My Blog

How Do You Man UP? Seven Ways to Man UP!

HOW DO YOU MAN UP? SEVEN WAYS TO MAN UP! This blog is inspired by a conversation I had with one of my readers, a male immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for decades. He asked during our discussion, “How do you actually man up?” This blog is my attempt to answer that...

Storytelling Theater for Healing

STORYTELLING THEATER FOR HEALING   In August, we delivered seven Storytelling Theater’s Red Doors performances/workshops. Since early this year, I have been mentioning Storytelling Theater and Red Doors. Some of you/my readers might still be wondering what...

Compassion/Empathy

COMPASSION/EMPATHY   Back in February, through the just keep living foundation, I facilitated a mental wellness workshop at Venice High School in Los Angeles. Using blank kites, I asked the students to draw things on them that gave them joy and hope. After...

Home Renovation and Mental Health

HOME RENOVATION & MENTAL HEALTH I’ve entered a whole new phase of “adulting.” It’s called home renovation. This year, due to various semi-urgent reasons, I started renovating my place. I have years of work experience in both residential and commercial...

Stress Management

STRESS MANAGEMENT Stress is a word, a feeling, and an experience that I have been hearing a lot about. Lately, I have to admit I’ve noticed that my stress level has skyrocketed. Back in March, I wrote a blog titled “Why Am I So Stressed?” about the internalized...

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month   May marks the convergence of two significant observances in the United States: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. This intersection presents a...

Trauma-Informed Care

Trauma-Informed Approach  The last time I ran a team was six years ago. This year, I have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to produce and direct the Storytelling Theater for Healing and Social Justice and work with a team of eight amazing individuals. They consist...

Storytelling Theater Ensemble

Andrew Nishimoto Andrew Nishimoto is a dedicated family man with a passion for coaching soccer and making a positive impact. Andrew finds joy in both his personal and professional life with his high school sweetheart and wife of 16 years by his side, along with his...

Why Am I So Stressed?

WHY AM I SO STRESSED?   One of the benefits of solo traveling internationally is the ample time to dive into my own thoughts and deeply reflect on my beliefs, my emotions, and my life. The trip to Southeast Asia in January provided me with this unique...

Anxiety Episode Out From Nowhere

ANXIETY EPISODE WHILE TRAVELING IN VIETNAM Part 1 I was very blessed to have the opportunity to spend a big chunk of January in Vietnam and Cambodia. Instead of writing about Vietnamese and Cambodian foods and cultures (there are already tons of these blogs out...

Japan – The Hidden Rules, Food, Cultures

I had the opportunity to spend about two weeks in Japan last month. I was in and out of Tokyo for six days, in Okinawa for four days, and in Kyoto/Osaka for four days. Japanese culture has had a significant influence on my life. Since I was a young lad, I’ve studied...

Men and Mental Health

“It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature...

Losing Something Precious

LOSING SOMETHING PRECIOUS  "Sometimes we have to lose something precious not necessarily to gain something priceless; sometimes, just losing is priceless." - Shahid Hussain Raja September was a great, interesting, and turbulent month. A lot of things happened as well...

Avoidance

AVOIDANCE  Lately, the word “avoidance” has been popping into my life to the point that I can no longer afford to avoid addressing avoidance. It all started when my friend recommended a podcast interview with Dr. Luana Marques by Mel Robbins. This is what Dr. Marques...

Monkey Mind

“It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature...

Challenge of Unwinding

“I remember my grandfather telling me how each of us must live with a full measure of loneliness that is inescapable, and we must not destroy ourselves with our passion to escape the aloneness.” ​— Jim Harrison For the past several years, I have been fortunate enough...

Numbness

“I'm tired of being what you want me to beFeeling so faithless, lost under the surfaceDon't know what you're expecting of mePut under the pressure of walking in your shoes… … Can't you see that you're smothering meHolding too tightly, afraid to lose control?'Cause...

Murphy’s Law

"Murphy's Law"  “You are having a good morning. You are driving to your next appointment and you are ahead of schedule, and you drive swiftly through all of the green lights. A few days later, you are having a stressful day, you are running behind, and you literally...

“Why Is This Always Happening to ME?”

"Why Is This Always Happening to ME?"  “Why is this always happening to me?” is a question that often pops into my mind. When this question starts flashing in my head, it’s often during stressful situations accompanied by different negative emotions, such as...

Motivation, Focus, Energy

Motivation, Focus, Energy Building on what I wrote in the previous blog about my anxiety and the question, “Is there a balance between the hustle culture and the enjoyment of life?” I came across this quotation from Motivational Lines, “Work-life balance is not about...

Overcome the Shame of Feeling Good

Have you notice that it's so much easier to stay angry, mad, and down for hours and days. But, the moment you feel good, positive, happy, and content for a minute, you immediately think something is wrong or off. This is because our mind is bombarded with negative...

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Asian American Demographic Data

This is the last week of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Here are the Asian American demographic data and facts that I’ve gathered over the years. Asians and Asian Americans consist of 6% of the US population, about 18 million Asian immigrants comprise 27% of...

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Finding Inspiration

Since the pandemic, I've been struggling with my creativity and finding inspiration. In this short video, I shared the creative methods that I've used to spark my creativity. Enjoy! Also, I would love to hear from you and how you have been creative and inspired.

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Choice – Coping with COVID-19

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As part of the Mental Health America's Tool2Thrive campaign, I've created a short video for them called, "Choice." I shared about how I am owning my mental health and feeling to cope with the COVID-19 Enjoy! Also, I would love to...

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Too Good to be True

“Things are going so well like the stars are all aligned!  This is too good to be true.  I don’t want to jinx it, but I just hope that this ‘luck’ will last as long as it can and doesn’t go away.”  Does this sound familiar? This is one of the fears that I’ve...

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My Asian Male Rage

This post contains affiliate links, meaning, if you click through and make a purchase or sign up for a program, I may earn a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. The intent of this piece is to create awareness about the complexity of assimilation and...

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New Year Resolutions that Work

This post contains affiliate links, meaning, if you click through and make a purchase or sign up for a program, I may earn a commission. This is at no additional cost to you."A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on...

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