We were lucky to catch up with Craig Sotkovsky recently and have shared our conversation below.
Craig, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
After about a decade of battling 9/11 cancer, I realized my mindset was lacking the drive to move forward, and I was finally able to realize that I was enough. Cancer beats you down and it rips out part of your soul.
I was staring death in the face, pondering whether or not I was going to die, and I needed to decide whether I was going to succumb to the cancer and let it beat me, or persevere and improve my mentality in order for me to beat it and push through all of the emotional baggage that comes with it. I call that my “A-HA!” moment.
I had a moment of clarity and realized that nobody could do anything for me. Not my family, not my friends, and certainly not my doctors. Just me.
The physical and mental pain at times got so severe that medication wasn’t able to fix it. I was trapped in a physical battle, but the mental battle was arguably more taxing than I anticipated.
Some days I would wake up and wonder what it would be like to start my day without pain, and I came to the conclusion that nobody was going to help save me other than myself.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My calling is to help people look in the mirror and appreciate the raw reflection. I help clients deep dive into their real emotions and connect back to themselves after they have been through the worst of the worst. It can be difficult to see your real reflection for what it is, and I can relate because for the longest time I couldn’t recognize who I truly was.
I would look into the mirror and not feel connected with or appreciate the person staring back at me. I grasped that we meet many people in our lifetime, and the only constant is you. Once you are able to look in the mirror and truly understand who you are and acquire the ability to release all negative energy from within, you will be able to encounter the good, the bad, and the ugly with conviction.
I enjoy helping my clients overcome their day-to-day obstacles and learn to appreciate their accomplishments no matter how small they may seem. Each achievement is one step closer to creating a new habit, and each habit is one step closer to creating a brand-new mindset that filters out negative thoughts and patterns.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Be yourself and allow yourself to get comfortable in your own skin. Embrace who you are. Go out and explore the opportunities that the world has to offer. This isn’t a dress rehearsal, this is a one shot, one take experience. Live your life to the fullest.
2. Not everybody will relate to you. That’s okay. You’ll come to realize that you don’t relate to everybody.
3. Never live your life in fear. If you have that feeling, just take the plunge and act upon whatever you are thinking about. The worst thing you can do is feed your fears your time and energy.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is someone who has gone through the paces of life. They would be in their 40’s or 50’s, and they’ve had the family, the business or career, put the kids through school, etc. They are now looking for their purpose outside of the societal norms. They’ve lost direction for themselves and seek guidance, but don’t know where to start.
I get them to ask new questions for themselves. Examples include but are not limited to, “Now what?”, “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?”, and “Where do I go from here?”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.craigsotkovsky.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myyucatan
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-sotkovsky-001
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybodypaysavig
- Other: https://www.clubhouse.com/@craigsotkovsky?utm_medium=ch_profile&utm_campaign=Hi3pDV_UG4Tk9G3A5WJYSg-653431
Image Credits
Ashley Phillips Photography – for fire-walk photo only
