Story of the Week
The subject line read: “Pat, you changed my life. Please read.”
I clicked immediately, but part of me was worried this was the ultimate form of clickbait. Thankfully, I was wrong.
The email was from Michal Szfrankski, a man from Poland, and the 3000+ words in his email shook me to the core.
I’m not going to share the full email with you here, but to paraphrase, he had been suffering from depression after a bad snowboarding accident that broke both of his legs. He wasn’t able to work and his family (wife and two kids) had to take care of him at all times. In the email, he even included X-rays of his injuries and the bolts that were installed to heal his broken bones.
When he was bedridden, he randomly found my podcast and started listening to every episode as soon as it came out, and he kept listening while he was on his road to recovery.
“You talked about setting big goals for yourself that almost seem impossible,” he said, “so I decided to sign up to run a full marathon, even though both my legs were broken at the time.”
I couldn’t believe it. Michal said he had my podcast in his ears while he learned to walk again, went back to work, and completed physical therapy. At the end of the email, I saw this picture:
This is Michal, 11 months after he set that goal for himself, crossing the finish line of the Warsaw Marathon and holding a banner over his head to celebrate. It reads (translated): “Thank you, God, thank you to [his kids], and thank you Pat Flynn.”
By the time I got to this part of the email, the screen was blurry from the tears welling up in my eyes. Michal had listened to the show since episode 10, and I had no idea. I didn’t even know he existed until I got that email.
I also didn’t know how my podcast, which isn’t related to anything about physical therapy, helped Michal with his physical (and mental) therapy. I was about to quit because “the numbers weren’t attractive,” but Michal’s email reminded me why I got into this in the first place—to help people. And just as much as Michal needed me to get inspired to do something big, I needed him to remind me what the purpose of the show was in the first place.
I had lost my way, but this single email brought me back to the WHY behind it all.
Three really amazing things happened after I got the email from Michal:
First, obviously, I decided to keep at it with my show. As soon as I stopped focusing on the numbers and went back to the root of why I was creating the show, the numbers grew. The podcast has since become the platform that drives most of the traffic, revenue, SPI community members, and new opportunities that arise in my life. It’s incredible.
Second, Michal didn’t just passively listen to the podcast—he took action. While still recovering from his injury, he was studying online business through my podcast, and a year later he came out with his own blog and book about personal finance in Polish. He has since become the #1 self-published author in Poland, as well as holding the spot for the #1 podcast in all of Poland at one point. He has become a celebrity in the finance space in Poland, and it’s awesome.
Finally, his story has gone on to help and inspire hundreds of thousands of people around the world, so much so that other people have crossed their own finish lines at marathons holding his name up on a banner! The ripple effect is real!
The world turns and becomes a better place when people support and help one another. But if you stop because “the numbers aren’t good enough,” or because things get hard, then the ripples stop, and your ability to help others and receive the amazing returns that come with that over the long haul disappear.
Every few months I think back to the moment I read that email from Michal. I hope this email helps you keep going, to keep serving those who may be watching or listening without you even knowing it, and those who will eventually find you to
