you skyrocketed your business in such a short space of time in such an impressive, incredible way? Yeah. Great question. So there's so much that goes into like having a successful business, obviously there's so much strategy, so many tactics, so many actual action steps, but like if I were to get to the root of like, what has been successful for me, it's increasing my confidence because if my confidence is low and this is not something I'm talking about, like. Oh, you should be born with confidence. I'm talking about priming your confidence on a daily basis. You know, like when you wake up and you don't feel like it, what do you do? How do you get yourself into the energy and the state you want to be in? This is something we all have levers that we can pull. You know what I mean? Because if I'm not confident, I'm not going to sell. I'm not going to share this off the rooftops. I'm not going to want to invite people into my world. I'm going to just be like, I don't feel like it today. You know what I mean? So my priming, my confidence on a daily basis has been helpful. And I'm not saying all days. Okay. But like for the most part, right. And my money mindset working with my money mindset has been one of the keys to my success. And I had some really bad beliefs about money. You were just saying how maybe it's greedy or out of integrity or all these kinds of things. And so I really had to heal a lot of my money stories. I've been working with mentors for that. I've read a lot of books, I've done programs. So like, I think as entrepreneurs, if we want to be able to, you know, make money, sell people, sell things to people, we're going to have to really change our definition of like wealth, money, and selling. If we want to like be an integrity and help as many people as possible. And I think what I've started to see it as instead of holding back and being like, you know, this feels icky or like, you know, money is like taboo or I shouldn't want to be rich or any of these kinds of things. Like I see that selling is such an act of service. Like every time I sell something to someone, I'm changing their life. And that's not just something I'm making up in my head. I have the evidence of that happening over and over and over and over again. Right? Like I literally just got A book that a woman wrote in the mail. And she was like, you are the single reason I wrote this book. And like, you're my biggest hero. Like, I was like, what the, like, what? I didn't know you felt that way about me. Like, holy shit. You know? And, and it happens over and over again. So it's like, when I hold back, I'm holding back. The transformation for other people, you know what I mean? And who am I to do that? So I actually see it now as a moral imperative. Like I have this gift, this transformation that's changed my life so much. And if I don't share it with other people, I am hoarding and I'm gatekeeping. You know what I mean? And with that too, the more money I make, that means the more value I put into the world and the more lives I've changed. So it's like completely redefining those money beliefs for me. And trust me, these still come up. It's like, if we have like one bad month out of the, out of the quarter of the year or something, it's like, Oh, like all the old money beliefs come up and the scarcity and all that kind of stuff. So it's definitely always a work in progress, but I just think it really needs a lot of attention for anyone who wants to be a business owner, a coach or an entrepreneur, like. If we don't heal your stories about money, you know what I mean? It's going to be so much harder. And I think mentorship has really helped with that too. So like, not just with money, everything to do with business and stepping up into playing a bigger game. Like you were going to go on the biggest healing and transformative journey of your life. When you step into the play of being an entrepreneur and like to have people have gone before you, just like you sharing with your mastermind, like to have people who've gone before you. Sharing what's worked and, and how to change your mindset and all those things. Like it's so, so valuable. I love that answer. And I think you're so right on the money mindset stuff. And I love that you shared that stuff still comes up for you as well. Like I'm prepping at the moment for an event we're doing in London at the beginning of September. It's called wealth calibration. And as you probably know, like when you are like, right, I'm focusing on wealth, abundance, this kind of energy right now. So much shit's come up for me, so much stuff, it's like, it's like a re level, like a unraveling to a new level and it's like, wow, I get to go on this journey all over again. It's never the same journey, it's always like different, it's a new layer, it's a new approach, it's a new problem that you've, that you're, that you're going towards. But you get to do that new level of healing and keep going on that journey, I think it's really beautiful to honor that. So, this has been such a juicy interview, I have some quick fire questions to close with. Then I'd love you to share where people can find you, what they can do with you. So what is the first thing you do each morning? Journal. So I don't go brush my teeth or go to the bathroom yet. I grabbed my journal first thing and that helps prime me like I might share some dreams I might share even if I'm in a funk or feeling like, oh, I didn't get enough sleep. I'll get all that out, but then I'll turn it around with either some affirmations or just like pretending that the dream day has already happened or the dream outcomes already happening and kind of ranting about that. But yeah, my journal for sure. You referred to it as ranting. Just ranting about my dreams coming true. I love it. I love it. What are you currently reading? I just finished a book yesterday, so let's see, what is the other book? I have like five books that I'm reading right now. I feel you. So I'm rereading the Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I have a certification program that's running right now and that was like the, the one required reading I had for all those ladies. Cause it's just like a seminal classic on changing your mindset and living a successful life. So I'm rereading it and just getting all the juicy nuggets all over again. Love that. And what are you currently watching? Physical on Apple TV. And what I love about it, it's about a story of a woman in the eighties who starts building this like aerobic empire, like aerobic fitness empire. And what I like about it is that like, there's not very many shows about female entrepreneurs like ever. And so like, I love learning like personal development and business stuff, but like at the end of the day, I kind of need to turn off a little bit, you know, But I also don't like how like a lot of our popular shows just have so much like fear and drama baked in and like violence and stuff like that. So I'm like, why aren't there more shows about female entrepreneurs? Like that's what I want to watch, you know, and there really aren't very many. So that's one, it's not like perfect obviously, but like that's one where I'm like, yeah, like that's powerful. I like it. Is that the one with Rose Byrne? Rose Byrne? Okay. I might have to watch that. That sounds great. When are you most inspired? Hmm. I feel really inspired when I feel like I've made like a connection with someone, like when I feel like I was able to share like something really valuable with them, either in a coaching call or group coaching call, or even like a, this, this kind of recording right now, like I just, I get on fire, like being able to share. So that's when I feel a lot of inspiration and I'll often, you know, have this new rejuvenation to go back into business after that, but also like just being outside with nature. Like I have these anchor points in my life of like really connecting to something bigger than me and really feeling like I'm being guided. And like, like something has been setting me up all along to go on this trajectory because it's like my life's legacy and purpose. And so sometimes we have bad days and we forget all about that. And like to reconnect with that, either watching the sunset or looking up at the stars, like it's really important to me to have those like anchors in my life. And that helps me feel inspired too. I love that answer. I love that answer. What is your goal for the year ahead? Your sole goal? Yeah, for this year or next year? The next 12 months. You, you can put your own timeframe on it, either by the end of this year or the next 12 months. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I started my business just helping women like ditch alcohol and change their relationship with it. And as I started working more and more, I just recognize how much women become alive to like a deeper passion with them, them. So we started programs to help them find their deeper purpose and to find each other with retreats. And then a really obvious kind of thing that came up is like when you go through a challenge and you learn how to solve it, like you are the. Most incredible, relatable expert to help someone else go through that same thing. And it's literally, I think what life is about is we are supposed to help people go through the things that we've already gone through ourselves, you know, whether it's through advice or through coaching or anything like that formally or informally. So like, I'm so passionate about helping women become coaches and run successful businesses as well, because like. I can't do this by myself. Like I'm not going to change the world's relationship with alcohol by myself. You know, I'm not going to change that conversation. And so like for all the women who are just inspired to help other people, my certification program launched this year. And so for the next 12 months, we want to grow that baby. Like we want it to be one of those foremost certifications, just like the most vibeyous. Most like effective, just really connected kind of certification that isn't dry and academic, like a lot of those are out there. You know what I mean? With a lot of heart and soul on how to change, but also how to run a really successful business. Oh, I love that and I'm glad you shared a little bit about the certification already because I wanted to kind of close up with how people can work with you and I know the certification has this really unique element as well in terms of it does have an alcohol free, it's one of the four, I'll let you explain, you'll explain this better than I'm trying to. Yeah. And so, yeah, the certification will certify you as an alcohol free life coach, a success coach, an NLP practitioner, and a mindset coach. And it really goes into that journey of like, how can you help your clients find deeper fulfillment and purpose in their lives? And usually the like step to start all that is to let go of what no longer serves you. So it's just something that's so relevant in a lot of people's lives. Like, let me just share two statistics that will point out this 60 percent of people in America over drink. Regularly, right? 60 percent of people are also unfulfilled with their careers. So do we think there's something in common there? I think so. It was common in your story and my story as well. You know what I mean? So I think it's like a big thing to solve for people. It's not just the alcohol. It's also what does. Fulfillment look like for you? What is your purpose? You know what I mean? So that's really what the certification is about. And we have not only those four certifications, but there's a in person retreat included and a business mastermind afterwards, because I hate those certifications. We're like, you don't learn how to run a business. It's like, I've seen so many coaches just feel so not confident because they don't know those next steps and how to really grow successfully. And, you know, as you've gone through your journey for so many years, like anything that. All the mistakes I've made, for example, like I could condense those for someone else and just be like, here, this is what works. This is what doesn't, you know what I mean? So super, super excited about that. We also host retreats too, for alcohol free women or sober curious women around the world. Our next one's in Costa Rica. So there's a lot of fun ways and even programs to just take a break from alcohol or change your relationship with alcohol. So we've got lots going on, but I really see it as. Like a really empowering thing because, you know, there's some really cool leaders in my industry, but for the most part, it's an industry that kind of started out as this, like. Old fashioned, you know, like, oh, sobriety, you know what I mean? So there's like a lot to change within my own industry of like what's talked about. And I just want to be with that most empowering place for a woman to find herself outside of alcohol. And I think that sounds so juicier than, you know, Oh, you have to quit because you have a problem. I love that. So in a more direct way, where can people connect with you? Yeah. So the best place to start is to read my book. I share my whole story and how amazing life is without alcohol, all the benefits you can experience, especially a lot of the health benefits we didn't cover here today. And like the mindful, the soul benefits, and then like a guide to change your relationship with it. Even like if not drinking for forever is not your plan, but like if we have these desires for alcohol, like, Oh, I want it on a Friday night or I want it when I'm out with my friends, it's because our subconscious has been locked into this pattern of meeting a need. It's like meeting a need for our brain. And if you could like clear that, if you could deprogram that you were going to be so much more powerful. So I reckon really recommend it for everyone. You can check it out. You type euphoric. There's a UK version with a really cute pastel cut, like. Cover. And then the American version has a more bright colored pattern. But just type in euphoric and Amazon, you'll find it or go to euphoricbook. com. And then also euphoricaf. com is my website. You'll find all my programs there. You know, feel free to send a message and on Instagram at euphoric. af. Again, I love to hear from you. If you have any questions or anything that you weren't able to ask today, please feel free to just DM me. Awesome. Thank you so much, Carolina.