Worthy Men, Fifth Edition: Akira Chan

Who: Akira Chan (IG: @akirachan)

Occupation: Founder of Rare Media(raremedia.tv)(akirachan.com)

Location: Depends on what day you ask!

Akira is a friend, client and basically… a Super-Man. He is such a special soul. He is one of those people that has 1,098 things going on at one time yet somehow makes each person that he comes into contact with feel like he or she is the only thing that matters. I call it extreme presence, and he has it.

Akira owns a company called Rare Media with his partner, Renee, whom I have had the privilege of knowing even before I met Akira. They are a powerhouse couple doing great things for this planet, and I feel honored and grateful to get to see them, even for a quick second around Encinitas when they aren’t traveling around the world.

Akira’s work can represent who and what he is all about more than my words. One of the things they have up their sleeve is a documentary and art platform called “Artists for Addicts”; the trailer can be seen at www.artistsforaddicts.com. It sheds light on the highly avoided topic of addiction by using art as a force for good to not only help people who have developed addiction problems, but also to increase understanding about what addiction actually is, where it comes from and how to truly heal it. Most people have been touched by addiction of some sort- whether themselves, a friend, partner or family member… and I highly recommend checking it out.

Another original video that I consider a must-see is “Where are the Men?”, which is a call and tribute to the Modern Man and provides inspiration and insight into today’s top social issues. Men and women both can get a lot out of the piece, and it can be found directly on his home page: www.akirachan.com

Thank you Akira, just for being you and doing what you do. It affects us all in a big way.

Sat nam,

Elise

1) Who are you?

I’m a mixed race (Half Japanese, Quarter Chinese, Quarter White) explorer and lover of life, using my capabilities to contribute a little more beauty in the world.
I currently do that through my production company Rare Media, with the help of my wonderful partner Renee Airya, and our amazing team.

2) What is the greatest challenge you have overcome/are overcoming ?

My greatest challenge is maintaining my center, my essence, through large waves of personal, professional and social growth.
Growing a business can feel like building a little log cabin in some raw and wild land, where you’re constantly dealing with seasonal shifts…feast, famine, glorious sunrises, followed by monsoons.
And with that comes learning many new skills and conquering many fears – like public speaking and having tough conversations. It’s been challenging to not lose myself, or my identity, through all of this.
There are #winning days that feel triumphant – where I’m in awe of the team – satisfied with my leadership – days we’ve pulled off massive feats like delivering a dozen projects on time and within budget. Then there are the #fail days where I feel like I’m lost – fires are starting everywhere – days that I’m longing to return to being a solo freelance artist, running around at festivals and collaborating with friends on simple video projects. But at the end of the day, I know I’ve made a permanent and powerful decision to hop on the path I’m on – and I like who I’m becoming with all of the temperance.

3) What have you learned?

I’ve learned to build on my strengths rather than strengthen my weaknesses.
I’ll share a personal story here. One of the reasons I became so enamored with filmmaking in the first place, was a beautiful experience I had at 11 years old. I had a class assignment to interview a grandparent, and I decided to sit down with my strong, proud and stern grandfather – a man I highly respected but knew little about.
Instead of writing down the answers, I set up the family camera for a video interview. My first question to him triggered an emotional response….and he broke down crying. It was an incredible moment of bonding between us, but it also taught me about the power of listening to people, and recording stories.
So these days, I’m focusing on my strength of listening and producing emotional stories.
It’s a place I love to be, and a constant demonstration of the human spirit in action.

**photo of Akira by Arturo Everitt

**photo of Akira + Renee by Malek Houlihan

Worthy Men, Fourth Edition: Preston Smiles

Who: Preston Smiles (IG: @prestonsmiles)
Occupation: Personal Freedom Coach (http://www.prestonsmiles.com)
Location: Venice, California

Preston is such a special gem in this world, and his energy is infectious. I first heard about him through a friend that was taking his course. He showed me a video where Preston was talking and I immediately felt comfortable watching and listening to him… because he was REAL. He wasn’t pretending to be perfect, or someone that he wasn’t. He was incredibly animated and positive, but from what I understand that is how he truly is most of the time. He was and is authentically presenting himself to this world. He is one of the new emerging leaders, in my opinion…because in these new times of social media, videos, blogs, etc…if you aren’t genuine, you are going to get called out.

I think the most powerful and clear way that I can demonstrate who he is, is by sharing what he wrote about himself in the “About Me” section of his website: “I could list a bunch of things that would make me look “important” and “successful”, but what I want you to know about me is I truly care about people, our planet, and about maximizing my potential… So whether I’m speaking, leading workshops, writing books, or making conscious content through social media, it’s all in SERVICE of the same thing….LOVE. It’s the answer to everything and it’s so obvious that some of us miss it. So I’m here as a messenger to remind us all that when we AMPLIFY our LOVE we automatically amplify our LIVES.”

I say, “Yes please to more of whatever he is having!” I hope you laugh, smile, and ponder his answers to my questions like I did.

Sat nam,

Elise

1) Who are you?

LOVE. A sexy chocolate drop. A personal freedom coach. A messenger of love sent here to remind us all that no matter what the question, that love is the answer. That underneath all of our stories about each other, gay straight, white, black, Christian, Muslim… that love is what remains. We’re all dealing with the same stuff.

2) What is the greatest challenge you have overcome/are overcoming ?

Remembering my divinity. Remembering and moving from a knowing that EVERYTHING I’ve ever needed is already here….NOW. Sometimes the wounded-self/ego mind pops up and try’s to remind me of the conversation I’ve been having since I was 9 years old when I was ushered out of the “normal” classes and placed in “SPECIAL education” classes with 4 mentally ill children. Since then I’ve been in a process of remembering and tapping into that part of myself that’s still innocent, that part that has never been hurt, harmed, or endangered. Some days it barely comes up, while other days it feels like something is pulling on my shirt saying “You’re an imposter, there going to find out that you’re actually pretty stupid”. I know this is not the “truth” with a capital T. I know logically that, that narrative doesn’t serve me at all, which is why I make it my business to be with and practice habits that remind me of who and what I am…LOVE.

3) What have you learned?

That it’s not my job to MAKE it happen, it’s my job to WELCOME it. That what ever I practice more of, I get more of. That I AM WE ARE #LovesVoice

Worthy Men, Third Edition: Nathan Hedge aka “Hog”

Who: Nathan Hedge “Hog”  (IG@nhedge_hog)

Occupation: Pro athlete, WSL surfer, surf coach and brand ambassador for Salty Crew and Mauli Ola Foundation

Location: Narrabeen, Australia

Nathan, “Hog” or “Hoggy”… is a legend.

I haven’t heard one person being described as the same one word over and over again as I have heard him being called a legend from everyone that knows him. He truly is one in every way.  Not only does he absolutely kill it in the surfing world, was  Top 10 on the WSL World Tour two years in a row, but he also gives back more than most people I know and is an absolute gentleman to every single person he comes into contact with.

Hoggy literally beams with light and brightens up anyone’s day that he comes across.  He is beyond humble and kind. He is always looking for an opportunity to ask you how you are doing or help you in any way. He is a man of service, in the most reverant way. He is someone that has gone through the darkness to get to the light, and now appreciates every single ray.

Boys and grown men alike look up to this guy for all the right reasons, and I personally hope you share this article with his advice in it to as many of them as possible because the more of them that read this the better off we will all be; he has some of the most simple yet complete advice for all of us.

I would also like to give a big shout out to his recent celebration of 5 years of sobriety!!!!  And also the recent marriage to the lady of his dreams, Stacey! Clearly this man is winning at life 🙂

1) Who are you?

I’m Australian, 37 yrs young 😉

I’m someone who likes to live life to the fullest & have travelled the world many times over. Surfing has blessed me with countless cultural experiences & allowed me to connect with people all over the globe.

2) What is the greatest challenge you have overcome/are overcoming?

Overcoming alcohol & substance abuse.

My life had become a series of train wreck after train wreck, although from the outside things seemed ok. Sure I had my house on the lake, a BMW ( X5 ) in the garage, 6 figure contracts, a girlfriend, I was in the top 10 on the WSL World Tour for the second year in a row. Just came off most improved award for the following year. But, inside I was a mess.

I took 3 separate stints in rehab facilities. The final one being a 6 month live-in with an additional 2 months give back program to the community. I completed that life changing journey in June 2012.

My clean/ sober date is October 17th 2011.

3) What have you learned?

What I learned from that experience is that NOTHING outside of myself can fix me or make me feel good in the long run. No contest win or money or relationship or status or food or drink or gambling, nothing will be great until I get my relationship with ME right first. For me it’s been about allowing a loving God and higher power to work miracles in my life. But it’s no good just praying, you have to put the action in and take each challenge one day at a time and don’t feel weak about asking for help. There is a world of help out there and in my experience people are so willing to assist and elevate you to reach your potential once you show your commitment to yourself. The universe has a unique way of making things happen, doors open up and the path becomes straight… but you’ve got to want it enough, want it so bad that you’ll go to any length. If you’re not there yet, no one can help you and you’ll go through more tough lessons. Everyone has there time and special journey. I’m extremely grateful for each and every lesson

Worthy Men, Second Edition: James Sol Radina

Who: James Sol Radina (IG:@jimmysol)
Occupation: CEO of BioCBD (http://www.biocbdplus.com/)
Location: Kauai, Hawaii

James is one of my dearest friends. Actually, he’s more like a brother. I wouldn’t know him if its wasn’t for Somer, my friend whom he is about to marry. I have lived with them for weeks on end in Kauai, and seen him in all different situations. Here is what I have witnessed: he is the first responder to help, he is kind and patient, he is creative, he does about 100 things in a day and does them all with care, and he always speaks with love and respect.

He is always growing, evolving and refining. He NEVER sees himself as the victim. He is on the very top of my go-to list for advice. He, Somer and I have spent many mornings doing Kundalini Meditations on the deck of their house in Haena that will forever be in my memory.

I love how authentic and vulnerable his share is and I can’t wait for to share it with you. This could absolutely read as an instruction guide to a young man looking how to go from being a boy to a man. Or a man to a better version of himself. I can’t think of anyone I would rather be the husband of one of my best friends in the world; I know he will take such good care of her because I have seen it, day in and day out.

Sat nam,

Elise

1) Who are you?

I am seeker. A seeker of everything. A seeker of nothing. Mostly a seeker of truths. I am so curious to how life works and why we are here. I crave to know how this world works. I love more than anything, uncovering the inner truths of my own being while also learning everything I can about the outer world in which we all share. I have flipped my reality upside down so many times lately, which at first causes massive confusion, but usually rests in a new found “Aha Moment.”

For example, one day I realized I was constantly judging people. It was not on purpose, it was automatic. After much reflection and bringing awareness to this, I started to imagine what kind of life they might have had in order to be who they are and now I find myself sending compassion to people rather than placing judgements. I try to imagine myself walking in their shoes. The truth is, everyone has felt pain and suffering in their life, everyone has love in their hearts and we all feel the same emotions of anger, frustration, joy, bliss, etc. I have had many dark days and nights, so who am I to judge anyone? So when I seek, I seek to find greater love for myself and all of humanity, even when it is hard. And especially when it is hard.

I practice the Eastern Philosophies of non-attachment. So I don’t hold onto anything too tight. I have found that holding onto things keeps my mind closed to new discoveries. Since this was not taught to me growing up, quite the opposite actually, I stumble with this one. Yet at the same time, I can see the massive progress I have made. So you could say I am attached to being non-attached.

I love to play in the moment as much as possible, which is not always the easiest thing, but I have been on this path for many years now and I love the results that this has created in my life. Living in the moment, to me, means finding gratitude and grace inside of the way things are; exactly as they are. I have not always been this way, as most of my life I spent wishing I was different or the things around me were different. Now I practice active surrender each and every day mixed with lots of gratitude. Surrendering, yet showing up and walking my path.

I am a meditator and a yogi, yet someone whose path is not to sit silent in a cave, but rather show up and walk the earth supporting in anyway that I can. I am a supporter in my core, sometimes to a fault. Sometimes I find I will over sacrifice my own health and well being to support others. I continue to learn my lessons here.

Also, I am a lifelong learner. I’m a really good friend with a lot of really good friends. I consider my closest friends my family, my chosen family. I am a world citizen and traveler. I wish my passport said Planet Earth as my home instead of the USA. I am a surfer. I love just about every sport, am extremely active and being in nature is my church. I am an entrepreneur with multiple companies focusing on medicinal benefits of cannabis.

I am recently engaged and very much looking forward to a full moon October 2016 wedding and being an amazing husband. And finally, I am really looking forward to being a father!

2) What is the greatest challenge you have overcome/are overcoming?

Self Worth. I continue to find areas where I show up playing small. It’s a sneaky little trick that many times I don’t uncover until after the fact. Or I make a decision only for myself to look back and see how it came from a place of lack or scarcity. I have seen this show up in many different environments of my life. It shows up in the dynamics between my father and my brother, the two family members closest to me. It also shows up in my relationship with my fiancé (a whole lot less now as I have done a lot of work here, more on this later).

Mostly I find areas that I am operating from a place of lack in my businesses. To give some context, I find myself in the fastest growing industry in the US, with three companies where I am CEO, in which are all growing yet need an upgrade of teams and additional capital. Asking people to join your team or invest in your company, is an interesting process to say the least…at least for me. Many people I am sure are great at this, but due to my unique upbringing, my life’s history, failures and life lessons of my past, I continue to find my negative mind focusing on all the areas that could be “better” or “done differently”, instead of focusing on all the “wins” and areas of deep “gratitude” I have for where these companies have evolved. Every day I am constantly “checking in” with gratitude, otherwise my mind wants to create a story of lack. For example, on one hand the impact on our customer’s lives we are creating is priceless (over 23 pages of testimonials) and the revenue we are generating is great after just 15 months in business. Yet for some reason, my past conditioning brings in a story that I could doing “better,” we should have “more” market share or we should be growing “faster”. More, better and faster are desires that come from a place of lack, of not seeing the good in exactly the way things are, and I have found that this “tape” or “story” running in my head will never end by getting “somewhere” and there is no destination “out there” that will make me ever feel enough. Feeling worthy, or feeling MORE than enough, is an internal journey. It is the journey I am working on right now and probably the biggest one of my life as it is deep and stemming from some childhood traumas.

It’s an interesting process. I have read that I am not alone, as many people in the Western world are dealing with this sentiment as well. Yet I believe I am alone, as this is mine to do. I believe we are our own best doctor. We are our own best guru. And like so many other blocks in my life, once I am aware of them, I take them head on to uncover the truth behind all the fears.

3) What have you learned?

It feel like I am on two paths. One is to uncover the “inner world” truths about what makes me come alive versus what shuts me down. On this path I have uncovered so many walls & blocks, that have stemmed from my childhood, which were keeping me from truly being open. For example, I found myself in multiple long term relationships in my adult life, yet I always had one foot out the door. I would never truly allow my heart to open fully. I was always thinking the grass was greener “out there”. And I would always blame the woman I was with for why things were not working. This caused a lot of pain and suffering in my life. Well, it turns out, I wasn’t fully allowing love into my heart and I was so scared of losing the relationship that I would protect myself by running away. I would never allow myself to go all in. If it started getting too deep and serious, I would find a way to blow it all up. It took me until I was 34 years old to finally see this. Luckily I had been on a journey seeking the inner path, which led me to working on opening my heart, taking full responsibility for my failed relationships and coming to the realization I wasn’t fully letting myself accept love. This was a pattern I was stuck in that was no longer ok with me. My mother died when I was 4 in a car accident. So for most of my life, I have been unconsciously operating from where a scared little boy was calling the shots. I think that every time things got too close or I had a fear of loss, I would shut down. And it has taken massive amounts of inner work to get to where I am now; engaged and less than 90 days away from marring my dream girl. Whew, this was no small feat! And on the other side, I can say this was my greatest lesson. It’s amazing how our darkest hours are our biggest life lessons. Which sums up this point….when doing my “inner work” I seek to find the parts of me that are uncomfortable with the way life is. I bring awareness to these areas where I close down. Then I find my core root belief systems and unconscious patterns, let them go, no matter how long it takes, and re-write the script finding a new way to be comfortable in what used to make me uncomfortable.

The second path I find myself on, is my personal path to uncover how to best fully show up in the outer world. What is mine to do? I love the path of Paramahansa Yogananda, Jesus, Buddha, Mother Teresa, Nahko Bear, Michael A. Singer, Gandhi and so many other saints and sages. These are my mentors, as they are real examples of what success looks like. They all understood the importance of the inner world and how it directly impacted their ability to truly BE in the outer world. They all have found their unique expression in life and how they inspired millions by just showing up as themselves. I have found the same. Over and over I have found, that as I uncover my true nature, I am in turn able to show up more fully for my family, my relationships and for humanity. As a seeker of ancient wisdom, I learn first then immediately apply the lessons to my life. These Great Ones I mentioned above are my favorite examples of people that authentically walked and talked from a place that could only be discovered by going within and realizing their own inner truths.

For most of my life, I was seeking validation from the outside world. I grew up thinking success was based on how much money I made and what other people thought of me. I grew up on a small 40 acre farm in rural Kansas, went to a high school with a graduating class of 31, owned and operated two night clubs through college, then moved to San Diego in hopes to make millions in real estate. I found myself going to clubs 4 nights a week, Vegas once a month, and well, basically numbing myself.

Then meditation found it’s way into my life (which was extremely hard and even painful at first)….and then yoga. Now I find myself with all types of tools, such as Kundalini Yoga for the ultimate hack for quieting the mind, using mantras for manifesting experiences, mudras, breathwork, Hatha Yoga, guided meditations, Earthing and so much more. These tools are critical to my life. They all are needed in quieting my monkey mind, which is constantly trying to get in the way of seeing the inner and outer truths I so much desire to understand. The Bhagavad Gita, like the Bible and Tao Te Ching, is considered one of the greatest sacred texts ever discovered. It is about a war between good and evil, which is really one big allegory revealing the battle we all face each day with our ego, between fear and love. For me, I strive to be awake and stay awake, so that I may see when I get lost in the mind versus operating from my heart. I am in constant observation of when I might be operating from my child self out of fear versus my Higher Self out of love. I am constantly starving the “Bad Wolf” and feeding the ever thriving “Good Wolf”.

This is my path. It is an unknown, unwritten path. I am in constant exploration of new adventures. I surrender to the unknown that lies ahead and choose to embrace whatever life brings me next. I choose to walk heart open, heart forward and love more in all aspects of life. Enemy of none, friend of all. Taking full responsibility for my life and how this world affects me.

If you made it this far, thank you. I would love to hear from you, please share your comments about what you have found to be your greatest lessons in life. Please comment below. Aho!

Worthy Men, First Edition: David Avocado Wolfe

Worthy Women is taking a hiatus while we honor the masculine for the next 6 months. I have had so much fun featuring women that I admire… but I thought it was time to balance things out. There are so many amazing men in this world, too!

Who: David Wolfe (IG @davidavocadowolfe)
Occupation: Rock Star/Indiana Jones of the Superfoods and Longevity Universe (http://www.davidwolfe.com)
Location: Where’s Waldo

I think I first met David (who introduced himself as “Avocado”, so that is what I have personally always called him)… about 7 years ago. He was speaking about Superfoods at the Worldbeat Cultural Center downtown. At the time, this was a buzz word, not the staple in nutrition vocabulary that it has become today. He was the first person to educate us about these mostly exotic foods and also make them available to us in the United States. Since then, he has expanded to health, beauty, herbalism, and nutrition.

But when I think of him, I immediately think of cacao (chocolate). Yes, it’s a superfood, my favorite one actually. But if you have met him or heard him speak… you know what I am talking about. I thought, “This guy has got to be on a lot of cacao.”

He has A LOT of energy. And it’s contagious.

He might or might not be on cacao all the time, few will ever know. But he is definitely a man on a mission to make this world a better place through the food we eat….what we choose, how it is sourced, planted, grown, and harvested. These are extremely important topics for the future of our health and if you aren’t concerned with these things yet, you should be.

He wants us to live longer, healthier lives and has no problem paving the way for us.

David has a great sense of humor, never takes himself too seriously, is fiercely passionate about his beliefs and loyal to the end. He has integrity when others have none and is not driven by money or greed. I am a fan for life.

Sat nam,

Elise

1) Who are you?

An orator: I’m old school in this category: an original reincarnated classical Greek orator.

An adventurer and explorer: I’ve traveled the world relentlessly for 20 years without being in one place for more than 4 weeks.

A tree planter: I founded a non-profit Fruit Tree Planting Foundation in 2002 (www.ftpf.org) that has officially planted over 500,000 fruit trees worldwide and unofficially over 1,000,000 fruit, nut, and medicinal trees worldwide.

A spring water hunter: I was inspired by the Austrian Water Wizard Viktor Schauberger to hunt down springs at their source sometime around the year 2000. Since then, I have hunted down over 300 springs on 5 continents.

A drummer: I have no natural talent in this department, but somehow I’ve kept at it for 28 years making steady improvements.

A gardener: This is a deep LOVE connected to my soul.

A student of soil: What a subject to study! Dirt.

A student of Nature: Always studying and trying to comprehend Nature and reality.

A doubter of things claimed to be scientific and unquestionable: If it’s unquestionable, it’s questionable.

A medicine maker: Growing, harvesting, finding and/or picking medicine for myself and others is plant spirit medicine.

This is the first thing I thought of when I read this question, so I put it last: I am a spiritually oriented person: I believe and feel my soul is from somewhere else that is in a body here on the Earth plane.

2) What is the greatest challenge you have overcome/are overcoming?

My biggest daily challenges include two components:

1. Getting motivated to learn new skills and perform with those new skills in a way that gets the job done professionally and without having to re-do the job later. It seems like I am constantly having to learn new skills and execute those skills at a high level of performance without any previous experience. Whether it’s the computer, plumbing, electrical, house repair, automotive, interpersonal, family-related, this issue consistently comes up.

2. Efficiency and getting enough essential work, play, learning, exercise and relationship time in every day. Its non-stop all day long, every day. I don’t take days off. Its work, play, learning, exercise and personal relationship development non-stop.

By reviewing my life, the greatest challenges have always led to the greatest victories. That’s reassuring, so I focus on that concept when going through difficult times.

Overall, every day my goal is to have The Best Day Ever. That means that each day is: love-filled (people, places, plants) as well as physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, socially and financially fulfilling.

3) What have you learned?

Doing a thing with excellence is always important — and never trouble.

Karma is real. Help to make the world a better place with all your actions and you will be rewarded in this and future lifetimes.

Reincarnation is real. You take the results of your actions including your victories and skills with you into your next life.

Love holds the multiverse together.

Magic and synchronicity are real and an ever-present reality.

The Earth is a paradise; a heaven. The human dynamic on Earth indicates we are socially and spiritually residing in hell realms — if 0 = hell and 100 = heaven, the human dynamic on Earth is about a 23. However, as of recently, the undercurrent of the human dynamic is turning towards love, spirituality, cooperation, health, awareness, choices, freedom, happiness, open-mindedness, etc. while the momentum of the old ways: suppression, tyranny, destruction, competition, secret societies, materialism, close-mindedness, fundamentalism, faith-based belief in scientism is starting to come apart at the seams. We are headed up on the scale, which has to be a good sign.