https://www.strengthseekers.com/home daily 1.0 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710138828150-77KNM44K1VSWZFIP10HG/017PesaliliHavea.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131670007-KJFP36OFIIAEV6ZYZJJT/004BrianaPinaud.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/73d178e2-a665-4b79-8a66-c0a1a4947538/018RonBeshears.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/139a1d22-f649-4491-9dd4-d6f1a2e5a52c/006Vashelle%26Vananson.jpg https://www.strengthseekers.com/about daily 0.75 2020-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1584848385411-5WHB8GHE0KNSNSYHOEOE/AroHa_02.jpg About - MATTHEW FEDERE Matthew is an painter, interviewer, and aspiring architect from San Jose, CA. As a multimedia artist and storyteller of people from all walks of life, he captures raw anecdotes through empathy, attention detail, and beauty. His goal is to spread awareness of all members of society. You can check out more of Matthew’s work: Sidewalk Sketches Instagram https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1584848420224-UUGZEUP0AJ889FNMJKZ7/Elina-B%26W.jpeg About - ELINA LIN Elina is a product designer and photographer based out of San Francisco, CA. With over 7 years of photography experience, she works to uplift people through self-empowerment, healing, and mindfulness. Her purpose is to facilitate stories of positive change as a way to elevate, inspire, and connect humanity. You can check out more of Elina’s work at Personal website Studio Ely Instagram https://www.strengthseekers.com/submit daily 0.75 2020-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1584850871689-2XX6N4S7BIQFBOIMGPGI/image-asset.jpeg Submit https://www.strengthseekers.com/testimonials daily 0.75 2025-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Testimonials https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694583486-2PQT0LQ193RL7MCB6DX4/20140228_Trade+151_0046.jpg Testimonials https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694644871-IC85FNH781UNZSZEGHDR/Aro+Ha_0428.jpg Testimonials https://www.strengthseekers.com/consultations daily 0.75 2025-05-08 https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews daily 0.75 2024-03-16 https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/sakher-ghanem monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131979914-3VCDWWMHNF5DBKQXZ99X/015SakherGhanem.png Interviews - SAKHER GHANEM - SAKHER GHANEM How do you find strength in opportunity? It all starts off with one thing, being born in raised in the Tenderloin. I saw my parents working hard everyday with their multiple jobs, my dad had stores, and he was also a maintenance worker. My dad worked so hard to be where he’s at, working hard to pay for the house, having 6 -7 kids with him, moving place to place. I finally realized throughout the years it’s about goals. It started off in the Tenderloin, being there I realized life isn’t just about working a 9 to 5. If you’re just working a 9 to 5 you’re living paycheck to paycheck, so with the rest of the time available you have to starting thinking about other things you want to do in life. First off you want to hold yourself back and look at the big picture, you ask yourself where do I see myself 5 to 10 years from now. The first thing to me is, I do want to succeed, I want to go to school to educate myself, I want to graduate, I want to be a police officer, I want to join the military. These are the biggest things I stayed with, I had those goals in mind. So what I did with myself is I trained, I went to gym everyday, I worked at my dad’s store, and I went to school. My 9 to 5 was 9 to 9. As time went by, I was accomplishing things and doing pretty good. Even though in high school I wasn’t doing to well, I knew that I had to start pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I ended pushing myself to the point that I realized that I wanted more. I went to Calstate East Bay, Cal Berkeley, and community college ending up with multiple degrees. I still wanted more, I pushed myself through all this training, joined the military, joined the academy, went to one of the best schools in California with multiple degrees. I learned this from the military and my father. My dad works everyday and pushes himself to help the family, making sure that we’re living comfortably. I took example from that, there’s no time to sit back. I asked myself, “What else do I want?”, and what came next was a business. Along with photography, real estate was another thing added to the plate, and that’s an entirely different beast. It’s very risky and a huge investment. I took the shot, got pre-approved and bought my first property here in Oakland. I got motivated from seeing different houses and took my real estate test, which stemmed from the past family business background. It started from that store in the Tenderloin, the short term goals eventually evolved into my 5 to 10 year goals. If you don’t start with the smaller things you’ll never reach your long term goals. What has been your greatest teacher? What is a turning point in your life? Half-assing things is the biggest red flag for myself. I notice if I half-ass things I fail, because I missed a step in the timeline, I didn’t focus, and I need to make up all of the work today. In school I did this a lot, I got bad grades and by the time my junior year came around I was going to be kicked out. When summertime came around, I played catchup taking 4 classes treating the courses like a full-time student, and made it back graduating with a 2.5. I forced myself to do it, never skip the steps, follow the target that you’re going to hit, if you miss the target you’ll need to make another attempt. If you’re going to half-ass it don’t even attempt it. Of course I’ve I had mentors, and I surrounded myself with people way above my level to push myself past my limits. What does the word strength mean to you? Mentally things might suck, you may be drained, but you need to constantly remind yourself push now, celebrate later. You have that strength, don’t give up now, pain is temporary but you did it. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/ron-beshears monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710132110894-A6FGIP3Z96SRMFYTJ2R8/018RonBeshears.png Interviews - RON BESHEARS - RON BESHEARS How do view strength when working with a community? Well I view it as communication, not being afraid to talk, not being afraid to get out there. I always feel you got to get to know your community, and somebody’s got to get the ball rolling. So that’s why I get to talking, that’s why they call me the Mayor of Millsbrae. I get out there and talk and people always come to me. I’m not afraid to talk to you, I’m not going let them thugs come over and take over the neighborhood. I’d die before they do that. I’ve dealt with people like that, I spent 21 years in the marine core. I did investigation, I’ve arrested a lot of people. If you show people that you’re scared that’s when they’ll pick on you, but if you show you’re not afraid of them they’ll think about it. Stand and fight, protect yourself. You need to stand your ground, they ain’t gonna mess with you. Turn the other cheek, I don’t believe in turn the other cheek, I believe in stepping on their cheek. I just think about how to protect myself and my family, I worked for this, nobody gave me anything. That’s why you always ask the Lord to give you strength everyday to live another day. But you need to have the power in yourself, don’t be afraid of anyone. I let them know I have a weapon and I’m gonna use it, so if you wanna come through there come on through, but they’re gonna carry you out. I’ve made a few arrests around here, I don’t play. How do you find this confidence in your strength? It came from the military, I was an MP in the military and worked for United Security. I was a chaser, a chaser is someone that goes after someone in the military that goes AWOL, I go get them and bring them back. One time I was chasing someone and I got hit by his girlfriend with the car. It knocked me in the air, but luckily I stopped him with my gun. When I was laying on the gurney at Highland Hospital. and this guy came in on a wheelchair with a deputy behind him pushing him. He recognized me, and I called for the doctor to get me out the hallway. What are few pillars you used to build your confidence to become a strong person? I just learned how to talk with people. I learned how to talk with girls. It built me up more and more. Don’t be afraid to talk. When you talk to someone make sure you’re knowledgeable so that you have something to relate to. Just talking means nothing, you need to have the common sense to talk back. Talk with people to know what level they’re on. We can always talk about the neighborhood, but let’s talk out the neighborhood. Don’t stay in the box, get out the box. What made you different, what made you become a chaser? I was born in New Orleans. I was born in the projects, Ninth Ward. You had to learn how to defend yourself, I was shy talking to girls, but I knew how to fight. I always say I’m ghetto. When I was raised in New Orleans my mother was a nurse, but then she got hurt and couldn’t be a nurse anymore. I had to learn a lot of things on my own, but she taught me a lot. But she taught me a lot. The only way you’re going to get respect is if you respect others. Don’t go looking for trouble and you won’t find it, and if you see trouble turn around. Don’t wait for somebody to give you something, go and get it, so therefore no one can take it from you, you earned it. I used to work at corner grocery store for $5 a week, I used to buy me and brother clothes for school. My two older brothers were in the military and they came out here, I also have a younger sister and a younger brother. I listed to my mom and put it into action, nobody will give you anything, and whatever you get hold onto it, don’t let anybody take it from you. People will try to take things from you, I got my ass whooped a lot of times, but one thing I earned was respect. When you stand up for yourself even though you won’t win, you let that person know I’m not going down easy. I know I’m gonna get whooped, but I’m gonna earn your respect. Then one day they leave you alone because they know you’ll stand your ground. When I was in the military stationed overseas in the Mediterranean, I ran into racism. But I knew how to deal it, this world will never be perfect. I learned a way to move around it to get the jobs I want. Act like you know what you’re doing and dress sharply, nobody will mess with you. I might know nothing, but I look sharp and act sharp nobody will mess with me. If you don’t look presentable, people will find something wrong and challenge you. I used to go to the PX and people wondered how I didn’t get stopped. I kept my shoes shined, uniform pressed, shaved, hair was cut, and I had my binder with me, And my binder had nothing in it. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/gary-thorn monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131938446-XAKV2QAW421TF7HJR194/013GaryThorn.png Interviews - GARY THORN - GARY THORN How did you get started? My deceased-ex wife got me into flowers. Before that I was a contractor, painting, sandblasting, and waterproofing out of San Mateo. That’s where I was born and raised. How does this bring you fulfillment in comparison to the contractor job? Less competition, because when I was painting, unless they knew your work they want you over a period years. If they take in random bids, you might be higher more likely, but they don’t understand the work they’re going to get and they’ll just go by the lowest bid. I’ve had people say they would get 8 bids, and I would say goodbye. My deceased-ex wife was in the business, she wanted me to get involved and it was a better way for me to leave my business. It was more relaxing because of the income without the fighting. For example not getting paid because a door wasn’t painted right, something needed touching up, or something else happened. Would you say that the reaction to flowers was more satisfying compared to a reaction to your paint job? I’ve done Victorian homes and high rises. Flowers isn’t my passion, I do the best I can to make things work. What is your passion? I’ll tell you what’s fun, parasailing. If I could’ve at the time in 2000 I would’ve went parasailing out in the bay, it would be a nice attraction for San Francisco similar to Alcatraz. I’m 65 now and it’s a lot to do and deal with. I’m going to be 70 in 4 1/2 years, it’s a lot to deal with out in the bay with the freighters, the people, the liability, and the city. What was the proudest moment of your career? I used to have 5 shops, 15 to 16 Longs. When it comes to my business I’ve persevered. What’s something you would want to share to a younger audience or even your younger self? I don’t want to be mean, but common sense. It’s so important it’s going to help you go further in life. Who are you? When it comes to helping people out, I will do jump, crawl, bend, do anything to help. A long time ago I got stuck, way far away, and some people came by and they got me back home. Back in those days I was up Redding to pick up a bike for $1500, the bike blew up 250-300 miles away, no tow truck, no cell phone, with this was when I was 19 years old. Some people came by, I paid them, and they brought me all the way back home. So anyway, I know if someone is stuck in a jam I will always be there if I can be there. What is something difficult that you’ve been through? It was 07’ 08’ one Saturday morning I was watching movies and half my body was numb. A couple years later I finally figure out I have multiple sclerosis. But I did what I needed to do to get through it. I have it and I’m not bad, but I know other people have worse things. And then come December, I learned I had cancer. It was related to melanoma, 1 of 130,000. Everything was pulled together during the last moment to get surgery, and I’m going for my follow up cat scan. It’s a rare serious cancer called merkel. So anyways you just have to keep pursuing life on. Get up, get to work, get busy, and there’s tomorrow and the next day. The multiple sclerosis, cancer, and surgeries in the past 4 to 5 years, you just got to keep rolling along. I feel like I’ve had a very nice life, and I’ve done and been to more places that most people have. Don’t feel sorry for yourself and just keep rolling along. How long have you been out here on the Embarcadero? I’ve been coming here since the previous Mother’s Day, now I’m needed here. People come here to get flowers from me. I feel tied to the community, except if it’s going to be a hot barnburner or if it’s raining then I won’t show up, but that’s understandable. No matter how I feel, if I’m not feel well I’ll still show. Maybe I’m not feeling good, but you get through the day and later on everything’s okay. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/pesalili-havea monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710138828150-77KNM44K1VSWZFIP10HG/017PesaliliHavea.jpg Interviews - PESALILI HAVEA https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/christie monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/3f4181b5-3b9f-4af4-8bb0-097fbc29549d/012DiahannaChristie.jpg Interviews - CHRISTIE - CHRISTIE Who are you? I’m a mom, a daughter, a sister, and a college graduate. Where did you graduate from and what did you graduate with? I have a sociology degree with a minor in criminal justice from San Francisco State. How did you get into ironworking? What made you stick with it? I just stuck with it. Not only ironworking but the construction trades is one of the few occupations in which you have equal employment for the same work no matter what. All workers are paid on the same scale. Women aren't paid 70 or 80 cents to the dollar but equally as men! As you progress through the apprenticeship program You can get paid more and more then you graduate and you are considered journey level, the top of your game. No nepotism it just requires hard work and dedication for equal pay. The organized tier based system allows room for growth and opportunities . I love this job Tell me more about union ironworkers. Any trade union is based on an apprenticeship program. When you start the apprenticeship program, you are paid a percentage of the years in which that apprentice takes to graduate. My union is a 4 year, just imagine 4 years of college. When I come in as a freshmen I make 50% or $10. And then every 6 months, should you make your qualifying work hours and participate in all of your classes, they elevate you to the next value moving from 50% to 55% and so on. Are you an active member of your union? Yes I am the recording secretary of my local. I am currently in my third term. Each term lasts 3 years, I just got elected for my third term last month. What was the toughest moment of your career? My toughest moment in my career was starting off, because it’s a male dominated trade. A lot of men don’t make the trade, but they’re "really" looking for the women to fail. When the men fail they are labeled as cowards, when the females fail they didn’t expect you to pass anyways. For any job for anyone there is a lot of uncertainty. "You don’t know the culture, you don’t know who to befriend," who the stay away from, you want to make sure you have the right equipment, the right tools. There’s always that guy that wants to be a showoff, wants to call you out on things, belittle you, pick on you, and you have to deal with those things. It really gets tiring after a while, I’ve been doing this for 13 years and it really does work on you. What was the proudest moment of your career? Some of the moments that makes me smile is when people see and hear me. Think that i am a woman and when they hear my voice they double take and get confirmation that I am and they see how i am working side by side with the MEN hustling, lifting, welding, using tools, and instruments. They see a woman holding their own in a man's field. My proudest moment was at a job and someone got hurt. Instead of panicking and running away, I ran to the problem. It was like second nature for me, "I’m going to always run to the problem. Try my very best to solve it." The other worker, a seasoned one at that, he ran away. It wasn’t so much of a proud moment, but its a moment that told me i arrived. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/andy-higgins monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131889171-RNQD1KKJIBFB2Q2QDOBB/011AndyHiggins.png Interviews - ANDY HIGGINS - CAPTAIN ANDY HIGGINS Who are you? I’m Captain Andy Higgins, United States Marine Corps and I’ve had service in several places throughout the years. In the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War the Marine Corps had the responsibility of the I-4 Sector in South Vietnam. We worked with the First Marine Division - Fifth Marines that’s the infantry regiment operating Northwest of Da Nang. I got into Vietnam after the Tet Offensive of 68’, and had a couple of big battles at Hue City and Khe Sanh. We operated all the way up to the demilitarized zone. Prior to our departure I was injured following operation South Da Nang, sent to Okinawa for recovery, and then added to another infantry unit down there for 8 months. Returned to California, then went back to Okinawa to work at the Provost Marshall’s Office for a year, which is essentially the military police. We had responsibility for all the towns and villages inside and outside of the base. Then I returned to the states, I was ordered to Naval Investigative Service and I worked with the civilian agents. I was deployed aboard the U.S. Enterprise and the Nimitz and I would stay on the ship and handle any criminal counter intelligence matters that involved the crew. Then I went into the Reserves, and while there I coached battalion level football, baseball, and track primarily at Camp Pendleton. When I became a civilian, I returned to my university to get my masters degree, coached, and taught there in the summer months for the State Lifeguard unit. My responsibility was Huntington Beach in Orange County, California. Eventually with the reserves I went to the San Jose Police Academy and eventually worked with the San Mateo Police Department. Around that time I started working on the Marine Corps Irish Sprint, which was a civilian opportunity particularly for high school and college kids to have a run or walk around Lake Merced in San Francisco. We had brought in Marine Corps musical units and a Cobra gunship from Socal, food, beverages and, T-shirts for the 2,000 plus participants every year for almost 20 years. We had to stop after 2002 because all the vehicles and manpower would be needed for the Gulf in the Middle East. During that time I was called back into active duty and served in Iraq in the Battle for Fallujah where I was injured, and then shortly after treated in the military hospital at UCSF. I’m still undergoing treatment for my injuries now. I’ve always been involved with coaching and working with kids, in high school and college summer months I was a lifeguard and swim instructor in Pacific Grove. I always tried to teach the kids generally if they have a desire to do something they should go ahead and try to pursue it. Even though they may not succeed in exactly in what they wanted to do, anything they do is good, and anything they learn is always good, especially when working with people or helping them out. Now I try and help people, particularly families of those who’ve immigrated over from Vietnam and China. If you can do that then you can say that you’ve tried to help people out, because generally if you’re operating with the marines in a combat area you don’t have the chance to help people out that much. Now it feels great to give back. How did the military provide structure in your life and given you strength? The marine corps gave me a lot of strength, it showed me how to direct my work with people. This was further enhanced by staying in touch with my family and friends, particularly during some harder times. The marine corps will guide you, encourage you, and support you in any activity you engage in. They work very closely together. One of the terms the marine’s use is “Gung Ho” that comes from the Chinese military which was adopted later by the U.S. Marines. It means working together in rough translation. The term “Oorah” you’ll hear marines telling each other as congratulations or good job. The sound originates from a submarine’s klaxon horn when diving. Marines aboard the sub were sent to hostile beaches during WW2 on rubber boats to report the placement of mines, cut lines, and report back. This was so that when the landing party hit the beach wouldn’t be surprised. Another Latin term that’s used by marines is “Semper Fidelis” which means that you’re always faithful to the corps, to the country, and other people outside of the corps when trying to educate others on what the Marine Corps is all about. It’s a good opportunity for kids, boys, and girls to strengthen themselves through the education, training, and support that they receive. They will learn that anything worth working on or achieving, is worth working on with other people, and you can achieve these goals by working together. Tell me more about the Marine Corps Irish Sprint. When I was in the Marine Reserves we decided to create a function to reach out to the community. During the time people were a bit ambivalent and reluctant to be involved with the military, especially the marines. This was also during the stoppage of Fleet Week. Initially it was known as the USMC Irish Sprint in Stride and was later renamed the USMC Irish Sprint. We would invite high school kids from different schools to Lake Merced, to run or walk the 5 mile trail around the lake. We had around 2,200 participants a year during the active years, we would bring music from Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms in Socal, or the Recruit Depot would bring their bands. Prior to the start of the race we would start the race by firing a blank round above Lake Merced from a breach loaded pack howitzer, which is a piece of small towed artillery that has been in continuous service since WW1. We had teams from the Marine Corp to recruit people, the Coast Guard would also show up every year to compete with the marines. The purpose was to show the kids what they could do, awarding runners and pull up bar participants. We ended up talking to Al Davis the owner of the Raiders to use the Raiderettes as cheerleaders for several years. There’s a real symbiotic relationship between the Raiders and the Marine Corps, on the Raider’s helmet it shows a marine raider in his helmet which was modeled after a player that was voted by the 1962 all-marine team in Quantico. The two cutlasses on each side represent the swords of a non-commissioned officer. The mascot was based on the marine raider battalions active in WW2 which engaged in early commando operations to ensure safe landings. Raiders owner Al Davis even organized the collaboration between Toys for Tots and the marines during Christmas time, and convinced other NFL owners to do the same. The last year was in 2002 due to all the assets moving to the Middle East, but last year we were able to get the Silent Drill Platoon and the Drum and Bugle Corp from Washington D.C. to perform a concert at the site of the Irish Sprint. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience? Never give up, always follow your dreams, regardless if it’s a personal thing with a relationship, or something you want to do in life like training or school. Always follow through, even if you don’t get it you’ll never doubt yourself later. At least you’ve looked into it and tried it. Never give up and always remember the term “Gung Ho”, working together. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/melissa-hui monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131855347-B5DNBOFL9C0L4N9DD2QM/010MelissaHui.png Interviews - MELISSA HUI - MELISSA HUI Tell me about yourself. I was born and raised in Michigan. My dad is from Hong Kong, born and raised in Okinawa. My mom is from Korea and was raised in New York. I have this collision course of the different cultures I grew up with -- a little bit of Cantonese, Japanese, and New Yorker. That made for a weird background growing up in the Midwest. I have two siblings and they are my biggest co-conspirators in a lot of things. I am the only one in my immediate family that did not go to engineering school. Instead, I went to school for pre-medicine for 3 years on a scholarship in Detroit as a Biology and Anthropology major. The day before my fall term in my junior year, my dad got a heart attack. That morning, I slept with my phone off and woke up with an ambulance passing by my house. Once I turned on my phone my mom called me saying, “Hey, your dad had a massive heart attack at the track.” Both of my parents are vegetarians and long-distance runners. He was in his early 50’s when this happened. My mom told me to come out there and bring my dad’s insurance card. When I got there, they were trying to cut the gate to get into the track but they couldn’t get to him and the minutes were ticking by. And I remember just thinking, “This isn’t real, my parents are healthy and fine.” I was encountering the mortality of my parents. They gave him a very small chance of surviving. Clinically, he died twice. Once before they could get to him on the field, and once on the way to the hospital. My mom got re-certified in CPR the week before. They said if she didn’t know what to do, he would’ve passed right there. She saw him go down from cardiac arrest on the track from across the field, administered CPR, and flagged someone down at the tennis courts to call 911. That day they said he had a 5% chance and he will not walk or have any comprehension. The reason I tell this story is because my dad was the strongest person I knew, and it just shattered my world. He was a pillar to my family and our community too. He was in a coma for four months, and we found out later he had a stroke and a heart attack at the same time. He came out of it cognizant, but was completely paralyzed and crying to let my mom know, “Don’t let me be a burden.” It was really rough because this happened around the 2008 economic crash, and my mom was commuting 5 hours a day one way to get to work, leaving at 3 in the morning for Indiana to work, went to see my dad, and then returned home to crash. I ended up taking time away from school because my siblings were young, with my sister in college and my brother in middle school. I did not go back to college during my final semester. In 2015, my dad did not come out of it even after going through 3 rounds of neurosurgery. My parents ended up losing their home and my mom had to take care of the three of us. What did you do to get through that? So I took a step back and took a job as a UX designer in California. I’ve been out here for 10 years and have had an amazing career in technology. Seeing my siblings wrap up their master’s and engineering degrees let me know it was okay to go back to school. I transferred all my credits to the University of Washington, and the pandemic pushed me back. Now I’m coming up to my last semester. I was trying to manage clients and my own sanity with 2 more classes to finish off so that I could either graduate now or in-person in 2022. It’s crazy knowing that I’m faced with the same thing, but now I have different strength, motivation, and power that’s pushing it. It took me a decade and lots of change to get here, but I’m finally getting there. All that you’ve gone through, how has that made you stronger and more resilient? Do you feel as if every other inconvenience now is just a minor speed bump in your life? Yeah, I feel like there’s a lot to be said about one’s capacity to encounter things. When you’ve been stripped down to nothing and all you have is whatever cleverness or resourcefulness you can muster up, you see things in a different light. I know that this is just a speed bump and there’s something on the other side. Recently, I’ve learned to shift out of the victim mentality I used to have. No more, “Why is this happening, what did I do wrong?” Now it’s, “this thing is happening, what can I do in response?” What role does therapy play in your life, if any? I didn’t come across therapy until I was older. Some of it is because of the stigma associated with it in the Asian American community. Especially coming from a religious family, where you believe that God will take care of you. I have nothing against that, but there’s a point at which there’s only so much you can do, and it’s okay to ask for help. I don’t think we were allowed to do that sometimes. You know how they say, “Power through it, we’ve gone through worse generationally. Deal with it.” To what end do we push ourselves and suffer? At the time this happened, I didn’t go to therapy, but I had a professor that studied depression, bereavement and dying. I was transcribing her research and making sense of it from a cultural perspective. We have a community, but ultimately they are not responsible for your healing. I’ve had more exposure to approaching healing from an intellectual method versus a spiritual method. Therapy was a transformative experience for me. It let me know that I don’t always have all the tools or framing to see myself in a different way. What are some healing methods that worked for you? Have you heard of the re-parenting process? It’s when you can hear younger versions of yourself whenever you feel a certain emotion or have a response to something. Allowing ourselves to feel secure with our current selves lets us heal and give stability to our younger selves. Basically, you’re looking at all the splintered versions of your past self and letting them know, “you’re going to heal, all of us, together. I myself may not have all of the answers, but I can see all of you so don’t worry, I won’t let you float off. I’ll scoop you up.” At the moment, we might not have all the answers and we can still feel scared. But we’re doing for our past selves what our parents weren’t able to do and what our environment wasn’t able to provide us. We’re not perfect, and that’s okay. How do you give strength to others? Everyone is trying to slap their name on things these days. I only have so much capacity and I’ve scaled back quite a bit. I work with leaders and teams and have burnt myself out like I was flying too close to the sun and God knows I’ve melted off a few feathers. The capacity of strength I have left to give is only for a small collection of people that I stay connected to, and consulting emerging leaders instead of executive leaders. I have a lot of managers that think managing sucks, and I don’t want to make it suck for other people. It’s where I put my joy, my strength, and I hope it has a radiating effect on other people. I feel like society has gained consciousness now during the pandemic. What kind of advice would you give to someone that has or is going through a setback that was similar to yours? Take care of yourself. What do you need right now? Know what care looks like, emotional, rest, physical, there’s a lot of things that either preserve energy or bring us energy. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. We come from a collective society. We have family, friends, a community, and even professional support. It's not that you’ve failed or that you’re weak. Rather, you are taking care of yourself. Sometimes you need to lean on other people, because they are leaning on you. Explain the metaphor about the asteroid belt that resonated with you? The asteroid belt is a messy and unpredictable space of big and small rocky feelings and emotions, things that we feel we're not able to navigate, or things that make us want to avoid it all and turn around to go back to our comfort zone. But if we are willing to pilot ourselves into the asteroid belt and move slowly, processing each feeling and emotion, we can exit into the expansive and open space of possibilities on the other side. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/patch monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131798237-XM1IEW98WZKOH1HD8M8Q/007Patch.png Interviews - PATCH - PATCH How does he bring you strength? Estrella: He never judged me, and he unconditionally loved me. He left in the best way, held by his mom. Robert: He gave me happiness because he always greeted me at the door at the end of a work day. He’s a gentle and sweet dog, nicer than Chloe. Chloe: You know the first time he peed inside the house and I stepped on it, I was upset. After years of getting used to it I grew stronger and more tolerant. My nose is a lot stronger now because he used to smell so bad. Patch’s breath was the worst thing I’ve smelt. As a future dentist Patch has trained me to tolerate bad breath. Around the time he started to have health problems: fleas, bladder issues, and a broken leg back in August 2018, I was still in school and had to deal with the unknown of his fate post operation. I would have to go to school and act unaffected, and he was fine after so that I didn’t have to take him so seriously. The dog is indestructible, he just wanted to leave on his own terms. Matthew: It surprising how deep of a connection can be formed with limited communication, in this case an unspoken agreement of unconditional love. Actions speak louder than words, and with him that’s the only option we had. The continuous cuddles, teething, scratches, and face licks drew our attention away from inconsequential issues and brought us back to the present. Throughout history dogs have symbolized fidelity and trust, but to us they represent much more than that. Patch was the very best dog, brother, and son, all in one. Loved by the Federe family. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/vashelle-to-and-vananson-lam monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131745220-TAEPM78XLQEY7QGVA2PY/006Vashelle%26Vananson.png Interviews - VASHELLE TO & VANANSON LAM - VASHELLE TO & VANANSON LAM Who are you? Vashelle: I’m a San Franciscos local, born and raised. Moved around (LA, Oakland, went to school in Oakland, Alameda, and then went back SF), overall I went to 9 different schools. But I still loved everything about SF. My heart moved onto Oakland as well. Vananson: just a simple dude trying to be happy. Nothing too crazy, just want to make a living and do whatever I can to help in any situation. Just trying to be happy. Vashelle was a barista and wedding planner. I had a food truck and made gourmet corn dogs called STICKS. We had a lot of off season, my friend brian who is our business partner...we were drinking one day and he asked if we were open to opening a cafe. He brought the idea and we just ran with it. The week later we found the first shop in Richmond over 4 years ago since October. What does it mean to be strong? Vashelle: Know that things will be ok eventually. What has helped recently is all that’s going on is that we’re doing something good, we’re bringing good to people and the neighborhood, everyone we’ve met at the cafe. Hearing how happy you guys are when you are there, it makes me feel good and strong with what I’m doing. It feels like we’re making a difference. When I think of strength is doing something for a reason, the reason we’re doing is a good thing. Vananson: Emotions in check, for instance. This whole Corona thing, you just got to be able to strong enough to handle any situation that’s thrown at you. You just have to know that there’s hope. We got to be strong for our baristas mentally. Still be able to be who we are (us) as Rise&Grind for the community. To do what we do and be the same, not knowing if we can open up the next day. Be kind and if someone needs something, we give them. Being able to be “us” and not changing who we are. Vashelle: Everything we do affects the other person, as we’re married. Being together, it’s more than selling a cup of coffee, I would never be able to do this by myself and change their lives a certain way. We have other people’s kids talking to us. All of this gives us strength -- the meaning of strength is this feeling that we’ve made a difference. How do you give people strength? Vananson: You give them hope with a cup of coffee. It’s a distraction to talk to us a little bit even if they are avoiding what’s going on. They can have a conversation with us and feel less stressed. How do you find strength? Vashelle: My life goal is to be great-great-great-great grandmother. In order to do that, I need my husband with me. We need each other to be healthy and present. I feel strength through Van, no matter how mad he gets sometimes, we both know that each of us deserves something and we both know what we want. We find that from each other. People ask us how do you guys live and work each other, I tell them that we don’t really talk to each other at work. I like having him around. At the Mission vs. Richmond, it feels a little empty without him, even if it’s 3 hours. Vananson: The best 3 hours of my life. I understand how it is working with your SO, 3 years is good, but 4th year we’re spending more time together, we’re seeing each other, I don’t get those 3 hours alone (he plays basketball). She gets up all in my face and I don’t need that. Sometimes I sleep in the bathroom, I will sleep in the bathtub. It is nice to have that break from each other, we need it. I find strength in Vashelle as she knows how to do a lot of stuff that I don’t. I kind of lean on her for help, when I need help. It might not sound like it because I ask her indirectly, but the little stuff I don’t know I make her do it. It’s comforting know I’m working with her, she makes me want to do better. I don’t want to fail. I just want to be successful with what I do. I want to be great. She does that. I don’t want to disappoint her at any time. If I think I’m not doing something right or failing, I just turn to her for advice for what I want and don’t want to hear, either way, it makes me better. Vashelle: I do most of the work. In what ways do you wish you could be stronger? Vashelle: I wish I can be stronger physically. This is where Vananson comes in and says, “ You should’ve worked out today”. I do like the pep talk that my best friend who give me a pep talk about all the good things she likes about me. In terms of strength, I would say my self-esteem would make a difference. Sometimes you might not feel like you’re beautiful enough or not doing well, and you just need someone to tell you this and that you’re doing fine, you’re doing great. Vananson: For me I wish I was mentally stronger. I overthink a lot. I would stress myself out. I wish I could just be mentally strong to keep me mentally sane, so I don’t overthink it. In any situation I overthink it because I want to think ahead, so that whatever does happen that I had anticipated, I can solve it right away. I wish I could just solve something right then rather than go through all of the stress ahead of time. Where do you think your strengths lie? Vashelle: Vananson tells me I care more about people than I should. I worry too much about everyone else, put them before me. I do more for my family than I should because I am the youngest out of everyone. I care, that I have a good heart, that I want to be great great grandmother and be good to the world. Vananson: I think I’m pretty confident, I don’t care what people think about me. I really don’t care. I’m not cocky but I’m confident enough to know -- like Kobe, his confidence level is what I strive for. I feel like I’m that way. If I’m out there playing basketball and he was in front of me, and he asks who is going to win, and I would say me. I have that confidence that tells me nothing will stop me from doing what I want to do. My strength is to have confidence and not care about what people think about me. Vashelle: His strength --- he is such a slob! He is what he said about not caring and having the confidence he can succeed. When he really wants to do something, he is really able to do it. When he dances, he is so funny looking he doesn’t care. Even if his clothes don’t match. Vananson: Her strength is that she’s really smart. The way she thinks. She would think of situations and figure it out than anyone else. It might be the easiest way but she’d find a solution to it. She might not give herself credit or I don’t tell her at all, but that’s her strength. She is really smart. She can solve problems really easily. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/kathryn-rungrueng monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131737797-3IK5XJTTLF65SGCOQL2Q/005KathrynRungRueng.png Interviews - KATHRYN RUNGRUENG - KATHYRN RUNGRUENG What does it mean to be strong? Strength is the art of balancing resilience, flexibility, courage, and a zest for life at any given point in time. It doesn’t come down to a singular definition, but rather one that has many different pieces working together in synergy. For example, being strong can mean both active and passive endurance; a measurement of strength may simply be your attitude and how you respond with grace in times of struggle. A misconception of strength is that it equates to rigidity. Like metal legs on a table, it may seem more powerful to be firm, fixed, and unbending in the face of adversity. But life itself is not static, and even the strongest of metals will eventually suffer cracks. Strength is the ability to bend and to grow in all scenarios. Most of us are avoidant. We are wired to run away from pain and situations where we may fail. Having the courage to face challenges head on with the belief that you’ll come out the other end stronger than you were, is a strength in itself. In Thai, we pray for each other to have Gamlang Jai, which means “strength of heart.” It’s the ignition that powers the light, your spirit, within you. You must do everything in your power to not let the light go out. When it dims, you must do everything to fight fearlessly for your light to stay bright. It takes discipline to be strong. How do you find strength? I find strength by reminding myself that I have choice in everything, from my thoughts to the way I process situations. Knowing that I have the freewill to decide where I put my attention to helps me overcome and shift my energy to welcome in gratitude, even in the face of adversity. Life is about saying “I get to” and live in a state of abundance, where I already have everything I need. Where do you think your strengths lie? If I didn’t go through what I did, I wouldn’t be as strong as I was today. Now, I embrace challenges and situations that test my strength. Like muscles in the body, strength doesn’t atrophy unless you allow it to. The wear and tear can be painful, but also necessary training to exercise for growth. This way, you’re prepared to tackle any kind of hardship that lies ahead. I seek for a life filled with positivity, beauty, and love knowing fully that there will be hardships. I want to inspire others to do the same. What’s incredibly hard, is the discipline. It’s an endless act of not letting obstacles define you and permitting only positive thoughts that can strengthen your spirit. In what ways do you wish you could be stronger? I’d like to find more acceptance in my imperfections and not allow people’s opinions and perception of me affect me as much as it does at times. I would be stronger if I was more disciplined to remind myself to stop taking on the responsibilities of others, especially when I know a relationship is toxic. How do you give others strength? I give by simply being there for someone, with curiosity, compassion, and kindness. Experiences shared with me teaches me how to love them better, without judgement of what they are going through. While I might not have a solution to a problem, I can only reflect back my own relevant experiences if it seems helpful. Vulnerable moments like this call my own strength to stay present and optimistic for those around me. I want to create a culture in which we fail and not be afraid to talk about it. It’s important to share how strength lies in the variety of failures we all experience. What it comes down to is that if you’re not failing and being honest with yourself, you’re not getting any stronger. That being said, merely speaking about failures isn’t enough. At the core, having strength means to embody a zest for life and not let anything break your spirit. We can easily fall into becoming passive observers of our own lives and drown in a victim mindset. Know that you are strong with everything you have. We all need to be our biggest cheerleader, not our biggest critic. Gamlang jai https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/briana-pinaud monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131670007-KJFP36OFIIAEV6ZYZJJT/004BrianaPinaud.png Interviews - BRIANA PINAUD - BRIANA PINAUD What does it mean to be strong? To be strong is to not wake up and be super on it all the time. Strength comes from the ability to continue to live and be able to get back up after being put down. To recuperate from heartbreak, a bad AirBNB review, the loss of a job. Do I have it in me to deal with adversity and get back up on my feet. It means living through the bad times not beating yourself up. If you're going through heartbreak yeah it’s okay to not get out of bed, you’re not perfect, there a lot of things you don’t need to control. In what ways do you wish you could be stronger? In lots of ways as humans we’re trying to see what's wrong with us. I'm super hard on myself and always beating myself up for things I know are my weaknesses, which are consistency and organization. I wish I had better willpower, I would be a stronger person but I lack that. Lack to the willpower yo get a diet lose weight look good. Willpower to wake up at 5, go on a run, and make lunch to bring to work. I cannot take a compliment from people, it’s hard for me to accept them so it's hard for me to say my strengths. Where do you think your strengths lie? One of my talents is my creativity. I touch a lot of people and I make a difference, but I'm not curing cancer. But if a person with cancer wants to look good and put lipstick on themselves, or making a great environment for you guys to have fun. The people I touch makes an impact in a stranger, past degrees of separation. How do you give people strength? How I give people strength is measured through the people closest to me. I’m a great listener and giver of advice. and I tend to have a tough love approach which may come off as abrasive. Friends have come to appreciate tough love and I only advise those that are close to me. I'm not the kind to tell people it's going to be fine when it's not, for example a friend lying to a guy about her age. Why would you do that? Why do you need to lie about your age? I'm not going to let my children lose what it's like to be a woman, show your worth, you have 5 hours tell them. It comes from a place of love tough love, I can persuade those close to me be stronger and give them strength. I give my daughters strength by leading by example, working hard, and giving them opportunities see in her and people she associates herself with. Work hard and get ahead and they will learn from it. There's on a few things to ask them to do. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/adel-denis monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131609202-NODIJ3Q4GHTYMC112E4Z/003Adel%26Denis.png Interviews - ADEL AMIRYANOV & DENIS KULAKOV - ADEL AMIRYANOV & DENIS KULAKOV What does it mean to be strong? Denis: Responsibility, you have to be responsible for every action you take. For Adel, strength is people around him, selective people, and people that he can take care of. Adel: If you let everyone in your life, everyone will betray you because of who you let in your life. What words embody strength for you? Adel: Be careful who you trust and let in your life. Believe in your power, and the people around in your future. Denis: Tell the truth and you will be undefeatable. You can't go against truth. How do you find strength? Adel: Being motivated by something, without motivation there is no strength. Motivation feeds my family. If I’m not responsible the company loses money, and the family loses money in my family business. Finding friendship and being trustful to the person. Failing is okay if a part of learning. We all fuckup in life that's what makes us not do it again. Denis: Looking for strength inside me and the people around me, and use them as example to imitate. How do you give people strength? Adel: Your support and loyalty there is nothing else that is needed, you support people when they are down and when they are at their lowest moment. By being present by being by them and with them we heal them. Drop everything for that person to be there. Denis: Motivate people to be stronger by sharing my experiences like our parents did for us. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/amador-espinosa-edith-medina monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131817628-MMRSU4H6FMO71KUHE92Q/008Amador%26Edith.png Interviews - AMADOR ESPINOSA & EDITH MEDINA - AMADOR ESPINOSA & EDITH MEDINA Tell me about yourself? My name is Amador and I was born in Totatiche, Mexico. I had a hard life that shaped me to who I am today. Unfortunately before the age of 14 after both of my parents were killed, and I had experienced two life changing incidents. At 11 years was shot riding my Dad’s horse, and at 14 I was in a bicycle accident that broke most of my ribs. I came to the United States by myself when I was 14 to seek a better life. By listening to music and reading books I began to learn English. I knew that I wasn’t going to sit on my butt, I was going to go for it. I believed in giving myself options by going to Sequoia Institute to pursue my auto mechanic’s license, and going to SF culinary school in the 90’s. I currently am a cook at a O’Connor Hospital in San Jose. How does your religion bring you strength? Initially I was full of anger and seeking revenge until I found the book. (Here are some the verses that were shared with me) Genesis 1:26-27 Created in God’s Worship Sirach 15:11 & 17:1 Free Will & Creation Matthew 5:38, 5:43, & 6:5 Eye for an Eye, Love for Enemies, Hypocrites Psalms 119 Law of the Lord Wisdom 13 False Worship How does forgiveness give you strength? Forgiveness changed my life, in 95’ I was in Delano, California. I came to visit my enemies with no intentions of being violent, I brought a Bible with me and forgave them for all that they did to me. When I was walking away I felt weightless, light from the anger, resentment, and issues that I had dropped. 3 days later I ended up getting a call from O’Connor Hospital and I’ve been there for the past 16 years to this day. By harboring anger and hate, you’re hurting yourself, but when you ask for help that’s when your journey begins. What messages would like to share to a larger audience? When you do good deeds and forgive someone that has hurt you. bring food to someone that is hungry, and see things with a different perspective, then you will see what your purpose is. You cannot feel poor when God creates you perfect with eyes, hands, feet, and a mind. I don’t care what you look like, where you come from, your size, your age, your ethnicity, we are all equal. We cannot judge each other, because we are all brothers and sisters. Everything God gave you makes you perfect, and we create great things from our free will. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/miles-tabibian monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131833430-BB07ITVC19D5GHE9SUN2/009MilesTabibian.png Interviews - MILES TABIBIAN - MILES TABIBIAN How has having routine and discipline played a big role in your life? It’s been a journey to get to where I am, I definitely haven’t had routines my whole life. I've tried and failed in being consistent. It took a while to build mental discipline. What I noticed about myself is that I only have a certain mental capacity in a day. The more routines I can set, the more they go on autopilot, so I have the mental capacity for things that matter. Especially things like working out, cooking, finances, things I have to do repetitively but I don’t have to reinvent every day. One less decision I have to make. Mental energy. What are a few of your breakthrough moments? It’s been an evolution. For the past 5 years, every year I’ve gotten better and better. I was a D student throughout high school. I wrote a blog post on this because I reflected a lot. It started when I was in 2nd grade through 12th grade. I was always behind. I felt like I was stupid. I would do everything I could to improve, especially in math. I went to a community college, my dad didn’t let me go to a university. He said you’re not good enough, if you prove it you can go. I looked around me in community college and I was like, “You know what, I don't want this. I want bigger things in my life.” Something happened when I just started hustling. I started getting good at calculus, then I became a tutor. Then things began to fall in place, I transferred to the University of Houston and even worked at NASA. I learned that I wasn’t defined by my previous situation and that I could change it. Another breakthrough moment was when I lost both of my parents, 2009 and 2010. It’s one of those moments that made me question what's the most important thing in life. Is it your relationships and enjoying day to day. This was a huge moment. I refer to it as a quake. I had to question “Why am I working, who am I doing it for? What does MILES want?” Losing my parents forced me to think about what makes me happy and recognize that if you die, you can get hit by a bus tomorrow. It’s important to think about every day, you have to hug the people you love because you don’t know if you have tomorrow. Here’s an interesting one. The whole thing with my parents, I tried working for a few years. That’s when I was at Accenture. I wasn’t producing good work. I was like what the hell was wrong with me. I quit and went to Spain and then came back and worked at a venture firm. I dated a girl in Spain and it was the first time I met someone who had side hustles, she was working 400,000 to 500,000 a month. Before I was always like I can never do that, then I saw behind the scenes what it took to succeed. It did trigger something in me...if I want a life different from other people then I have to do things differently from other people. You have to sacrifice something. Maybe you can’t go out on Friday night. That was a point when I was like, “I have to figure out what my dreams are. I am not going to get any younger. She taught me that it is going to take a long time and you have to start now.” What does it mean to be strong? My dad shared this quote with me: MLK “True test of a person is not how they act in times when things are going well but how they act in conflict and controversy.” When shit hits the fan, they still have composure. That’s the ultimate test. The mind is the hardest to control. If you can be composed and think clearly. You can have everything going for you and everyone telling you that you're strong, but if you don’t believe it yourself it doesn’t matter. How do you find strength? Where do you find strength in? What comes to mind is, definitely the people around me. First, is my best friend growing up. The blog, “Make Sweet Lemonade”. In high school, I was this tiny guy. My best friend was this strong guy and a linebacker, no one messed with me. He taught me “Who gives a fuck what people think, don’t try to be cool, just be true to who you are and people will be attracted to you.” No matter what happens, our windows would be smashed and he would be like “Fuck it, we don’t need to worry about our AC now.” My friends were a source of strength for me. Find the silver lining. It’s a good outlook on life. It’s a stoic philosophy: You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you feel about it. You can choose to be happy. I should celebrate my parents' passing away and their life. I don’t have to be sad, I can do something about it. I am human and flawed also. In what ways do you wish you could be stronger? I have so many. The journey on personal development. The more I learn about myself and the world, the more I learn how little I know. I think I have a lot of internal work to do. That's an area I should be...not necessarily stronger… I need to work on my mind a bit, not sure. This is not some beautiful amazing answer. It’s just the reality. I think I should probably work on relationships with my little sister, for instance. I think I can be a better brother. I do think I’m a good brother as is but I think there's always room for improvement. What comes to my mind is that humans mimic the way I was treated by my dad, mom, and older sister is how I treat my little sister. Subconsciously I would say something and not feel like it’s me. Knowing that the mind is so complex, mastering the mind is the hardest thing ever. Even though I treat her well I could probably do better. I’ve never taken the time to see a therapist about my therapy. I went once and thought I would never need to do this. They asked me one question, the tears just came out. I don’t know what happened. I could probably be a better person. It might help me in the future like how I treat my future wife and children. The balance between the present and also focusing on what you want in the future. Letting it drive what you’re doing today. I struggle with what I want 5 years from now, but am I enjoying my 30s and getting hit by a bus and never getting to 40. You have to enjoy the moment and also plan for the future. I dated a therapist once and she taught me so much about the importance of communication and the difficulty of communication. It taught me a lot and it’s a lot of work. Where do you think your strengths lie? Going back to what I said, maybe because it’s what I've been through. It’s easy for me to see the bright side of things. Not just in situations but in people too. I can see the potential in people. I went from D student to engineer, so I know people can do more than they think they can. I like to help people understand that you are stronger than you think you are and you just have to recognize that and be willing to go after that. I enjoy helping people gain confidence in it. I see potential, I don’t see where they are at. I don’t care where they are. Discipline. It’s been a journey, but now I'm fairly disciplined, and if I put my mind to something I just know what it takes. Motivation is fickle. There are just days I don’t want to work out. Most days I don’t want to. I just focus on my goal and that’s what gets me there. I know how to motivate people because I believe in them. I played basketball growing up and I had to get people to do something. Maybe it’s persuasion. I’ve gotten good at that. How do you give others strength? You have a voice in your head that’s critical of you but that’s not reality. I think it’s helping people understand it’s tough. I understand why Ray Dalio wrote the Principles book. You can learn something at this moment but you’re going to forget it 2 days later. It’s inspiring people to remember what their strengths are and see the positive in others. I enjoy that and remind them that you’re a fucking badass architect. You know what I mean? For me, it’s my duty because people have done this so many times for me. It’s like sometimes you need it. I truly believe that “You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with” even when Mr. Positive needs someone to shake them because I need to be shaken. I’m just paying it forward. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/tommy-mcdonald monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131581619-71QKEUQTVRF53PTF1MD5/002TommyMcdonald.png Interviews - TOMMY MCDONALD - TOMMY MCDONALD Who are you? I am my ancestor's wildest dreams come to life. What does it mean to be strong? Being strong is often confused with cold indifference and stern, emotionless stoicism. Real strength requires warmth, a connection with your humanity and a clear understanding of your limits. Being strong means knowing that it's ok to be weak sometimes. Those moments allow us to recharge, reflect and realign. In those moments, we gather our positive energy so that when strength is needed, we can be fully present. Strength is transferable through positive energy and support. When given and received freely, it creates an unlimited supply that can be tapped into when needed. How do you give people strength? I give strength through positivity and understanding. We have convinced ourselves that we must be bulletproof at all times. That mindset actually weakens us because we don't allow ourselves to be human. In my case, I offer an unlimited supply of hugs and positive energy and encouragement. I have a whole bag of "it's gonna be ok" to hand out. https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/time monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710132023059-NF6E5Y3U07SU9H40H6OH/016TimeHongKong.png Interviews - TIME - TIME When was a time that you were not strong for yourself? How have you changed from then up until present day? When was a time that you were strong for others? How has that relationship evolved? https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/christopher-simon monthly 0.5 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/8ba70040-e162-4f1a-9657-e48f1bc6594a/001ChristopherSimon.png Interviews - CHRISTOPHER SIMON - CHRISTOPHER SIMON What does it mean to be strong? Strength is resilience, more than just performing once, it's getting back up and recovering. Strength is persistence, recovery, and resilience. It doesn't matter if you can perform once, twice, or three times. The question is if you hit adversity and if you're not able to comeback from it, you're not really strong you're not reliable, you're weak. In what ways do you wish you could be stronger? I wish I could be stronger in resisting my own internal temptations in that not wanting and not hoping. It's wanting and hoping that leads me to make decisions that I end up regretting. If I could not want and not hope I would be a lot stronger. Hope is a motherfucker and it will kill you every time. Where do you think your strengths lie? It lies in persistence and ingenuity in ways that I can figure things out and I will make it happen. If there is a goal and I want that goal I real really want that goal I can make it happen. How do you find strength? I can't speak for others, but for me, I find strength entirely in others. Whether it's in service or in spite, every major accomplishment in my life has come about due to someone else: wanting to protect someone else, provide for someone else, prove someone wrong, prove someone else right. There is so much -- so much -- that I can't do for myself, but that I can do with surprising ease for someone I love. How do you give people strength? I wish I had a pat answer for this. I'd like to think it's via reliability: always being there, the other person knowing that they can count on you no matter what. But I know that's not always the answer. Different people need different things in different situations. Your reliability might count for nothing when they need something else from you, something that you find it difficult or impossible to provide. I guess the cop-out answer would be you give people strength by giving them what they need when they need it, but it's never that simple, is it? https://www.strengthseekers.com/interviews/bkalenda monthly 0.5 2024-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e361c59bd339964c7cfe597/1710131959220-SLP24HJJE4QHBQQW7RQF/014RepititionBilalKalenda.png Interviews - REPETITION REPETITION What activity makes you feel most confident? How long did it take for you to build that confidence? In what ways does practice strengthen your mind? Repeat to yourself reasons why you’re strong.