How to Take the First Step (Before You Feel Ready) | with Nainoa Langer
The Story
What happens when the spark inside you grows louder than the expectations around you?
Nainoa Langer grew up on Moloka‘i, where life was simple, humble, and steady. Days were spent outdoors, surrounded by the same friends, same routines, same expectations. “The plan was not to really have a plan,” he said. The blueprint was familiar: go school, get a job, start a family.
But something in him kept tugging. He loved his island, yet he felt there was “more than just a little rock.” So he left for O‘ahu and took a job at a hospital, sterilizing surgical instruments through rotating shifts that drained him. The job paid the bills, but inside…
“Every day was just a struggle… soul-sucking.”
Then came the GoPro. A small camera, a small spark. He hiked, surfed, cliff-jumped, filmed it all — and for the first time, he felt alive. People noticed. His Instagram grew. His confidence grew. He began to imagine a future that looked nothing like the one he was raised with.
Still, doubt pressed in. He wasn’t trained. He wasn’t connected. Where he grew up “it wasn’t really encouraged to step out,” and he worried how people back home might judge him.
But he kept going — one clip, one edit, one 15-second video at a time.
“If each video was better than my last, I knew I was on the right track”
Momentum grew. Then the moment arrived: a global travel company reached out. Within days, he was flying to New York, Abu Dhabi, and eventually more than 40 countries, documenting cultures around the world.
Over the next decade, Nainoa became an Emmy Award–winning filmmaker known for cinematic, emotionally honest storytelling. His work evolved into LAYERS, a signature approach to revealing the deeper sides of who we are. And in 2025, he founded InnerBloom, a boutique production company rooted in intention, respect, and connection.
The kid who once felt boxed in by the smallness of his world was now carrying Hawai‘i into the world.
And the battle he faced along the way — between comfort and calling — sets the stage for the deeper insight.
The insight
In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes The Resistance as the invisible force that rises whenever we try to grow.
It is the voice that whispers:
“Stay comfortable.”
“Stay small.”
“Stay safe.”
Ironically, it grows strongest when we get closest to the work that matters.
Nainoa met this force early. The Resistance sounded like a stable paycheck at the hospital, even when every shift felt “soul-sucking.” It sounded like the expectations of a small island where stepping out wasn’t encouraged. It sounded like doubt when his videos were raw, early, imperfect. It even sounded like fear when he wondered what people back home might think.
Pressfield argues that Resistance is not a barrier; it is a compass. It appears most fiercely in the direction we are meant to move.
Every time Nainoa took the next step — one clip, one edit, one small improvement — he weakened the pull of comfort and strengthened the voice inside him that said keep going.
As he put it, “If each video was better than my last, I knew I was on the right track.”
the application
The Resistance has a way of showing up quietly. It doesn’t always scream. Most days, it whispers.
It whispers through procrastination: “I’ll start tomorrow.”
It hides inside perfectionism: “It’s not ready yet.”
It speaks through self-doubt: “Who am I to do this?”
It shows up as distraction: “Let me check one more thing…”
It creeps in through over-planning, where preparation feels safer than action.
These patterns aren’t signs of failure. They are signs that something meaningful is trying to surface. The Resistance grows strongest near the work that matters most.
Nainoa’s journey shows another way forward. He didn’t wait for the perfect idea or the perfect moment. He let small steps build momentum. One clip. One edit. One improvement. And each action weakened the pull to stay where he was.
Purpose rarely arrives fully formed. It is shaped by what we choose to do next — especially when Resistance tells us not to move.
What We Can Steal
Start before you feel ready.
Action weakens Resistance faster than planning ever will.Let imperfection move you forward.
Progress comes from creating, not from waiting to create perfectly.Notice the voice of self-doubt, but don’t obey it.
Resistance often sounds believable right before a breakthrough.Choose momentum over comfort.
Even the tiniest step can shift your life’s direction when you take it consistently.
Mahalo for reading this week’s Mana‘o Bomb.
Next week, we’ll drop another idea from Hawai‘i. A story that sparks growth, resilience, and purpose.
Keep rising. Keep learning.