Stephen Skwierczynski on the pressures men don’t talk about

What happens when success, security, and achievement stop answering the deeper questions you’re asking about your life?

In this episode, Stephen Skwierczynski shares his journey from physiotherapy to high-performing software sales - and ultimately working alongside an indigenous community in Colombia to help build the first indigenous-owned stingless beekeeping school in the Sierra Nevada.

After years of suppressing his curiosity and intuition in favour of validation, money, and achievement, Stephen began to experience anxiety, physical illness, and a growing sense of disconnection. What followed was a series of experiences - silent retreats, darkness retreats, vision quests, and time in nature - that helped him step out of the system and reimagine what leadership, impact, and success could look like.

The conversation explores curiosity as a compass, the cost of ignoring your body’s signals, and how creating space - not answers - can radically change the direction of your life. Stephen reflects on identity, masculinity, vulnerability, and why reciprocity, not extraction, now sits at the centre of his work.

This is an honest, grounded discussion for anyone questioning the path they’re on - especially high achievers who sense there must be a way to build success without sacrificing meaning, health, or integrity.

In this episode, we explore:

• What it feels like to succeed on paper but feel disconnected inside
• Suppressing intuition - and how the body eventually pushes back
• From physiotherapy to software sales - and falling into “the system”
• Validation, achievement, and the hidden cost of high performance
• Creating space through silence, retreats, and time in nature
• Why curiosity matters more than having a ten-year plan
• Masculinity, vulnerability, and redefining strength
• Indigenous wisdom, reciprocity, and working with nature - not against it
• Building a regenerative education project with an indigenous community in Colombia
• How small, grounded choices can lead to unexpected life shifts

Who this episode is for:

• Professionals questioning whether their career still fits
• High achievers experiencing burnout, anxiety, or numbness
• People curious about alternative paths to leadership and impact
• Anyone feeling trapped by success they once wanted
• Listeners interested in purpose, nature, and regenerative models of work

About the guest:

Stephen Skwierczynski is a former physiotherapist and software sales leader turned impact-driven entrepreneur and facilitator. After nearly a decade in the corporate world, Stephen stepped away to explore leadership, psychology, and human connection through retreats, coaching, and work with indigenous communities.

He is currently working alongside the Arawak people in Colombia to help build the first indigenous-owned stingless beekeeping school in the Sierra Nevada - a project focused on education, ecological regeneration, and reciprocity between people and land. Donate to support Stephen's work here.

Connect with Stephen:

https://instagram.com/stephen_wayfinder

https://instagram.com/guardians_laangelita

https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresilienceproject

https://www.laangelita.org

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/guardians-of-la-a

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