What do you do when life punches you in the face? In this episode of the Active Action Podcast, Dr. Nazif talks with DK Kang, an author, life learner, and wellness advocate who helps people build strength physically, mentally, and spiritually through discipline and daily action.
In January 2024, DK’s wife was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer. One week after he asked his managers for a flexible schedule to be at her appointments, he was laid off. The family went ten months with no income and took on about $60,000 in medical debt and living expenses. Instead of asking “why us,” DK and his wife asked a different question: “why not us, and who can we help?” That question became his book, Mindset Metamorphosis.
In this conversation, DK shares how he moved from survival to rebuilding, drawing on faith, gratitude, daily routine, and 35-plus years of martial arts. The good news: his wife has been cancer-free since February 2025.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- How to shift from “why us” to “why not us, and who can we help?” and why that reframe changes everything
- Why you don’t need motivation to start: take one small action (even just putting your shoes on) and let the habits compound
- How to turn what you read and learn into action, instead of letting it go in one ear and out the other
- Why hardship is a teacher, not a verdict, and how the lesson is in how you respond to the setback
- How a simple daily routine (reading, five minutes of meditation, a gratitude journal) keeps you grounded in hard seasons
- Why practicing gratitude for small things, even just the breath in your lungs, builds resilience
- How decades of martial arts and endurance training translate into emotional and professional resilience built step by step
- How to find your non-negotiables, the things you refuse to be shaken on, and protect them
- Practical, book-backed tools for dealing with stress: water, sleep, journaling, breath work, meditation, and whole-food nutrition
Be sure to check the webpage of DK at the Active Action Podcast Website to learn more about his work, and ways to connect with him.
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00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 of Active Action Podcast. It's me, your host.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 Dr. Nazif, back again with another amazing guest.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 We are very grateful to have you with our show
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 since the last two years and your encouragement
00:01:04 --> 00:01:08 has been meaning a lot to me and the lab as well.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 Just for introduction, I am Nazif and currently
00:01:10 --> 00:01:15 I offer personal and professional development
00:01:15 --> 00:01:19 support tips and tricks through the Active Action.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 So if you do want to check out our resources,
00:01:23 --> 00:01:27 please feel free to visit www .activeactionlab
00:01:27 --> 00:01:31 .com. If you go under library, you can find the
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 Life Skills School. So all those resources are
00:01:34 --> 00:01:38 free. Feel free to check those out. If you need
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 or if you require one -on -one personal support,
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 we also have options for that in the website.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 And please continue providing your feedback.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 It's so wonderful to hear how we can improve.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:56 So today we are... We have with us DK Kang. So
00:01:56 --> 00:02:00 DK is an author, a life learner, a wellness advocate
00:02:00 --> 00:02:04 who helps people build strength physically, mentally,
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 and spiritually. He does it through the discipline
00:02:07 --> 00:02:11 and daily action after walking through his wife's
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 cancer battles, job loss, and financial hardship.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:19 DK now shares practical tools for turning setbacks
00:02:19 --> 00:02:23 into fuel for health, healing, and personal growth.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 The topic for today's podcast is active action
00:02:27 --> 00:02:31 in adversity, turning life's hardest moment into
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 a daily mindset advantage. So we're going to
00:02:35 --> 00:02:39 talk to our wonderful guest, DK, about his experience
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 and the things that he has gone through and how
00:02:42 --> 00:02:47 that actually fueled him. to empower people and
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 help people with their own problem and strength
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 as well. So how are you doing this evening, DK?
00:02:54 --> 00:02:58 I'm doing well. I'm doing wonderful. Thank you
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 so much, DK, for joining the podcast. Do you
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 want to introduce yourself a little bit to our
00:03:04 --> 00:03:09 audience apart from like what I say? Yeah, I
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 mean, I guess for me, you kind of already, you
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 know, said kind of introduction. Yeah, I'm just,
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 yeah, I just always was. Wanting to learn, learn
00:03:18 --> 00:03:24 about people, about myself, about life. And ultimately,
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 I just want to be able to help people in whatever
00:03:27 --> 00:03:31 stage they're at in their life. That's so wonderful,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 DK. And people at times, people do seek help
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 to understand where their life is going and what
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 is happening and how they can do better. So your
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 insights from today's episode would be very valuable,
00:03:44 --> 00:03:48 I'm sure, for the audiences. Can I start by asking
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 you, what was the turning point that shifted
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 you from just surviving to deliberately rebuilding
00:03:54 --> 00:04:01 your life? Yeah, so back in 2024, it was January
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 of 2024, my wife gets diagnosed with breast cancer
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 and doctors wanted to start treatment immediately.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:08 And I'm reading this book called The Breast Cancer
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 Husband. And this book basically says, hey, as
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 a husband, be there for your wife as your wife
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 is going through cancer. As I'm finishing the
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 book, it says to let your employer know what's
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 going on, kind of personally, to ask for a more
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 flexible work schedule. And so I'm kind of reluctant,
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 but hey, this is what the book said to do. So
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 I'm going to go do it. February 1st comes around.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 I pulled my three managers aside and said, hey,
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 this is what's going on. My wife has cancer and
00:04:34 --> 00:04:35 I would like to be at all their appointments.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 And, you know, I'm willing to work weekends,
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 work nights, whatever it takes to make up my
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 hours, just to have a flexible work schedule.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 But they said, yeah, that's fine. And then exactly
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 a week after I disclosed that, they decided to
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 lay me off. And so, yeah. So by this point, my
00:04:51 --> 00:04:55 wife has already quit work and is trying to basically
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 start chemo. And so during that time, so we went
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 about 10 months of no income. So when you consider
00:05:02 --> 00:05:08 the fact of cancer, chemo, radiation, surgery.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 Without health insurance, we got one chemo bill
00:05:12 --> 00:05:17 was about $75 US. And I made a bunch of
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 phone calls, but we ended up getting a high premium
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 insurance. It's called COBRA here in the United
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 States, but it's, you know, high deductible,
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 high premium that goes with that. So we ended
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 up not paying the $75 , but because we went
00:05:31 --> 00:05:35 10 months without any income, we still accrued
00:05:35 --> 00:05:39 about $60 worth of debt. medical debt, living
00:05:39 --> 00:05:43 expenses, and things like that. And so when I
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 heard the news, when I got laid off, so faith
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 is a big part of my life. I came home, I told
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 my wife, hey, I got laid off, and we prayed,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:55 but we didn't ask the question, why is this happening
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 to us? God, why does my wife get cancer? Why
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 do I lose my job? All within a short time. Instead,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:06 we asked the question, why not us? And who can
00:06:06 --> 00:06:10 we help? And so when I was taking my wife to
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 her treatments, I was just journaling one day,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 just my thoughts, kind of an action plan, what
00:06:16 --> 00:06:20 I need to do to kind of get unstuck or move forward.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 But that question always came back. It's like,
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 who can we help? And so my journaling turned
00:06:25 --> 00:06:29 into, which is my book, it's Mindset Metamorphosis.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:34 It's a book about basically when life kind of...
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 punches you in the face, whether it be job loss
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 or cancer or losing loved ones or whatever life
00:06:40 --> 00:06:44 circumstances you're facing, it's kind of a how
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 to move forward, how to take that action for
00:06:47 --> 00:06:51 your life and not sit back and say, life is just
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 happening to me, I don't know what to do, but
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 to really take that action to start learning
00:06:57 --> 00:06:58 how to deal with their stress, getting plenty
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 of water, getting plenty of sleep, journaling.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 doing breath work, meditating. I talk about all
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 these in my book. And so, yeah, so for me from
00:07:07 --> 00:07:12 surviving, I was basically surviving, you know,
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 but for me it was I'm rebuilding because that
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 question always came back of who can we help?
00:07:18 --> 00:07:22 And partly of that was I wrote my book to help
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 people, but also to help myself to kind of rebuild
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 my life as well. So that was kind of the starting
00:07:27 --> 00:07:32 point of kind of where things kind of. Went from
00:07:32 --> 00:07:37 survival mode to start rebuilding. So wonderful
00:07:37 --> 00:07:41 to hear how you turn those situation to your
00:07:41 --> 00:07:45 strength and to your resilience. I can imagine
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 like what you and your wife have been through.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:52 But that also actually fully ignited the inner
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 strength within you. And that actually helped
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 you to survive those very difficult situations,
00:07:57 --> 00:08:01 but also to have, you know, a new perspective
00:08:01 --> 00:08:06 on life. No matter how you say it, how much hard
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 like life punches you in the face, you just,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 you know, take a, you have to look for the opportunity
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 to go stronger and turn that to your advantages.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 So thank you so much for sharing with us. So
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 kudos to you and your wife as well. So from that
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 difficult journey, DK, that you had and endured,
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 what did you learn from it? What is the core
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 shift people need to make to move from how you
00:08:30 --> 00:08:34 mentioned being stuck? too unstoppable in their
00:08:34 --> 00:08:38 personal and professional lives. Yeah, I think
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 when people feel stuck, I think people feel that
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 they don't want to take any action because they're
00:08:43 --> 00:08:48 not motivated. But, you know, sometimes you don't
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 have to be motivated. Sometimes just do the work.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:54 Just take a small action. Let's say your goal
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 is to, it's January right now. Everybody has
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 a New Year's and everyone wants to lose 10 pounds
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 or 20 pounds or whatever. A lot of times people
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 want to get started until they're like, I'll
00:09:03 --> 00:09:07 get started whenever I get motivated. But motivation
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 will come and go. So, but if your end goal is,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 hey, I want to lose 10 pounds by the end of the
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 year or whatever, well, take that small step,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 whatever it is. And let's say it is losing weight.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 Well, step one, put your shoes on. That's it.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 For the first day, just put your shoes on. That's
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 it. The next day. Put your shoes on, walk to,
00:09:30 --> 00:09:35 you know, the front door or the mailbox. Okay,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 and then celebrate that win. And these start
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 to compound. And then on the third day, walk
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 to the neighbor's mailbox. Day four, walk down
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 the street or something like that. And these
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 little tiny small steps, these small habits starts
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 building. Or if you want to read, you know, I
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 don't know, 50 books in a year or something like
00:09:53 --> 00:09:57 that. Just start with one book, one page. And
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 however long it takes you, well, just you're
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 making a start. But take that action. Like, don't
00:10:03 --> 00:10:08 just read the book. Do what it says. Like I said,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 faith is a big part of my life. I think there's
00:10:09 --> 00:10:14 a scripture in James. It says, I think it's,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 it says, do not merely listen to the word, which
00:10:17 --> 00:10:21 is the Bible. And so deceive yourselves. Do what
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 it says. If you're reading a book about a business
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 book or something, do what the book says to do.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 Because if you just read it and it just goes
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 out in one ear and then out the other, then you're
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 not really learning anything. Start applying
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 these things that you're learning and take that
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 action. I mean, your podcast is about active
00:10:40 --> 00:10:44 action, right? So take small actions, whether
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 if you're motivated or not. And then those actions
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 will start compounding. And then a year from
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 now, a month from now, you'll see, hey, I've
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 come a long way. And that's the same thing what
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 I had to do with my wife's cancer journey. We
00:10:57 --> 00:11:01 were reading books about cancer. We were reading
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 books about nutrition and things can help fight
00:11:04 --> 00:11:08 cancer with our diet. And so we put it into practice.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 We learned about broccoli sprouts. You know,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 broccoli sprouts have 10 times more cancer -fighting
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 ingredients than regular broccoli. So we started
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 growing our own and then we started integrating
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 broccoli sprouts into our salads or smoothies
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 because we learned it. But instead of just merely
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 reading a book about it and not doing anything,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 then we're not going to get anything out of it.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 So take that small action. That's so important,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 Deacon. Thank you for sharing that perspective
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 because it's the action or the initiation that
00:11:40 --> 00:11:44 we most hesitate to do whenever we are trying
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 to take a new step or trying to go towards a
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 direction. This is a hidden fear that comes all
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 to us that, okay, what will happen if I fail?
00:11:53 --> 00:11:57 if i will even succeed okay what lies ahead the
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 thing is you don't know anything what would happen
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 if you don't take that first step how you're
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 mentioning just if someone wants to lose weight
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 then they have to like put on those shoes and
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 just start walking and then see where it goes
00:12:11 --> 00:12:15 and it's very common in naturally in our human
00:12:15 --> 00:12:20 life to have setbacks to be and but and those
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 setbacks actually get us to be much demotivated
00:12:23 --> 00:12:27 but the issue is that if we can somehow bypass
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 that demotivation and have it make it a consistent
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 habit and then it could actually lead to somewhere
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 but none of this would happen if we don't take
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 that first step so I really really appreciate
00:12:38 --> 00:12:42 your insights on that speaking of taking steps
00:12:42 --> 00:12:46 so can you share one small daily habit that the
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 listeners can start today to improve their mindset
00:12:49 --> 00:12:53 health or productivity Yeah, I would say one
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 thing. I mean, for me, I have a morning routine.
00:12:56 --> 00:13:00 I think as humans, we kind of thrive on a routine.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04 So my morning routine is I wake up, I read the
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 Bible, I sit and meditate for a little bit, five
00:13:07 --> 00:13:11 minutes, and then I make my smoothie, my cancer
00:13:11 --> 00:13:15 -fighting smoothie. And it boosts my day and
00:13:15 --> 00:13:19 to really set me grounded. And, you know, it
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 could be something else. It could be a morning
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 routine or it could be just five minutes of meditation
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 or five minutes of reading or just five minutes
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 of like a gratitude journal. All these things
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 can really help to kind of see the bigger picture,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 but also kind of ground you to be in the moment.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:39 Because with the cancer diagnosis for my wife
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 and I, it was, well, we don't know when my wife
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 would be gone because she had an aggressive cancer.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 And so, yeah, I mean, I think just having gratitude.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 For the simple things, like something that we
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 do is we practice three things that we're grateful
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 for. And some days it was just, hey, we're grateful
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 for the breath in our lungs. We're grateful for
00:13:58 --> 00:14:03 that we were able to wake up today. Because with
00:14:03 --> 00:14:07 cancer, you just don't know. But just to let
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 you know, my wife is cancer -free as of February
00:14:09 --> 00:14:14 of 2025. So it was a year -long journey. But
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 she had other things that kind of came up. She
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 had cataracts out there. She has nerve damage
00:14:18 --> 00:14:22 from treatment. So we're still dealing with all
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 that, but we're still, we're taking the steps
00:14:24 --> 00:14:28 necessary to move forward. And we're not, you
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 talked about setbacks. As humans, we're going
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 to fail. Right, yeah. Respond to those failures.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 How do you respond to those setbacks? Because
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 a lot of those times it could be, setbacks could
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 be a moment for teaching. Maybe there's a lesson
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 for you to learn. For us, it was cancer and that
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 was a setback for us. But our lesson was, well,
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 let's change our nutrition. Let's change our
00:14:51 --> 00:14:55 stress so we can prevent having cancer come back
00:14:55 --> 00:14:59 again. And so it was a learning lesson for us.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:03 So, yeah, I mean, I think just having just gratitude,
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 practicing gratitude can be one simple thing
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 that people will start practicing. Realizing
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 what we are thankful for in life, right? instead
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 of thinking of those negativities. And thank
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 you so much for sharing the update. I'm so happy
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 to hear that your wife is still cancer free.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:23 But you did endure a lot of hardship during those
00:15:23 --> 00:15:27 days and it actually helped you. I feel it actually
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 helped you to grow that resilience, you know,
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 the resilient mindset that you have right now
00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 and the positive outlook and the feeling of having
00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 that gratitude. Because when life... really hits
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 us hard, then we can understand the things that
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 we have right now that is a blessing in our life.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 And we have to learn to be grateful for those
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 things so that we can actually truly appreciate
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 its value, right? Can you share with me from
00:15:52 --> 00:15:57 your experience, DK, what mindset lessons from
00:15:57 --> 00:16:00 the hardship actually helped you to become a
00:16:00 --> 00:16:04 better both in terms of personality, but also
00:16:04 --> 00:16:10 in terms of professional? Yeah, I think hardship
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 builds your character. Like I said, faith is
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 a big part of my life. Like me, Jesus was, he
00:16:15 --> 00:16:19 had hardship. And Jesus says, in this world,
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 you have trouble, but take heart that Jesus has
00:16:21 --> 00:16:25 overcome the world. And so it's a blatant statement
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 that all of us are going to have some sort of
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 hardship or some sort of trouble in our life,
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 whether we lose loved ones, job loss, whatever
00:16:32 --> 00:16:36 it is. But I think so many of us look at it as
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 this is kind of the, this is my life and my life
00:16:39 --> 00:16:44 is over because X, Y, Z happened. But when we
00:16:44 --> 00:16:49 look at it as these hardships, it's very uncomfortable,
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 right? But these hardships are, it's a teacher.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:57 It's like a teacher in life, basically. It's
00:16:57 --> 00:17:04 how do we respond in those hardships? Yeah. I
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 mean, all of us are going to face it. I give
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 you an example. I've done martial arts all my
00:17:09 --> 00:17:14 life and five plus years. And when you're starring
00:17:14 --> 00:17:17 against someone, you know, punches and kicks
00:17:17 --> 00:17:20 are coming at your face and it's very uncomfortable.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 It's very scary, right? Right. Yeah, that's true.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 With cancer, it's kind of punching you in the
00:17:25 --> 00:17:29 face, right? Or life or job or whatever. It's
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 scary. It's very uncomfortable. But what are
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 you learning from that? And going back to the
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 martial arts, most people want to run away when
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 someone is trying to punch you in the face because
00:17:39 --> 00:17:43 it hurts. Right, yeah. But then what are you
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 learning about yourself? What are you learning
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 about your opponent? It could be, okay, do I
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 counter this punch? Do I move away? Do I step
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 back? Do I attack first? And it's the same with
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 life. Give you another example, as I'm taking
00:17:55 --> 00:18:00 my wife to her treatments. And I saw the nursing
00:18:00 --> 00:18:03 staff and the doctors on a two, three times weekly
00:18:03 --> 00:18:08 basis for vagans. And one day, the medical staff
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 just pulled me aside and said, hey, we are really
00:18:10 --> 00:18:14 inspired and impressed by you by sticking by
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 your wife's side. Because we see so many people,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 so many men, basically, they said 70 or 80 %
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 of men basically file for divorce, check out,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 separate from their wife when their wife is going
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 through cancer. The analogy I would give you
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 about martial arts is the same. Those people
00:18:33 --> 00:18:37 wanted to run away from this uncomfortable, this
00:18:37 --> 00:18:42 challenging life situation. But in the end, what
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 if they stuck by their wife and really stood
00:18:45 --> 00:18:49 by their side? What did they learn during that
00:18:49 --> 00:18:53 time? And so, yeah, I mean, when we face these
00:18:53 --> 00:18:56 things, it's a teacher. And I don't think we
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 should run away from it. And we should. be willing
00:18:58 --> 00:19:01 to get uncomfortable because that's where we
00:19:01 --> 00:19:04 start learning. You know, if you look at a baby,
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 when the baby's trying to first walk, you know,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:12 they fall. They fall like a rock. But we, as
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 adults, keep saying, keep going. You'll eventually
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 walk. We don't just say, oh, you try once, you're
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 never going to walk. It's the same thing with
00:19:21 --> 00:19:25 hardships. We try it, learn from it, let it be
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 a teacher. move forward because there's going
00:19:28 --> 00:19:32 to be another hardship later in life. So I want
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 to ask you a follow -up question on that. I know
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 you have decades of martial arts and endurance
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 training as well. And the learning that comes
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 with martial arts is physical discipline. I think
00:19:43 --> 00:19:46 that's an important part of martial arts as well.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:49 So how do you think physical discipline translates
00:19:49 --> 00:19:53 into emotional and professional resilience? Yeah,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 I mean, physical discipline It's not made overnight.
00:19:57 --> 00:20:01 You can't get a black belt in a day. You're not
00:20:01 --> 00:20:04 going to get a promotion at work or you're not
00:20:04 --> 00:20:07 going to be successful in a day. You got to put
00:20:07 --> 00:20:11 the work in. But physical discipline, for me,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:14 I've done Spartan races. I've done a 50K. And
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 if you know what a Spartan race is, it's an obstacle
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 course race. And, you know, you don't just wake
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 up one day and, all right, I'm going to go run
00:20:21 --> 00:20:24 a 50K. No, you build up to it, you know. Right,
00:20:24 --> 00:20:28 yeah. your emotions with professionally as well.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 Like one day you're just not, I'm just upset
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 and mad. No, all these things starts building.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 And with your emotions, you know, you don't just
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 be, I'm happy one day, then sad the next. And
00:20:37 --> 00:20:40 then, you know, starts building with these little
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 things. Same thing with physical discipline.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:46 You start small and build up from that. You run
00:20:46 --> 00:20:50 a 5k and then do a 10k or then a 15k or 20k or
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 whatever, you know? And so that resilience helps
00:20:53 --> 00:20:57 you. kind of continue to keep going because you're
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 like, okay, this is uncomfortable, but I know
00:21:00 --> 00:21:03 that there's something bigger. Like for us, cancer,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:08 our bigger picture was who can we help? Because
00:21:08 --> 00:21:13 we're doing research and it's one in three people
00:21:13 --> 00:21:17 will get cancer in today's society. So that's
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 a lot of people that's going to get cancer. And
00:21:19 --> 00:21:22 so we wanted to basically just be able to help
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24 people because we know what it's like. to have
00:21:24 --> 00:21:29 cancer and job loss. Thanks so much, DK, you
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 know, for your very valuable work on that and
00:21:32 --> 00:21:35 the learning that you were sharing with the people
00:21:35 --> 00:21:39 that you work. Can I ask you, like, if listeners
00:21:39 --> 00:21:43 today could take one active action this week
00:21:43 --> 00:21:46 to improve their life, whether it might be mentally,
00:21:46 --> 00:21:49 physically, or professionally, from your experience,
00:21:50 --> 00:21:55 what would you challenge them to do? find out
00:21:55 --> 00:21:59 what your non -negotiables are. So for us, a
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 non -negotiable was my wife's health. And for
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05 me to be by my wife's side, that was a non -negotiable.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 For me, there's a million jobs out there. I will
00:22:08 --> 00:22:12 get a job, but there's only one of my wife. And
00:22:12 --> 00:22:15 so that was a non -negotiable. Figure out what
00:22:15 --> 00:22:19 your non -negotiable is. And for us, it was changing
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 our diet to a whole food plant -based diet because
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 that's what a lot of cancer books said to do.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:28 And so that's a non -negotiable. What are your
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 non -negotiables that you're not willing to be
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 shaken by? And another non -negotiable for me
00:22:33 --> 00:22:37 is reading the Bible. That's always, for me,
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 is non -negotiable. Whether if I'm traveling
00:22:39 --> 00:22:42 or if I've only got a couple hours of sleep or
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44 whatever, that's still my go -to thing to do
00:22:44 --> 00:22:48 no matter what. So whoever's listening out there,
00:22:48 --> 00:22:52 figure out what your non -negotiable is and stick
00:22:52 --> 00:22:56 to that. And take that small action to that so
00:22:56 --> 00:23:00 you can live better. Thanks so much for sharing
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 this perspective, DK. I really, really appreciate
00:23:03 --> 00:23:07 and value that non -negotiable factor. Something
00:23:07 --> 00:23:10 is really important for us. Trying to find and
00:23:10 --> 00:23:14 having a self -awareness of what that is actually
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 helps us to make our life much more better and
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 much more focused, you know, stay positive. Can
00:23:19 --> 00:23:22 you... Let us, our audiences know where they
00:23:22 --> 00:23:25 can actually get your book from and why they
00:23:25 --> 00:23:30 should. Yeah. So you can get my book on Amazon.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:34 It's on Audible. It's a paperback and it's on
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 Kindle. And I think people should pick it up
00:23:36 --> 00:23:40 because I'm not telling, I'm not telling people
00:23:40 --> 00:23:43 out of that. I didn't go through things like,
00:23:43 --> 00:23:46 no, I've actually went through a lot of hardship
00:23:46 --> 00:23:49 and these are tools that help me to basically
00:23:49 --> 00:23:52 get unstuck. to help me deal with my stress that
00:23:52 --> 00:23:57 I was dealing with. And I mean, ultimately, it's
00:23:57 --> 00:24:00 a how to live a better life and how to take action
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 for your life, no matter where you're at, whether
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 if you're struggling financially, whether if
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08 you're facing health issues, really take ownership
00:24:08 --> 00:24:11 of your life to move forward and take action,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:14 whatever it is. If it's your health, if it's
00:24:14 --> 00:24:19 your relationships, there's a lot of... concepts
00:24:19 --> 00:24:22 and tips in there that really helped me to develop
00:24:22 --> 00:24:26 who I am today. I mean, it's a short read. You
00:24:26 --> 00:24:29 could probably read it in two, three days. It's
00:24:29 --> 00:24:33 180 pages, but it's a lot of just how to meditate,
00:24:33 --> 00:24:37 how to breathe, how to deal with stress, how
00:24:37 --> 00:24:41 to go for walks, you know, how to build relationships.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:45 So yeah, I mean, I think it's just a great read
00:24:45 --> 00:24:49 for anybody. Thank you so much, DK, for sharing
00:24:49 --> 00:24:52 that. And dear listeners, you can pick up Mindset
00:24:52 --> 00:24:57 Metamorphosis from Amazon. So if you do want
00:24:57 --> 00:25:01 to know DK and his activities and the book as
00:25:01 --> 00:25:04 well, please feel free to visit our website at
00:25:04 --> 00:25:08 activationlab .com and search DK Kang. That is
00:25:08 --> 00:25:13 D... k space k -a -n -g you will see DK's webpage
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 over there and it will have his links to this
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 book socials and bios and everything so if you
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 do also want to connect with DK you can do through
00:25:21 --> 00:25:24 one of that means as well also the link for DK's
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 book would be in the description of the podcast
00:25:26 --> 00:25:29 in the video and audio as well thank you so much
00:25:29 --> 00:25:32 DK for sharing your wonderful perspective your
00:25:32 --> 00:25:36 journey of transformation I can say personal
00:25:36 --> 00:25:39 professional and spiritual growth the hardship
00:25:39 --> 00:25:42 that you have endured and how you transform yourself,
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 taking the essence from that. It is very, very
00:25:45 --> 00:25:48 helpful for our listeners, especially who is
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 kind of going through similar situations. They
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 can actually, you know, get strength, get the
00:25:52 --> 00:25:56 learning and see what they are seeing from the
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 eyes of somebody who has already gone through
00:25:59 --> 00:26:02 that path. So I really, really appreciate your
00:26:02 --> 00:26:05 valuable insights and words of wisdom on those.
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 Thank you again so much for joining today's podcast.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:12 And I'm very happy to have you. I will hope we'll
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 meet again sometime very soon. Well, thank you
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 for having me. Oh, also, I forgot to mention,
00:26:17 --> 00:26:21 if you go on my website, dkking .com, and if
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 you sign up for my newsletter, I'm actually giving
00:26:23 --> 00:26:26 away the first chapter of my Mindset Metamorphosis
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 as a free download if you sign up for the newsletter.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:32 I'm on all the socials, but I really just post
00:26:32 --> 00:26:35 there. I don't usually respond. Best way to get
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38 a hold of me is through email is DK at DKKang
00:26:38 --> 00:26:41 .com. I usually respond on emails two to three
00:26:41 --> 00:26:44 days. So yeah, that's the best way to connect
00:26:44 --> 00:26:48 with me. Wonderful. And your audiences, this
00:26:48 --> 00:26:52 other website link for DK Kang's website would
00:26:52 --> 00:26:55 also be included in our... in the webpage and
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 description. So please feel free to check that
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 out. And dear audiences, thank you so much for
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 listening to this episode. I'll meet you in another
00:27:01 --> 00:27:04 episode at another time. Until then, take care,
00:27:04 --> 00:27:12 everyone. Thank you for joining us on the Active
00:27:12 --> 00:27:15 Action Podcast at the Life Skills School. We
00:27:15 --> 00:27:17 hope today's episode gave you some entertainment,
00:27:17 --> 00:27:20 fresh perspectives, and a little extra motivation
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23 to take action in your own life. Don't forget
00:27:23 --> 00:27:26 to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 if you enjoyed the show, share it with someone
00:27:28 --> 00:27:31 who might love it too. Visit lifeskillschool
00:27:31 --> 00:27:34 .com to enjoy all episodes and other exclusive
00:27:34 --> 00:27:37 content on self -development. Take care, stay
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