About Me

If you told me a few years ago when I was still in school that I would someday be living in Sweden and have a website selling programs that taught people Swedish, I would have choked on my burrito.

You see, when I was going to school in Los Angeles I was constantly in search of new musicians to play in my rock band. I was an ambitious singer/songwriter and I found that the other kids my age didn’t quite have the same focus as me. Frustrated by the lack of dedication I was finding in my peers, I decided to start playing solo at all the local coffee shops. It didn’t take long until I had made quite a name for myself in the scene.

Everytime I would get off stage people would approach me and say something like “God damn you are good, why don’t you have a band?”. Then I would go on to tell them about how I couldn’t find anyone who was serious, blah, blah, blah. It was embarrassing to tell the same sob story night after night.

One day after I got done playing one of my solo/acoustic shows, I guy came up to me and asked me the standard question “So where’s your band?” and once again I explianed the situation with a detailed account of my frustrations. However, instead of him responding with the usual “That’s too bad, you’ve got a lot of talent” and walking away, he actually gave me some advice.

First he asked me if I had tried putting up a classified ad on the internet and I said “Yes, of course, but still everyone I meet seems to be more of a hobbyist, nobody seems to really have what it takes to go all the way”. He then went on to ask me if I had ever heard of a certain small college for musicians in Hollywood. I had actually heard of the college and even planned on attending it myself after I finished school.

He asked me if I had been there and I said “No, not yet”. He said that there was a coffee shop next door to the school where all the students hang out and that I should go there and start making friends.

It sounded like a good idea, so I gave it a shot. When I got there, I saw a sign that said “No Smoking, No Fumar, Rökning Förbjuden”. I understood the English and Spanish, but what the hell was the third language?”

Well, when I started to make friends, I realized that a large portion of the student population consisted of Swedes. Apparently, Sweden has a student loan program that was recognized by this college, so it ended up getting flooded with Swedes.

Eventually I had made several Swedish friends and was even dating a Swedish girl. It didn’t take long until I was scavaging the libraries and book stores for books that could teach me Swedish. Everytime I went back to the coffee shop, I would try to impress my Swedish friends with all the new swedish words I knew.

It was a fun parlor trick for a while, but I eventually found myself really wanting to be able to SPEAK the language. It frustrated me when I saw the Swedes talking amongst themselves. They were laughing and telling jokes and I had no idea what they were talking about. I wanted to participate. Often times I would be the only American in a circle of Swedes. It was embarrassing for me to have everyone trying to translate the conversation into English.

I decided to study harder and searched the internet for programs. I even borrowed money so I could buy some famous computer programs. I was learning a little here and a little there, but nothing really seemed to click.

That’s when I knew I had to start developing my own method of learning. This is were the seeds for the “Find Your Flow” program started to germinate. When I started applying these principles that’s when my Swedish REALLY started to blossom.

Now when I saw my Swedish friends, I would actually try to hold conversations in Swedish. Of course my vocabulary was limited and I was making some grammatical errors, but I found myself actually being able to hold a conversation! It was the first time I had ever been able to hold real conversations in a foreign language. I was so excited, yet still frustrated that it didn’t flow like my native tongue.

So I went back to the drawing board and refined my techniques for teaching myself the language. I then instructed my swedish girlfriend and all of my swedish friends to speak ONLY Swedish with me, NO English. Everyone thought I was crazy, but they went along with my request.

I never did end up going to that music college and I never did find any musicians there that I felt suited my cause. I did learn Swedish however, and I had made many Swedish connections. Instead of going to college like a normal person, I decided to hit the road as a solo musician.

I booked several small european tours for myself throughout Scandinavia, Baltics, and various parts of East and West Europe. I used my Swedish connections to form a base in Sweden…a place to rest between tours. The tours went fairly well and I began to build a name as solo artist.

Eventaully, I went back to the USA and did some more touring there and was surviving on odd jobs between tours. After a while of being back in the States, I decided that it was time to go back to Europe again and remind everyone that I existed.

I booked a couple small tours again and I did really well (not too well financially, but the fans were great). People at the festivals were actually waiting for me to show up and asking for autographs. It was a nice feeling, but something was missing. I had been on the road for about 2 years. I was accumulating a fanbase (albeit small) but I still hadn’t found what I was looking for.

It was lonely on the road and sometimes I felt like a ghost. The line between fans and friends got blurry. I missed having friends. I missed having comradery. No man is an island and I wanted a band.

So I decided to give my solo career a rest and try and find a band. Since I was already in Europe and had very little money, I decided to go back to Sweden and set up base.

After a few months, I had found a group of guys that fit the bill. The guys that I had been looking for back in school, but never was able to find. Apparently, I couldn’t find them because they were in Sweden and not Los Angeles.

Destiny has a funny way of revealing itself. If I had never been so ambitious musically, I would have never learned Swedish. If I had never been so ambitious to learn Swedish, I would have never toured Europe or met my band.

Today, I live in Sweden with two Swedish roommates. One of them works full time as a (real) professor of the Swedish Language (in a school). I am also happy to say that things are going great with the band. In addition to my work in the field of entertainment, I also work as a physical fitness trainer.

I hope that Speak Swedish Stupid and the Find Your Flow program will enrich your life as much as learning Swedish has enriched my life. Welcome to the journey!

Best Wishes

Prof Paul