Opa Hysea Wise - Motivational Speaker & Author, No Place to Hide
Opa Hysea Wise
Opa Hysea Wise is an American author, born to mixed race parents. Like so many people of color, she came to experience a sense of “otherness,” which fueled her desire to discuss diversity as the woven fabric within the American tapestry. She worked as a Training and Development specialist and manager in Government and Corporate organizations. Often tasked to develop and deliver diversity courses, Opa brought a sense of understanding, compassion and a call to action to her audience, with the firm knowledge that returning to the connection we all have would be but one step to returning to love. As both a Jack Canfield Success Coach and an author, Opa Hysea Wise looks to set a fire within the hearts of both her students and her readers.
Her book No Place to Hide released on Nov. 3, 2020, is a a riveting page-turner about a woman caught in the crosshairs of an agri-business’ corporate assassin. Against hope, Smythe Windwalker Daniels’ anonymity is compromised, and a threat has been made against her life. The danger impacts not only her life but the lives of those around her. She reluctantly accepts the FBI’s protection, hoping to testify and bring a promise of justice to a community. Smythe is a woman with vision in her eyes and fire in her soul. From a young age, Smythe was discriminated against as a mixed-race girl in a predominantly white neighborhood. She leaves her career to escape the corporate rat race, only to get entangled in a pesticide poisoning cover-up attempt by a mega corporation. While on the run, she seeks to find meaning in events that now threaten her life. Through a series of misadventures, she discovers how all events are all woven together in this tapestry called “life.” As she uses her past experience to find meaning in her present, she begins to see beauty in the midst of chaos. But the harder she tries to hide, the more difficult it is to survive.
I’m so excited for you to connect with Opa, check out her work and new book, and follow along as she continues to guide people who wish to pursue a life that fulfills them and show others that it’s possible to gain deeper understanding of the areas where you want to shift and gain greater clarity around your life.
I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.
Hi Sydney. My Name is Opa Hysea Wise. I am a queer, mixed race (Choctaw Native American/African American) female and I am a transformational coach and speaker. So what that means is that my job is to help clients get from where they currently are in their lives to where they want to be. Many of us at some point in our lives, wander into spaces where we begin to ask some pretty tough questions of ourselves. We become overwhelmed, sometimes anxiety ridden, wondering what we truly desire out of life. My goal as I work with clients is first help them gain the clarity they need to make the necessary shifts in their lives.
My other gig is as a fiction writer--well kind of fiction. My new book, New Place to Hide, straddles the fence between fiction and non-fiction. I decided to create a story where my main character works through some profound life lessons through a story that blends a certain level of mystery and intrigue with spirituality and self discovery. I must admit, it has been a challenge for my publisher to find just the right niche for the book.
I am currently working on the second novel in the series. It picks up where No Place to Hide leaves off, and will focus on some of the other characters.
How did you get started?
If by started, you mean, writing the novel, well, I was in the midst of taking on a year long training program with Jack Canfield--considered America's number one success coach. I was intrigued by his book the Success Principles and learned that he offered a course where students would do a deep dive into the principles. I took the course because I intended to blend some of the training work into my own coaching practice. Well, one day I had an inspired thought--you know the kind of thought that makes your heart go pitter patter with excitement and fear all at the same moment. The kind of thought that calls into question one's own mental health. The thought to write a novel that would incorporate a few of the principles I was learning. Now you have to understand, I had this known limiting belief about my ability to write. As a young person I attempted to write a story based on what was in my head. After several “failed” hours of trying to write down my thoughts on paper in a way that closely mirrored the pictures I had in my mind, I eventually gave up. I told myself I could never write. That childhood memory surfaced along right along with the idea of writing the novel. Taking my own advice as a coach, I felt the fear and did it anyway—and as they say, a novel was born.
What inspired the work that you're doing?
It is the human condition in all of its complexity that inspires me to write and coach.
My coaching and speaking work was born out of a dissatisfaction with my life. I kept thinking I was here fora purpose, but over the years found that I had shifted away from “it”. I had shifted away from it, because I didn’t know what the “it” was—I hadn’t a clue. Now mind you, I was extremely successful as a Government and Corporate trainer. I climbed the proverbial ladder in both sectors, yet as I neared the top, I began to see that I had my ladder on the wrong wall. My dissatisfaction was palpable. Completely dejected by the emptiness of my life, a few years ago, I shoved my fears and self-esteem issues to the side and took a leap of faith and walked out on my corporate life—the life that did not serve me. I took some time to figure out what grounded me, what made my heart sing and once I narrowed in on that, I took the necessary courses to change my career choice. Into this new career I added additional courses during that time I rediscovered my childhood love of writing.
As an aside, it’s really quite normal to suspect and finally recognize that we have become a passenger at the wheel of our own lives. That perhaps we actually are asleep at the wheel, but what is true is that we don’t have to remain asleep in the passenger's seat. We can pull over and stop. Move around to the driver's seat and as long as we have a heading, we can travel in the direction of our dreams.
The novel, No Place to Hide, was inspired by all of that. People are hurting. They wake up and if they have the courage to look, they often don’t recognize the face they see in their bathroom mirror. They are ruled by limiting beliefs that poison the potential within them. If we look around, really take a non-judgemental look around and listen, what we see and hear is a lot of disillusioned people. It comes out in language. I hear the words “I can’t” every day. Well I can’t because…. “Can’t” is a conjunction of “cannot”. “Cannot” is a disempowering word. But life has the power of choice. When we replace the conjunction of “can’t” with ‘won’t” we can see that there is a choice that we can make. I will do a thing, or I will not. I will not do X because...or I will do a X.
No Place to Hide is also an opportunity to teach the readers that our limiting beliefs, and our past stories unconsciously influence our choices and behaviors. If you pay attention, you will see a pattern in my protagonist, Smythe. Eventually the reader will learn about her unconscious limiting belief that drives her behavior. It’s the epiphany of “oh, I get it.” And then she will begin to shift. Basically you can’t shift until you know what you are shifting away from.
What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?
Right now I am living my passion and purpose which is to write fiction work, with a self—discovery component. Just a little stealth coaching as it were.
What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?
My Joy blueprint is about creating a healthy spiritual blueprint, letting go of fear (fantasized events appearing real), watching my thoughts not as the person who is having the thoughts but as a watcher watching my thoughts—allowing them to come in and flow out like a river. I follow my proverbial “bliss.” In other words I follow the nature of who I am as spirit. While I am in the world, I choose not to become too engaged in it, following the Spirit of All things and moving from the place of center. The only way I can explain my blueprint is that I follow an energy of limitless intelligence, love, and abundance. As a result, regardless of my circumstances, my joy for life remains.
How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?
Well --no matter whether it is a weekday or weekend, my day starts between 430-5:00 a.m. What I find is that energy is lower during that time. I spend the first ten minutes writing out a minimum of 10 things I am grateful for. Just whatever pops into my mind. Gratitude I’ve come to learn, is a wonderful tool because it re-wires my brain and prepares my spirit for the magic of the day. After gratitude, I move into meditation (sometimes guided, sometimes not) for about 30-45 minutes. Then it’s time for a workout. I prefer to jog but, because of a recent foot injury, I am walking right now. After returning home, I lift weights. By now it is 8 or 9:00 a.m. and it’s time for tea and the start of my day. If it’s a weekday, I’m working on the next novel or Zooming with clients or colleagues. If it’s a weekend, I am visiting my mom (usually grocery shopping for her) or cooking. Since the pandemic, I’ve discovered a love of cooking.
The undercurrent of everything I do is grounded in compassion for myself and others, and in order to live from that place, I start with self compassion for myself by engaging in the activities I’ve outlined. As I feel led to, I reach out to friends who are going through a particularly rough patch. And of courseI leave just enough room to be in the flow of life, allowing it to take me on whatever journey is out there for the day.
What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?
My younger self would say—it’s about time! As I said earlier, as a youngster I attempted to write my first little novel. I sat on the sofa in my living room, this story coursing through my veins. With no formal training, I attempted to write down on paper what I “saw” in my head. Dejected after a few hours of fruitless writing, I crumpled up the paper which held my disjointed thoughts, and ran upstairs to my bedroom. With my head buried into my pillow I wailed, wrongly believing that I could never be a writer. Over the years I would have an inspired thought that I should write a novel about whatever subject caught my attention. But I would remember that first failed attempt and shove the idea of writing out of my head. Finally, finally, I’ve learned that my memories do not have to control me. In fact I can use those memories as fuel to continue to create my intended life.
Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?
Yes, I do. Especially when I am in a place where things are particularly challenging, I am reminded that everything has lessons for me. So, on my left arm I’ve tattooed the phrase “what if there is no problem?” Meaning what if everything that is happening in my life, is happening for my good. For example, what if I held a company position and received word that I was laid off. It might seem in the short term that the layoff is a horrible event. My thoughts and emotions might certainly go into overdrive. How would I pay my bills, my housing, food? In the news we read or watch stories about people across this nation who are having a hell of time getting unemployment benefits. In my own state, some folks haven’t received benefits for nine months. A colleague just posted on her FB page that very frightening predicament. Yet as challenging as those circumstances may be, what if I ask myself “what if there is no problem? What if I can see this layoff as a way to do what I truly want to do with my life. Even if what I was doing was something I enjoyed, what if the layoff was the step I needed to do the next great thing in my life. Of this I am sure—opportunity lives in the house of the statement “what if there is no problem.”
Another way to look at the statement “what if there is no problem, is to look at the R factor. Jack Canfield talks extensively about the formula E + R = O. Event plus response equals outcome. We may not be able to control an event, but we can control the outcome based on how we respond to it. So the R factor allows us to pause and determine what outcome we want, and then consider our responses in order to achieve that desired outcome.
What is your biggest dream?
To move to a quaint village (which will remain nameless) in California, build a home and welcome friends and family in. I visualize myself cooking, drinking wine and have endless discussions with my loved ones in that home, and of course, write. Perhaps even collaborate on future writing projects.
To learn more about Opa, her work, and her new book visit her website Opahyseawise.com and on Facebook @opahyseawise Twitter @Opahyseawise and you can find "No Place to Hide" is available wherever books are sold including Amazon Indiebound Bookshop Walmart and Barnes & Noble
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