To be real-real, at first, I was not buying into the hysteria. But when I started hearing about people ransacking stores for staples like rice, pasta and toilet paper (I still don’t get the toilet paper scarcity mindset y’all, can someone please explain?), I thought I might have been underestimating the situation. Feelings of panic began to surge.

Then it hit me.

All these years of coping with personal tragedies have taught me a few things about dealing with personal, professional and spiritual stress:

1. Breathe. When you start to worry about anything, focus on your breath and breathe deeply 10 times in and out. It also helps to focus on the energy running through your fingers. That’s a tip I picked up from spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle.
2. Get some exercise. If you can go on a walk. If you are quarantined, research YouTube and do workouts from home. My friends at the San Francisco CrossFit are posting online workouts from home on their website.
3. Look for the helpers. That’s where there’s hope. This is sage wisdom from the late Mr. Fred Rogers. I’ve taken this another step and reached out to a hero I was inspired by when I started to feel powerless.

Last week, I was on the lookout for heroes and I found Ashley Gin Fong Linker. Her chance encounter with an elderly Asian woman in New York City gave me hope. Here’s her post in the private Facebook group “Asian Hustle Network”:

I called my friend, Benny Luo, founder of NextShark to brainstorm ways to quell the coronavirus craze. 

I was saddened to discover they’ve been inundated with emails and DMs about the outbreak of attacks on the global Asian community. He told me that we all need to do whatever is in our power to lift one another up. 

As a journalist and someone who loves leveraging storytelling to inspire audiences to action, I knew I could create some content to help raise awareness and empathy. That’s when the idea struck. I reached out to Ashley (Facebook/Instagram) to start the conversation around the racism and xenophobia.

We had a heartfelt conversation and decided to record this Instagram Live conversation, a follow-up to what happened after her act of kindness. I hope this helps you calm your nerves and inspires you to think about what you can do to elevate the human experience. WE have more power than we know. Don’t feel powerless, regain your power and take action.

What can you do?

Don’t panic, take action:

1. Use your power to help. Toan is a journalist whose gift of connecting with people led him to share stories like Ashley’s.
2. Ashley is a badass black belt-wielding woman who walked home a terrified Asian grandmother who was afraid of being attacked.
3. Like/share this conversation. The more awareness around this topic, the more healing will take place.

When I hear stories like Ashley’s, I couldn’t help but think about how that one kind act — walking a frightened po-po home — affected her, restored humanity for her and comforted her.

Be safe, be well. Check on an elderly neighbor and the immunocompromised. Air hug!

Xx
Toan

* Special thanks to @nextshark and @angryasianman for keeping us up to date on the latest news about how the coronavirus craze is affecting our communities.

The post Amid the ‘Manic Panic,’ a Call for Coronavirus Heroes appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

I can’t put the exact feeling/energetic vibration into words, but here are a few that come to mind:
“Electrifying”
“Exciting”
“Fun”

Even though it’s been a few weeks since the taping, words continue to fail me. Yes, me, Toan Lam, at a loss for words. I’ve experienced some highs in life, but this was different.

Answers and the sense of being grounded seem to come when I sit in silence or spend time outdoors. Naturally, words came to me during a recent walk in one of my favorite parks in San Francisco. As the trees rustled above me, I became still inside. The words flowed out so quickly that my thumbs couldn’t keep up typing on my phone. So, I hit record and created this video diary about this effervescent feeling of realizing my wildest dream (so far), what it meant for me and, perhaps, for you.

My intentions for the show:

Real Conversations: There is a palpable magic that happens when you have a good conversation with someone. It has a connecting and healing power.

Talking Through Challenges: What are the zigs, zags, ups, downs and challenges that knock us to the ground? And more importantly, how do we get back up and turn those challenges into life lessons that make us a better version of ourselves?

Living Your Truth: It’s difficult to be our TRUTH, but when you hear other people’s stories of courage and vulnerability, you are inspired to talk about the hardships of your life.

Having Fun: My mantra is “YOU DO YOU, BOO.” Be inspired to live, realize and manifest your dreams to the fullest.

One of the most fulfilling feelings is to see people step into their light. You can sense the burden lifted from them.

Join me and experience the magic of conversation with my guests, that will LIFT your spirits and SHIFT your perspective on life’s challenges.

Special thanks to our show guests:

Crystal Lee — Golden State Warriors in-arena host, TV host, Miss California, mentor and inspiration for young women talks about finding true beauty/self-esteem within.

Benny Luo — Founder of NextShark talks about following your “true dream” (not your parents’ dream for you) that is authentic to you.

Yue Yosemite Xu — Producer and host of the Date/able Podcast talks about finding love, keeping love and loving yourself.

I’ve been fortunate enough to tell stories for a living as a TV reporter, PBS host and through my nonprofit, Go Inspire Go. I’ve realized that storytelling has the ability to heal people if we take the time to share our stories and life lessons that make us who we are. Remember, no matter what you’re going through, you’re not alone, there is hope.

We have some exciting updates coming soon about where and when we will be showing our first season of “The Toan Lam Show”! To stay connected, follow us on all social platforms @ToanLamShow

You do you, boo!
xx

Toan

P.S. To all of you who have messaged us to let us know that you, too, feel lifted, shifted and are still buzzing from the experience, thank you. I feel your energy, support and love. Now, I just can’t wait to share this with the world… soon. #StayTuned

The post Reflections on manifesting my dream: ‘The Toan Lam Show’ appeared first on Go Inspire Go.