Karolina Rzadkowolska ’16: Tapping into Self-Growth

For years, alcohol has long been a main player in bringing people together to socialize. But recently, an increasing number of people are trying to live their lives without booze.

Karolina Rzadkowolska ’16 (MBA) began exploring an alcohol-free life in 2018. She was tired of the social pressure to drink at every social occasion and each weekend. She hated the laundry list of repercussions that came with drinking: bad sleep, mood shifts and her overall physical well-being.

“There was a part of me that wanted to challenge this norm,” says Rzadkowolska. “Most of the time, when women get a break from alcohol, it’s because they’re pregnant. It’s ridiculous to me that being alcohol-free isn’t an acceptable choice in our society for casual drinkers even though it’s one of the healthiest things a person could do. People are still really judged for choosing not to drink.”

Unphased by the judgment she would receive, Rzadkowolska decided to flip the societal norm on its head and explore an alcohol-free lifestyle. She participated in her first-ever ‘Dry January,’ a movement that began in 2012 as an initiative by Alcohol Change UK to “ditch the hangover, reduce the waistline and save some serious money.”

“I fell in love with that break,” says Rzadkowolska. “I had more energy, my self-love was growing and I began discovering new hobbies.”

From that point on, everything began to change for Rzadkowolska. Her alcohol-free life inspired her to start a company and write a book that would help other sober-curious people take charge of their lives.

Rzadkowolska started her entrepreneurial journey with The Brink Small Business Development Center at the University of San Diego. In 2017, Rzadkowolska contributed to the successful launch of the center as a strategic initiatives manager at USD, after pursuing her MBA through the Knauss School of Business. 

After seeing how The Brink could help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, she decided to become a client herself and was instantly paired with a marketing mentor who helped her grow a clientele base.

Once Rzadkowolska had an audience, she saw the need to write a book to help guide people on their alcohol-free journeys. She always had an interest in writing a book but was paralyzed by the overwhelming thought of where to begin.

“I used to write all the time when I was younger. By the time I went to college and started drinking, I stopped writing. I remember having these New Year's resolutions, every week you’re going to write for 30 minutes. I would do it the first week and then stop. But when I went alcohol-free in 2018, all of a sudden, all of those limiting stories were like, ‘well, why couldn’t you write a book?’”

Rzadkowolska began with baby steps, writing 15 minutes a day. She then took a book proposal course and used The Brink’s accountability group to make sure she was taking daily actions to achieve her goal of becoming a published author.

Now, Rzadkowolska is a certified alcohol-free life coach and published author of the book Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You (HarperCollins 2022). It’s an eight-week guidebook for casual drinkers looking to transform their relationships with alcohol and tap into their self-growth as they learn about all the benefits of going alcohol-free. 

Rzadkowolska knows that eight weeks without alcohol may sound intimidating to some, but she says not everyone’s journey to an alcohol-free life will be the same.

“At first, you may just want to learn more about it, by reading a book or listening to a podcast, and ask yourself questions like, ‘when did this become an ingrained part of my life and why?' Then you try it out yourself by taking a break and learn first-hand about all the benefits.” 

Others may worry that going alcohol-free will isolate them from a social lifestyle, but Rzadkowolska says the non-alcoholic beverage industry is steadily growing, which points to the larger trend of more people ditching booze. Plus, new alcohol-free events and bars cater to this lifestyle. 

Non-alcoholic beverage sales increased 33 percent to $331 million in the US, between November 2020 and November 2021, according to data from Nielsen. Rzadkowolska says that number is forecasted to reach the billions in the coming years.

Rzadkowolska hopes to see this trend continue with more people begin exploring their options when it comes to drinking.

“Even if I help just one person discover their potential, that’s my deeper why for doing this.”

Beyond her book, Rzadkowolska also provides one-on-one coaching sessions, online courses and retreats for those looking to learn more about the sober curious movement. She also streams Euphoric the Podcast, which is available on Spotify, iTunes and Google Play.

Karolina will be a featured speaker at this year's Seven by Seven event hosted by the Knauss School of Business. Seven by Seven is inspired by TED talks and invites alumni to return to USD to share inspirational stories that highlight leadership, creativity and innovation. Get additional Seven by Seven information here. 

— Kelsey Grey ’15 (BA)