About

The Living Standard is about making your own rules, living to your own expectations and creating the life that you want to live, rather than settling for the way we were taught things are supposed to be simply because "that's how they are." The mission is to inspire people to live as their most authentic selves and to never compromise or play small just to fit in or make others comfortable. Everyone has a greater purpose and the ability to bring something unique into the world and by living inside the box, you do nothing but sell yourself short of your own greatness. Think for yourself. Do what feels right to you. Challenge the status quo. Define your standard.

 Bio

I stand firmly in the belief that certain experiences in our lives serve as a catalyst to teach us lessons for the purpose of helping us expand and grow. In 2012, I graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. My whole life, I always knew I would graduate from college, but once I accomplished that, I had no idea what to do next. I figured everything would work itself out. I’d stumble into some career and move into my own place. Down the road, I’d eventually meet a partner, start a family and so on and so forth because, that’s kind of what you do, right?

What actually happened was that after moving back home, I endured one of the most difficult years of my life. I was living at my mom’s house again, I couldn’t find a job that warranted any usage of having a degree and being in debt and I didn’t really have any direction. Frankly, I was lost, stressed and depressed, the perfect combination for a breakdown. At the peak, I got into a fight with my brother and I got kicked out and had to move in with my dad. That breaking point got the ball rolling. It lead me to start to question what I thought I understood about life and how it was supposed to go, which eventually (along with a mushroom trip) brought me to awakening.

I can only describe the awakening as “becoming aware of being aware.” This shift in my consciousness took place. It was like, I understood that I had thoughts in my head, but there was also this presence there that was aware of the thoughts, but it wasn’t necessarily identified with them. The veil had been lifted from my eyes and for the first time, I was able to see everything for what it really was. I could see through all the games we play and programs put in place to keep us functioning, essentially as consumers. The whole “conveyor belt” lifestyle became apparent to me. I say conveyor belt, in reference to how we kind of go through life on autopilot, staying in our comfort zones, going through the motions of how we were taught life was supposed to be: the capitalism game. That idea no longer resonated with me. I felt I had a bigger purpose than just finding a career and attaining possessions. Not that those are bad, but they aren’t the end all. Living that way didn’t feel right to me anymore, and so, I decided to step off the belt and began to live more authentically with myself.