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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. if you believe you can achieve. Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today I am joined by high performance wellness expert and founder of Wisdom of Men, Edward Okafar. His platform focuses on helping men who feel stuck, overwhelmed and disconnected. So we're going to be talking to him about his platform and everything that he's up to and going to be up to. So Edward, thank you so much for joining me.
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> Edward Okafar>Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself.
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> Edward Okafar>All right, well, like he said, my name is Edward o'. Coffer. I am a, high performance wellness strategist and founder of Wisdom Men. And what I have is a global men's growth and wellness platform focusing on men who feel overwhelmed, stuck and disconnected from the path that they have in life. And so one major thing that we try to provide in our community is a space and a, platform for individuals to have a foundation of strategies on how to deal with different, issues within life or plans for the future or develop a certain mindset to achieve their goals towards success. And so right now I'm living in Shenzhen, China, which is quite far away for some, some people. But however, it's an opportunity to meet expats, locals and to unite brothers, from different backgrounds and have a shared motive to be high performing men.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Yeah, well, I know, when I was looking at your bio, seeing where you was at, I expected to hear an accent. But tell, us how you got from North Carolina to China.
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> Edward Okafar>Yeah, definitely. Well, I'm a person that believes in going where I'm called. And so originally I started as a product designer, in Shenzhen because Shenzhen is one of the top tier cities in China focusing on, technological advancements. And so with my undergrad and moving over to China, I was had the opportunity to work for a UK company as a product designer. And then just being in a new world for the first time, literally 12 to 13 hours time zone difference in the future from where I am and coming from a very small town, Roxboro, North Carolina, you know, it was a whole new world and it was an adventure and it was an opportunity to see outside my small little bubble that I grew up in. And so when I came over here, I just utilized the experience because one thing that I focus on, whenever an opportunity presents itself, I utilize that opportunity to the fullest and so I've actually been here about 10 years, is quite amazing actually. the people that I've met and the interactions and experience that I've had. One week of experience is like a, one, one week of experience is like a month worth of experience that I would have in the States when it comes to interaction with people, networking, communities and resources, conveniences. I don't even go to the grocery store. There's a thing called mean.
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> Edward Okafar>And so we're able to just get delivery to the door. So same thing like Uber. But I mean it could be 3 o' clock in the morning and I can get a pizza. So it's quite convenient. and I've actually enjoyed being here. being here I've done quite few different career paths. because that's one of the things about you know, being a driven man man is I, once I have my mindset on something, I focus on doing the best that I can at it. So I've been, you know, a product designer, I've been an English teacher, I've been a American football coach, I've been an American baseball coach. I've done acting, modeling. what's another career path that I've taken? art teaching. So like whatever kind of sk set that I have, you know, is been utilize, the best of it. And then I got into life coaching and helping other men through my own experience and journey that I've gone through. And so I've noticed like a little a gap that is needed, as a leader and a pursuer of helping others. And so that's what led me into what I have in my path now.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, man, tell us about your platform. You know, what, what made you want to fire that up and, and tell us, you know, what it's all about. You know, if I decided to use your platform, you know, what could I expect?
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> Edward Okafar>Well, I have a, based on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. I'm starting to become more public, publicized, focusing on more exposure and so more men and individuals can be aware of this community and safe space and so globally, focusing on Instagram, sharing stoic kind of principles, strategies on how to deal with different, issues or challenges in life or try to meet certain success measures. and then locally I am developing, in the process of developing a local community of individuals who wants to get together, focus on health and wellness and optimizing their hormones and focus on discipline and focusing on mindset and so I'm trying, I'm in the process of creating these different areas and avenues for men to interact with one another and be combined. And so, you know, first and foremost on Instagram and then LinkedIn and then these are more of the active kind of platforms that individuals can interact with me with. and so when it comes to how it started, you know, everyone has their own kind of hero's journey. And so I was in the area a couple years ago that I was in very, the, the darkest part of my life. And I've had a couple of mid, mid and middle life cr. And you know, I'm young but I have an old soul. And so one thing that I do is when I go through an experience, I internalize it and I reflect heavily on it and really try to learn because in life you, you know, you live and you learn and you have to understand that life isn't going to get easier, but you can definitely get stronger. And so that's one of the foundations of that implement within the philosophies of wisdom of men is that, you know, we have this one life and we should be able to have the best ability to be the best versions of ourselves to the highest level and live with purpose. And so at that time I was living for others and I wasn't living for myself. And then, you know, every now and then people go through experiences when they in relationships as they elevate through life and then they're in a sense of isolation. And in this area of isolation, I realized what was best for me and what wasn't good for me and what was hurting me and what areas I needed to do to uplift myself. So you know, I went through my network and resources and really focused on areas that were holding me down from my true potential. And then from that I was able to, you know, research, experience and understand different strategies on how to build myself up from the ground up.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, absolutely.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So, you know, and I know you say you've done some acting and modeling in the past. You want to talk to the listeners about that?
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> Edward Okafar>yeah, I mean that was also a quite of an interesting experience as well. I mean, I am a 64 black man, so that is not very common in China.
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> Edward Okafar>And I'm also a bodybuilder. I used to be a national taekwondo fighter. I've done boxing, so my foundation has been in martial arts. and so that's another thing that's implemented within, you know, really understanding discipline and mindset. Which is not as common as you would think. Which is very necessary within within a masculine framework. And so with that foundation, I got into a lot of TV series or commercials in regards to like being the, the aggressor or the muscular guy. I've done a lot of different scenes or unboxing or you know, being the like the final boss like in a movie or something like that. And so with that experience it was quite interesting because I'm able to see myself in different lights. And so with that I was able to see what, how others would see me. And then I converted that to how I want others to see me. So instead of oh wow, this guy is big and intimidating. However, I'm also obviously intelligent, driven and I'm a high performing individual. And so this is somewhat of a transition that I want to portray about my Persona. And so also being a leader, being in leadership positions at you know, a lot of my careers that I've done, I wanted to be known more as an advocate of health, wellness and living a good and healthy lifestyle. So you know, the appearance of being strong and being healthy was one phase. But then from that experience I realized, but how a lot of people ask, oh, how do you have so many muscles? Or how are you in good shape? Oh, I want to be like that. And it's not about being in the gym 24, 7 is not only about diet, it's not only about you know, making sure you get quality sleep, but there's many things that goes into being an optimal individual. And so this is something I started focusing more on, of sharing with men who are a little struggle with challenges and, and how to be their optimal self.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, well you talk in your bio about the proven high performance system. So kind of explain what that proven high performance system is.
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> Edward Okafar>Well, with my background with bodybuilding I've been able to connect with my bodybuilding coach.
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> Edward Okafar>And so when I started, like I said, when I started with this whole journey, I was I was, I was actually vegan for 10 years, which is quite interesting, going through, you know, spiritual understanding and connections, with food and how it energy transfer within my body and so, and then research within the agricultural industry. And however, when it comes to being your optimal self, you know, you think you're from the plant based mindset, you think you're doing a better service to your body. But I ended up being pre diabetic and messed up my blood sugar and so from that, I was able to really understand my body. you know, my body dinner coach was telling me, like, oh, forget about bodybuilding. We got to focus on your health. You know, being anemic, being pre diabetic, these are certain things that I was becoming more aware of internally that I was struggling with. And so I kept getting injuries, back to back, and, you know, after doing blood work, hormonal panels, speaking to a doctor, you know, really understanding my testosterone, my hormones, and other things to internally optimize my health, I was able to, really see areas that I needed, from a health and health and wellness standpoint that I needed to work on. So starting to understand how to, apply certain, supplements and whole foods was, very important. I actually started eating meat again after 10 years in January. And, oh, man, I missed steak. I had a steak, like a week ago, and it was glorious. but even with that, you know, having the proper amount of protein, complex carbs, these are certain, you know, pillars that are necessary to optimizing one's health. You know, I was dealing with sleep issues, low energy, you know, burning out, because, you know, a person of my stat. I'm stature, I'm always working. I'm, entrepreneur.
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> Edward Okafar>I'm focusing, I'm helping. You know, I'm driven.
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> Edward Okafar>When, I meet challenges, I go for it. So, you know, I'm like a hamster in the wheel. I'm going and going and going. And this is one thing that a lot of people go through. They, they meet this, this burnout area in life where they feel like they are not able to, do the best that they want to because they feel like everything that they're doing is the best for them. But then at the same time, recovery is very important. I've, My shoulder came out in last September. I snapped my neck in January. my hip came out alignment a couple months ago. You know, I'm out when I'm in the gym. You know, I'm there as a job. I'm there to work as a war zone. So I'm, I'm, breaking myself down. But you also have to find opportunity to, you know, recover. So sleep is important, also environment a lot of people. You know, when I came here, I was in my. In my early 20s, right out of college. And so, yeah, going out, party, drinking, having fun. But then, you know, you get older and, you know, you. You have a hangover for about two, three business days. And so, you know, you have to Be able to understand what is actually necessary, within your environment, yourself in pursuit of your goals in life. And so going out and hanging out wasn't really the best decision for my health and wellness. However, you know, being in my own space, being in peace, quiet and meditating. Not that I'm antisocial, but I prioritize how I spend my energy. And so that's the same thing with relationships, same thing with, you know, environments. How are you spending your energy?
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> Edward Okafar>How are you, you're prioritizing yourself. No matter what I do, I prioritize my health. You know, I have a schedule. I tell everybody I'm always busy, not because I always have something to do, but it's because I prioritize my time and myself first and to make sure I'm at the best level, of myself to be able to be of service to others.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>All. Ah, right. Well man, sure like it should like you to been through a lot, breaking your neck and all that good stuff.
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> Edward Okafar>Yeah.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, tell us about any upcoming projects, or you know, current projects that you and your company are working on that people need to know about.
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> Edward Okafar>Definitely. So right now, as I was saying before, I'm in the process of collaborating with medical clinics and other, fitness and wellness advocates, to develop a community of like minded individuals who want to be high performers, who want to have a brotherhood, individuals who want support and guidance. And so with that, I'm creating a space for men to really, you know, focus on communication, nutrition, grooming, you know, really having health workshops, presentations, men's summits, and educating men on ways to optimize their health, especially for men over 30.
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> Edward Okafar>You know, we're at this point where we're confronted with a lot of new areas of not being young as we used to. So we need to be able to focus on prioritizing our health. So with this geographic focus, expats and locals in my area, highlighting, you know, professionals looking to, you know, optimize their health, focus on their mission and their masculine identity. And so that's one area. And then the next area for my one on one coaching, I'm in a process of completing my 90 day optimize your hormones, discipline and mission as a man program, focusing on men who feel tired, distracted or disconnected from their purpose, that want to eliminate excuses and install elite systems within their lifestyle and take control of their biology, behavior and legacy. And so with this 12 week high performance experience, they're able to Optimize their mindset, hormones and daily systems so they can lead, execute and live at their highest potential and peak. And so with this structure, and system, I've created different areas for men to have strategies like a tool belt. Like I said earlier, life isn't going to get easier but you can get stronger. You can be more equipped on how to deal with different areas and navigate through life to be at the best of your ability. And so you know, following this system allows individuals to, you know, optimize their morning and evening work, evening routine, time blocking system which is, you know, understanding how to maximize your workflow, energy and clarity, understand nutrition and physical optimization aspects and then even breath work and stoic reflection practices. You know, everything when it comes to the body isn't only biological, but it's also like mindset. You know, having the mindset that I want to achieve, I want to improve, I want to be the best version of myself is very necessary. How can I increase my testosterone, how can I increase my high performance habits? How can I have a clear sense of masculine mission and direction?
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, well, so listeners can keep up with everything that you're up to. Throw out your contact info definitely.
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> Edward Okafar>So you can find me on Instagram Wisdom of Men official also on Facebook Wisdom and official LinkedIn Wisdom of Men official. Also you can find me Edward o', Coffer, on these platform as well.
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> Edward Okafar>my email is. The email is wisdom of menofficial gmail.com if anyone is interested they can contact me, DM me. we can discuss where you are in life, where you want to go in life and what I can do, assist and help.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>We'll close this out with some final thoughts.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Maybe if that was something I forgot to touch on that you would like to talk about, any final thoughts you have for the listeners.
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> Edward Okafar>Well, the main thing I want to close with is that a lot of men feel like they have to go through life alone. And you want to really understand that you don't have to go through life alone. There's moments where individuals suppress the lie emotions and feel like they have to do it themselves. But you're not alone. You have others that are there that is willing to support and help you. And especially when it comes to aligning with your mission. It helps when you're in a brotherhood or surrounded by individuals, individuals who also have the same kind of mindset, who wants to achieve, who wants to grow.
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> Edward Okafar>And so if you're looking for a community, a brotherhood, support system. You know, there are those out there for you. And again, you can contact me. I have different guides on, my, page.
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> Edward Okafar>I just finished a seven day high performance ritual guide. And so, if you DM me, I can send you that. I also wrote a book last year, how to be a Warrior Starting right now. And then again, like I said, I'm in the process of completing my 90 day high performance optimization program for individuals who want one on one coaching for that.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>All right, ladies and gentlemen, there it is.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>check out Edward's work follow rate, share all over the place. Follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Visit www.craveball 337 for more curveball337.com curveball337.com for more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Edward, thank you for all that you're doing to make the world a better place. And thank you for joining me.
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> Edward Okafar>Thank you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate this opportunity.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.craveball337.com until next time, keep Living the dream.