Scott Keoni Shigeoka
Scott Keoni Shigeoka is a storyteller, designer and artist. He’s influenced by his experiences as a queer, Hawai’i-born, and creative yonsei (fourth-generation Japanese-American), and based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In today’s episode, Scott shares his newest project: The Viral Joy Hotline, where anyone could call in to leave a voicemail about moments of joy in their life. Scott felt anxious and overwhelmed by the uncertainty and despair in the news, and wanted to surround himself, while in lockdown at his home, with stories of joy. The calls started to flood in from across the country—from states like Alabama, Hawaii, New York, California and North Carolina. The inspiration behind the Viral Joy Hotline and its impact, will leave you feeling inspired, hopeful for the future, and ready to share the joy in your life, too.
In 2019, Scott went on a road trip to rural Appalachia, Trump rallies in the Midwest and evangelical Christian churches to meet people with different perspectives and beliefs. HE]e learned that to heal our country's divides, we need to leverage an underutilized resource: our curiosity. This journey is being developed into a forthcoming book!
As the founder of a small, independent creative agency, Scott develops stories and narratives to bridge differences in our country. His current clients include Encore.org (intergenerational bridging), UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center (the science of bridging differences) and GoDaddy (systemic barriers for the everyday entrepreneur). In addition to this work, Scott is also a coach for emerging leaders, and a columnist for the publications Inc Magazine and Grist.
Scott is obsessed with fungi—you can ask him about how to ‘embrace our inner mushroom’—and his favorite word is ‘komorebi’ (木漏れ日), which means the sunlight that shines between the leaves of a tree.
“Even in this time of uncertainty and isolation, there’s all of this joy that’s happening all across the country! My hope is that we don’t miss those moments, because even in a time like now with COVID-19, those special moments of joy are what make our lives special too.”
Tune in on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM
Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632
To connect with Scott and learn more connect with him on Instagram @scottshigeoka and on his website http://www.scottshigeoka.com
Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.