doing things over and over and over again to get better at to improve on and just to see how much better you can get defines more of the people that are very successful in life rather than people that things came easy

to do. Welcome to the future podcast, a show that explores the interesting overlap between design, marketing, and business.

I'm Greg Gunn.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

That's a quote from one of my favorite writers and humorists of all time, Mark Twain. And it taps

taps into the theme of this episode,

which is grit, as in fortitude, guts, backbone.

Now think about the most accomplished people that you admire. What drives them? What is that

endless source of fuel that keeps their fire burning, especially through the darkest and

coldest of nights.

Our guest today is a brand strategist and owner of a small design and branding agency in Honolulu, Hawaii.

He also attended art center, the same prestigious design school that Chris went to.

Now the two talk about their experience growing up, feeling lost, and dealing with the ugly racism the world showed them. They also swap stories about

their unique experience at Art Center, the culture, the smell of the building, and the

teachers that challenged their thinking and opened their minds to the possibilities of graphic design.

Like Mr. Twain said, courage's resistance to fear. It builds character. And in this candid conversation,

you'll get to hear how two people navigate through that fear and how showing

courage through it all got them to where they are today. Please enjoy our conversation with Mario Kissada.

Hey everyone, my name is Mario Kissada. I run a small advertising design branding agency out in Honolulu, Hawaii.

I'm originally from California and I'm a brand strategist and agency owner.

I've been listening to some of your lives recently and I was kind of

struck by just thinking about your story and of you know the story that you've told as far as like your family

...