Ep 110.1: How do you measure your life? | Ian Lee (Co-Founder, Syndicate & Former Head of Crypto & Blockchain, Citi)
Ian Lee is the co-founder of Syndicate: a decentralised investing protocol & social network by the likes of A16Z, IDEO, Kleiner Perkins, Uniswap, Coinbase, Opensea, circle & Ledger. He is also the former founding member of IDEO Colab and Head of crypto & blockchain at Citi. But before all that, he was an artist. Then a designer. Before pivoting into marketing & advertising, investment banking and finally, consulting. Where he ended up being diagnosed with cancer. His world shrunk into 3 month timeframes, because he just didn’t know if he would live beyond each three month period. Ian’s worldview changed. He was and remains afraid to try new things. In Part 1 of Episode 110, our discussion centres around the fundamental question of: How do we measure our life? Opening with a viral Tweet that Ian wrote, inspired by a Harvard Professor called Clayton Christensen where he learned that: The best strategy in life is an emergent one. Don’t plan life in 5-10 year spans. Instead go all-in on what you have the most conviction, passion & excitement for in 12-18 month increments. You’ll learn more, grow faster & outperform others not as into it as you. You’ll learn how and why in this episode, and so very much more in this episode with Ian Lee. Highlights: 2:41 Don’t plan your life in 5 to 10 year spans 3:49 Going to art school instead of science?! 6:07 Being diagnosed with cancer 7:43 Living in 2 to 3 month increments 9:26 Exploring rabbit holes 19:10 Life isn’t a linear progression 20:36 Letting go of his need for obsessive planning 22:15 Is there a place for long term vision and planning? 24:38 Would Ian really do anything differently? 27:59 Knowing when to quit 30:44 How to plan for a pivot 35:39 Juggling art and business in his CV 42:45 Mentors 48:53 Fostering relationships with mentors P/S: Part 1 of the interview with Ian Lee comes out this Wednesday! Where we talk all about Ian’s deep dive into the world of investment banking & web3. 📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/110 💌 Weekly Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & purpose on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062