Knowing where we come from can give us the confidence to meet other people, places and ways of thinking with openness.
Living and working across three continents has given me many opportunities to encounter a different way of doing things. A new place asks us to listen again, question our assumptions and learn what matters to the people around us.
Over the years, my Polish roots have become more meaningful to me. Distance can make familiar traditions, language and the feeling of belonging stand out more clearly.
Roots can be a source of openness.
Knowing what we carry with us can make it easier to recognise what others carry too. We may have different histories, habits and expectations, yet understand the importance of being heard, respected and included.
On 11 November, I think of Poland and of the traditions that connect people across generations and across distance. The warmth of St Martin's celebrations belongs to that wider feeling of community: shared customs that can bring us back to something familiar.
International work begins with attention to the local reality.
In business, a shared language or a familiar product does not tell us everything about a market. We still need to understand how people build trust, make decisions and define a useful partnership. Experience from elsewhere can help us ask better questions. It also needs enough humility to leave room for answers we did not expect.
That matters in market development and in alliances. The strongest connection may come from recognising a genuine common interest while respecting the differences that shape how each side works.
My own path has connected places, people and professional chapters. It has also made me more aware of what remains important wherever I am: trust, relationships and the willingness to keep learning.
We can carry our roots with us and keep our horizons open.
I build trust before I build business.