Today we’d like to introduce you to John Suzuki

Hi John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

Some say I am an accomplished dreamer. I believe we all share a common purpose, which is to make the world better than the day we landed on it. After a 40-year career in technology sales and evangelism with companies such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Vrbo, and Expedia – for which I will always be grateful – I transitioned to my third career of “giving back” in 2022 and am now, to my own personal shock, a best-selling author, speaker, and host of the popular podcast, “Finding Better.”

I started my Finding Better Podcast because of my daughter, who told me that “there are a lot people out there who need to hear the kinds of wisdom you shared with us and our friends.” But I had no intention whatsoever to put myself out there. After all, who would ever want to hear from me, right? Ten years later, she brought it up again and said “Dad, you have always said that lifting one person – just one person – lifts the world. So do your podcast and give it to the universe.” With that, I finally launched “Finding Better” on January 1, 2024, and just eleven months later not only have I reached one person, but it is on all major podcast platforms with over 1,600 YouTube subscribers and over 48,000 views. It has been the joy of my life and I’m still in shock.

For me it’s all about inspiring folks to live the wonderful life they long for by sharing the experiences and wisdom of amazing people who have “been there and done that,” so viewers and listeners can learn from those experiences – both good and bad – and apply those lessons to their own lives. So it’s all about inspiring and empowering people of all ages and backgrounds because I have learned that life is the product of the choices you make, and sometimes a great way to success is to copy it.

As the author of the Amazon best-selling book “American Grit – From a Japanese American Concentration Camp Rises an American Hero,” I had the tremendous honor of sharing the extraordinary true story of Japanese Americans who, despite being incarcerated in U.S. concentration camps during World War II, volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army to fight against Japan and Germany. The book focuses on Shiro “Kash” Kashino, who became one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II after volunteering from the Minidoka concentration camp in Idaho. American Grit highlights themes of grit including courage, resilience, and their refusal of victimhood. My mission with American Grit is to prevent the experience of concentration camps in America from ever happening again, and to inspire folks to never allow themselves to be victims by blaming others for their circumstances.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

As with most people, my three greatest obstacles have always been me, myself, and I. Despite knowing that living in fear is a self-imposed waste of time – unless you’re being chased by a hungry lion – it was fear that prevented me from publishing my book and starting my podcast. “What if they don’t like it?… What would people think?… What if, what if, what if… Who am I to write a book or do a podcast?… who do you think you are?” Fear paralyzes, and it paralyzed me. I had never written a book before, and I couldn’t spell p-o-d-c-a-s-t if my life depended on it, but I knew in my heart that I had to do both. The question was whether I would overcome my fear or surrender to it.

Life’s not fair and bad things happen all the time. The only question is how you’re going to react to them. After all, hardship and failure are among life’s greatest teachers and survival instructors. All my life I never surrendered to fear. When I feared getting beat up, I took Karate lessons and now I’m a 5th degree Black Belt. When I feared deep water I went scuba diving. When I feared heights I jumped out of an airplane, and when that fear didn’t go away I became a paragliding pilot. I’m not afraid of those things anymore, so when I realized that my fears were just another one of those “things,” I got to work and I haven’t looked back. Think of it this way: It’s not fear of the unknown that paralyzes… fear is the unknown. So whatever you’re fearful of, know that the more you know about it, the more the fear fades into oblivion.

Financial struggles, health struggles, relationship struggles…Just like everyone I’ve had them all. But my greatest struggle happened when I lost my best friend to suicide in high school. I was so devastated and broken hearted that I thought long and hard about joining him. But through that experience I learned to be strong and compassionate for others facing their own challenges and hardships. While there is no such thing as a permanently smooth road, the good news is that broken roads can always be fixed and no struggle is permanent. And the great news is that there are TONS of people out there who truly want to help. You just have to find it, and then do something with it, and our Finding Better Podcast can be a great place to start.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Finding Better, LLC?

The mission of Finding Better is to make the world better than the day we landed on it one person at a time. I have found that when you lift others, you really do lift the world. We are not about money or fame… we just want to make things better.

Finding Better is all about helping and inspiring folks to find the better in life they long for by sharing personal, real-life experiences of folks who have “been there and done that” in finding better in their own lives. Sometimes a great way to success is to copy it, so we share the wisdom of our experiences that others can apply to their own lives. It really is beautiful.

Our “Finding Better Podcast with John Suzuki” can be found on YouTube and all of the major podcast platforms.

What makes you happy?

Happiness is a funny thing. Some folks believe happiness is something that comes with conditions. For example, “I’ll be happy when I get that new car, or job, or raise, or shoes, or TV, or dress, or girl/boyfriend, or iPhone…” What most people don’t understand is that happiness is a state of mind. It’s not a destination. And here’s a secret: True and lasting happiness is born of one thing: Gratitude. If you can be grateful for what you have and not what you want, happiness can always be yours… always. Don’t believe me? Look around you. Everything you see is something you can be grateful for. Every person in your life is someone you can be grateful for.

Happiness is not about having what you want…
Happiness is about wanting what you have.

If you’ve never thought of your happiness as being a natural result of your gratitude, it’ll be hard to grasp when you try it the first time. But keep at it and you’ll experience a transformation in yourself that you never thought was possible. Try it, then try it again… and again, and again. Everything will be all right. Thank you for you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://johnsuzuki.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/johnjsuzuki
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/people/Finding-Better-Podcast/61553181525310
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn03CucCaO2FfNFbrNOnhng