ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! #TBI #YTribeChallenge #AweDay

A good Samoan friend of mine Martin Leung-Wai, an architect and the CEO/Founder of The Roots: Creative Entrepreneurs, is inspiring the next generation through expressions of his creativity, passion and service. The Roots: Creative Entrepreneurs is a creative business, a movement and a network which was founded in 2011 and established in 2013. Collectively, they work with high school students, tertiary students, graduates and professionals by creating opportunities for communities (to view the awesome work that they deliver please click on this link here to take you to their website:  The Roots: Creative Entrepreneurs). So I was pleased and grateful that Martin had accepted my invitation at the beginning of this year to be featured on this blog as a special guest.  At that point in time, when asked what 2014 was going to look like for him, he smiled and responded with “it’s going to be another busy year” and indeed the past 8 weeks for Martin have been exactly that and more.

In addition to his responsibilities with The Roots: Creative Entrepreneurs, he leads a hard working team (that is expanding in numbers each week) called “Team Bring It” otherwise known as #tbi. Together they have creatively developed an awareness about a cause that is timely and relevant for our young people in New Zealand and abroad. The intentions behind this cause is to help create positive social change and promote positive outcomes for Pacific people. Martin and his team’s message has found its way to the U.S.A and it has resonated with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who the team have acknowledged as the patron of “Team Bring It”). Dwayne Johnson has publicly endorsed the fantastic efforts that Martin and team #tbi have exhibited thus far in support of the cause behind the #ytribechallenge. Martin explains, “I was really stoked that Dwayne Johnson has endorsed the #tbi team. As a team we are hugely honoured to have a high profile public figure support us with the #ytribechallenge. It means a great deal to us. We are so grateful!”

What is the cause? It will be revealed at the end of this week lol! 🙂 In the meantime, keep an eye out for #tbi (or #TeamBringIt or #TBI) and the #ytribechallenge (or #YTribeChallenge) on facebook, instagram, twitter and other social media platforms. The countdown has begun for the big reveal at the end of this week! 

Here is Dwayne Johnson’s reply to Martin Leung-Wai’s tweet yesterday:

And here is the artwork in progress that artist Daniel Tautua has produced since the live tweets:

When I asked Martin who keeps him inspired and motivated he responded with no hesitation, “The women in my life who have influenced me to become the man that I am today, my Grandmother, my Mother, my Aunty in Tanzania and my two younger sisters Fatima and Ann-Margaret. They keep me grounded. Also, my faith in God and the love and support that I receive from my family keeps me going each day. They are significant to me and the direction that my life is heading into.” His philosophy in life is “to be humble and let God guide you along your journey in life”. I proceeded to ask him what adjectives would best describe him as a person and he stated, “Creative. Humble. Open. Loving. An explorer”.  Indeed Martin is a man of humility and integrity. His actions unravels the many layers that contributes to the success that he has achieved thus far. He is a creative visionary and one who will continue to thrive because he leads in service of others. I am blessed to know him, his beautiful and intelligent sisters Fatima and Ann-Margaret and his wonderful parents. They are a great family. Malo ‘aupito Martin for this opportunity to share this part of your journey. Continue to strive for excellence and may God continue to bless you and your family in all your endeavors. ‘Ofa lahi atu xox 

Here are some final thoughts from Martin Leung-Wai:

“There’s a quote that I am inspired by and it’s ‘You are called to greatness, so do not settle for anything less’ and I want to use that quote as a reminder for all to know who you are and to be proud of where you come from. We are strengthened by tests and hard times and by overcoming difficulties adds greatness to our journey. Remember, if you put your mind to it and keep the faith then ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!” 

STAY CONNECTED WITH MARTIN LEUNG-WAI:

#TBI on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TBIYTRIBECHALLENGE

#YTribeChallenge on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ytribechallenge

The Roots: Creative Entrepreneurs: http://theroots.org.nz/what-we-do/