Izzy Arkin
Izzy is a former middle school teacher who quit his job to follow his childhood dream: to become a ninja.
That lead Izzy to Japan where he intensively studied Aikido for 4 years. Presently, he is on a journey to train 1,000 hours in the best dojos in the world.
Feel the power of Hope with Izzy Arkin #isharehope Episode 88
Summary: Izzy’s answer to the five questions! Listen to the full conversation on the player above; also available on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud.
Question 1: How do you define hope or what is your favorite quote about hope?
Izzy Arkin:
“Hope is a possibility.”
Question 2: Who has shared the most hope with you?
Izzy Arkin:
That would be my father. Continually along this journey, along my quest to follow my childhood dream to move to Japan to give my life to martial arts, to become a ninja, my father has always been there along the way going “You can do it. You can do it. You can do it.”
Question 3: How have you used hope to make it through a difficult time in your life?
Izzy Arkin:
I moved to Japan and I’ve given everything up in America. I was 30 at this point. I just left a part time job teaching and I decided a couple of things. First I was giving my life to martial arts. I’m all in on this, I’m going for it. I’m also going to use my experience, my development in martial arts and I’m building a business in the process – a business that I love, I’m passionate about that’s going to make a difference in the world.
I’ve always heard all the stories about, you know, all you got to do is go for what you really want, follow your dreams then it works out. I was about two months into that, I just left my part-time teaching job where I was making just enough to cover all my expenses. So, I had a few months of savings that I had really worked hard to save up in my bank account. What happened was, I was under the guise of “It’ll work out. It has to because I have proven how bad I wanted it.” SO then what actually happens is within a two-week span, my computer dies which is how I was doing every single thing with my business and I didn’t have any money to buy a new computer. My computer dies, so I was like okay cool, I’ll get a cheap Tpad and I will use my cellphone to do everything. My cellphone ends up breaking as well.
I wouldn’t necessarily suggest this strategy for people, but I remember the day when getting home seeing my computer, seeing my phone just sitting there broken and going “God”. So, I left my house, I got in my bike, I went to the convenience store, I got a big beer and I came back and I just sat on the couch. I was drinking it, I was like you know what? This is the adventure. There’s too much going on here. There’s something going on here and it was actually within the next three months after in which I was finally able to find a way to make a big enough impact to people’s lives. I understand enough with business that I was finally able to create enough income to cover all my expenses.
To be in that moment, to realize I was witnessing and experiencing my worst fear of like “oh my God” and then I’m okay? I’m okay. I can do this. I’m still alive. I still have a pulse. It’s my creativity. I can tap into that. Now it’s that just I’m all right and smiling a lot, but in that moment I turned into an alcoholic. (chuckles)
Question 4: How are you sharing hope today?
Izzy Arkin:
I’m doing the best I can to bring hope to my own life. I’m taking actions. I’m making choices, but I still continue to be at the edge. I still continue to take very high level risks. I fail more now than I ever have in my life. I also am creating more opportunities in my life than I ever have before. What does that look like on a very practical level? I am now stepping into using my martial arts and aikido to be able to transform people’s consciousness. What that means is going into organizations, going into educational systems, going into local communities and organizations and working with people on a hands-on level to help them witness and experience aikido and realizing to feel their own power. That’s one thing that aikido does – you learn to feel your own power.
I know how to run a coaching business. I know how to do that. This is the next level. These are the skills that I developed so now stepping into my hope of possibility in ways that the world can be transformed through that. Also, sharing the challenges and the doubts and belief in myself of can I really do this? Can I really make an impact? Can I really talk with that organization? Can I really impact the educational system in this form?
Sharing my own vulnerabilities and struggles and still daring to go for it, people can see my process, see my successes and see my failures. We’re sharing that hope together.
Question 5: How should I (the listener) begin to grow in hope or share hope today?
Izzy Arkin:
(1) Go on a walk. Set a timer for 15-30 minutes. Find time to make a commitment to you.
(2) Ponder the question, what are the desires of my heart?
(3) Be in that desire. Feel that desire. If there’s sadness in that you don’t have it, be in that. It’s okay.
(4) Go for it. Take one step. Not 28, not 32. Take one step and then do it again.
