I was born and raised in rural Poland in the 1980s – a turbulent period for the country coming out of over half a century of communist rule. I grew up in the midst of political, social and economic change, so it’s no wonder that transformation has been an integral part of my life. That period of my life and the beliefs I adopted then informed and shaped so many of my future choices, wiring me both with creativity and resourcefulness as well as the fears and apprehension of an aspiring, emerging Eastern European nation. I was taught that I wouldn’t achieve anything in life unless I worked hard. I became driven and determined to accomplish each goal, although when I reflect, the things I was striving for often left me empty and unfulfilled. On the restless quest of achieving and gaining more, I took the standard, conventional path and went to college, completing two degrees – in linguistics and marketing – the first chosen out of passion and the latter following common sense. This duality would be my loyal companion for years to come, leaving me with conflict I didn’t quite understand.

As a self-driven overachiever, I always juggled passion and practicality, which would often have me swinging from one extreme to the other as I sought diverse experiences. At school, I developed a deep love of languages, which I considered to be a gateway to the big, wide world. As a result, besides my native Polish, I’m fluent in English, German and Spanish. Driven by the reality of the demanding job market and a curiosity to understand people and their behaviour, after college I pursued a marketing career. This opened many exciting doors, allowing me to work in several countries and in various industries. Within both corporate and start-up environments, I ran marketing projects and departments in a variety of sectors, including tourism, education, publishing, consulting, advertising and retail. I thrived in leading and managing people – the most challenging yet the most rewarding of all the tasks I had ever taken on. However, after a decade spent focusing on addressing the needs and desires of consumers and leading what I believed to be an outwardly happy life, I realised that my passion for it was fading and I was seeking another direction. What I truly craved now was freedom – and that was only achievable by travelling, immersing myself into diverse cultures and discovering new places and people.

In 2015, I took the bold decision to quit my successful, yet unfulfilling, corporate job – a move that completely baffled my family and friends. I sold my belongings, packed my life into a 20-kilogram backpack, left my comfortable, secure life behind and embarked on a world journey. With a one-way ticket to New York City, I was scared, yet happy and excited. Never before had I risked so much and I knew that this was the beginning of something important. Little did I know that it would initiate the biggest transformation of my life – from a high-flying marketing manager to a free-spirited nomad following my heart and helping others do the same. Over the next nine months, I visited several countries across the Americas. And as important as the travel itself was, the inner journey played the biggest role. The miles I have travelled geographically and the distance I have progressed in my mind and heart are beyond my wildest dreams. As a solo female traveller, I confronted many of my fears and demons. I shared the observations of the world around me, as well as reflections upon my inner journey, on my blog that has become both a loyal travel companion to me as well as a popular travel blog in Poland. When I returned home, I found that the corporate career and aspects of my previous life had irretrievably lost their charm. And as scary as that was, it was also exciting, fascinating and invigorating. I was now committed to freedom and a need to continue this newly discovered life of intention. I also realised that home was now potentially every place on the planet and I knew the journey had to continue…

So, I embarked on a journey through south-east Asia in search of healing, wisdom and life purpose. I knew it was time to start doing something that truly ignited my heart while helping and serving others. The moment I projected my intention to the universe (and the Cambodian Buddha), I was offered a job and a training opportunity at an energy healing centre at the foot of the majestic Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia. During those incredible months, I obtained a better understanding of Eastern philosophies, learned about both chakra balancing and prana healing and by working with people from all over the world started healing my own wounded soul. I believe in a holistic approach to healing that treats matters as an interconnected part of the whole as opposed to an isolated case. This gave rise to a strong desire to explore even more healing modalities and do it the way I learn best – by experience, immersing myself full on. This led me on a further journey to places as far west as Hawaii and as far east as Indonesia in search of new experiences, healing arts, wise teachers and diverse approaches.

As I immersed myself fully in the travel experience and new healing arts paired with the inner work I’ve been doing, I started feeling a strong desire to share my wisdom with others. I quickly harnessed the power of the interconnected world and tapped into online teaching combining my Western business background with Eastern philosophies, which achieved powerful results for those seeking healing and direction. This allowed me to spread my message across countries and continents through my one-on-one coaching practice, group coaching programmes and online courses, while continuing my location-independent lifestyle. Eventually, the insatiable hunger to experience as much of the world as possible led me to create my own location-independent business – able to operate from anywhere on the planet as long as I had internet access. Embarking on an entrepreneurship journey expanded my understanding of business beyond belief and taught me even more about myself and the kind of leader I want to be. I also learned that despite the invigorating freedom that online work offered, I wanted more and more to combine it with the live human connection. This is how, in addition to online programmes, I started running transformational retreats in some of the most energy-rich places around the world. This led me to India to complete a 200-hour yoga teacher training with the aim of further exploring the physical body and its link to the energetic self and incorporating asana practice into my work. And since the universe always supports us if we are aligned on our path, following my teacher training, I got an amazing opportunity to teach yoga and run retreats on the island of Sri Lanka. This experience not only brought my teaching practice to the next level but also allowed me to find the connection between the ancient art of yoga and other healing modalities that I’ve been immersing myself in for years.

I have always been blessed to be surrounded by the most amazing women who are caring mothers, loving partners, supportive friends, powerful nurturers, community contributors, inspiring leaders and role models. I’ve seen them in the business environment. I’ve seen them at home. I’ve seen them raising children, juggling career, relationships and passions. I’ve met them on my travels in countries as different as Colombia, Nicaragua, Cuba, the USA, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Vietnam, India and Malaysia. I’ve seen them wearing jeans, suits, dresses, saris, bikinis and burkas. I’ve connected with them and they shared with me their joys, challenges and struggles – sometimes verbally, other times with just a glance or a smile. My years-long travels exposed me to different views, perspectives, stories and living situations of women globally. I have come to understand that we possess a potent force if we work together and support each other. I believe we have the power to change the world by converting it into a more peaceful and serene place. I’m on a mission to awaken this powerful femininity in women globally. This mission unfolded for me unexpectedly on a third-class train ride through rural parts of Sri Lanka in a women-only compartment where I fully connected with the female energy of complete strangers who felt like sisters without us exchanging any words. This is where I, for the first time, felt I was in full alignment with my life purpose and have never looked back since. This is also what gave Miannah a new soul-led direction, shaping the message I spread and the work I feel inspired to do every day.