The Story Samurai

As the year comes to a close, the pressure to do more, fix everything, and reinvent yourself can feel overwhelming.

But this scroll offers a different posture.

In Scroll 032: Finish the Year Clean, Cary explores why true preparation for the new year isn’t about productivity or momentum — it’s about resolution, integration, and letting go of what no longer belongs.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Most people don’t stay stuck because they lack faith, talent, or opportunity.

They stay stuck because they’re waiting for permission.

In this scroll, Cary explores the difference between approval and conviction — and why waiting for validation from people, systems, timing, or even certainty itself quietly delays the life you’re meant to live.

You’ll hear why:

As we head into the holidays — and especially as 2026 starts coming into view — many of us feel the pressure to tighten the schedule, push harder, and grind our way into a breakthrough. But what if the next level of your life isn’t unlocked by doing more… but by doing different?

In this scroll, Cary explores why so many people stay stuck pressing against a metaphorical window, even while the open door sits just a few feet away. The truth is simple:

You’re not trapped — you’re conditioned.

Conditioned to repeat old pat...

In 1974, a quiet designer named Yuko Shimizu sketched a simple white cat — no mouth, no expression, no noise.
 Just purity.
 Just essence.

Sanrio rejected the idea multiple times.
 Dozens, depending on who you ask.
 But instead of shrinking, she refined.
 She returned to what was essential.

That quiet idea became Hello Kitty — a global icon now worth billions, found on more than fifty thousand products around the world.

And fifty years later… I found myself inside the Hello Kitty Café in Las Vegas, creating content for a cultural legacy that...

This week’s scroll lands right at the heart of Thanksgiving — but not the curated highlight-reel version. We’re talking about gratitude with eyes open. The kind that honors the truth of our relationships, acknowledges how people change, and keeps us centered when the emotional weather shifts.

In this episode, Cary explores what it really means to practice gratitude as a warrior discipline — not by pretending everything is perfect, but by seeing clearly, staying steady, and honoring both the beauty and the reality of our connections.
 We talk switched-up energy, self-awareness, and the Kaizen approach to navigatin...

This week’s scroll was sparked by a line from my old podcast guest Rob Dial — a reminder that some people are at war with themselves… and if you’re not careful, they’ll pull you into battles you never agreed to fight.

Especially as we head into the holidays — Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s — many of us find ourselves stepping into rooms with old patterns, draining dynamics, or relatives whose energy costs more than we want to admit. This scroll is a guide for navigating that terrain with clarity and sovereignty.

In this episode, we dive into: Duration: 00:05:06

We live in a world addicted to next.
The next app.
The next iPhone.
The next platform.
The next MacBook.

Each upgrade promises progress… but most of the time, it’s just a new layer of distraction.
 We call it growth — but it’s really the hedonic treadmill dressed in new packaging.

In this scroll, Cary Hokama breaks down the myth of “next” — and how chasing constant novelty keeps us running in place.
 He shares the story of a sushi apprentice who mastered the art of rice before ever touc...

Over 250,000 Dodger fans filled the streets of L.A., waving flags and painting their faces blue.
 Fifty thousand more packed Dodger Stadium as Freddie Freeman took the mic and said,

That’s the message of this scroll — the art of celebrating without surrendering to celebration.
We’ll revisit the hedonic treadmill from Scroll 023, explore Barkhad Abdi’s story from Captain Phillips (“I’m the captain now”), and unpack how true mastery means honoring the win while staying devoted...

Too many voices can make you forget your own.

We live in an era where everyone’s a coach, a strategist, a system.
 Every scroll offers a new blueprint — every guru swears they’ve found the way.
But in the noise, we start mistaking consumption for creation…
and imitation for intuition.

In this scroll, Cary unpacks the overload of “how-to” culture through a moment from the Dodgers’ World Series run — where even great managers can lose the game by trusting data over feel.

Because mastery doesn’t multiply — it subtracts.
 It cuts through...

In this week’s scroll, Cary Hokama unpacks The Discipline of Direction—a grounded reflection on how self-image, not speed, determines real progress.

After years of performing on stages, building wealth, earning his brown belt, and traveling twenty countries, Cary exposes the illusion of constant motion and explains the psychology behind the hedonic treadmill, first introduced by psychologists Philip Brickman and Donald Campbell in the 1970s.

You’ll learn why our nervous system normalizes both success and struggle, why “cool, what’s next?” becomes the default soundtrack of ambition, and how to break that loop th...

We confuse motion for meaning.
We confuse noise for momentum.
We confuse doing more… with becoming more.

In this scroll, Cary unpacks The Illusion of Progress — how modern creators mistake busyness for mastery, and how true Kaizen begins with deliberate subtraction.
From Toyota’s refinement to Steve Jobs’ focus through elimination, this episode reminds us that real growth isn’t louder — it’s cleaner.

Kaizen Practice of the Week:
Say no to the noise. Sharpen your yes.

There was a time when Kanye West was just another name in the credits — a producer hidden behind bigger voices. But while the world wasn’t watching, he was sharpening his craft, mastering his sound, and building a vision that would one day make him undeniable.

In this scroll, Cary Hokama draws a powerful parallel between hidden seasons and lasting legacy. From Kanye’s rise to global icon to Cary’s own journey from solo creator to creative consultant in Las Vegas, this episode reminds us that your work becomes your brand — and your brand is the result of...

Anyone can start. But what happens when the spark fades? In this scroll, Cary Hokama explores the cost of quitting too soon — from NFT rug pulls to the ghosts of unfinished projects that haunt us in silence. You’ll hear the story of Sylvester Stallone at 30 years old, broke with only $106 in his account, refusing to sell out and holding the line until Rocky changed cinema forever. Cary also shares his 13-year journey to a jiu-jitsu brown belt, including three times he quit — and what it took to come back with a wiser relationship to the art.

This s...

The world feels louder every week — voices demanding sides, stances, and statements. But silence doesn’t always mean weakness. Sometimes silence is sovereignty.

In this scroll, Cary Hokama unpacks the power of sovereign silence through Jimmy Kimmel’s six-day suspension after his joke about Charlie Kirk’s assassination — and how his return pulled in over 6 million broadcast viewers, the highest in more than a decade.

We’ll talk about why staying silent isn’t hiding, how your results can speak louder than arguments, and what it means to sharpen your craft instead of reacting to every noise ar...

Most people chase crowns that can be stolen, applause that fades, and recognition that rarely satisfies. But the victories that matter most are often the ones no one sees.

In this scroll, Cary Hokama — creative entrepreneur, storyteller, and student of self-mastery — takes you inside the hidden battles that forge true sovereignty. From King George VI in The King’s Speech, to Emily Blunt overcoming a childhood stutter, to the quiet practice sessions that built Cary’s own voice, you’ll see how invisible victories become the unshakable roots beneath visible success.

We’ll explore:

Your environment is never neutral. It will either forge you or consume you.

In this scroll, we explore the sobering contrasts of Sean Kingston and his mother, Roy Jones Jr. and Park Si-Hun, and the recent passing of Charlie Kirk. We reflect on the question my friend Shun posed about the Patterns of Success, and we revisit the wisdom Dr. Benjamin Hardy shared on my podcast about how willpower is weak, but context is strong.

This isn’t just a podcast—it’s a dojo for the soul. And if you’ve ever wondered whether you’re i...

In Scroll 016, Cary Hokama shares the Samurai Sponge—a way to break free from stuck stories and rewrite your path with clarity, mastery, and meaning. From fungi’s “Wood Wide Web” to Erwan Le Corre’s MovNat to Jeff Hoffman’s InfoSponging, this scroll is about sponging wisdom from every corner of life and weaving it into your sovereign path. Plus, Cary gives a Kaizen Drill you can apply tonight to practice the Samurai Sponge in your own life.

What if the mission you’re meant to live doesn’t come from you — but chooses you?

In this scroll, we walk through stories of Anthony Kim, Nelson Mandela, J.K. Rowling, and my own journey through exile. Each one shows us how the hardest seasons — the ones we never asked for — forge clarity and purpose.

You’ll also hear the 3 Samurai principles that can help you recognize your mission, accept the cost, and carry it forward when life calls you into the unknown.

This isn’t about hype. It’s about the discipline of Ka...

Your 20-year-old self? He wouldn’t have listened anyway.
 The real question is — what would you tell your future self?

In this scroll, we cut through the tired copycat questions and talk about why your future self should be the one you’re training for. I share stories from the dojo with my jiu-jitsu brother Sam, the rise and fall of PGA prodigy Anthony Kim, and how small daily katas sharpen the blade in the shadows.

You’ll walk away with a 3-step framework for living sovereign today — so your future self doesn’t feel betrayed...

What happens after the mask comes off?
Not the freedom. Not the applause.
The stillness.
That uncomfortable silence we’re conditioned to escape.

In this scroll, we talk about what most people avoid—
the void that follows the performance.

From a monk’s lesson on peace, to a forgotten Karate Kid parable, this episode is an invitation to do what few ever choose:
Sit.
Breathe.
And listen—until the truth reveals itself.

Because that’s where your story begins.

🎧 Scroll 012 recap included.
 🎯 Practi...

What happens when the version of you the world loves… isn’t really you?

In this scroll, we explore the quiet cost of wearing a mask—the one you built to fit in, to be liked, to survive.

Cary shares stories from his own journey as a frontman, trainer, host, and leader… and the silent weight that came with performing.

If you're ready to return to yourself and live without the need to be liked, this scroll is your next step.

🎧 Kaizen move inside.

Until next time Kaizenites… be steady, live...

There’s a silent burnout few talk about—
 Not from doing too much,
 but from being too little of yourself.

In Scroll 011 of The Story Samurai, we explore the hidden toll of underexpression:
The cost of saying “yes” when your soul says “no.”
Of playing agreeable when you were built to disrupt.
Of dimming your truth to avoid being disliked.

Cary shares a deeply personal coaching story…
 We break down lessons from Musashi, Marcus Aurelius, and Maxwell Maltz…
 And we zoom out with cinematic contrasts between Dave Chappelle and Keanu...

After two weeks exploring Singapore, Bali, and Japan, something unexpected happened in the final hours of our trip.

I walked back into a small gyoza shop in Sapporo—one I had visited nine years earlier—and the owners remembered me.

Not just my face. My name. My review. My impact.

This episode isn’t just about travel—it’s about what happens when you keep walking the path, even when no one’s watching.

Because the truth is:
 What comes back to you when you stay the course… might just change eve...