If you can dream about something you can also do it

“I believe that success comes when we can enjoy each lesson that life brings”, says Piotr Kopeć, coach, trainer and organiser of the Think BIG conference in an interview with Brin Best.

When did you first come to live in the UK and what brought you here?
“I moved to the UK with my family in 2015 – my wife and my children Kacper (age 13) and Zuzanna (age 15). There were two main reasons for the move. First, my children. I wanted them to learn how to speak English like a native speaker, and to study in a British school. Second, I wanted to learn how to do business in the UK and with English partners. I wanted to expand my business to the international arena. I’m also passionate about learning about different cultures, and to me it’s best to live and work among people of other nationalities. That’s why I live in a small town near Bristol, because these towns are more ‘English’ than big cities. Moving to the UK has been an exciting experience for me and my family.”

How easy did you find it to settle into life here? Did you find you were accepted by British people?
“The biggest problem with moving to the UK is that it’s not easy to rent a house without a history of living in this country. Right at the beginning we noticed that Brits like people who smile a lot. As we’re a very kind family who love to smile, we got much sympathy from people here. Even though I don’t speak good English I’ve received a lot of kindness in the UK. People don’t care what nationality I am, they just want to help me. This welcome made it easy for me and my family to settle in here.”

Describe a typical day in your working life today.
“After taking my children to school I eat breakfast with my wife, sometimes at a local cafe. We like to reflect on things that have happened in previous days, and try to draw wider conclusions from these events.
After that I get down to work. ‘Work’ is not a good term because I do what I like and I like what I’m doing! I specialize in personal development, creating business development strategies and working on information technology projects (such as web development). For me it’s like art: I feel like an artist who creates new works of art.
After picking up my children from school we have dinner together and then go on a family walk. Then, I go back to my work and my children go about their evening activities. I usually work till late in the evening – or even through the night – because I often become so absorbed in a project that I forget about the world around me.”

You’re organising an exciting-sounding conference in Bristol in March – Think BIG. What is the purpose of this event?
“I believe that success comes when we can enjoy each lesson that life brings, and it was in that spirit that the forthcoming conference was set up. The event aims to encourage people to think big and achieve their dreams. We have guest speakers from Poland and the goal is to create a collaborative learning environment, enabling people to move forward in their lives with confidence.
Through past events we’ve put together a really supportive team of people. The mutual assistance provided through this network allows us all to make progress without fearing what will happen tomorrow. We feel confident because there’s always a helpful bunch of people around us.”

You’re obviously somebody who feels that personal development is really important. Where do you think this interest in people comes from?
“I think personal development gives us the tools to understand ourselves, and to create a better version of ourselves. Personal development is available to everyone, but not everyone is ready for it because it brings a life change.
For example, Walt Disney said, ‘If you can dream about something you can also do it’, but some people remain wrapped-up in the dream, and never achieve it. Personal development is there to show them the opportunities and help them achieve their dreams. And all this without turning their lives ‘upside down’; instead providing a simple and accessible way for them to grow as individuals.”

Your children are growing up Polish in the UK and have attended British Schools for several years. How have they found life here?
“My children are happy that they’re living and studying here, and they very much enjoy being in the UK. They feel Polish because they were born in Poland, but they respect all other nationalities because for them it doesn’t matter where someone was born. They feel like they’re at home here, have their friendships here and plan to live here for a long time.”

In what ways do you think you’ve made a positive contribution to the UK?
“I hope, through my work on personal development and by using my varied skills, to create transnational projects which bring much greater benefits for all those who choose to cooperate. I’m working in the UK, enabling people who live here to benefit initially. To help with this process I will be creating the Think BIG conference and web-based applications for business collaboration.”

What are your plans for the future?
“To live in a society without borders, which understands that we all are connected together – and to play a role in co-creating it. I have a very strong sense that I’m a citizen of the world, can live anywhere and feel good there.”

MORE INFORMATION:
Think BIG conference, Bristol – 19 March 2017
www.thethinkbig.org

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This interview was carried out as part of the ‘Poles in the UK’ project, and is linked to the book Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation (by Brin Best & Maria Helena Żukowska, 2016).

For more details see the Poles in the UK Facebook page and www.polesintheuk.net.