One of my favorite things is to create

To build things. To make things happen.

The entire purpose of Base Engine is just that too. I want to be able to help other leaders express their vision by providing some sort of base. Help them build an engine and make things happen.

I think this passion stemmed early for me with drawing and getting familiar with art.

This moved into painting murals, learning instruments, then eventually wanting to chop up samples on FL studio and make beats. Eventually I learned more about entrepreneurship and grew obsessed over the concept of making something, profiting, all while helping others at the same time.

It’s a privilege and I think that as individuals, within the entire process of creating, we should be very aware of our environment and our timing holistically. I believe this breeds the inspiration (energy) for what you are making.

For some it’s a song, a painting, a poem, an engine, a plan.

My inspiration for this journal entry is actually ‘Building an engine’. It’s about putting things together to get the desired outcome you are seeking.

As mentioned earlier, eventually after I indulged in making visual art and music, I learned more about the fundamentals of business in high school. Starting with entrepreneurship and the basics regarding making a business plan. From here I started selling shirts based on an idea I had called Rising Lifestyle.

The inspiration stemmed from my passion in skateboarding and brands like Supreme and Diamond Supply being popular at the time. I also incorporated hip hop inspiration too. Guys like J Dilla and Kanye shaped my approached to the production process I mentioned earlier when I was making music.

It’s important to note that based on the trend of today’s society, your thoughts and belief system can also get swayed by the masses. Based on expectations, what people might think, etc. Social media does a pretty good job on this part. Anything ‘mainstream’ generally.

So even though things might seem like a hit on that mainstream part, I think it’s important at times to detach from those expectations and create something for the sake of creation. To understand your values.

Your work should be able to speak for itself, but still, I think it is wise for you to consider that marketing is a grand component for how you are expressing your work to the world.

Just like I mentioned those notable brands and musicians at the time for fueling my business approach inspiration. Those things led me down a further road of making things that I wanted to create and offer.

From ideation, to prototyping, and to shipping a product. I’ve now gotten to a point where I enjoy producing experiences. More specifically, producing events that get people to elevate collectively.

Growing up, my first thought of a career was to be an artist. In some ways that’s still true. But I’ve been led down a road a fusion of entrepreneurship, technology, where art as an element is enabled in both.

I think we’ll continue to see a shift of more niches get carved into the future. There’s so many different topics, communities, and subjects that people have. The market literally has the potential to open up more. This subject can be carried into the conversation of how value will be exchanged in the future which I find very fascinating when you consider Web3, blockchain, etc (coming soon).

But again I want to emphasize this importance of your message and marketing. Because if the message resonates, it harmonizes with whatever situation you are in, you’re already sold. The message just came across to you, that was the bridge that the marketing built. It doesn’t even need to be perfect, it just needs to support your progress.

But staying focused on this subject of building, these are some of the points I wanted to provide insight to you about that I consider. The self, society (trends), and the bridge that makes it possible.

So what type of engine are you looking to build?

Is it a foundation for your career?

Is it a skill?

Maybe it’s in your personal development. Building yourself internally and externally.

The best part I think is the experience you gain, the path it leads you down, and the wisdom you can impart on others.

This is an article geared toward the vision of Base Engine. You can stay involved by contributing to this Medium article, following on Instagram @base_engine, Youtube Base Engine, and www.basengine.com.

It’s been more than a year the last time I’ve published something written for the internet. After recent reflection, I realized how important these are.

Capturing perspective in time.

The intention was to always write for me, to me. With the understanding that people will also come across it eventually. Not everyone is going to read what I write and that’s fine. But ultimately, I know in the future these subjects I was seeking to understand can be referenced.

Time and time again, people I connect with often bring up things I’ve published or been apart of. Whether it be a podcast, social media, an event I hosted, a project I contributed to.

It surprises me how much people benefit from these. It’s an honor.

I’ve been dedicating myself to render more meaningful service to spark more of this in the world.

My mind is fixated on this concept of potential. What is the potential of our capability? How can we enhance this situation? What is the opportunity?

The more I learn with others, the more I realize about this opportunity I’m seeking to seize and spark inspiration for others in the world.

I’ve taken time to understand what I’m looking to build, collaborate, document, and share.

I believe we need more leaders to integrate sound knowledge and experiences in practicality to help inspire action for our modern day.

This has been a driving element behind things I’ve been apart of from things such as podcasting, hosting events, and conducting business.

Though unity and the infinite experience of what we can create, using the best of my abilities, I want to continue doing this. Thank you to all who supported my journey thus far, I’m excited for what’s next.

March 28, 2024, I am resuming more stories to be told with Base Engine.

It’s been a while since my last blog post. As this new year is kicking into full swing, I definitely have been learning a lot.

The more time passes, the more I realize it’s important for people like me to speak my mind in documentation like this, especially in this generation.

There’s so much content that’s just straight up misleading or garbage.

Not saying I got it all figured out, I just want to share my truth.

In effect, sharing information that’s actionable and useful.

Over these past few years, even recently- I’ve had people personally tell me how my content inspired them to pursue something in a positive direction. And instinctively, that’s what I feel matters.

I remember hearing a mentor say that it’s the relationships in our life that make it count, that make it fulfilling. I gotta agree

When I was writing blogs earlier in the year, I was hit with some events that forced me to make a choice to handle new priorities.

Was it an obstacle or opportunity? Well, damn near both but I had to figure out how I wanted to spend my time/energy.

Although I experienced an obstacle, through the aid of my mastermind, my team of people, combined with everything I’ve learned personally- I’ve been able to catch strong momentum and experience growth for new opportunities.

We got one chance to make our lives count so we should do our best to do that. Especially with the people that want to build with us.

There’s a metaphor in entrepreneurship- it’s like jumping out of an airplane and figuring out how to build your parachute on the way down.

I asked one of my OG’s about this, on how he’s dealt with his way to success and land safely. His response was getting rid of the rocks on the way down.

For many of us this may be through habits, relationships, friendships. Anything derailing our focus toward our ultimate achievement, and inhibiting us in a negative way.

I’m grateful for the people who have helped me get to where I am in life, even for those who aren’t even present yet!

And like he said, it’s important to get rid of those rocks and do what’s necessary to get where we need to effectively.

I’ve been fortunate to help produce several conferences and summits over the past three years

During these events, I feel like I constantly hit a new epiphany.

Having conversations with new people, but also conversations with old friends.

Either way. For some reason, through these events I gain a new sense of awareness and perspective which inspires me to take even stronger action.

And next Friday on March 10, 2023 — I’m helping host a Multicultural Fundraising Gala at UC Berkeley

I’m excited because it’s something that’s been slowly cooking, for a cause I’m passionate about, with people I’m here to establish an even stronger foundation with.

It’s a local event to where I’m located in the Bay Area, something I can offer to my friends, family, and extended network.

The purpose is to highlight the diverse cultures in the Berkeley community, while empowering woman’s education in Afghanistan. This is ECCO’s mission. An organization I’ve recently partnered up with in alignment to help fulfill my vision of advancing education and innovation globally.

I’m really looking forward to building new connections here, hearing new stories, and helping others find new opportunities that attend the event.

I’ll be sure to report my learnings after this event ends..

But until it happens on March 10th, I’m going to keep hustling.

Hope to see you there

For those interested in attending, go here to view our event page.

Writing these blogs has been insightful so far this past week

I doing my best to apply what I’m learning on a daily basis

It’s journaling but with an intent that this will be shared on the internet

I think it’s important to capture these thoughts and honor them. In effect, I just hope it helps inspire at least one person to strengthen their pursuits too.

In the coming days I have some special pieces of content I’ll be publishing and collaborating on

As the year progresses it will be cool to see what’s been captured at different points in time,

but it’s all about consistency.

One key lesson I’ve learned is keeping the end in mind

Specifically the ideal state/outcome when seeking a solution.

I learned this from design thinking.

It was a concept I was introduced to in high school

Eventually I grasped it while taking an innovation course at UC Berkeley.

From here I would apply it to my own business affairs, then my personal development.

Design thinking is a process for problem solving, by prioritizing our target users’ needs above everything and offering them a bridge to reach their ideal outcome.

Therefore, we must calibrate for the situation we are pursuing.

For the design thinking process, we discover this by truly understanding the end user, by empathizing with their pain and offering a solution.

Often times you can source this data through conducting market research, interviews, surveying, and whatever your creative imagination can source.

For our personal endeavors, we can use our own experiences as feedback loops

Oftentimes this is with our obstacles.

I’ve come to believe that the obstacle is the opportunity.

Although it sounds simple,

we have to handle our thought paradigm, our subconscious limiting beliefs when pursuing this opportunity.

And as a wise man once told me…

We should pursue an objective that is big enough to make it excitable

But have it small enough for it to be executable.

For business reasons this is known as social proof, but I would say the same applies as proof for our competence and personal development.

So with keeping this end vision in mind

I’ve come to learn that on a daily basis, we should lead with reason and what’s best for the long term.

In essence, designing our reality through our mentality.

This article was inspired when I was working out in the gym

Specifically with my buddies I usually see working out

We motivate each other to improve our strength training, improve our lifts, our technique, our mindset

This has become a safe haven for me to sharpen my body and the mind.

This reminds me of a concept I’ve been utilizing these past few years..

When there’s a coordination of two or more people gathered for a definite purpose, Napoleon Hill coins this as the mastermind principle.

When there are two or more people, there is not just two brains at work, but based on the spirit of harmony in this combination- there is a third brain, a third force at work.

They say humans are social creatures, social beings. This is based on humans thriving through history based on exchanging resources and value with one another.

So when it comes to creating a mastermind, there must be a definite purpose to fulfill here

A chief aim to be pointing at with our minds, a shared mutual objective

You may not know the solution for a particular circumstance, but you can influence and seek understanding through the suggestion of others who may have dealt with a similar situation. Or there is a different perspective they can share with you.

This mastermind alliance appears in many ways. For example, it may be with a selected partner or a group of 10 people.

A friend helping you with your fitness goal, a cousin helping you start your business, a contact you met in passing sharing advice on whatever you’re seeking to address.

This is a topic I’ll look at addressing more in the future because it’s definitely an important topic within the subject of community. And it’s something practical that people can apply immediately. And many of us already are, but the key is honing it with a definite purpose for our achievement.

Following back up on the subject of community, usually at the core there are inherent values that people share

Using my example of the gym, I believe the organic core value is in health and wellness

But you’ll notice people may regard this through physical aesthetics and strength tolerance

Whatever it is, there is commonalities among this community

But even deeper within the community, there is connection, a common ground

Connection is the source bringing people together

It’s an understanding, empathy

And through this unique power, we can build from it together.

Jan 2, 2023 — Jan 3, 2023 (12:42am)

Most recently I’ve been paying more attention to “being in the moment”

Knowing that this moment will shift as time continues to go

It’s something that I’ve been seeking to be more intentional with for a few years now..

Perhaps around 2019 when I started to take my health and meditation more seriously

In moments where I’d usually feel anxiety or stress

These days, I understand better now mentally how to let go

I’m not a master of this yet, but I’m conscious about it.

Most recently during times of extreme pressure, I’ve been practicing how I can stay relaxed and enjoy it.

Because many times the mind wants to give up or modify plans.

Many can recognize what I’m describing as looking for an excuse or a “path of least resistance”.

By no means am I a master of “being in the moment” but it seems that I’ve always reasoned with this ability somehow

Let me elaborate..

Regarding presence of mind and focus:

Most times I find myself on the pendulum — extremely passionate, happy, upset, stressed, emotionally stirred

or

indifferent, observant, neutral.

Like an eagle gliding above the madness below.

This leads me to another point of introspection about myself.

Growing up as a young boy, I would play mind games with myself

“If I make this shot then I’m X” or “I’m going to be X”

Giving myself variables I can identify myself with

Like I was a fortune teller for myself

But if it was a missed shot, damn.

I’d beat myself up mentally.

I know people can relate to this among your own situations.

My fear was that I’d haunt myself with this belief I can make in my mind.

I’d counter by making another mental game or challenge to find another mental Win.

And let's remember, these are choices I would give my mind.

In a way this manifested with how I would begin to conduct myself with activities as a teenager

Dealing with a new obstacle or a new business project challenge..

I started to use this mind game to light a fire of extreme focus in that moment, for a particular desire or objective I wanted to pursue.

This eventually carried over to winning international business awards before I was even a legal adult in the US,

Getting girlfriends I sought out,

Competing on intense levels with sports,

Envisioning myself somewhere and getting there.

I learned the power of my focus, and how I can arrange things in a particular way to win, through my mind.

It actually sounds really cool that I’m typing this out.

But this mental presence also fueled my “dark side”

Knowing that I can obtain what I want, when I want- through pure mental alchemy.

Maybe this is what it was all along.

After reading Tim Grover’s Relentless, this seems to make sense. He claims you need this to actually achieve. I mean hell, if you can train Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and others to not only be great- but to be greater and keep winning. It says a lot about your dark side and how it affects performance.

Eventually this introduced me to confront my ego down this darker path

I began to delay priorities, “wait until the last minute”

Sure I could wait until the last second and pull something off

Being “CLUTCH”, what we call in sports.

But I’ve learned that its way better to be prepared rather than always being “clutch”

Life humbled me

I would get caught up in things that I wasn’t being fully honest about,

a failing situation,

getting in trouble during high school,

and I would to talk myself out of situations.

Because I knew I could.

Internally- there’s a strong amount of certainty all within us, and I think of the human opportunities in life is realizing this, then learning how and when to apply this with your endeavors.

Reflecting on my previous actions and behaviors,

looking in the mirror I would see immense potential in myself

but also lame and bad habits holding me back.

From there I realized I needed to double down on my mind

To be present and manage my nature.

I started to gym harder, run, challenge myself to do more uncomfortable things to experience more growth.

In effect I’ve learned this type of ability transmutes outward, physically in the world. Whether this manifests in appearance or by circumstance.

Which has led me down the path I’m currently on..

I like the idea of being well prepared, but and also being clutch

Calibrated.

There’s a time and place when to light up the intensity, and when you don’t need to.

But we’re all different people, you need to be who you truly are.

My rate of intensity may be longer or turn on at different times compared to you.

I hope you understand this point I’m making regarding this swing of polarity and presence.

What’s interesting is that you truly can amplify your intensity while exuding calmness, still being “present”

This reminds me about the concept of flow

But also how the ego is always at play for the human mind

I guess you can say that this is one of my greatest gifts, but also one my greatest challenges.

Being able to turn it up and activate that “killer instinct” in a controlled manner, also knowing when to stay neutral and cruise

Self development is so interesting.

This written entry has definitely opened multiple conversation points that we can further dive deep into.

We’ll see how this continues to go.

Earlier this morning I spent my morning with my partner Romney Cola.

We just started a new Design Sprint.

We are in the process of designing a new and exciting educational experience for our partners and future users with Base Engine.

Quarter 1 of 2020 was filled with lots of new relationships and opportunities to keep growing with.

With everything going on, we’re staying focused on providing rich and effective resources for education based marketing with entrepreneurs.

We know where we’re trying to get and the most important part is what’s in front of us right now.

At the same time, we’re executing with the end goal in mind with all our business intentions.

Facilitating the design sprint was a fun time earlier, it really forces you to critically think of some awesome ideas - especially with your team!

Base Engine truly is something we’re seeking to develop overtime as a strategy and system for us to use to level up our experiences.

We’re excited to continue sharing our insights with Real Estate leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors this 2020 to advance their customer experiences and attract their dream assets.

Best,

Elon Hufana

Let’s Connect

And maybe you haven’t either.

But I think there is so much POWER in storytelling.

We see it in all shapes and forms daily.

For me, some of my earliest experiences I can draw back to with storytelling would be

Reading children story books with my mom, watching VHS Disney movie, singing songs, and even playing my Nintendo Gameboy games.

Those are just a few examples where stories deliver themselves in a variety of vehicles.

Yet I feel that some of my favorite storytelling experiences are when you’re sitting at a campfire

(bonfires are cool too).

But honestly, for me there’s something about being in nature that really levels it out..

I know some people don’t camp often, don’t camp at all, or either have a preference for trying.

Heck, at the time I’m writing this I don’t even know if you CAN camp right now.

But that’s not the point I’m trying to get across and I don’t want to spend the time on why you SHOULD camp lol.

The point I’m trying to get across is the value in this actual experience of when you’re sitting in a circle, at a campfire, exchanging pieces of thought with those gathered with you.

You’re not near society,

Not using much or if any technology..

You just have what you brought, out in nature sharing stories, conversations, and making stronger connections with those you are with.

Over generations with humans these same experiences have been exchanged an infinite amount of times.

And I think if you were to ask me what my favorite story of all time is…

I believe it is the one you write for yourself.

By hearing what others have gone through, failed at, succeeded in, or are currently adventuring into

I think that’s one of the purest ways we all can learn from one another, whether you apply similar things or not

Take it or leave it, you bring that information along with you as you go in life.

I don’t know if that makes you “stronger”

But I sure know that it gives you PERSPECTIVE for the longterm

And besides,

everything we think, desire, believe, and feel is all based on our perspective.

What are some of your favorite stories?

Best,

Elon Hufana

𝘾𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 (An Entry for 5/1/2020)

How has self isolation brought along NEW INSPIRATION for your life?

For me…

Shelter in place has been going on for the SF Bay Area since about March 19th, 2020

… And if I did my math correctly

It’s been about 43 DAYS for all residents located here in the Bay to stay home in self quarantine

And from all the recent news, businesses shutting down, social distancing, peoples health at risk, and self isolation…

… I’ve been able to source it ALL as MASSIVE inspiration

And don’t take that the wrong way.

I’m using all this PAIN and energy

As the ROOT of my inspiration…

To seriously be the best version of myself

EVERYDAY.

For my family, my team, for the world, and for myself.

I never really thought of myself as a leader

But..

From the isolation and lonelier thoughts…

It was simple.

I faced some of my false belief patterns, and simply realized

I am.

I feel for everyone affected right now

And I’m going to keep doing what I do best

To be one of the greatest leaders I can be for my generation

I’m using this period of our lives as FUEL to inspire growth, to help, and to connect with more like minded leaders all over the world.

So I’m curious..

How has your recent self isolation delivered NEW inspiration for your life?

Best,

Elon Hufana