My Blog

Reframing Uncertainty: Finding Clarity in a Chaotic World

by | April 22, 2025 | Mental Health, Mindset, Self-Improvement | 0 Comments

REFRAMING UNCERTAINTY: FINDING CLARITY IN A CHAOTIC WORLD Lately, nearly everyone I talk to has been experiencing some level of anxiety. The world feels heavy. Change is constant, and uncertainty is the norm. Many Americans are deeply anxious about the economy,...
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Bridging Faith and Mental Health – For My Mother

by | April 1, 2025 | Mental Health, My Stories | 0 Comments

BRIDGING FAITH AND MENTAL HEALTH - FOR MY MOTHER Earlier this year, I had the honor of receiving a contract from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health for a project titled “Healthy Communities: Faith and Wellness.” The mission of this initiative is to...
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Confront Imposter Syndrome With These Strategies for Self-confidence

by | March 31, 2025 | Guest Blog | 0 Comments

  Confront Imposter Syndrome With These Strategies for Self-confidence By Amy Collett Have you ever felt like a fraud, despite your accomplishments? You’re not alone. Imposter syndrome is a common experience where you doubt your abilities and feel undeserving of...
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Unplug for Mental Health

by | March 7, 2025 | Mental Health, Mindset, Self-Improvement | 0 Comments

UNPLUG FOR MENTAL HEALTH   Since November, I have completely unplugged from all news outlets. Fifteen years ago, I cut the cable TV and stopped watching the news, except for the occasional major sports game on regular TV channels. Five years ago, I stopped using...
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Intersection between Cultures and Mental Well-Being: Insights from Southeast Asia

by | February 7, 2025 | Mental Health, My Stories | 0 Comments

     INTERSECTION BETWEEN CULTURES AND MENTAL WELL-BEING: INSIGHTS FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA In December and January, I had the privilege of exploring and traveling through Southeast Asia, specifically in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. This...
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A Fresh Start: Wishing You Health, Wellness and Self-Care in the New Year

by | January 2, 2025 | Mental Health, Mindset | 0 Comments

  A FRESH START: WISHING YOU HEALTH, WELLNESS AND SELF-CARE IN THE NEW YEAR! Wishing You a Happy New Year Filled with Health, Wellness, and Self-Care As we say goodbye to the past year and welcome in the new one, it’s a great time to reflect on all that we’ve...
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End of the Year Reflection

by | December 2, 2024 | Mindset, My Stories | 0 Comments

END OF THE YEAR REFLECTION As this year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on a journey filled with challenges, growth, learning, and transformation—both personally and professionally. This year has been a testament to the importance of balance, purpose, and...
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Random Thoughts

by | November 4, 2024 | Mindset | 0 Comments

RANDOM THOUGHTS My mind is struggling to form singular, cohesive thoughts right now, so this blog will be another collection of different half-baked ideas and questions I've been reflecting on and trying to sort out lately. Storytelling Theater. We have officially...
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How Do You Man UP? Seven Ways to Man UP!

by | October 2, 2024 | Mental Health, Mindset, Self-Improvement | 0 Comments

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...
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Storytelling Theater for Healing

by | September 6, 2024 | Mental Health | 0 Comments

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...
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Compassion/Empathy

by | August 6, 2024 | Mental Health, Mindset | 0 Comments

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...
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Home Renovation and Mental Health

by | July 3, 2024 | Mental Health, Mindset, My Stories | 0 Comments

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...
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Stress Management

by | June 9, 2024 | Mental Health, Mindset | 0 Comments

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...
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Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month

by | May 13, 2024 | Diversity and Inclusion | 0 Comments

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...
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Trauma-Informed Care

by | April 1, 2024 | Mental Health, Trauma Series | 0 Comments

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...
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Storytelling Theater Ensemble

by | March 8, 2024 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

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...
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Why Am I So Stressed?

by | March 8, 2024 | Mental Health, Mindset, Self-Improvement, Travels and Adventures | 0 Comments

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...
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Anxiety Episode Out From Nowhere

by | February 10, 2024 | Mental Health, Mindset, Self-Improvement, Travels and Adventures | 0 Comments

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...
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Japan – The Hidden Rules, Food, Cultures

by | December 8, 2023 | Travels and Adventures | 0 Comments

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...
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Men and Mental Health

by | December 8, 2023 | Mental Health, Mindset | 0 Comments

“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...
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The Month

Last month, we celebrated the Asian Pacific Heritage Month as well as the Mental Health Awareness Month. As a nation, we have designated February as Black History Month, June as Pride Month, the National Hispanic Heritage Month is scheduled from Sept. 15th to Oct....

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AAPI Month – Authorized

This blog is written by Natalie Lortz, a guest blogger of CoffeeWithJR.  There are, no doubt, benefits to having an excuse to host Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) centered events and partake in the beauty of local communities. The undeniable sense of pride that...

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Our Stories

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OUR STORIES  As part of the new documentary film project that NamQuyen (Q) Le and I are working on, Rachel, our Director of Photography, and I flew to Louisville, Kentucky in early April to do some scouting and preliminary filming and interviewing. (Detail info of the...

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Improve Your Mental Health With These Unique Ideas

Mental health is just as important as physical health. It’s a growing problem that affects an increasing number of people every year. There are many causes for mental health conditions, including genetic and environmental factors. Moreover, mental illnesses can range...

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Defeated Even Before I Started

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What does failure mean? How do people fail? Why do people fail? What is success? Why is it that certain people are successful and other people are not? What does success even mean? Who gets to define what success is and what failure is? We can all admit that the...

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