Mitchell Iwahiro
Episode 163

Narrator: Welcome, friends, to another episode of The Story and Experience podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey. Welcome, friends, to another episode of The Story and Experience podcast. I'm delighted to be sitting here with my guest directly opposite me, which is fantastic. If you're brand new to the podcast, we have a hundred questions. They progressively become more vulnerable, more open, closer to get to 100 about stories and experiences that shapes this person into the leader that they are today. So I'm going to first begin with the first 10, and then they're going to pick numbers between 11 and 100 where we go. Let me start with the first one. Could you tell us your name? Does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Mitchell Iwahiro: My name is Mitchell Iwahiro.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's nice. Iwahiro?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Iwahiro. You got it right.

Japhet De Oliveira: Iwahiro?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Right, right. That's fantastic.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That's Japanese. Yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's great.

Mitchell Iwahiro: You got it right first time saying it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you actually speak any Japanese?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I don't. No. I'm a fourth-generation Japanese American.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Half Chinese, half Japanese.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. I have to ask, you know? With a cool name like that, maybe.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I wish.

Japhet De Oliveira: You wish.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'm going to Japan in two weeks.

Japhet De Oliveira: No.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I should learn something.

Japhet De Oliveira: You should. You should. Oh, my goodness. Well, that's great, Mitchell. Thanks for sharing that. Hey, Mitchell, what do you do for work?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes. I work at Adventist Health on the Community Impact team as well as the Public Affairs team. So I kind of have a unique role where I'm straddling both.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I'm able to get a pulse of both sides of what are we doing to influence public policy and advocate on behalf of our health system? And then, also on the Community Impact side around how are we really addressing the social determinants of health? How are we going upstream in our approaches to help people live their best lives?

Japhet De Oliveira: So now, you're not a lobbyist, right?

Mitchell Iwahiro: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: But you are an influencer.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Not a social media influencer, but we try to influence policy.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. And how do you influence policy?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah. I mean, a lot of it really is educating our legislators around the types of hospitals that we have in the communities that we serve. We serve a lot of low-income populations, a lot of vulnerable populations throughout the span of California, Hawaii and Oregon. And so, we look at educating legislators around the different hospital designations that we have to really fight for the communities that we serve in.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow. Now, how long have you been doing this?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Julia Drefke, shout-out to her. She hired me just over a year ago.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right, all right.

Mitchell Iwahiro: So a year and maybe a week.

Japhet De Oliveira: A year and a week.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira: So what did you do before this?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes, before this I was in the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really. Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I worked on basically community-based organizations. We partnered with them to build out a trusted messenger network of basically folks that we can engage with across the state of California to message and campaign around the most high-priority needs that the legislature and the governor has identified.

Japhet De Oliveira: So you say you're in a hybrid role, but you've kind of always done the hybrid role. Right? Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Maybe I'm a jack of all trades. I'd like to think.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's fantastic. Now, Mitchell, where were you born?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I was born in Roseville, California.

Japhet De Oliveira: Are you serious?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Right.

Japhet De Oliveira: We are in-

Mitchell Iwahiro: Down the street from where we're sitting.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you grow up here as well?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I grew up here as well. That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira: Have you ever left Roseville, California?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I only left Roseville, California to go to school for college at UC Davis.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's not far.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Which is down Highway 80.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yep. I could bike there.

Japhet De Oliveira: You could bike there. That's amazing. All right. So now, growing up in Roseville here, what did you imagine you would grow up to be? When you were a child. Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That's a great question. I had always imagined I would be around this area.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Mitchell Iwahiro: My family's always been here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'm a big family guy. And I just think that when you can commit to a community, you can really see the evolution, the change for better or worse really. But you can see it firsthand and you can have those stories with, hopefully, my kids one day. You know?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: This is the area where I grew up and you can leave a legacy in a place-based setting.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Now, do you have kids?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I don't yet.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, anticipation.

Mitchell Iwahiro: No, no.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I would love to be a dad.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great, man. That's great. It's fantastic. I have two boys. It's absolutely amazing. And a daughter-in-law.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Oh.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes. It's fantastic. Hey, so are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Probably a late night owl.

Japhet De Oliveira: And what's that?

Mitchell Iwahiro: 11:00 to 2:00.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Depending on the night.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. That is late.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I think it was a bad habit from college because that's just the culture.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: You go to bed late and wake up late too.

Japhet De Oliveira: But I see you here in the office early, so you're just crushing it.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Well, I try to meet the job requirements.

Japhet De Oliveira: Uh-huh. Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And be here on time.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. That's impressive. Now, this morning when you got up, first thought that went through your mind.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I have a lot to do today.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I better get started.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. And how have you been doing since we're kind of closer to the end of day as we're recording this?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I think I've been doing pretty good.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good, man.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I got a lot of things done.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I like to think that I'm moving the needle forward today.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, hey, that's always a great feeling, isn't it?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes, it is a good feeling.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, it is. It is. Now, first drink of the day. Tea, coffee, liquid green smoothie, water. What do you have?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Water with lemon.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Just normal water with lemon. If I don't have lemons, I have on hand a bottle of lemon juice. Not ideal because it's from concentrate.

Japhet De Oliveira: Uh-huh.

Mitchell Iwahiro: But I put a little of that in.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, seriously?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: And do you have like a lemon squeezer or...

Mitchell Iwahiro: No. I just-

Japhet De Oliveira: Your hand?

Mitchell Iwahiro: ... wedge it or squeeze it.

Japhet De Oliveira: You don't mind all the seeds?

Mitchell Iwahiro: No, no, no. Yeah, I don't mind the seeds at all. But yeah, it's really great for digestion.

Japhet De Oliveira: Lemon water.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Lemon water.

Japhet De Oliveira: The the secret of Mitchell.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That's my order at the restaurant too.

Japhet De Oliveira: Are you serious? Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Water, lemon, no ice.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay. I like it, man. I like it. Hey, it's great. Personality, Mitchell. Would people describe you as introvert or an extrovert, and would you agree?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I would say it depends on who you ask.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Some people would think I'm an introvert and some people would think I'm an extrovert.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And so, I would say I lie on both sides as an ambivert.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. That's good. That's good. Did you always know that about yourself or...

Mitchell Iwahiro: I think it's evolved as I've gotten older.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: As I've matured, I've sort of known when I can sort of just be myself and let free. And it depends on who you're with too.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good. That is good. Now, here's a leadership question for you. Are you a backseat driver?

Mitchell Iwahiro: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: But...

Japhet De Oliveira: But?

Mitchell Iwahiro: If I do see something that is going to put my self at risk, I will make myself known.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: But the way you drive is up to you.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. Fair enough. All right, that's good. All right, the floor is open, Mitchell. It's yours now. Where would you like to go?

Mitchell Iwahiro: You know, I've always had a fascination with the number 21.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really? Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: So we'll start there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, this is good. Share the best compliment you've ever received.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I was at the US Open in tennis-

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, yeah?

Mitchell Iwahiro: ... last year with my friend that I grew up playing tennis with.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And after the week, everyone loses every week in professional tennis.

Japhet De Oliveira: Uh-huh?

Mitchell Iwahiro: He came up to me and he said, "Your support means everything to me. I can feel how you support the people around you, and I value that, and I trust you."

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, wow.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And just sort of those assuring words, I think is a big compliment to-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, it is.

Mitchell Iwahiro: ... who I want to be.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Oh, that's really good. It is true. It is true. That's great that people see that in you and you're living into it. Yeah, that's good. All right, that was 21. So where next?

Mitchell Iwahiro: 55.

Japhet De Oliveira: 55. All right. Oh, share with us about something that frightens you.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I think, for me, what frightens me is seeing my parents age and the unknown. I think around the people that I love and for myself, just unknown is scary.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I think we have an innate desire to put off the unknown and mask the unknown. You know, we're creatures of habit and pleasure and not feeling so bad about ourselves, or our circumstance, or what's going on around us. So I tend to think the unknown is pretty scary.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, it is. Would you like to know your future for instance?

Mitchell Iwahiro: No, not at all.

Japhet De Oliveira: No. So that's not scary.

Mitchell Iwahiro: It's scary enough to the point where I don't want to know.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And so, everything to me-

Japhet De Oliveira: Uh-huh.

Mitchell Iwahiro: The word unknown is frightening to me. And to some degree, I think it can be helpful to live in the present.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Actually, a little bit more.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. Hey, it's good. I like that. All right. Where next? That was 55.

Mitchell Iwahiro: 33.

Japhet De Oliveira: 33.

Mitchell Iwahiro: It was my brother's favorite number.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, hey, that's good. Well, let's see. This question is-

Mitchell Iwahiro: I think.

Japhet De Oliveira: You think. Tell us about the best gift you've ever given someone else. Maybe your brother.

Mitchell Iwahiro: You know what? I actually did give my brother a very unique gift.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Mitchell Iwahiro: We'll go with that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Mitchell Iwahiro: We were visiting the oldest Japanese. It was a place where they farmed, and they lived there. This is 40 minutes away from Placerville.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: So right in our backyard.

Japhet De Oliveira: Uh-huh.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And they had the oldest tree in, I want to say, California.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow. Okay. All right. Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Don't quote me on that. It was the oldest tree, whatever. And they made a cutting board to cut sushi, lots of them out of the branches of the wood. And I thought that would be such a cool thing to have. And they etched our last name in it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Nice.

Mitchell Iwahiro: So I just bought that for him, and I was like, "This could be something that stays in the family."

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I'm a big legacy guy.

Japhet De Oliveira: Uh-huh.

Mitchell Iwahiro: You know? As you can see.

Japhet De Oliveira: I could tell.

Mitchell Iwahiro: As you can tell.

Japhet De Oliveira: I could tell. Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'm staying in Roseville.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Family's in Roseville, but yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you spend a lot of time with your family then?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I do. I do.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah, I love my brother. He's my best friend.

Japhet De Oliveira: Aw. Hey, that's beautiful. How many years difference between you guys?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Just two.

Japhet De Oliveira: Two. So what was the secret that brought you two as brothers together?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Well, funny enough, we both went to the same college. We didn't live together, so we hung out a lot with each other. And I would say just going through the fire of college was-

Japhet De Oliveira: You forged it.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Just forged everything really. Yeah, you go through with anyone through the fire and something will be forged for sure.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true. That's true. Hey, that's good. All right, where next?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Let's go to 90.

Japhet De Oliveira: 90. All right. Tell us about how you overcame something that was seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I was on a retreat. And for some reason, I thought it would be a smart play-

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: ... to bring some snacks.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah?

Mitchell Iwahiro: We were going hiking pretty much. Camping.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sounds good.

Mitchell Iwahiro: With the buddies. And we get up there and we're around this campfire that we built. We didn't build, that we started.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And we were having a good time. And we were hungry, so I took out my snacks. This was like a raspberry dessert bar that I snagged from the dining commons my freshman year in college.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I bring that out, and I hand one to my buddy, and I'm like, "I'm going to have one too."

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I take a bite and I'm allergic to it, so I-

Japhet De Oliveira: What?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'm allergic to nuts.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: It didn't say raspberry nut bar.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, no.

Mitchell Iwahiro: It said raspberry bar.

Japhet De Oliveira: No.

Mitchell Iwahiro: So I didn't know I was going to have an allergic reaction, and I started to have an allergic reaction, and-

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Mitchell Iwahiro: It slowly progressed to worse and worse. And our car was at the top of the mountain.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: One car was at the top.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I don't know why he drove it up there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: But one of our friends ran up to the top of the mountain, and drove the car straight down, not on the way down.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That you should take it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: He took the-

Japhet De Oliveira: Switchbacks.

Mitchell Iwahiro: No switchbacks. He went straight down. And long story short, he drives us towards the freeway that is evidently closed.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: So we pull over to the side of the road, and we were just trying to figure out where can we get this guy an EpiPen or Benadryl?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Because at this point, my eyes are gouged out.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, my goodness. Man.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'm just hives all over. And it was just a really scary moment that you just don't know. It goes back to the unknown.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I just am like in a bit of a panic.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, I think everybody would be, right?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Must be fair.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And so, imagine just the anxiety around... You know? Your throat is closing up, and you can't see out of your eyes anymore because they're just so inflamed, and you have bumps on your head, and you have rashes all over your chest.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, my goodness. Man.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And the comments from the people around you are just-

Japhet De Oliveira: Not encouraging.

Mitchell Iwahiro: ... not helping. You know, this is a fun story to tell.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: But in the moment-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, in hindsight, it's great.

Mitchell Iwahiro: In hindsight, yeah. But funny enough, we end up parking in this parking lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Looking at our phones to see where's the nearest hospital, where's the nearest anything. And we were sitting in a Safeway parking lot that happened to be open. So we got in and got the Benadryl.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I took triple-

Japhet De Oliveira: Dosage.

Mitchell Iwahiro: ... the dosage.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, right.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And slowly got better, but I passed out.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's not advisable to ignore-

Mitchell Iwahiro: No, no.

Japhet De Oliveira: That was just your case, Mitchell.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That was my case.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm very happy for you.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: And you're alive, which is great.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'm alive. That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, my goodness, man.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you think you were going to get out of it at the time?

Mitchell Iwahiro: No, not at all, because...

Japhet De Oliveira: What were you thinking then?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Well, it was interesting because we were there mainly to just sort of reflect on the end of the year and our friendship. It really was a God moment where I was able to get through that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no kidding.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And really just enjoy the fellowship and the friendship.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: But the real symptoms came after that, where I started to not be able to breathe. I started to get the eyes-

Japhet De Oliveira: It was so frightening.

Mitchell Iwahiro: It was so frightening, but it was after I was able to enjoy the time around the fire.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Talking about the good old days and just life.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you carry an EpiPen now?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I carried an EpiPen after my first week of work here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Where that's another story maybe for another time.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Where I had nuts and my wonderful-

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, my.

Mitchell Iwahiro: ... supportive colleagues took me down the street to where I was born.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And it was a full-circle moment there. I had to go to the emergency room.

Japhet De Oliveira: Are you serious?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes. Maybe in my second week of starting here.

Japhet De Oliveira: No.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Well, I'm glad you have an EpiPen.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I do have an EpiPen now.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'll leave it there.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes, I have one right behind.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good. Well, I'm very pleased to hear that. Good. All right. Hey, thanks for sharing that actually. It's a bit of an awakening, isn't it?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Mm-hmm.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, indeed. All right, where next now?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Let's go smack in the middle, 50.

Japhet De Oliveira: 50. All right, here we go. 50. Share about who has influenced you professionally.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'd like to think I have a young career so far.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay. Good.

Mitchell Iwahiro: That I've dipped my hands, my feet into a lot of different areas. And so, I've had the pleasure and the honor really of learning from a lot of great people where I've been. And so, I would say I learn a lot from everybody. For example, in my previous role, I learned a lot from... I'm going to name-drop him, Egon Terplan.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: He was the senior advisor on transportation and economic development. And I appreciated his ability to find a way forward.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: What's the way forward?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And a lot of really contentious decisions and a lot of contentious players and stakeholders. And to me, there's a lot of qualities that I admire about him.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: The patience to listen.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: The willingness to voice the voiceless.

Japhet De Oliveira: That nobody wants to hear.

Mitchell Iwahiro: You know?

Japhet De Oliveira: But they need to, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And just wicked smart too.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, hey, that's great.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I love to pick his brain. And there's a lot of people though. And I'm a big believer in... There's this education term that I learned back in school called the apprenticeship of observation. And it's this idea of while you're learning, and I like to think that I'm always learning.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Our apprenticeship or our observation really contributes to how we then project and lead ourselves.

Japhet De Oliveira: Bonus question. What book are you reading right now that's kind of interesting to you?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Well, I just stopped out over at Goodwill, which is a great place for books.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And picked up Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, nice. Nice. That's good.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I'll let you know.

Japhet De Oliveira: You'll let me know. That's good. Goodwill is a good place indeed.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Do you like digital books, audiobooks, or physical books?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Physical books are my favorite because-

Japhet De Oliveira: You're marking them?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I don't necessarily mark in them, but I feel like it's something a lot more intimate versus a screen that we're...

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Our phones are already demanding our attention for all things. And so, I think the book is the one thing that is like, "Can we just hold on to paper a little bit-"

Japhet De Oliveira: Longer.

Mitchell Iwahiro: A little bit longer.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like it. Good. All right. That was 50. Where now?

Mitchell Iwahiro: 12.

Japhet De Oliveira: 12. All right. Now, this is actually great for you. What's your favorite movie or book of all time, and why?

Mitchell Iwahiro: I really enjoy The Pursuit of Happyness.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Will Smith.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And his son.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I think it embodies a lot of just the full spectrum of emotions and a rare human experience that is also prevalent everywhere.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Mitchell Iwahiro: If that makes sense.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hence, you're involved in community well-being

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: And being an advocate.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And it just gives you a really intimate and personal sense. But also, Will Smith's a great actor.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Now, I have to ask. Where did this passion and love for well-being come from? Is it from your parents? You've always had it or...

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah, to be completely honest with you, I think it's who I am. I've always loved community.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I studied community development. How do we develop better communities? And I think it's who I am because that's what gives me the most joy is making a positive impact in people's lives.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And so, I think that's living out my purpose.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. Thank you for taking the bonus question. All right, where next?

Mitchell Iwahiro: 73.

Japhet De Oliveira: 73. All right. Oh, share about something that you've had to unlearn in your life.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I think for me, I've been through this journey that has been a sort of construction, and then there's a sort of a deconstruction. And this is of formative experiences, religion, politics, things that I've grown up to believe in. And I'm sort of on this journey of reconstruction.

Japhet De Oliveira: Nice.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And maybe it's not fully having to unlearn beliefs, habits, thoughts, but it's how do I make meaning of it for myself in spite of what I've learned as part of that construction? So I've been through that journey of, okay, why?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And questioning, and doubting, and wrestling, and the sort of stuff that actually allows you to emerge on the other side. There is a better way. There is a more liberating and feeling of at peace with the way you're living your life.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Your world view.

Japhet De Oliveira: You feel grounded and centered.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yes, yes, yes,

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And so, I think I've been on that journey for a while. And you know, I think I've had to unlearn really that other people's opinions, or thoughts, or values, or beliefs that you really admire and respect. They don't necessarily shape you anymore, but they're valid too, and I support and value that. But I think to really mature as a man, you have to decide what you want to believe and decide for yourself.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, yes.

Mitchell Iwahiro: So.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's pretty essential. That's pretty essential.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Mitchell, we have time for two more. So where'd you want to go with the last two numbers?

Mitchell Iwahiro: 28.

Japhet De Oliveira: 28. All right, let's go there. If you could give us an impromptu 30 minute presentation, what would it be about?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah, I can talk about community.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, yeah?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Forever.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: The reason why is community is such an elusive concept, yet it's such a innate desire to have. We all want to belong.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Community at its best is where someone can belong.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And I think I could just go on and on about types of communities and the rise of the third place communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I think there's a lot of change that can come out of community. There's a lot of social endeavors that come out of communities. And I think community is something that is also greatly threatened right now, especially in the West, in the suburban areas and the rural areas that it's too easy to just sort of hide.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Mitchell Iwahiro: It's too easy to sort of just put your thoughts out on social media. And so, I think we're losing a little bit of sense of community. But I'm also an optimist, so I think there's a lot of vigor and energy around building communities and there are new waves of communities. And so, I think the power of community is still yet to be harnessed.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. I like that. All right. Beautiful. Last one.

Mitchell Iwahiro: 18.

Japhet De Oliveira: 18. All right, here we go. If you had to eat just one meal for an entire month, three times a day, what would be that one meal?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Pad see ew.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, yeah?

Mitchell Iwahiro: It's Thai dish.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. I'm with you.

Mitchell Iwahiro: I could eat that all day.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, yeah?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. Do you do anything special to the Pad see ew?

Mitchell Iwahiro: A little spice would be-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah?

Mitchell Iwahiro: You know, just to spice it up.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And maybe I would add one caveat is if I can alter the spice.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Mitchell Iwahiro: And that was three meals a day for a month.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Mitchell Iwahiro: But I could do that the entire month.

Japhet De Oliveira: Pad see ew. Do you have a favorite place that has Pad see ew around here?

Mitchell Iwahiro: Ruen Thai.

Japhet De Oliveira: Ruen Thai. Good shout out to Ruen Thai.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Big shout out to Ruen Thai. That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic, man. Hey, Mitchell, it's been fantastic to be able to speak to you. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for sharing. I want to encourage people to do the same thing. Sit down with a friend. Ask them good questions. We learn about things that we could be frightened about, and excited about, and things that we can discover, so we are better for it.

Mitchell Iwahiro: Thank you, Japhet, for your very tough questions.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's all right, man. It's all good. Hey, God bless you, man. And thanks everybody. We'll connect again soon.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story and Experience podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story and Experience podcast was bought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.