My story
In 2016-2018 I lived in a tiny 676 person village in the mountains of Tokushima, teaching English as a JET.
Coming into rural Japan with no Japanese was a bit unnerving. The way I integrated was totally random: soft volleyball with the villagers. I went to every practice (our team pictured here). It didn’t take long to feel accepted by the community. Anyone who has travelled extensively knows: shared experience is much more bonding than shared language.
Tasting success
Like many country bumpkins, I craved the bright city lights.
I moved to Tokyo, determined to “make it” on my own.
Within ~4 years I was making 10x my JET salary and living on the 19th story overlooking Tokyo tower. At least on paper, I had found success.
I smiled, but deep down, I felt disconnected from my purpose. I felt numb when I should’ve felt happy or sad. Eventually, it turned to anger.
Somehow in the village, I was much happier with much less.
So I made a change.
My ‘holy sh*t’ moment
I left Japan to backpack around the world to reconnect with myself.
Along the way, I went on a 10 day silent retreat (Vippassana), worked with a brilliant life coach (Bill Ao), and helped out a permaculture farmer named Patrick living in a seacave off the cost of Morocco.
One day, I was carrying goat poop up a hill with Patrick and had a life-changing, realization: “Holy sh*t, I feel so alive.” The sweat, the smell, the scenary, the inner peace, the purpose, the connection to the earth.
The word ‘grounded’ is thrown around like a old chew toy, but when I actually felt what it meant, I knew this dog wasn’t letting go.
That small moment became a guiding light.
Redefining success
Thanks to coaching, meditation, and farming, I found a core purpose: Enjoy my life, and help others.
Enjoying my life means: feeling alive, freedom to plan my day, working outside, surfing, learning, and building something meaningful. These days I’m especially working on living sustainably and deepening my meditation practice.
Helping others means: life coaching and retreats to help others reconnect with themselves, volunteering in the community, and sharing my story. Happy to have over 300 coaching hours and 6 retreats, as of May 2026. I’m not here to tell anyone how to live their life, but if they aren’t satisfied with it, I might be able to help.
I hope everyone can come experience the warmth and peace of natural living in the countryside.
First, lets’ chat?