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We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaizen Asiedu and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kaizen, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Having the courage to be disliked! I speak about sensitive topics and right now my focus is politics and countering misinformation. Politics is extremely divisive right now, and the media’s negativity bias has helped erode discourse and create a low-trust society where reasonable people feel disempowered and afraid to speak out. Recently I’ve started speaking out about mainstream media propaganda and low integrity behavior in politics. My ability to provide counter-narratives without resorting to insults, and while introducing nuance, has been huge for both the growth and quality of my brand. In a space where everything feels extreme and it’s hard to know what’s true, this way of looking at the landscape has been a fresh air and part of a movement to make nuance cool again.
What should our readers know about your business?
I’m a life coach who is bold enough to talk about sensitive issues like politics and model my primary teaching: be courageous.
Most life coaches primarily focus on people’s inner worlds and stay away from these topics.
But how you view yourself is inextricably tied to how you view the world. The more clearly you can see yourself, the more clearly you can see the world, and change it.
It’s also important to model what I teach by speaking out about controversial issues—after all, if I’m helping people to be courageous, I want to show them me doing the same!
Lastly, it’s just too important to me as a changemaker to not speak about the issues I feel moved to impact.
I’ve gone through arcs with my business. It was easier at first. I was given the template for how to run a coaching business and just executed—reaching out to prospects, learning sales, etc.
That worked at first, but pretty soon I found myself burnt out and tired of operating my business. I felt like I was putting out content just to do it. After two years of having 4–6 month sprints of work and then burning out, I was forced to take a deeper look at why I wanted to coach and who I wanted to serve.
I’ve realized that it’s important to me to connect inner work—helping people transcend their mental and emotional limitations—with the outer world. I enjoyed helping people make personal transformations, but what I really want to do is help changemakers find the courage to do what they know is right—whether it’s sharing a bold message about our political landscape or the health crisis in the U.S.
Since I started doing that, what began as an online brand has really become a movement of helping creators be courageous, and it’s infused my business with a level of passion and purpose I didn’t have before.
In an era of A.I., fake news, fake bodies, and fake messages, everyone is craving realness, and to be real requires courage.
Most people don’t realize how much they’re playing it safe—self-censoring, repeating beliefs they haven’t examined, working jobs they don’t love.
And they’re playing it safe because they feel scared. Scared of rejection, failure, not being part of the tribe. But because they don’t often meet the edge of their comfort zone, they don’t even realize how scared they are.
I want my brand to inspire people to find out what’s important to them, acknowledge the fear, and be courageous. Because courage can only be demonstrated in the presence of fear, and on the other side of that fear is the peace of knowing you’re living authentically. And who doesn’t want that?
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m big on nature. I’d take them to the labyrinth at the top of Tuna Canyon at sunset so they can see where the ocean, hills and city meet. Where they can see the sun and the moon at once. We’d go to ocean and mountain view trail in Malibu – the most breathtaking hike in LA. Get a taste of the California dream with a walk down Abbot Kinney blvd. I’d tell them they should go to Hollywood but without me, lol. See the cornucopia of humanity on Venice boardwalk. Shake it up at an ecstatic dance event. Riverside hike in LA national forest. Walk through Little Tokyo to check out the vintage videogame shop and other weird boutiques. Go to Nobu and order the cheapest thing because it’s overpriced but also recognizing they need clout for the gram. Spend an afternoon at the Huntington garden – especially the Chinese and Japanese gardens. Get zenned out at a hot yoga class at Valley Hot Yoga and breathwork at Open studio. Check out a Kanye show at the Forum. And grab donuts at Holy Grail. 
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Jose Morelajo was my first life coach and helped me get clear about who I am and what I can provide at a confusing time in my life. I had quit my comfortable 9-5 to find myself and my purpose 1.5 years prior, gone on a healing journey, and felt better, but was unclear on what I wanted to do professionally. Jose helped me recognize my ability to communicate and provide wisdom to others, trust myself, and launch my business. He brings a blend of spirituality and practicality that was the perfect medicine for me at the time.
Instagram: @thatskaizen
Twitter: @thatskaizen
Other: TikTok: @thatskaizen 
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