Episode 28 - Kobi Yamada on Ideas, Problems & Courage (Not Just for Kids)

What do you do with an idea when you don’t feel ready?
What do you do when the only honest words are: “I’m trying”?

In this episode of Just Human, Jay Boykin sits down with #1 New York Times bestselling author Kobi Yamada (President & CEO of Compendium Inc.) to talk about why his books look like children’s books… but land in a much deeper place for adults. If you’re building a business, leading a team, or wrestling with self-doubt, this conversation will hit you right in the chest—in the best way.

Kobi shares how picture books can speak to both kids and adults, why our inner critic makes problems feel like identity threats, and how fear quietly blocks creativity, chances, and momentum. He also breaks down the role of mentorship, the power of leaving “space” for the reader, and why creativity is birthed in boredom—something modern scrolling is stealing from us.

👍 If this helped you, like, subscribe, and comment: Idea / Problem / Chance / Trying — which one are you living right now?

Connect with Kobi Yamada

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/livethegoodstuff/

Shop: https://live-inspired.com/

Kobi Yamada | Penguin Random House
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2338428/kobi-yamada/


#KobiYamada #JustHuman #PersonalGrowth #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #ImposterSyndrome #Creativity #Mindset #Mentorship #Compendium #WhatDoYouDoWithAnIdea #WhatDoYouDoWithAProblem #WhatDoYouDoWithAChance #PictureBooks #SelfDoubt

Transcript

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Jay Boykin (00:01.227)
What do you do with an idea when you don't feel ready? What do you do with a problem when it feels like it is threatening your identity? What do you do with a chance when you are afraid to waste it? And what do you do with the only thing that you can honestly, when you can only say, I'm trying? Many of us answer, have to deal with these type of questions every single day.

And that is why I am super excited about this conversation and why my next guest is so interesting. Hang on for a second.

Jay Boykin (00:59.063)
Well, welcome to Just Human. And in this space, we have honest conversations about what it takes to lead and to build and to grow in today's world. And here we explore the intersection of leadership and personal growth and business. And we talk about the practical stuff and the human stuff because success isn't just about what you build. It's who you become while you are building it.

I am Jay Boykin, I'm your host and I am really glad that you are here. Thank you for listening. I know that there's a lot of things that you could be doing with your time and I appreciate you taking time to listen to Just Human. We are available everywhere that you get great podcasts or on YouTube and also on Spotify. Today I am really excited to have this conversation with

He is a number one New York Times bestselling author. He's the president and CEO of the publishing company Compendium Inc. And, Kobe, welcome to the show.

Kobi Yamada (02:10.347)
thanks for having me, Jay. I'm excited to be here.

Jay Boykin (02:12.882)
Thank you so much for that. Now, I was telling you before we started the recording that I ran into your books almost on accident and I felt like they were life changing when I was walking through an airport and saw them there. And I was initially drawn by the amazing illustrations. But then when I opened it up and I started reading, I knew that I had to have it.

Now, my first question for you is this. Your books, they look like children's books, but they hit you in the chest even when you're an adult. Why do you think that the simplicity, the seeming simplicity of your message hits people the way that it does?

Kobi Yamada (03:03.214)
Well, first of all, I think a picture book isn't just for kids. I think that it's for people of all ages. And it's my hope anyway, every time I write a book, that it will generate or at least spark a conversation. And I love to think about the places that those books might travel to and the kind of conversations they might be involved in. A lot of times that's maybe a teacher, a parent with a child.

Or maybe it's somebody graduating something like elementary school, but also getting a business degree. I've seen my books used in presentations at business schools, used in corporate America. So I don't know that we really outgrow things like a desire to be more creative or to persevere through challenges or to have the courage to take a chance.

These are things that I think grow with us and they might mean different things at different times in our lives.

Jay Boykin (04:03.104)
Yeah, that is super powerful. Your books came to me at a time when I was transitioning out of my corporate America role and starting my own business. so your books have spoken to me at different times. And there's been times that I've taken those books off the shelf and needed to reread those messages. You know, when I think about I'm trying and what do you do with the

problem, things like that. And so I'm curious when you are writing and you've talked about the fact that your books, you know, you've seen them touch different age groups. When you are writing, are you consciously writing to the adult experience? Are you writing to a young adult, a child's experience, or are you trying to write about something that can be universal?

Kobi Yamada (05:02.35)
Yeah, I think that I do have in mind a dual audience. that I think a picture book is a unique medium that way that you can really connect with a younger audience and an older audience. But I really want the books that I'm involved in to have a universal appeal. I think that as much as say a book like What to Do with an Idea could be about trying out and just sort of stretching your creativity, it could also be about an entrepreneur.

or it could be about somebody that's taking a chance and a challenge in their life that they want to embrace or somebody that had a really tough experience as a kid and feels like they're not creative today. They maybe put themselves out there and maybe got rejected and maybe shut themselves down for a long period of their life. I heard that feedback quite a bit from people. And so I think that a picture book's really kind of unique in that the message is short, it's simple, but

It also has a lot of space in between the pages to be expansive so that it can really be embraced by the reader. I I really believe my books are incomplete without the reader. And so I try to intentionally leave space in there for their own thoughts and dreams and doubts as they're experiencing the book.

Jay Boykin (06:20.852)
Amazingly creative. Excuse me, I recently got Caring and I'm gonna show this. And for my audience, you really need to order one of Coby's books and you're gonna end up ordering six, seven, eight of Coby's books, but they are amazing. And Coby, noticed that in Caring,

It is a powerful book about a young boy and a gardener. And I'd love for you to talk a little bit about your premise behind this book because it does seem to be really relevant to the times that we're living in today.

Kobi Yamada (07:06.734)
Yeah, no, I agree. It feels relevant to me anyway that we have an obligation to some stewardship and with the planet, with this wonderful place we all call home. But one of the key factors for that particular book series that it started with trying and then we did noticing and caring and that's with Elise Hurst, amazing illustrator out of Australia.

But what I really wanted to embrace there is the importance of mentorship and the importance of setting example for someone that's just beginning. And for us beginners to know that it's not really a fair thing and it's not really a very accurate thing to measure our beginnings against somebody else's mastery, somebody else that's put the time in and the dedication in, maybe decades.

And so I really wanted to play with those two perspectives, those perspectives of how do we take chances? How do we care about something? How do we make a difference? And sometimes that can look like a really daunting thing at first. And sometimes it can look like a really daunting thing in the middle. And so it really was my hope to be able to create these books that could really talk about journeying as you wanted to maybe.

develop new life skills or to maybe have an occupation or a passion you really care about. In caring, it was really about taking a situation, in this case it was a pretty dilapidated piece of land that the gardener saw decades ago and wanting to make a positive difference with that and putting the work in over time and somebody else coming along.

much later and seeing the net results of that. And yet kind of learning and getting the skills to understand that they could also make a difference in their life. And it doesn't have to be in the same way. It could be in a completely different way. But I think it's really important that we believe that it just takes one person to care to make a difference out there.

Jay Boykin (09:24.16)
So good. you talked about mentorship and I know that I have my personal stories about the mentors that I have had that have made such an impression on my career and my life. I'm curious for you, do you have someone or someones who really helped to shape the person that you've become?

Kobi Yamada (09:50.636)
Yes, absolutely. I mean, I've had wonderful parents and teachers and friends in my life that have helped me along the way. But Jay, I think it's also good for people to know mentors and teachers, they can come in lots of forms and sometimes not just in live action. I mean, a book, something that you read or come across.

a piece of music that you dive a little bit deeper into. There's a lot of ways I think that we can be inspired by the example of others. And for those that are lucky enough to have real life people in our lives that care enough to help us and shape us along the way, that's a wonderful thing. But so is a library. And so are other places that you can go to look for inspiration, to look for examples.

and to look for these areas where you can learn and you can learn from others because there's so many wonderful examples out there people doing great work. I think that maybe the best skill there is just being curious and just being open to learning from them. And they might not look like us, right? They might come from a different culture and a different background. And that's all the better because they can bring some different perspectives that we might not have just in our little part of the world.

Jay Boykin (11:16.486)
In your book, What Do You Do With A Problem? I know that for me, that landed, let me say it this way. Many of us will sometimes take a problem and almost turn it into a threat to our identity, that I'm not good enough, I'm not enough. And that voice alone can be

amazingly damaging to us and what we're trying to do. Why do you think that problems can sometimes feel like identity threats and was that part of the message that you were trying to help the reader to overcome in that particular book?

Kobi Yamada (12:06.048)
Yeah, it was. You know, one thing that we all share is we all have problems. And they're things that we don't necessarily sign up for. They're not things that we invite. They're not things that we're excited about, most likely. They're embarrassing. They're deflating. They're scary. But I think the thing that you put your finger on there, is really important to talk about, which is

We also have our own fears and doubts and insecurities and those can really amplify the situation and amplify the problems to feel like it is us. It is our inadequacy. It is something that we are not capable. We don't have the ability to deal with this. And that's normal and that's human, but it's also not 100 % true. And so, there's a lot of amazing abilities we have, but...

That self-belief and that ability to lean in and know that those capabilities are ours as well, our dreams, our hopes, our talents, those things line up against our fears and our doubts. But unfortunately, we all have a pretty loud critic in our heads. And that critic can be really debilitating. It can stop us from really

embracing a life experience that we're going to be very, very interested in. And it's a normal thing, you know, like we all go through it. But writing that book, I was hoping to provide a narrative and a resource for someone when they're feeling like life is feeling pretty big and problems are feeling pretty heavy, that they'd have a different kind of voice maybe to...

whisper to them as opposed to the doubts and fears that are constantly kind of churning in our heads.

Jay Boykin (14:02.722)
I'm talking to Kobi Yamada, New York Times bestselling author. And Kobi, I have to tell you, that's why I keep your books around me, not only here in my studio, but in my day-to-day working office, because there are times that I need that reminder that I am enough and that sometimes a problem is not

an insurmountable overcoming, know, it's something that I can't overcome. It's something that I've just got to work through and it's not something that is going to crush my identity. So I thank you so much for that. Amos.

Kobi Yamada (14:48.728)
Well, Jay, I think just to add to that, it's one of the reasons why I like the medium of a picture book. There are amazing books out there that are very comprehensive and in depth and data driven and research backed. But sometimes you need an easy accessible piece. It's something to shift your pattern, something that maybe can inspire you. I'm the same way.

And I think that the picture book is a unique thing in that it's not asking for a lot of time. You know, I think that more than in my, my, my thought is that more than being in a, in a teaching business, I think we're in the reminder business and, and really helping people to re-remember things about themselves and re-remember things about their own creativity and their own abilities. And that, that little bit of inspiration, sometimes that's just the little spark you need to just.

change that pattern a little bit, change that thought process so that you can be in a place that's more productive. You can be in a place that you're a little more drawn towards as opposed to something that you're dreading, as opposed to something that you feel like, as you said, not enough. That inadequacy is something that can be really debilitating.

Jay Boykin (16:04.874)
And I have to tell you, and I have to thank you because your books have honestly kept me grounded at times when I've had those that self doubt. And I want to ask you about, you know, what do you do with a chance? And why do you think that people tend to put so much pressure on themselves like

they're only gonna get one chance at anything.

Kobi Yamada (16:39.212)
Well, I think it just goes right back to that, what we talked about earlier, which is fear. It's scary to put yourself out there, whatever that chance looks like. Maybe it's meeting someone you'd really love to be a friend with. Maybe it's trying to back that idea or that hope that you have.

A chance feels like it's a little precarious, right? It's a little scary. It's something that feels not so sure. So I think that, you what really talking about is, you know, why is it a little bit scary to step outside of our comfort zone? Why is it a little bit scary to step out of something that we perceive to be safe? I would make the argument that there's more safety in taking chances, making mistakes, learning from them and growing than there is in staying back.

and not really engaging. know, the most precious thing we have is our time. You know, we're, that's the thing I think that is at the, you know, sort of the kernel of all these books is acknowledging the fact that we don't have forever. If we're gonna do something amazing, if we're gonna do something worthwhile, if we're gonna do something we're proud of, we only have this lifetime and that's it.

Jay Boykin (18:02.496)
Yes, yes. I want to ask you about the artwork in your books. And I think that for individuals that are fans of your work, as I am, one of the things that is very unique about the illustrations in your books, first of all, it's so beautiful, but there's a very unique style.

to the artwork in your books. Can you speak to, that style and the individuals that you work with to do the artwork in your books?

Kobi Yamada (18:44.376)
Yeah, you bet. I'm extremely grateful to the illustrators that I've been able to collaborate with. What talented, amazing human beings, and not just their technical ability, but just the heart and the emotion they bring to their work. That's my favorite part of working on books is being able to collaborate with the talented people around the world that I've been able to

to do that with. And, you know, it's funny, I'll go all the way back to What Do You Do With an Idea. In that book, my concept was that it would be basically like a black and white book. And as the idea and the influence of the idea entered the world and touched the people around it, it would be adding more more color to the book. And eventually really

know, light up and color everything around it, which I think is very true for an idea. It's very true for creativity that, you know, when you see an amazing idea enter the world, the world's not quite the same. Everything changes a little bit. It's now part of the way that everybody sees things. And so that was something that I wanted to try to work with the illustrator to be able to show visually. And so...

Mae Basim is the illustrator for all of the, what do you do with an idea, what do you with a chance, what do you do with a problem. But it turned out that she was in China and didn't speak any English. And I didn't speak any Mandarin. And I thought, boy, I don't know if this is gonna work because this book's very metaphorical and very symbolic. And so we started to work with her through a translator. And know, Jay, the beautiful thing that I realized working on that first book is,

Creativity doesn't belong to a certain language and it doesn't belong to a certain culture. It's something that we could connect on very much so. got it 100 % and I think and then some because like with any great collaboration as you know with all the different teams and people you've worked with, the sum of the parts is greater when we're working together. It's the collective of what you do with someone else and the synergy that's generated from that.

Kobi Yamada (21:06.476)
you really can't do just on your own separately. And so that wonderful collaboration and synergy and brainstorming and it just really pluses the work in so many exciting ways. know, May was the first illustrator that I worked with and I've gotten to work with people all over the world. Gabriella in Tel Aviv with May B and why not? And, you know, that's another example of just a world-class illustrator.

I've been also lucky, like with May and Gabriella, they hadn't done books before. So they did another just amazing work, but it was kind of fun because we learned our way through that process together. And it's not the same doing a single illustration or an ad campaign as opposed to doing a book and fully illustrated and how that one page is going to tie to the other. So these are really nice, wonderful journeys that really restore my faith and

in humanity, restore my faith in being able to share these really wonderful experiences with other creative talents. But the whole idea with the illustration style, and they all have their different styles and different approaches, is that we really want the book to be visually and written in a way that it can mean something to someone when they're seven or 70. And so we really want that book to grow, to be a friend with them.

through their life, not just, you hey, that was something cute and silly that I saw when I was a kid, but something that they can revisit, they can be re-reminded. And it might mean something when they're going through a really tough time or maybe a really exciting time at some other point in their life. And they revisit that message and they revisit those visuals in a way that it re-engages them about what are my hopes and my dreams for my life?

and what are the things that I want to inspire and spark at others. And these are the kind of things that I think the more that we can revisit that type of topic, you know, cause it's, you know, we all get into the grind and we all have a day, you know, the daily rituals of work and routines and these kinds of things. But you know, sitting right behind those, you know, they're sort of still knocking on the door are the things that you really dream of doing in your life and the things that you really want to.

Kobi Yamada (23:26.03)
do what you're here on this planet and the kind of, you know, wonderful, aspirational, audacious things that you want to accomplish in your life. Those are things that need time and attention too.

Jay Boykin (23:39.382)
You know, Koby, there's a few things that you said there that are very powerful. One of the things that resonated is when you were talking about the fact that you are working with an individual that you do not have a shared language or a shared culture. And one of the things that I'm personally working on is it's based off of my whole

premise of just human and I call it the just human philosophy. And it talks about the fact that there are three pillars that are part of that. There's connection to self. We have to decide that we are showing up today to give our best effort, do our best work. The second pillar is connection to others. We have to

create the type of atmosphere, the psychological safety and the intentionality that is required to connect with and work with and collaborate with another human being. And I love that you talked about the fact that it probably would have been easier for you to find someone else who you didn't have to use a translator with, but.

there was something there that you wanted to connect with. And then the third pillar is connection to a shared purpose. And that collaboration that the two of you did was an amazing series of books with your words and her art.

Kobi Yamada (25:20.228)
I love your pillars. Yeah, I don't have anything to add there except for I think that's really important work you're doing. You know, I mean, it's really wonderful to get people engaged with those three areas of their life because, you know, from personal experience, can tell you, wonderful things come from that. And you can't leave out any of those three pillars. They all need to be there.

Jay Boykin (25:46.292)
Yeah, thank you so much for that. definitely appreciate that. Kobe, talk to me a little bit about what you're working on now. What's your newest project that you're focused on?

Kobi Yamada (26:00.448)
Yeah, I have a book coming out at the end of March called Others. so, you know, it's as you might think, you know, we hear and it sort of works in the conversation we're having right now, which is we, there's so much messaging right now about separateness. so it was a book that I've been thinking about for a while. I got to work with an amazing illustrator, Charles Sentoso.

who's out in Singapore right now. And we kind of created, and the visuals are just as important as the words in the storytelling of this book. And we created a construct. I really wanted to have a conversation in the book about awareness, about lack of awareness, and making assumptions. But also it's...

it moves into so many areas of life. I think it's a timeless thing. And so we constructed the book with a big hedge right in the middle of the book. And so this big hedge divides the book. And so we have a couple of kids that are having a conversation over here about the people on the other side of the hedge. as they're talking about them in a way that's not really informed,

What they're imagining is actually being illustrated and shown on the other side of the hedge. They can't see it, but the reader can. And so that sort of evolution of just building more empathy, awareness, and connection between people that might not be from the same place or have the same background or have the same thoughts and attitudes.

is something that I think is a great place for us to have conversations and a great place for us to grow from. the idea of something being on the other side of the hedge, yes, there's big ideas about borders and there's big ideas about race and there's big ideas about all kinds of things, but there's also, it can also be anything unfamiliar to you. could be the broccoli on your plate for the first time. And, oh, you know, I...

Kobi Yamada (28:13.144)
you know, this is something I don't want. I don't know it. It's unfamiliar to me. I don't like it. Is that something you may be able to learn to like? Is that something you may be able to introduce yourself to? Well, that's anything new, right? I mean, we were fortunate, our local sports team, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl this last weekend. Yeah, that was really fun for the city. But it's amazing. We'll see someone with a jersey on and think,

Jay Boykin (28:33.28)
Congratulations on that.

Kobi Yamada (28:42.434)
That's a person I don't like because they have a jersey that's different than the jersey that my team would be wearing, even as a fan or somebody that is wearing that. Gosh, I feel a kinship with this person because they're wearing that. Really interesting things that we choose to pick as far as the quality of the human beings around us. And so I thought that a book that would talk about that topic.

would be something that would be valuable to the conversation, especially as a picture book, because it's gonna enter the picture as something that might generate conversations between different generations, as well as people from different backgrounds.

Jay Boykin (29:23.394)
Kobe, talk to me a little bit and maybe there's a part of this message in that book as well and I can't wait for that to come out so that I can get a copy. We live in such a time where so many things feel very binary. It's yes or no, it's I'm right, you're wrong. And I feel that there is room,

to understand more about perspective, that, you know, I'm sure that you've seen this where there's those pictures that you might look at it and see one thing. I might look at the exact same picture and see something entirely different. After you explain to me what you see, I can understand how you're seeing what you're seeing and that...

Neither one of us are right, neither one of us are technically wrong. It's just a different perspective. And I do feel that we are not taking enough time today to really listen and understand where other people are coming from and their perspective.

Kobi Yamada (30:39.628)
Yeah, I share that with EJ that I think that it's worse. We're such complex creatures, you know, and there's so much nuance in everything. The more that we can slow down, the more that we can listen, the more that we can be open to different perspectives, be open to different ways of seeing things, doing things, experiencing things and being respectful of that for others as well.

is, well, it's the kind of world we all want to live in, right? And so it's a tough thing. think that the world seems to be getting sped up instead of slowing down a little bit. And we are losing some time to have that perspective and that reflection and that those moments of listening as opposed to sort of rushing forward.

And I don't mean physically, but in opinions and in thoughts and in assumptions. And I'm sure I'm just as guilt.

Jay Boykin (31:46.658)
Even in how quickly we scroll past things, that's part of it as well.

Kobi Yamada (31:50.07)
Yeah, yeah, I'm as guilty as anyone of all the above and certainly have lots of places to improve. My daughter just shared with me something that she had seen where they kind of did some research studies on the act of scrolling, you know, and the, you know, is brain rot a real thing, right? And, and

It was interesting because the study that she was showing me was that it wasn't the fact that you were seeing short clips again and again and again. It wasn't just the length. It was actually the act of flipping through these because your brain never had to deal with boredom. It never had a gap and never had a space. As soon as we don't like something, as soon as we're not satisfied by that, we flip it and on to the next thing.

And it's kind of like little, little bites of junk food, right? Like, you know, just, you know, one after another being put in your mouth and it's satisfying enough to keep you going, but it's not necessarily great for you. And, and so that was, that was really interesting study, you know, to see that. And, I'm as guilty of anyone else are flipping through things that I'm looking at sort of in your, in your spare time, but this, do know, you know, when we have those spaces, when we have those places.

for boredom. When we have those places for quiet, when we have those places for thought, that's where creativity lives. That's where ideas live. They don't live in a place that's already satisfied. They don't live in a place that's already got all of your entertainment done and it's just flicking through. It needs that space to search and to ruminate and to connect dots. So, creativity's birthed in boredom.

And we don't have a lot of spaces these days, it seems like, as a society for that. And we will all be less because of that, because we really need humanity's creativity. We really need the ideas. We need the shared ideas and the things that are sparking us and inspiring us and the things that we're seeing to be creating, kind of magically out of thin air.

Jay Boykin (34:02.774)
We do.

Kobi Yamada (34:13.346)
but it's really not magical. It's a wonderful dot connection. It's the wonderful stimulation that you've had and you're just giving yourself enough time to connect those dots, to put those things together, to create those concepts. And so it isn't just a me versus we kind of an aspect of that. There's also just a need for that space to slow down a little bit, even to be with our own thoughts, even to be with our own creativity is an important thing as well.

Jay Boykin (34:42.538)
Love that so much. Koby, I've got a question that I hope just popped into my head, but I'm curious. What is the biggest lesson that you have personally learned from your work, either through the process of creating it or even from the messages that you've developed in your own books?

Kobi Yamada (35:12.12)
Yeah, that's an interesting question, Jay. know, lots of lessons. I think one though, maybe that's helpful for your audience as well is, you know, that imposter syndrome is a real thing, right? Like, you know, it doesn't matter what success you have with something. You know, I was talking to my wife about this years ago, you know.

Jay Boykin (35:30.635)
Yes.

Kobi Yamada (35:39.298)
Do I write another book? My book before is translated in all these languages and New York Times bestseller and these kinds of things. Maybe I can't write a book that's as good. Maybe I just got lucky with that. And I realized that lesson is that's really a debilitating belief, right? And it's really something that is not gonna afford me.

to any place where I can contribute to humanity or to the greater good of what the work I'm doing. I'm gonna have to be okay with starting again, right? And as difficult as that looks like for people that are out there, sometimes you gotta just kinda double down again on the things that you believe in. You gotta push through with that same kind of courage. What I guess I wanna say there, Jay, is...

We don't get to a place, or at least I'll speak for myself, I don't get to a place where I'm perpetually brave, right? It's something that you have to still work with. You still have to deal with setbacks and challenges and disappointments and mistakes. And it doesn't mean you can't do great work, because you can. But it's not like when you...

do something and it's successful for whatever measure that is, whether that's financial or critic wise or whatever it is, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are now arrived in some way. What it really means is that we have to reinvent ourselves every day and we have to have the courage to do that. We have to have the courage to push out again and to do good work and to care about the work that you're doing.

Jay Boykin (37:16.705)
Yeah.

Kobi Yamada (37:25.888)
It doesn't necessarily make the journey easier, but you have a little bit more information because you have a little validation from the past work that you've done. But I think it's an important thing and we don't talk about it a lot that we think somebody has succeeded an actor, a director or something else. And yet they have to kind of go out there and begin again with the next project and the next thing that they're doing. And we all really benefit that they do.

You know, that they don't just, as we talked about chances, they don't just sort of retract into a safe place and stay there. You know, there's still wonderful things that are out there when you're chasing edges, right? When you're out there looking for where you can go, where you can grow, where you can learn, where you can push yourself. That I think has been, you know, one of the big lessons for me is just doubling down on the fact that

wanting to do good work and sometimes that looks harder or easier farther down the road. But all that stuff is temporary. The more that we can push through those things, the more that we can, and for me, obviously getting a chance to work with a new collaborator, work with a new illustrator. I have a book coming out in early summer called Where Do Possibilities Live?

And that it only happened because I was traveling in Chile and I saw a painting from a Chilean painter there and just sat there for hours and looked at this painting and thought about what it would be like to collaborate with this person, you know? And it wasn't even a subject matter that would be anything like a book we'd work on, but I thought the person behind the brush that's doing that would be so interesting to work with. And I actually started writing the book, you know, while I was on vacation for that.

And then I ended up, again, I needed a translator and we engaged and we finished that book that'll be coming out in early summer. And it's those kinds of things though that if we don't take those chances and we're not pioneering, if we're not pushing edges, we're gonna miss out on some things that might be real highlights in our lives.

Jay Boykin (39:46.85)
Kobe, I've got two more questions for you if you're still good on time. Excuse me. I was listening to another podcast and in this podcast, this individual was talking about how so many people, when they've got an idea, when they've got a chance, they quit on it too soon.

They could be so close to getting to the finish line, but because of that self-doubt, because of that imposter syndrome and all of the other forces that sometimes push against us, that many people will give up on their dreams too soon. I feel that so many of your books help to...

shine a light and to encourage us to not give up too soon. And so talk to me a little bit about your thoughts. I know that for those of us looking at you now and looking at the work that you do, we're probably like, he cranks these books out in his sleep and he doesn't have to work very hard at this, but I am sure that this work is not easy. And

There's probably been times that you talked about it before that you thought about not going forward with another one.

Kobi Yamada (41:17.89)
Yeah, Noah, it's a really interesting point because...

I don't know that we can ever measure when it's too soon, right? And so I would make the argument that the day someone gives up on themselves and their ideas, it's too soon, right? Like it's just too soon because they still have time left and they still have energy left and they still have joy left and they still have a desire to make this something that's a part of their life.

Jay Boykin (41:39.937)
Yeah.

Kobi Yamada (41:54.33)
And yeah, sometimes things don't work out and that's true, but I would say the majority of the time we give up. It's not that something was impossible, it's that we gave up when it was improbable. so, we're all inspired by the stories of people that persevered through really hard things and had all these setbacks and made it through.

And they turn out being companies that we know on a daily basis, people that we know, athletes that we know. I'm not sure that there really is many stories of, I do think that that's a fallacy to talk about an overnight success or to talk about just someone falling into success. If you really look at that person or that journey or that company or that whatever that dream is, there's

time and time again of work and setbacks and disappointments and heartbreaks and not giving up and showing up again. And you know, like this is something that is a normal thing. I look at it a little bit differently. I look at it as all those things are, they almost like make you stronger for where you need to go. And sometimes Jay, the arc that you're looking at, know, geez, I wanna really, I wanna,

degree and such and such. So I really got to study hard and work hard and get to this college and get this degree. And I would make the argument, your arc is so much farther than that. You know, like you want to have a life that you're fulfilled and happy and feel like you're in service and you contribute to humanity and you are using your talents and your abilities in a way that's meaningful to you and hopefully meaningful to others.

How do you measure that arc? It's a lot bigger than a college degree. It's a lot bigger than a job. Might be bigger than the company that you found. There's a lot of things that are there, but yet if you look at it a little bit differently in this sort of giving up idea is it's on your journey. And so it's the next step. Take the next step and take the next one after that. And really just continue on a journey that is something that's meaningful for you.

Kobi Yamada (44:22.018)
I will say I will add a narrative into these books and bang them out and easy for me comment because we kind of sometimes want to want to have that sort of

that, gosh, somebody is at a certain point because they're really talented and we don't necessarily talk about the grind and the work and all those things. But, you know, I think one of the cheat codes is fall in love with what you're doing. You know, like really try to love it. Really be excited about the work that you're doing because the more that you can make work look like play and you can blend those. Well, the next step energizes you instead of saps your energy.

Jay Boykin (44:41.26)
Right.

Kobi Yamada (45:02.892)
Right? And it builds and it's something you feel like you're building and building. In that way, you get kind of stronger and a little more confident with your journey as opposed to the grind of, man, I don't really want to get up. I don't really want to set my alarm. I don't really want to get to, you know, do take that next step. Well, those are, those are two different orientations, right? They're two different mindsets or two different ways to look at something. And yet both of them are, you need to create forward momentum.

And so you could do it with joy and happiness and have fun with it. Or you could do it in a way that feels like, this is something that I hate or this is a grind or, know, yes, I'd love the success at the end, but I just don't want to do this work right now. I'm not sure that you could, with authenticity, get to the place that you want to go. So, you know, in my mind, how do you make it fun? You know, that's really, at the end of the day, how do you make the thing that you care about fun?

and engaging and inspiring to you. And that might not be the same for everybody else, but the thing that you're gonna spend your very, very precious time on, how do you do it in a way that lights you up?

Jay Boykin (46:12.78)
Beautiful. We are speaking with Kobi Yamada. Kobi, I have found that your books make great gifts and I have, I've been giving these things out as gifts, even to clients. Talk a little bit about your company because that's a great place for people to find some beautiful gifts.

Kobi Yamada (46:13.336)
Beautiful. We are.

Kobi Yamada (46:37.186)
Yeah. So, you know, what you just said there, Jay, is exactly why we have the company. Everything at Compendium we do, the common thread is that we want it to inspire. You know, we want it to connect and, you know, can appreciate people, you can connect with people, but it all has sort of an uplifting, inspiring nature. And everything we make, picture books to any other product, we want it to be perceived as a gift. And so we, you know, if

If Jay, if you were to give me, well, you said you shared a book with a client. If you were to give me a gift, that is a different value to me than if you were to give me, say, a brochure, know, something that's selling me or something that's just marketing to me. And so we really think about that in our company that how do we make things that can be meaningful to people, that can help with, you know, celebrating, connecting, appreciating each other and

So it really raises the bar for us on design, on the perceived value, the affordable prices, things like that. We think about the kinds of gifts. So it could be a greeting card, something fairly affordable. It could be a little journal. It could be a picture book. But the whole thing that our team thinks about is how can it be meaningful? And we know that we're not really the meaningful folks in that equation.

The magic happens between like, you know, a mom giving that to her daughter or a friend giving it to a friend. that wonderful magic that happens between those two humans. We're usually not there, but we just want to amplify whatever's there. And so that's really the reason and the sort of the purpose behind the company. so we're less concerned about the medium and we're more concerned about the message and we're more concerned about the meaning behind that gift.

And it's been, know, by having that and being able to just sort of marinate and inspiring things and work on those products, you know, for me at least, the byproduct is, is I get to really feel great about, you know, showing up for work each day.

Jay Boykin (48:50.134)
What's the website for Compendium and how can people find you on social media?

Kobi Yamada (48:56.814)
The website is live-inspired with a D, liveinspired.com for Compendium. I have live the good stuff on Instagram. That's usually where I engage. That's the only social media platform that I use. we recently were purchased by Penguin Random House back in December of 24. And so...

We're getting all integrated into the bigger company. so, PenguinRoundHouse.com is a good place as well to find companion products.

Jay Boykin (49:33.982)
Excellent, thank you for sharing all of that. And Kobe, I was able to find you on Instagram. I was able to connect with you and I appreciate the fact that you messaged me back and that we had the opportunity to get this scheduled. I know that you were super busy, but I'm very appreciative of your time and you coming on the show.

Kobi Yamada (49:58.836)
Jay, I appreciate you and thank you for reaching out and it is truly my honor and one of the great joys for me to be able to connect with amazing people like you.

Jay Boykin (50:09.538)
Thank you so much for that. So for my listeners, thank you so much. This was definitely a special episode for me. Again, if you are listening on your favorite podcast platform, leave me a comment, leave me a review. Hopefully you will subscribe if you're watching on YouTube, on Spotify, on whatever your platform is.

Please subscribe and leave some comments because that's the only way that I am going to get better. And that is what just human is all about. As we go through this life, life does not have instructions and we are looking to get better every day. So until our next episode, I just want to tell you to be kind to yourself and just keep growing.