Meet Mikolaj Wlodarczyk

We recently connected with Mikolaj Wlodarczyk and have shared our conversation below.

Mikolaj, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I didn’t, it’s something I still struggle with today. I just learned to recognize it and live with it. Imposter syndrome is similar to procrastination. Both are showing me the weak points of myself I need to improve, and the importance of the task at hand. Some things need to be done and it doesn’t matter how I feel about that. So you just do it and learn from the experience so next time you will be better prepared.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve been a tattoo artist since 2009. I got into tattooing by accident. Originally, I wasn’t thinking about that as a career back then. My tattooist Michał Kowalczyk from Damage Ink in Jarocin Poland showed me this possibility and then I began to take the path into becoming a tattoo artist. In time it became a major part of my life. I felt just right from the beginning and I haven’t thought about pursuing any other career path since then.

As an artist, tattooing is not only a way to put your art on someone else, it’s a way to help other people express themself and heal and grow. Tattooing is a form that actively engages the tattoo artist and the person who gets the tattoo. In the process, you get to know another person a lot more than you can expect and it requires a lot of trust from both sides. Over time, you realize you don’t create just for yourself, you create for the other person as well. Sometimes that creation helps them heal, deal with a past, remember, or celebrate something important to them. So you celebrate with them and sometimes it‘a just a decoration and you celebrate that too.

Recently got engaged with 83 Gallery here in Columbus. It is a fun place to be; it’s a very diverse, creative and supportive environment. Especially to young artists who often need the support and guidance the most.

I was finally able to launch my website and online store, www.isata2.art. There, you can get some amazing limited-edition prints from ISaTA2 or commission an artwork, sign up to the mailing list to be updated on all the new artwork and events, and more.

I’ll will also be showing a few of my pieces at the humAIn event in Columbus Ohio on October, 12th.

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?
Accountability, consistency (discipline), and appreciation of the process.

Accountability is liberating, you don’t lie to yourself and you don’t make excuses because there is no one else to blame. You take charge of your life.

Consistency and discipline give you a pace and allow you to execute what you need to do and improve every time. It is improvement to your business to you as a person and everything you do. It creates the compounding effect.

Appreciation for the process brings joy. Having a goal is important but enjoying the path to the goal creates passion for what you do. Everyone has a different path and different goals. Playing the comparison game instead of being inspired by others will only bring pain and confusion. You are exactly where you are supposed to be take another step with joy.

Be accountable and stop lying to yourself self, be compassionate with others, and be strict with yourself. Being strict with yourself means recognizing your mistakes and failures and learning from them not beating yourself up because of them. The growth is happening outside of your comfort zone and through failure. I have a friend who always says that clarity is in the doing. So you always win or learn.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. This book contains 366 passages, thought pieces, and meditations from stoic Philosophers for each day of the year. Each daily quote has a comment by Ryan Holiday that helps to place the daily passages in a contemporary context. It helped me to work on certain aspects of my life, recognize weak points, and work on them daily. The biggest takeout this year was a quote from Marcus Aurelius: “In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business.”
It’s simple, but not easy.

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