[00:00] Shanta Fire in the darkest night of Phoenix Birds, it's ready for flight Shadows may come try to tear you apart but you're the dark nights.
[00:13] This is Valerie here,
[00:15] back by myself for a mini episode.
[00:19] Recently we've been doing podcast episodes every other week and they're usually interviews. But I want to go back to this solo format and maybe every other week I just drop something like a small what's on my mind type of podcast because between the awesome interviews that I have with my guests,
[00:40] actually a lot goes on and I'm actually learning so much just from living life every day.
[00:46] And it's something I want to share with the world.
[00:49] So today's theme is actually going to be lessons learned from my coffee shop job.
[00:56] Yeah,
[00:57] for those of you who might not know, I'm working part time at a cafe and in Japan and in Tokyo.
[01:05] After I moved to Tokyo last year, I decided I wanted to get fluent in Japanese.
[01:12] I'm not. I'm not a very bold person by nature, I don't think. I actually grew up very shy and I'm not a great talker, period.
[01:21] So for me to be in a pretty high paced job,
[01:27] having to do customer service in a foreign language to me is a new but exciting type of challenge.
[01:33] But what I didn't anticipate was the relationships that I am building with my coworkers and the type of people I'm discovering that works at this coffee shop.
[01:45] I am humbled, honored, and delightfully surprised by the relationships that I'm building.
[01:54] And I wanted to share a little bit about that today because it's changed my perspective on what it means to be a vibrant visionary radically.
[02:04] Last year in May, I was coming back from another trip in Japan where, where I was really inspired to pursue a career in coaching, where I would have a global impact, I'd be making lots of money and speaking on stages all over the world.
[02:23] And you know, what I've realized in this past year is that is a desire that was implanted by culture based on values that I don't necessarily agree with and based on pursuits that I don't necessarily even resonate with.
[02:42] So now I'm in a position where I'm at peace,
[02:47] working part time at this coffee shop,
[02:50] learning Japanese, and I find myself in conversations every day.
[02:56] Being someone that is naturally shy actually does have some advantages because people actually find me a little bit more approachable because I'm not constantly talking or asserting myself. And in fact, it takes a lot of effort for me to assert myself,
[03:14] which leads to struggles in doing customer service well. But that's another story when it comes to coworkers.
[03:22] I find that they ask me so many questions and they're usually just like life questions like what do you like to eat? Or what are you going to make for dinner?
[03:33] What do you like to do on your free time?
[03:35] But then when I answer these questions, it's not just like I close a loop and then they stop asking questions. When I answer the questions sincerely,
[03:44] they actually start to share a little bit about their lives.
[03:49] And the thing about Japanese part time culture that I find fascinating is that some people opt to just continue this as a way to make a living for the rest of their lives.
[04:02] And so they might dabble in different types of industries because they can.
[04:09] I have one coworker who is on the older side. She has two kids in their 20s.
[04:19] She used to work for like a lighting fixture company and now is deciding she's interested in coffee and wants to pursue this.
[04:28] And then there are other people who are deeply interested in, in the coffee aspect and want to excel in it and compete at a global level.
[04:40] And I realized I think I got lucky in that I am working at not just at just any coffee shop, but this particular one where we're supported by a company that really cares about its product and its training for its employees.
[04:58] And we're doing it in a context of Japanese society where people are paid a wage,
[05:06] a living wage that allows them to actually pursue what they're interested in rather than finding pressure to succeed in a career. Because that is the way to stability.
[05:21] The stability is already there.
[05:24] And yesterday I had an amazing conversation with now one of my new work besties,
[05:31] a very sweet young lady from Osaka. I learned yesterday she actually moved herself and her husband from Osaka to Tokyo, never having left her hometown before to work a part time job at this coffee shop.
[05:50] Because she felt like the coffee shop in the coffee industry she was working in and Osaka wasn't going to offer her as much as what she could learn here.
[06:02] And I was floored by that share. I was also thrilled that she had come from Osaka cuz I used to live right next to it.
[06:11] But what really impressed me about this in so many different ways is that she didn't only move herself, she moved her spouse and he willingly came along for this, you know, to pursue an interest,
[06:24] her interest in coffee.
[06:26] He doesn't even work in coffee.
[06:29] And this is not like her first career or anything. It's. And it's not a hobby, right? She wants to do this and getting to know her. She has a lot of diverse experience too.
[06:41] Like she used to,
[06:43] she got her like aromatherapy and massage license like me and has, you know, done different things.
[06:52] But now she's focusing on what's, what's piquing her interest now.
[06:57] And many people are doing this where it's like, I worked in one industry for a while, I want to try my hand and see what I can learn in this one.
[07:09] And when we do that in the States, it's kind of a painful process,
[07:16] isn't it?
[07:18] Like we feel like we're abandoning a track.
[07:20] Like if we have to change careers, it's like a terrible thing is going to be reflected badly on our resume. We make so much meaning out of this act of simply wanting to pursue something different,
[07:31] which I think is a travesty.
[07:33] And it doesn't exist apparently in certain parts of Japanese culture. And I'm talking very specifically about this part time culture.
[07:44] If you become an employee in a Japanese company, by the way, they expect you to stay a long time, which I find there's.
[07:50] Even the fact that there's a contrasting world within this world is super fascinating to me because the only thing I've been really taught about in Japanese society is that you go to school, you find a good job and then you're in this one company, loyal for life.
[08:06] And that's been the trajectory for most people that have careers.
[08:11] And yet there's this entirely other side where people are technically working full time, as in full time hours, but they're still considered part timers because they're not company employees.
[08:23] And what that affords them, even though they might be paid a little bit less and they're paid hourly, is that they have flexibility to pursue what they're interested in.
[08:33] You don't have to be employed at a company full time to get national health insurance, by the way. It's already covered. Your pension is covered. Like you'll, you'll pay into the system anyway when you're employed, no matter whether you're a company employee or if you're a part timer.
[08:49] So yeah,
[08:50] so there are a good amount of people that are housewives or who are artists or who are simply just want variety in the spice of life,
[09:01] who work part time and do different things and move on to different industries and learn different traits.
[09:11] And I feel very fortunate to be able now to be in a society where I can do that too and I can survive, I can thrive. And I also don't have to feel so awful about not fitting the mold of having this, like, polished career.
[09:32] Even though sometimes when I end up comparing myself to other people who do have these polished careers, I still sometimes feel that pressure. But meeting people like my coworkers, who are so interesting,
[09:45] who are so full of, like, heart and curiosity about life because they can be,
[09:52] gives me further confidence and permission to do that for myself.
[10:00] To me, a life well lived is one where you have the freedom to pursue your curiosity and find what it is that really sparks joy for you and find how it is that you want to develop that.
[10:14] And from those gifts and that joy, you have the ability to give back in a way that someone who might be slaving away,
[10:21] feeling no freedom in their life can do.
[10:25] And it's not to discount people who. Who feel like they do need to sacrifice themselves to feed their family and whatnot.
[10:32] I think that, you know, there is a certain amount of duty and dharma that's very honorable even in doing that.
[10:40] When you have something so important that you need to sacrifice for, that's also really valid.
[10:46] But the fact that there are other options, that there are ways of being that require us to sacrifice our soul to be.
[10:56] To be happy, to live well, to live fully.
[10:59] And I'm not talking about having all the money in the world or like, being famous, but actually just being happy with spending time with people and doing things that interest you.
[11:09] Is that not the most vibrant you can be?
[11:12] And isn't a world where everyone has the freedom to do that a visionary world?
[11:18] I think it is.
[11:21] So, you know, aside from. From being inspired by my co workers, I'm also just, like, pleasantly surprised sometimes by the stuff that they share with me. And like, the range of people that.
[11:30] That I work with gets all ages.
[11:34] And we have, like, young people in their 20s and people in their probably 50s or early or late 40s.
[11:42] And.
[11:43] And the way that they show up, like they come with a. A bright spirit. Right. We could say it's a young spirit, but it's just one that is vibrant. And you don't have to be old or young to be vibrant.
[11:53] You just have this. This, like, life in you because you're living your fullest life.
[11:58] It doesn't take that much.
[12:01] It's just so cool. Cuz, like, the other day,
[12:03] one of my coworkers and I were talking about how, like, I love hip hop music and like, I love house music. I love going to events and dancing. And she's like, oh, I love raves and techno.
[12:11] And she's like a younger woman.
[12:14] And then one of her older coworkers was listening, and I was telling her we're sharing some interest about music. And then later on, she's like, you know what? I listen to Slipknot.
[12:23] And I was like, oh, my God, that's so cool.
[12:26] Do you go to events, too? And she's like, yeah, I really want to start going back to events next year.
[12:30] They're really, really fun.
[12:32] And I just love that we can connect on this human level in a way where it's like, we're not trying to put on airs. We're not trying to impress people.
[12:41] We just want to connect with people.
[12:43] That's why I love talking to my coworkers. What are you going to eat tomorrow for dinner?
[12:48] Because that just. It feels like we're all in the same experience, and we are.
[12:52] We're all serving customers, and it can be hard. It could get tough, especially when it's busy.
[12:58] Oh, man. But there are other people, too, in my.
[13:01] In my cohort, where they've.
[13:04] They're super nerdy and interested about coffee,
[13:07] and they've done work at different cafes, different coffee companies,
[13:12] and now they're going to work for. For this one. And I have this one slightly younger guy who seems like at first he was kind of spacey and just was doing his own thing.
[13:23] But what I was. What I realized about him is that he. He can go on these solo rants about.
[13:30] Not rants, but just kind of like monologues about coffee experimentation, all the different combinations he's tried to make at home to see, like, what would be the most delicious.
[13:41] He loves to share that. He loves to share that. You know, he discovered, like, you can add,
[13:45] you know, this orange blossom to this coffee, and it tastes really good with this syrup or whatnot.
[13:52] And there's just so much curiosity and creative spark in that that keeps life so interesting and cool and vibrant. If we could all have that instinct to continue pursuing what really sparks our curiosity, like, wouldn't we all have just these super unique,
[14:19] amazing lives that then we can share with others? Because we just love how. How much we're enjoying what we do.
[14:26] So,
[14:27] yeah. I mean, moral of the story from today's mini episode is find something that's.
[14:33] Try to find your spark of curiosity.
[14:36] Like, who cares if. If anyone sees it on social media or not, or if you get money out of it, it doesn.
[14:44] What gives you a little bit of joy that's only yours,
[14:49] and that is gonna make your day just that much better.
[14:54] I know that things are tough right now in the world, especially out there in the States and doing these little things to make ourselves happy and for life to feel like it's working can actually feel harder when nothing else is going right.
[15:10] And we can,
[15:11] we can default to feeling really down.
[15:16] We can default to being like, well, we should be focusing on more important things. And yes,
[15:21] we should always be focusing on making sure that we are well nourished,
[15:31] slept rested and sheltered and safe.
[15:37] Right.
[15:38] We should always be prioritizing those needs.
[15:42] So of course those needs come first.
[15:45] And also, when you've done that, you've done enough,
[15:50] you don't have to do any more than that.
[15:53] And you can allow yourself a little bit of joy in finding what interests you and just giving yourself a little bit of that,
[16:03] because that is what is going to help you give from a full cup rather than one that's continuously emptying out.
[16:12] Yay. So that was my spiel.
[16:15] And again, I'm going to be sprinkling in these mini episodes every other week or so. I'm not really going to be broadcasting them that aggressively or anything. So if you listen to it, you listen to it.
[16:25] If you don't, you don't.
[16:27] And if you enjoy it,
[16:28] I would love for you to give me a thumbs up on, on the YouTube or send me a comment or send me an email being like, hey, I listened to this mini episode, here's what I got out of it and I would love to hear.
[16:42] So if you're listening,
[16:43] send me a comment. What is that little spark of joy that you want to make time for in your day, every day or every week that's going to keep you happy and able to just continue discovering the joy of being alive?
[17:02] All right, thanks everyone for listening and see you in the next episode.
