Aron Choi

Helping People AND Running a Successful Business with David Ingalls of Zing Bars

Posted on September 9, 2011 by aronchoi

David Ingalls is the CEO and one of the founders of Zing bars which makes nutrition bars without allergy-aggravating gluten, wheat or soy protein. David received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and graduated from Bastyr University with a Masters in Nutrition. He has a private practice at the Seattle Healing Arts Center has been practicing as a registered dietitian since 2005.

Check out the full interview:

In this interview, David answers the following questions:

1:00 – What was your inspiration for starting Zing Bars?
3:25 – How did Zing Bars evolve into a retail product?
5:14 – How much research did you do before starting the business?
7:20 – What are some of key business skills that students should work on now that will help to create a successful practice or business?
9:50 – How has hands on experience prepared you for your private practice?
12:15 – Why are vision and passion so important for driving the direction of Zing Bars?
14:00 – Did you feel pressure to make Zing Bars look, feel and taste like the other nutrition/energy bars on the market?
15:40 – How did the David and his team decide to call the company Zing Bars?
19:00 – How do you deal with the perceived conflict between helping people AND running a profitable business?
24:40 – How can students get the most out of their time in school to set the stage for success once they graduate?
27:18 – What’s the best way to get in touch with you for questions?

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Water-Only Fasting: Treating Patients by Doing Nothing – Interview with Dr. Alan Goldhamer

Posted on August 10, 2011 by aronchoi

True North Health Center in Santa Rosa, CA treats people who are suffering by putting them on a water-only fast ranging from 5 days to as many as 40 days!

How does True North accept 1000 new patients annually WITHOUT advertising?

In this interview, Dr. Alan Goldhamer talks about water-only fasting, how he started this very successful clinic, and what medical students can do to become extraordinary healers.

If you are interested in doing an internship or preceptorship at True North, call Dr. Goldhamer at (707) 586-5555 and let him know that Aron sent you!

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Book Review: Poke the Box by Seth Godin

Posted on July 28, 2011 by aronchoi

Do you look around and see opportunities to make things better? Do you have an idea that you just KNOW will make a difference in your life or someone else’s life?

What’s stopping you from doing something about it?

Seth Godin’s manifesto on becoming a starter, Poke the Box, is a kick in ass to become the difference-maker that the world wants you to be.

Laying the Groundwork – What is starting?

If you don’t ship, you actually haven’t started anything at all.” – Seth Godin

I’m guessing this is NOT how most people will define starting. There is a subtle, but significant difference with Seth Godin’s idea of starting–shipping. Starting something meaningful has to include getting that something out the door and into the hands of other people. You can’t make a difference if no one sees what you are working on.

What if Michael Jackson made music and kept it to himself?
What if Dr. Oz went to medical school but never treated any patients and didn’t write books?
What if your favorite author/artist/hero/singer/etc. decided that he or she would rather stay home instead of going to work?

Absolutely nothing would have happened. Thousands, and probably millions, of people would have lost out and would have not benefited from their talent.

Why should you be a starter?

“Wasting the opportunity [to start] both degrades your own ability to contribute and, more urgently, takes something away from the rest of us…If you hid your spark, bury your ideas, keep your questions and notions from the team, you have hurt them as badly as if you had stolen a laptop and fenced it on eBay.”

Using fear as an excuse not to start is often, oddly enough, a selfish excuse. Fear of failing and criticism focuses your energy on those who may not benefit from your contributions rather than those who can really benefit from your work.

Rather, think about the people who WILL appreciate your work. Get your work out there and you are bound to find people who will be grateful you did.

Read this book if:

Fear is keeping you from doing something you know will benefit others.
You feel stuck and want to improve your current situation.
You don’t believe you have what it takes to be a starter (you are more capable than you might think).

Now go read Poke the Box and get to work. The world is counting on you. You can thank me later.

Posted in Books, Motivational | Leave a comment

Getting the Most Out of Medical School – Interview with Ryan Robbins ND

Posted on June 5, 2011 by aronchoi

Ryan Robbins is Bastyr alumnus and a first-year resident at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health. In this interview, he shares his experience as a recent graduate and a resident, in addition to advice for getting the most out of medical school and preparing to practice once you finish your medical training.

Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Motivational | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving. Everyday.

Posted on November 28, 2010 by aronchoi

It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I had been at the airport or on a plane for the past 10 hours. I had a lot of time to think. I wanted to complain, but a have a lot of things to be thankful for. Instead of complaining, I made a list of reasons why I can’t complain.

I’m thankful for:

Waking up this morning.

Having wonderful friends, old and new.

My loving family, cousins, aunts and uncles.

My overall good health.

Having my eyesight, even if I do need to wear really strong contacts.

Having known and experienced the love of my grandparents even if they aren’t here anymore.

For music and it’s ability to express what I’m not capable of expressing myself.

For photography and the ability to capture a moment in time because my memory always wants to lie to me.

Having the opportunity to go to med school even though it is hard and really tiring at times.

Working and getting laid off a couple times.

The pilot stopping midway through takeoff because something wasn’t right with the plane.

Being alive to experience all this stuff.

What are your reasons NOT to complain?

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But Are You Putting Your Heart Into It?

Posted on August 13, 2010 by aronchoi

If you follow the 49ers, you probably heard that second year running back, Glen Coffee retired after just one season in the NFL. He is only 23 years old and was likely the primary backup for starting running back, Frank Gore.

How could he voluntarily retire after just one season? Isn’t it every young athlete’s dream to play at the professional level?

‘I really hate to do this. I really hate to lay this on you, coach. I love my teammates and I love what we’re doing, but since college my heart hasn’t been in it. In fact, I came out early because my heart wasn’t in it.’ – Glen Coffee

Read more: Singletary Reacts to Coffee’s Decision to Quit

I have the utmost respect for Glen Coffee. He obviously has enough talent to play football at the highest level, but he made the right decision for HIMSELF. I imagine it was one of the hardest decisions he has had to make.

If his heart hasn’t been in it since college, what made him stick with it for this long?

The lure of earning more?
Others’ expectations?
Not understanding his own values and priorities?

I suspect that Coffee realized that without outright passion for the job, it would be hard to compete at the highest level.

At some level, we face these decisions everyday. Should we take on a project that doesn’t really interest us? Are we spending our time and energy in a way that gets us closer to our goals? Do we even know what our goals and dreams are?

I love the way Steve Jobs talks about purpose and dreams:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Ask yourself, “I am working on X, Y, and Z, but am I putting my heart into it?”

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Embrace The Fact That You WILL SUCK

Posted on June 16, 2010 by aronchoi

As a person who gets hung up with trying to do things perfectly before taking action, I personally know that perfectionism can be a silent killer. I’m sure some of you can relate.

The fear of making mistakes and embarrassing yourself is real fear, but will you allow this fear to prevent you from achieving your goals?

Realize that when you start something new, there will be a learning curve. There will be a period where you will suck.There’s no avoiding this fact. Everyone sucks when they get started. You are expected to suck when you start!

It’s empowering to realize that everyone sucks at what they do at one point or another, and it’s okay! If you are honest that you are new at something, you receive a license to make mistakes. Take advantage of this limited time free pass and suck as much as you can and learn from it.

Now, the “First-Time Free Pass” is a small window of opportunity. You are only new for so long before people start expecting more, so move quickly and learn and practice as much as you can.

Fear of failure is natural, but realize that failure is expected!

Go out there and embrace the fact that YOU WILL SUCK because it’s okay!

Posted in Achieving Success, Motivational | Tagged Achieving Success, Motivational | 6 Comments

Mindset is THE Difference Maker

Posted on May 12, 2010 by aronchoi

Mindset + Action + Circumstances = Outcome

I’m learning more and more that my mindset going into any given situation greatly effects the outcome. When I have a pessimistic mindset, I miss opportunities and lose out. When I have an optimistic mindset, I embrace the situation and usually have a more rewarding experience than if I had not.

Imagine two students enrolled in a difficult science class at a local community college, and both need this class to complete their degrees. In other words, both students have to be there.

Student A, does not particularly love science, but has made a conscious effort to keep an open mind and try to learn as much as he can. Student A goes to every class, does the work necessary to learn the material, and ends up not only getting a good grade but has also gained confidence and the satisfaction of reaching a goal. Student A has practiced his ability to assimilate new information, built a good working relationship with his professor, and even had some fun. Student A has added a new set of tools to his skill set, and now has a valuable reference if and when he needs it in the future. New skills and relationships lead to more opportunities.

Student B feels like he has better places to be. He feels like he will never really need this stuff in the “real” world, so why try? Student be lets others do the work and does not take initiative. He spends his time cramming for tests and copying homework, shows up for class sporadically, and ends up passing the class with a C. Nothing lost, but also nothing gained. So actually, Student B did lose. Student B went through the same school term as Student A, but has nothing to show for it. Student B lost valuable time and gained nothing.

If you are going to be somewhere and do something, why not get something out of it?

Circumstances are sometimes out of our control, but you and you alone control your mindset. If the window from which you look at the world gives you a shitty view, why not go find a different window?

Posted in Motivational, My Thoughts | Tagged Motivational, My Thoughts | 1 Comment

Build Momentum – More Action and Less Agonizing

Posted on March 25, 2010 by aronchoi

Planning, thinking, and agonizing by themselves lead to one thing. Nothing!

I have a lot going through my mind right now, and sometimes it’s just plain hard to get myself to get moving on work I want to get done.

I bet you’ve been there. You’re juggling multiple projects for your job, you have family obligations, and you have side projects hanging around that have been on hold for months. You’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to get started. It can be paralyzing!

Usually I find myself staring blankly into space with a laundry list of things I need to get done racing through my mind, but I have found a few simple steps to stop thinking and start doing.

1. First, relax and refocus (30 seconds)

Don’t let the feeling of being overwhelmed get a hold of you. As simple as it sounds, a few deep breaths is an amazing way to relax and refocus. I close my eyes for about 30 seconds and imagine a happy place, and I take 5 to 10 deep breaths. Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds, hold your breath for 1 second, and exhale through your nose for another 5 seconds. Breathe with your diaphragm. You should feel your stomach expand and contract as you breathe. You can use this any time you feel overwhelmed, and better yet, it’s free!

2. Try writing it down (less than 5 minutes)

Writing a list of to-do items can get that garbled mess of ideas out of your head and onto a piece of paper where you can organize and prioritize what needs to get done. Lifting the burden of remembering everything you need to do will allow your mental energy to focus on actually executing on your action items. Spend no more than 5 minutes on this step.

3. Pick one thing on your list and commit to work on it for 15 mins.

I procrastinate often because I don’t know where to start. To work myself out of this paralysis, I tell myself that even though I’m not sure where to start, I’m just going to start. I pick one thing on my list, and just start working on it. I have found that once I focus on just one thing for a short period of time, I either build momentum and get more done than I expected or realize that something else is more important and adjust my time accordingly. The key is to build momentum and usually that momentum leads to getting things done.

Just taking that first step gets your mind and focus pointed in the right direction. Once the wheels in your brain start turning, it’s a lot easier to get in a groove and actually start getting things done!

Posted in Productivity | 1 Comment

Run Your Own Race

Posted on February 10, 2010 by aronchoi

We all need to run our own races.

No one can tell you what makes you happy. No one can decide what is best for you. No one but you decides how to live your life.

There are certainly people who care about you who might strongly disagree with your decisions, but it is ultimately up to you to decide which way to go. You might be right, but you might be wrong. Once you try, you’ll know better.

Sometimes, you need to throw caution to the wind and trust your gut. When you come across something that really gets you excited, keep chasing it.

Why sit on the sidelines and watch others achieve their dreams?

Go run your race and have some fun while you’re at it.

Posted in My Thoughts | 1 Comment