The Smiling Warrior: Wojtek Justyna on Music, Mindset & Momentum

Michelle Lynne: Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Fearless Artist Podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Lynne, and today I’m very happy to have my new friend, Wojtek, on. Hey, Wojtek, welcome.

Wojtek Justyna: Hi Michelle. Thank you so much for—

Michelle Lynne: —having me… How did I do on your name? We practiced. Thank you.

Wojtek Justyna: I’ve explained the pronunciation to you and you nailed it.

Michelle Lynne: Thank you. That’s really good to hear. It’s like those last-minute pressure points—the stage pressure’s working. Okay, we had a great episode on your podcast actually, and we got connected through Instagram, uh, because we both have affiliation with Codarts. I know you’ve taught some workshops at the Codarts Institute in Rotterdam, where I am on faculty for entrepreneurship.

So yeah, you have some great content around what life is like as a musician. You’re a guitarist, composer, you’re in the jazz world. You’re also currently touring—you’re in Canada right now. Shout out to the Canadians listening. If you could just intro to our audience, that’d be great.

Wojtek Justyna: I’m originally from Poland, and I picked up the guitar when I was around 14 years old. I actually studied classical music for a very long time, and I know quite a bit about that world. I’m really happy to see you coming from a classical world—I’m really happy to see people from that community coming out and being more active on social media and promoting themselves. Well, 20 years ago—or even longer, 30 years ago when I started playing—that was nonexistent.

You know, building a career in the classical music industry is very challenging, so I know that world a little bit. But at some point, I transitioned into playing more popular music—let’s call it that for lack of a better word—into jazz. After some 10 years of studying classical music, when it was time to choose what I was going to do, what I was going to study, I decided to go in the jazz direction. That’s what actually brought me to Holland, where I moved from Poland in 2004 and studied at the conservatory in The Hague.

Michelle Lynne: Nice.

Wojtek Justyna: Yeah, I stayed for almost 20 years. During my studies, I started my group, which is the TreeOh!, which I have been playing with and touring around the world.

Michelle Lynne: Wait, we have to say how that’s spelled. ‘Cause it’s literally TREE dash O, right?

Wojtek Justyna: That’s right.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah, okay.

Wojtek Justyna: One word—TreeOh!

Michelle Lynne: Oh!

Wojtek Justyna: T-R-E-E-H-O!

Michelle Lynne: No, wait—there’s an exclamation point in it.

Wojtek Justyna: There’s even an exclamation—it’s like, “TreeOh!”

Michelle Lynne: I thought you were just being enthusiastic in your Instagram bio. Okay. That is cool. That’s fun.

Wojtek Justyna: So it started as a trio. You know, in jazz music there’s the John Scofield Trio, the Elvin Jones Trio, whatever. I kind of followed in that line, but I wanted it to be a bit different, so I decided to spell “trio” in a phonetic way.

I’ve always had this idea because I’ve always been interested in a lot of different musical genres. And being in the pop world—and, you know, guitar is also linked to rock music—I have a very broad musical background and played a lot of different styles. I always thought that I was going to be a kind of session musician, playing behind different artists, and that’s how I would make my money. Then I’d do my own jazz thing, my own music, on the side.

But at a certain point, I really decided to dive in 100% into my own music—into building my band with my friends who I’ve played with since our studies. In the past 10 years, we’ve released three albums and been on tour literally worldwide. We’ve been to India, we’ve been to South Korea, we’ve been to Canada, we’ve been all over Europe. And I hope to continue doing that for the coming years—recording new music, releasing new music, and building a business around that.

Michelle Lynne: That’s awesome. Yeah. And all of your stuff is on Spotify. I’m seeing this.

Wojtek Justyna: Yes, all the stuff is on Spotify, and of course on social media—Instagram, Facebook—that’s where I’m most present. And of course, I don’t know if people still go to websites these days, but everything is on my website.

Michelle Lynne: I’m just reading the “Funk on the bottom, world jazz on top.” I think that’s a really cool branding little tagline. Yeah.

Okay, so I know you also teach these workshops. I mean, I’m right after this going to listen to your funky band. But I mean, we connected because you do a lot of content—talking head content—you’re out in the forest, and you’re sharing ideas as a musician.

So I’d love to know, what’s your message? Who are you trying to reach? What do you want to see changing in the music industry?

Wojtek Justyna: You know, we hear now that, yeah, you gotta get on social media, right? Social media is the way to build your brand and grow as an artist. That’s really the channel right now for reaching people. And I think, as you know—and I’m sure you’ve experienced that yourself and also through your community—everyone struggles with that.

I started my professional career almost 25 years ago. So, really, I started when there was no social media.

Michelle Lynne: Yep. Yep.

Wojtek Justyna: We used to go to clubs to ask for gigs. I remember literally not having a cell phone and just calling people on the landline…

So I’ve seen the developments—coming from that up until now where everything is online, everything is on social media. And I find it’s a great tool for building your brand, promoting yourself, but also a way of artistic expression.

And there’s always this kind of insecurity linked to social media and putting yourself out there and promoting yourself and saying whatever it is you want to say—or playing a little bit of music or sharing stuff from your life or from your concerts, performances, whatever. I’m like everyone—in the process of overcoming that and finding ways to encourage people and share my musical journey with them, and sharing my ideas around that, sharing my experiences.

You know, through building my own career for the past… You know, I think what I see from people that I talk to—my students and people that I coach—is that there’s this kind of thing: “Oh, people are not watching my stuff,” or “People are not answering my emails,” or “I can’t get any gigs.” But the thing is, we’re all in the same boat. I think we’re all struggling with the same thing. I struggle to pick up the phone and say something. I struggle to share stuff that I play. We all have these challenges, and we should encourage and support each other in overcoming that and putting ourselves out there.

Michelle Lynne: Mm. Mm-hmm. I find your content very relatable. I think you come across as you are. Like, if I talk to you now, it’s like—you are exactly as I expect from your content. You do a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff. You’re doing stuff from the road, you’re doing backstage stuff…

Wojtek Justyna: Yeah.

Michelle Lynne: Why is it important for you?

So, what I wanted to say is—I’m surprised to hear that you say that it’s a challenge for you because, to me, it looks very organic. It looks like you’re sharing naturally. So tell me a little bit more about this internal wrestling that you have, because I know that can speak to a lot of people listening who are feeling the same way.

Wojtek Justyna: Well, thank you so much for saying that. And I think this really also nails the point that I think is important for social media—or, I mean, it’s just about being who you are, you know?

Michelle Lynne: Mm.

Wojtek Justyna: And it’s—you know, social media and real life are now so connected that it’s almost becoming one thing. But there’s this insecurity that we have to deal with—that there is some kind of expectation from others. Or maybe, you know, the things that we think people are expecting of us is more of a mirror of yourself and your own insecurities.

It’s easiest to be yourself, but it’s also very difficult. It’s difficult to cross that barrier. It’s like you’re thinking, “Okay, what can I share? What is valuable? What is cool?” I just try to push myself into being, “Okay, I’m backstage. I’m gonna say a few words,” or these little posts that I do every day when I’m back home—I have a morning routine that involves a morning walk.

That has become a way for me to start my day on a good note.

Michelle Lynne: Mm-hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: Being active. You know, the stuff that I think everyone I talk to has the same challenges—we want to exercise, we want to find time to practice, we want to find time for family, we want to find time to do business, we want to find time for social media—and it can be overwhelming.

Michelle Lynne: Yes.

Wojtek Justyna: You know, I go for a walk in the morning just to clear my mind. It’s kind of a meditation for me. There’s no real purpose in that except for me to… you know, the accountability. That I did it. And I say, “Hey guys, listen—it was tough today to get out of bed, but I’m here. The birds are singing. It’s gonna be a great day.” And I hope, you know, you’re facing your challenges as well.

These morning posts have just been a way for me to hold myself accountable—first of all to myself, but also to people who are out there, interested in music, and just kind of being a voice of encouragement. And sometimes it’s tricky for me, but you know—I just do it.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing that. I know as musicians, because we don’t have this framework of how our day runs every day—like someone who works a nine-to-five—they have a routine. They have to be at the office by nine, they leave at 8:15, whatever. They have to have breakfast before that. You can reverse-engineer your day.

But for us, it’s like, well, we don’t have to actually do anything if we don’t want to—or unless there’s something on the schedule, right?

Wojtek Justyna: Yeah.

Michelle Lynne: Today, this podcast was the first thing I had scheduled in my day. It’s 5:00 PM.

Wojtek Justyna: Right.

Michelle Lynne: I had the whole day to do whatever I want, and that can be the most crippling thing for creatives. Because I’ve got all these ideas and I’ve got all this time, but I also have 1 million obligations and text messages coming in. Oh, and then I jump on my phone and now I’m pulled into a loop there. So it’s very difficult to navigate.

Like, I mean, most of the things we talk about in our membership are time management and energy management. And I was telling someone the other day—I think for the next 40 years, I’m going to wake up at 80 years old and be like, “Okay, how can I best use my energy today?” Like, we’re going to be talking about this for the rest of our lives because this is what we have—these are our resources: time and energy. So how can we best spend them to have the most impact?

I mean, what I pull from your content is a very positive message. I also want to ask you about the Smiling Warrior branding you have happening, because I find it very encouraging.

I know for me too—first of all, I applaud you for making a morning post. That’s insane to me. Like, I don’t appear on camera before 2:00 PM minimum.

Wojtek Justyna: Yeah.

Michelle Lynne: Like, I don’t film in the morning because I need time to process my own thoughts. So the fact that you’re taking your own energy to encourage your audience—I think is really beautiful. So I’d love for you to talk about—did you notice an impact on your audience? Did people give you feedback around that? And then, if you want to, tell us about the Smiling Warrior.

Wojtek Justyna: Sure, yeah, definitely. You know, here’s another thing I struggle with. I wish I could find the discipline to post more varied content, you know? But I’m like, “Okay, I’m just going to start with this daily post.”

Michelle Lynne: Mm-hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: There are other things—me playing, and stuff from the road—that I try to post. But sometimes there are two things for me. One thing is the regular thing. Sometimes I record myself playing, and I’m like, “Ah no—there I made a mistake,” or “The timing is not right.”

You know, I have to kind of overcome the insecurity of that. It’s like—people don’t care about that. That’s all in your head, you know? But I also struggle with that. So I wish I could be doing more of that—showing more stuff from the road and being more active in that way to have more varied content.

But sometimes it’s so busy on the road. When you’re self-managing yourself, you have to talk to the programmer, you have to talk to the booker, you have to make sure everything is on stage…

I think 100% of the people I speak to have the same difficulties and struggles that I do.

When I moved to Holland, people would ask me, “Oh, Wojtek, what a… what? A strange name.” You know? “Are you a DJ? What is that? That’s really… what a modern name.”

Michelle Lynne: Like Avicii.

Wojtek Justyna: Yeah. Or—

Michelle Lynne: Yeah.

Wojtek Justyna: Exactly. Something like that. And actually, it’s just a very normal, very standard—even old-fashioned—Polish name. And people would ask me, “What does it mean?” I’d never given it any thought, but I Googled what the name means… and my name actually means “a person who is happy to go to war” or “a smiling warrior.”

So, that brand has actually been handed down to me unknowingly by my parents—through my name.

Michelle Lynne: Hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: And the funny thing is—it really sums up my character. Because I really love challenges, you know? I’m the most happy when I’m pushing against something. The struggle, the difficulties, the challenges… And you know, a career choice of being a musician is a challenge in itself.

I don’t find myself a naturally gifted musician, but I just love music—and that love has given me the strength to overcome these challenges. I was in music school in Poland, and I would just get my ass kicked by the teachers. They would be like, “Dude, what are you even doing here? What do you want to do with music? You’re not doing great…”

I struggled with a lot of those things, but overcoming has just been a theme of my life.

Michelle Lynne: Hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: I think I’m a great example of how hard work beats talent. If you love something and put in the work, you can really do anything—you can build your life around the things that you love to do.

Michelle Lynne: Hard work beats talent. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we talk about that a lot. One of the books I use in my curriculum for Codarts’ entrepreneurship classes is Beyond Talent by Angela Myles Beeching. Are you familiar?

Wojtek Justyna: Uh, yeah. That was the book that got me started—or grew my awareness of the fact that musical ability is one thing, but there’s this whole other skill set that you have to master to be a musician and to be a music entrepreneur.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah, exactly. Anybody listening who hasn’t gotten that yet—definitely recommend it. And she actually came onto the podcast, so check out that episode. Yeah, she’s lovely. Beyond Talent—just talking about everything, because you can be the most talented musician— I tell this to the students—you can be the most talented musician playing for nobody because you don’t know how to build an audience.

And I think what you mentioned at the beginning of this episode is: learning to build this fan base—there are challenges with it. But I’m a big believer in showing your face on camera. That’s why also I think we connected—because I watch your talking heads. I love the positivity.

Wojtek Justyna: I saw your content that I really loved. You know, I resonated with what you were saying. I’ve been following you for a while and I’ve seen you grow in what you do—and also being more and more open about your struggles and difficulties. And it’s great to see you growing in that.

I know that you have a community around what you’re doing, and you are a supportive and positive voice within that. So, good on you, Michelle. I’m really happy to see your growth as well.

Michelle Lynne: That’s so nice. Thank you so much. Yeah, things have grown a lot. I’m a little bit surprised. You know, you reap what you sow. And we’ve been sowing for so long—and I say “we” because Deanna’s been… you know, we’ve been doing TFA for five years, even though she’s on mat leave right now. And I’m just so grateful, because we came to this… there’s a tipping point.

And my vocal coach always used to encourage me with this—he’s like, “There is a tipping point. Right now you’re just climbing up, up, up, up, up, but you will get into the flow. You just have to keep going.” And it’s that one—it’s the next hammer hit that breaks the rock. But you don’t know which hammer hit it is. So you have to keep hitting the rock.

And that’s what I’m reminded of a little bit when you say “going into battle smiling.” ’Cause it’s like—yeah, we are fighting for something, and we’re standing for something that we believe in. We’re passionate about what we do. We want to bring change. We want to bring music to audiences. And it costs us everything.

I mean, there’s no manual for this. That’s why I think community is so important.

Wojtek Justyna: Definitely.

Michelle Lynne: Share with me a little bit about what you teach. You mentioned coaching—what’s the message that you’re bringing?

Wojtek Justyna: Well, you know, there’s a lot that has to do with the technicalities of just being a musician. And I talk a lot about, first of all, the creative process—creating your music.

Because I write music, and I’ve always kind of—also because of the fact that I never considered myself a very good musician—and maybe that’s a skill that you develop, you know. So hopefully, I’m doing better in that. It’s a life’s work to develop musical skills.

Michelle Lynne: Yes, it is a life’s work. Yeah.

Wojtek Justyna: That’s one thing. But first of all, my inspirations were always musicians who played their own music, right?

Michelle Lynne: Mm. Mm-hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: And in a way—as much as I love playing classical music, and that was my introduction into music, playing classical guitar—as much as I liked performing the pieces and developing my technique on the instrument, it was always like… “Okay, this is the piece, and you’re supposed to play it like that,” and they’re checking every note. That didn’t really resonate with me.

But when I step back and see where my inspirations were, they were always with musicians who were writing and performing their own music. So I was like, “Okay, I want to do that.”

And then, on the other hand, I was like, “If I write my own music, nobody’s going to beat me at that.” Because it’s my stuff, you know? I’m not going to be put up against somebody who performs Piece A at this or that tempo. I’ll be judged based on my own merit.

And if there’s any natural musical ability that I have, it’s the ability to dare to write my own music. I think I’ve developed—and have a bit of a natural knack for—that. But I’ve also developed my own compositional style throughout the years.

And that, for me, is the most fun: creating music. From the inspiration, the idea, through developing that little seed into a bigger piece of music, through recording… And, you know, I also talk about recording music—so the whole kind of studio process—and also getting into a lot of technical details that shape the sound of the music you’re creating. The whole process of releasing and planning tours, promoting your releases…

So one of the courses that I’m most passionate about is called The Creation Cycle, which really takes you from the moment of creation to releasing, to touring—and kind of rinse and repeat, doing that all over again.

So everything that goes into the creative and business process of releasing an album or a piece of music and going on tour with that—and all the little details that go into that. A lot of it is, you know, just: how to write an email, what needs to be in the email, how far in advance you should reach out… the whole planning of a release, the whole planning of a tour.

Really getting into technical details that nobody really tells you if you’re studying that at school.

Michelle Lynne: Mm-hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: And it’s stuff that you really have to discover for yourself. And I basically give a manual for that in my workshops.

Michelle Lynne: So why is this important to you? Why have you invested so much time in developing this resource for these people?

Wojtek Justyna: It’s because of my love of music, you know? And my appreciation of other people’s talents. What I’ve experienced is—okay, there were all these people around me, most of them much more talented. And a lot of them had better skills as musicians, and I see them stop doing music.

You know, a lot of the people that I studied with have gone on to doing other things and could not find their way within a musical career. I’m sad because of that—because I’m sad that my friends, whose music I love, who are talented musicians, great players, who have so much to say and so much to give musically to the world—they have so much beauty to offer…

I had these conversations, and a lot of them told me, “Yeah, but I really don’t know how to do this.” Like, “I sent an email and nobody answers me,” or, “It costs so much money to make an album—where am I supposed to get this money?”

Michelle Lynne: Yes.

Wojtek Justyna: And then life takes over.

Michelle Lynne: Yep.

Wojtek Justyna: You make choices. And music is still a part of their lives, but it’s really on the back burner. It’s become a sort of hobby—while they could be sharing that with the world and enjoying a musical life.

Instead, maybe they have a different job or chose a completely different career or gave up music in general. So that has actually been my inspiration—to create a system, and to create clear steps that, in my opinion, need to be followed to get you from point A to point B in building your musical career.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah. I mean, the fact that you’re taking time and energy and resources to help others so that they can shine their gifts—that just speaks volumes about the type of person you are. I think that’s a really beautiful way to use your gift.

Because there are two things we can do—either we can pour all of our time and energy into ourselves, but then it becomes a little bit self-absorbed. I mean, somebody recently asked me too, like, “Why do you do The Fearless Artist?” He’s like, “It just pours out of you.” And I’m like, “I don’t know. I just have to do it.” And sometimes I ask myself, like, I’m helping so many musicians go after their dreams—which means it’s taking away time for me to go after my own dreams. I’m like, wait—where’s the balance in this too?

And so finding that balance… and then it means I’ve had to let go of other things and just focus on these two areas of my life. So it’s always, as you’re saying, a process and a discovery.

And if you don’t know how to do it—it sounds like you must have a book coming. Because you gotta write all this down and get it out for the world.

Wojtek Justyna: I have a little book where all these ideas are put together.

Michelle Lynne: Okay.

Wojtek Justyna: And I just share it with people. So if you go on my Instagram—which I’m sure we’ll link in the description of this video…

Michelle Lynne: And you—

Wojtek Justyna: You send me a message asking for my book, which goes together with the workshops that I give. But everything is kind of presented in a clear way. I’m happy to send it to you.

Michelle Lynne: Okay, so what should they DM you? Because this is great—I’m going to do it right now because I need this.

Wojtek Justyna: Um…

Michelle Lynne: I want to see this.

Wojtek Justyna: DM me: “Creation Cycle.”

Michelle Lynne: “Creation Cycle.” I love that. Okay, do you want to spell out your Instagram for us so everybody can go follow you?

Wojtek Justyna: Here we go. So: @wojtekjustyna — W-O-J-T-E-K J-U-S-T-Y-N-A. Of course with the @. It’s a complicated name. The biggest challenge is figuring out the spelling. But let’s put a link—that’s going to be easier, and I’m sure people can find it.

Michelle Lynne: Absolutely. We’re going to put a link. Hey, is there anything else that you wanted to share that I didn’t touch on?

Wojtek Justyna: You know, you mentioned the whole story about how we have to create our own day, in a way—and that there are… many things. And if you go to work, you know—you have a nine-to-five—it’s really like, the tasks are planned out for you. And a thought popped into my mind. You know, what I have… it’s like this podcast is about my problems in life and my struggles. But I find that extremely important—or what has worked for me—is, you know… and what I also struggle with… is discipline. Being disciplined in your work is absolutely key.

Michelle Lynne: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: What I encourage everybody to do is to really—and this is also part of my Creation Cycle spiel—planning. For me, planning is just huge. It’s number one.

Having a plan for your day. Having a plan for your week. Having a plan for the month—what you want to achieve in the half-year, where you want to be in three to five years, how you want your life to look in ten… is extremely important. And it has helped me a lot, just finding a good flow in my work and in my life.

Artists have this thing—we’re kind of always a bit free-spirited. And it’s easy for us to get distracted with things. It’s easy for us to put things away. Because maybe, you know, we get into playing or practicing or writing music. And then other things that essentially move our careers forward really take… are put into second place—or third or fourth place.

What has helped me a lot—and what I encourage everybody to do—is to really plan your day. Plan the day that you would like to have. A day that has time for yourself. That has time to take care of your body, your mind.

Mindfulness is a big thing for me.

Michelle Lynne: Mm. Mm-hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: Activity is a thing—so I try to get those things out in the morning. So again, my morning walk and this little post is a part of that discipline.

And then finding time to practice—without distractions. Putting your phone away. Making sure you keep your chops up, that you’re prepared for your concert, you’re prepared for what you’re doing.

Finding time in between that to take a breath—to sit down and maybe have a coffee with a loved one or connect with friends. Or finding a moment to sit on the balcony in the sun for a little bit, just to take a breather.

And then jump into doing business things for a while. And finding your own flow and discipline in that. And then, finding time for other things in life—because life isn’t just work. So making sure that you’re eating properly, that you find time to be with friends or maybe see a show or whatever—is very important.

And I try to structure my day so that all the kind of nourishment for my soul and my mind are all there. That I have this flow in every day, in every week. As you mentioned, there are a lot of things that we need to do, and it can be really overwhelming.

But putting all these things into little boxes—little time compartments during the day—where you’re only busy with that, and limiting the distractions, it really creates a very nice flow throughout the day.

And once you get into that, the work just kind of… you know, it all just has a nice flow to it. I think that’s the best word. And once you do that for a week, two, three weeks—three months—you really start moving forward.

The stress levels are low because you are in a nice flow that gives you the security: “Okay, I’m doing all these things. I’m taking care of myself. I’m taking care of my musicality. I’m taking care of the business. I’m taking care of my relationships.” It just creates a very comfortable and relaxed feeling.

Michelle Lynne: I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that. And yeah, that ties back in really beautifully with what we were talking about at the beginning—energy management.

I know things for me really improved when I got serious about tracking. Tracking how much time I put into TFA every week. I use Clockify. Also my practicing—I track how many hours a week I’m practicing. And then every Monday morning, I get an email with a summary of where I spent my time last week that I was tracking. I’ve got a system to track my workouts.

So yeah—having these pillars in place can really help you find this kind of routine through the chaos. Especially—you know what it’s like to be on the road. So I think having these things that you’re mentioning—and then also the importance of accountability. Having people asking you, “Hey, how’s it going?” Checking in with your projects.

I know the producer of my album sent me a text message this morning like, “Hey, I was supposed to hear from you.” And I’m like, “Hi, I’ve been avoiding writing you for three weeks now.”

So yeah—I think that’s where the power of accountability really comes in.

Wojtek Justyna: Definitely. And goals—you know, I think you should have goals set for yourself. They don’t have to be huge things—although it’s very helpful to know where you’re going in a bigger picture.

But even if I sit down to practice—what is my goal for this 30 minutes of a practice session? What is my goal today?

Maybe I have to reach out to… there are some deadlines or certain clubs or festivals I need to contact. And I have an hour for that—to get those emails out. Writing it down and then ticking it off. Keeping track of what you’re doing. And also having that feeling: “Okay, I achieved something.”

Because I have this feeling a lot of the time—“Okay, I’m doing, I’m doing, I’m doing a lot of stuff… but I’m not moving forward.”

Michelle Lynne: Yeah.

Wojtek Justyna: So saying, “Okay, look, I sent this one email. I spent 30 minutes practicing.” And journaling is also a big thing for me—of sitting down to bring me closer to where I want to be as a person, as a musician.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah, it’s beautiful. Actually, this morning I started off with a question: “What are you looking forward to today?” And that’s a question that helps me a lot in my own mental state early in the morning.

And also—I put it on my Instagram stories for fun, and I got some really nice responses from people. And also just for me, this conversation was what I was looking forward to.

So I just want to say thank you so much for your…

Wojtek Justyna: For me as well.

Michelle Lynne: Yeah—your positivity, your energy, what you’re bringing to the music world. For everybody listening—if you had an action point for them today that they have to go do right now from what you’ve shared, what would it be?

Wojtek Justyna: Um… yeah, I’m going to go with yours: Write down what you are looking forward to today. You know?

Michelle Lynne: Hmm.

Wojtek Justyna: Here in Canada, the day has just started. In Europe, it’s a bit later. But just think about what you’re looking forward to today. Maybe you’re going to have a nice dinner with your family. Maybe you’re going to have a show later today. Maybe you’re looking forward to watching your favorite episode on Netflix.

Really sit down and think about what it is that you’re looking forward to. And then when that moment comes—really be aware of it and be like, “Ah, yeah. This is the thing that I was looking forward to.” Enjoy today. And really be present with it. Sit with it. I really think that’s super important, you know?

Michelle Lynne: I love that so much. Wojtek, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom on the episode. We’re going to put your socials in the handle so everyone can go follow you. DM him “Creation Cycle,” is that right? And they’re going to get that book that you’re writing.

Wojtek Justyna: Yes, Creation Cycle. I already sent you a message, so…

Michelle Lynne: Yeah! Thanks so much for coming on, and we hope to see you again in the next one.

Wojtek Justyna: Thank you so much, Michelle. Thank you for having me—and best of luck with everything.

Michelle Lynne: That’s so nice. Thanks.