Kirbylicious Podcast

Kirby Studios
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Conversations across generations about growth, identity, purpose & the full flavor of life.🎙️

  1. 1d ago

    What Does Community Mean to You? | Solo Reflection on Belonging, Home & Finding Your People

    Maybe community isn't about being surrounded by a large group of people—maybe it's about being with the right people. In this solo reflection, Kirby sits with the lessons from his conversation with Ligiah (62) and Shino (29)—a conversation that unexpectedly brought him back to his own childhood. He opens up about growing up with instability: a father who left when he was an infant, a mother raising five children alone, and moving between caretakers, homes, and cities with a quiet sense that he didn't fully belong anywhere. He traces how community kept finding him anyway—the ESL students in Bangkok who welcomed him into their homes when he was lonely and far away, the team at Kirby Studios who became family, the Hillsong Zoom group that helped him survive COVID in New York, and the Sunday meditation group in the park that feels like home now. In this episode: • Why growing up with instability turns into a lifelong search for emotional safety • How community found him in four different cities and seasons of life • Redefining community as people who share your values and make your nervous system feel safe • Why achievement alone doesn't fulfill the heart—but connection, purpose, and service do (a nod to Arthur C. Brooks' Build the Life You Want) • Accepting all parts of yourself, and all kinds of people, when the intention is love • Why home may no longer be a place, but a person, a connection, a feeling From a child who felt he didn't belong anywhere… to who he's becoming now—rooted in values, service, and chosen family—this reflection is a tender reminder that the right people are finding you too. So before you go, Kirby leaves you with a question: What does community mean to you now—and where in your life do you feel most emotionally at home? 💭 Stay open. Stay connected. And if you can't find the community you're looking for, maybe life is asking you to create it. Savor your journey, one story at a time. 🌱

  2. Aug 25

    What Does Community Mean to You? | A 29-Year-Old & a 62-Year-Old on Belonging, Service & Connection

    At the end of the day, we're all looking for connection. So what does community really mean to you? In this episode, Kirby sits down with Ligiah (62)—a Mexican-born screenwriter, producer, and Cal State LA professor whose work (Under the Same Moon) still shapes classrooms 18 years on—and Shino (29)—who left her life in Japan to serve as a missionary with the spiritual fellowship Shumei in LA—for a warm, open conversation about belonging, service, and where we find our people. Meeting for the very first time on camera, they explore how community shapes us across cultures and generations—from the church community that welcomed Ligiah as an 11-year-old immigrant, to the heart-to-heart connection Shino found building a life among strangers, and the courage it takes to leave everything you know for something you believe in. In this episode: • What community meant growing up—religion, culture, and belonging • Discovering your identity only after you leave home • "Expect nothing, accept everything"—building connection heart to heart • Whether technology makes us more connected or more alone • Greatness through service—why helping others is the antidote to loneliness • The role each of us plays in building the communities we long for From a seasoned storyteller who found her voice by lifting up her community… to a young missionary spreading light across cultures… this conversation is a reminder that connection is something we can all create—if we're willing to do our part. Because in the end, community isn't something you find. It's something you help build. 🌱

  3. Aug 19

    I See You, You Matter | A Solo Reflection on Being Seen

    Maybe being seen isn't about appearance, popularity, or performance—maybe it's having someone witness the fullness of who you are. In this solo reflection, Kirby sits with the lessons from his conversation with Tanya (61) and Julius (28) and realizes it was never really about social media. It was about something deeper: what it means to be seen. One line from Tanya stayed with him—that validation isn't "you're awesome," it's someone saying I see you, and you matter. He opens up about his own lifelong search for validation—wanting to be seen as smart growing up alongside top-student siblings, chasing proof he was talented enough in college, and the 2020 turning point when closing his company and stepping away from creativity quietly dimmed something inside him—until making again brought the fire back. In this episode: • Why "I see you, you matter" means more than any applause • How creativity became spiritual—a way back to himself • What changed after 2020, and why the aliveness returned when he created again • Meditation, IFS, journaling, and slowly letting stillness become enough • Why the ego isn't the enemy (a nod to Anita Moorjani's What If This Is Heaven?) • Meeting the "am I enough?" voice with compassion instead of shame From a younger self chasing proof that he belonged… to who he's becoming now—rooted in stillness, connection, and self-acceptance—this reflection is a gentle reminder that the people around you can remind you who you are, but they can't decide it. So before you go, Kirby leaves you with a question: When was the last time you truly felt seen—and what helped create that feeling? 💭 Less scrolling. Less noise. Less comparison. The answer you're searching for might be waiting quietly within you. Savor your journey, one story at a time. 🌱

  4. Aug 12

    Living for Likes | A 28-Year-Old & a 61-Year-Old on Validation, Art & Coming Home to Yourself

    Approval, recognition, being seen—it matters to all of us. But it shows up differently across generations. So what happens when we stop living for likes? In this episode, Kirby sits down with Tanya (61)—an artist, educator, and activist who came up in theater, dance, and opera long before social media—and Julius (28)—a filmmaker fresh off his first feature, navigating validation in the age of algorithms—for a tender, honest conversation about approval, self-worth, and where our sense of "enough" really comes from. Meeting for the very first time on camera, they explore how validation shaped their art and identities—from Tanya's career-defining moment of praise from a mentor who never gave it, to Julius pouring his grief over his father's passing into a film that his community, and his mom, finally saw him through. In this episode: • Where validation came from before social media—family, community, and being "enough" • The weight of reputation as currency when you're an artist • What validation gives us (purpose, courage)—and what it quietly takes away • Grounding yourself when comparison shows up • Grief, creativity, and making something that helps people feel less alone • What part of you feels most free when you're not performing for approval From a seasoned artist who learned no one could validate her but herself… to a young filmmaker still in the middle of figuring it out… this conversation is a gentle permission slip to come home to yourself—to feel seen, heard, and like you matter. Because in the end, the deepest validation isn't the applause. It's knowing your existence and your work matter. 🌱

  5. Aug 5

    What I Had to Unlearn | Solo Reflection on Patience, Listening & Letting Go of Fear

    Maybe wisdom isn't having all the answers—maybe it's living long enough to know which questions no longer matter. In this solo reflection, Kirby sits with the lessons from his conversation with Tommy (78) and Sasha (22)—an episode that quietly tested him. He gets honest about the moments he felt impatient, wanted to finish Tommy's sentences, wanted him to get to the point—and the realization that changed everything: the lesson wasn't in what Tommy was saying, but in how Kirby was listening. He opens up about learning to listen without rushing to respond, seeing his younger self in Sasha and his becoming self in Tommy, and the shift from chasing stability to chasing connection—from living for "there" to being fully here. In this episode: • Why real listening—letting someone tell the whole story—is becoming a lost skill. • "I'm not in such a hurry anymore" and the exhale that came with it. • Chasing causes, chasing stability, chasing connection—three seasons of a life. • Unlearning fear and the stories we build about the future. • Meeting the fearful part of yourself with compassion, not resistance. • Why unlearning isn't losing something—it's making room for who you're becoming. From impatience… to presence—this reflection is a gentle reminder that some stories need space, and growth doesn't stop with age. So before you go, Kirby leaves you with a question: What belief are you currently unlearning—and what is life asking you to let go of right now? 💭 Take your time. Life isn't as urgent as we sometimes think. Savor your journey, one story at a time. 🌱

  6. Jul 28

    What I Had to Unlearn | A 22-Year-Old & a 78-Year-Old on Independence, Ego & Letting Go

    Growth isn't only about what we learn—it's about what we let go of. So what did we have to unlearn? In this episode, Kirby sits down with Tommy (78)—a junior college English professor, pianist, and lifelong former activist who came of age in the political movements of the 1960s—and Sasha (22)—a new insurance broker who just moved into her first apartment—for an honest, funny, and moving conversation across more than fifty years of lived experience. Together they explore how we grow by releasing the beliefs, habits, and expectations we've outgrown—from Sasha unlearning that independence means doing everything alone and that asking for help is weakness, to Tommy reflecting on a lifetime of shedding old certainties, privilege he couldn't always see, and the evolving question of who he wanted to be. In this episode: • Why asking for help isn't weakness • Unlearning the habit of being unkind to yourself • Seeing the people who intimidate us as just… people • How the world changes underneath us—and asks us to change with it • Counting your small victories (everyone's as unsure as you are) • Trusting your own path, even when it looks messy in the middle From a young woman building her adult life from scratch… to a man at 78 still learning, still questioning, still becoming… this conversation is a reminder that sometimes the biggest growth comes from letting go. Because in the end, all things must pass—and what we release can matter as much as what we hold onto. 🌱

  7. Jul 20

    How to Find Yourself Again | Solo Reflection on Healing, Presence & Trusting the Process

    Maybe becoming isn't about becoming someone else—maybe it's about returning to who you were before the world told you who to be. In this solo reflection, Kirby sits with the lessons from his conversation with Chris (64) and Kaitlyn (26)—one of the most healing conversations of the season—and opens up about his own becoming: building Kirby Studios in Bangkok at 26 with no idea what he was doing, the 2020 health crisis in New York that changed everything, and the slow shift from chasing success to living from the heart. He gets honest about the parts of himself he's learned to hold with compassion, why he still gets triggered even with all the awareness, and the reminder from Chris that stayed with him most: the process of becoming matters just as much as getting "there." In this episode: • Why becoming sometimes looks like uncertainty, survival jobs & confusion—and that's not failing • The panic attack that forced him to stop and face himself • Moving from the left brain to the heart: intention, awareness, presence • Learning to hold every part of yourself with compassion • Why awareness itself is already a beginning • Trusting that something greater is unfolding through you From a younger self who chased certainty… to who he's becoming now—rooted in peace, presence, and service—this reflection is a gentle reminder that you don't need to rush to arrive anywhere. So before you go, Kirby leaves you with a question: Who are you becoming right now—and what is life trying to teach you through this version of yourself? 💭 Stay present. Stay open. And trust your becoming. Savor your journey, one story at a time. 🌱

  8. Jul 14

    Who Are You Becoming? | A 26-Year-Old & a 64-Year-Old on Purpose, Patience & Letting Go

    We're all in the middle of becoming—whether we realize it or not. So who are you becoming? Kirby sits down with Chris (64)—a former aerospace engineer turned educator who now brings art programming and mindfulness to senior communities—and Kaitlyn (26)—a writer navigating survival jobs and the long road to a creative career—for an honest conversation about identity, purpose, turning points, and the versions of ourselves we're still growing into. Meeting for the very first time on camera, they explore what happens when the plan doesn't go the way you thought, why chasing what's easy can quietly limit who you become, and how the pressure to "arrive" keeps us from living the life that's happening right now. In this episode: • What we thought we'd become—and what actually happened • Turning points: walking away from success that didn't feel like success • Why gravitating toward what's easy can shrink your growth • Shedding ego when life asks you to start over • Equanimity, patience, and letting go of the timeline • Whether growth feels urgent or peaceful—and what changes with age From a young writer learning that her path may not look the way she trained for… to a man at 64 still becoming, still learning, still letting go… this conversation reminds us that growth doesn't end—it deepens. And perhaps becoming isn't about finally arriving. It's about being patient with the process, releasing what no longer fits, and trusting that you are exactly where you need to be. Because in the end, we are all still becoming. 🌱

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Conversations across generations about growth, identity, purpose & the full flavor of life.🎙️

Information

  • Creator
    Kirby Studios
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Kirby Studios
  • Show Website
    Kirbylicious Podcast