We were lucky to catch up with Xori Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Xori, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?
My self-discipline comes from the fear of being average. From the fear of not accomplishing my goals, dreams, living short of my potential, and letting myself down. After a while of living in this head space of operating from a place of fear, it ultimately has become the status-quo for how I live my life.
A lot of people think of fear as a negative thing, but I’ve learned to shift my perspective to it being the deepest, most vulnerable side of myself that I’ve chose to own. For me, I feel like if you say “yes” to something, you’re simultaneously saying “no” to something else. And I feel like this principle applies to almost anything in life, including my goals, dreams, commitments, affirmations, etc. and it’s how I’ve governed myself. By saying yes to my self-discipline, I am essentially saying no to a standard of mediocrity. It’s easy to stay in the “safe” or “comfortable” zone, but that is never where my real growth, my real wins & my real success has taken place.
In one of the books that I’ve read recently, “The Way of the Superior Man”, the author, David Deida, mentions that a man has to live just beyond his “edge,” saying that a man’s growth is optimized if he leans just beyond his capacity and “should not happily stagnate in the zone of security and comfort.” He also mentions that fear is the sharpest definition of yourself, that primary fear shows that you are at your edge and that staying with the fear allows real transformation to occur. I’ve learned to lean into the fear and not run from it, which has allowed me to constantly push my boundaries and prove to myself that I am capable of more than I may initially believe.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Me and my brother Xion, have recently created a matcha brand & company, called XEN Matcha.
For the both of us, we both have always been very entrepreneurial minded, constantly talking about different business ideas, making loose business plans, and more, but we were able to combine our common love for matcha & our passion for health & wellness to create the brand.
Both of us have found that going to coffee shops and enjoying a matcha or making our own have given us a ritual within our day to day that allows us a moment of mindfulness, peace, and reflection.
Not only that, but it also has its health benefits that has made it the perfect crossroad for mental and physical health that we embody in the ways that we govern our lives- from reading books, to hitting the gym, daily meditation or going to church.
We wanted to bring this feeling of peace that we’ve created for ourselves to a community of people either in search for a moment of tranquility or already prioritizing vibrant well-being in their daily lives.
XEN’s mission is to eliminate the chaos of daily life by creating a serene sanctuary where health & wellness flourish- where tranquility and balance meet transformation.
We’ve recently successfully hosted the very first event in our pop-up series, called Matcha + Meditate in Old Fourth Ward Skate Park on Sunday, October 29th, where we hired a certified sound healer to come perform sound bowls and do sound therapy for all of our attendees, setting the tone for an afternoon of healing and rejuvenation as they jumped into their week.
Following the sound bowl meditation, we gave out complimentary matcha lattes with the goal of raising donations for Black Men Heal, an impactful non-profit dedicated to providing BIPOC men access to mental health treatment, psycho-education, and community resources.
With their tag line being #HealedMenHealMen, wee truly felt that this non-profit aligned with our core values and wanted to use our growing platform to make a difference.
We are super excited for the subsequents events to follow over the course of the upcoming months along with launching our own matcha product lines.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
If I had to choose 3 qualities or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey, I would say 1) seeking and leaning into purpose, 2) keeping love at the forefront of everything I do, and 3) being willing to take risks, step out on faith, and doing things even when it feels scary.
For people that are early in their journey, I would say if you don’t have a clear idea of what your purpose is, put yourself in the drivers seat and find ways to discover what that is for yourself. Find your “WHY”
Most things in your life have to be aligned with who you are and what your purpose is. When you discover purpose, you discover the essence for why you are here, how you can serve others, and the direction that you have for your life, which will give you a compass for the moves you are going to look to make. Take inventory of your passions, what makes you tick, what activities you’ve done that give you a warm feeling inside, things that you enjoy that impact others positively, because that’s the space that you’ll need to operate from if you are going to achieve a deep sense of success for yourself because it will be a measure of success that only you can measure for yourself – no one else.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
5 Books that I’ve read that have played an important role in my development have been:
1) The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra
2) Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins
3) The Way of the Superior Man, David Deida
4) Becoming the Beast Handbook, Jeff Logan
5) Unfu*k Yourself- Gary John Bishop
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/xoriamar/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myxenmatcha/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xori-johnson/
- Other: I would love to connect with anyone that is passionate about health, wellness, meditation, matcha, fitness, yoga, etc. Please feel free to reach out with any collaborative opportunities! I look forward to hearing from you. email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Aera Hope, LLC
