Exploring Career Wanderlust and Being a Lifelong Learner with John Lim
Feb 01, 2019, 12:00 PM
How do you go from lawyer to actor to entrepreneur and podcaster? Find out with my next guest who is an expert in wanderlust. John Lim is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, author, and podcaster who I had the pleasure of connecting with on Twitter. John is a lifelong learner, and began his first career as an attorney at the age of 25.
While developing his presentation skills, he stumbled upon his interest in acting. Through a series of events he ended up being on National Geographic, the History Channel, and commercials. He also played Sulu on Star Trek the Next Voyage across from George Takei. John shares his journey and explains how he ended up becoming an entrepreneur and podcaster.
Show Notes
- [04:30] John's career wanderlust has been more of a reflection of his own journey.
- [06:05] When John was in law school, he took an acting class because he thought it would help his career.
- [06:51] He fell in love with acting.
- [07:27] He was an attorney at 25 years old. He chose the wrong firm, and he was unhappy.
- [08:58] Sometimes young attorneys go to law school for the wrong reasons.
- [09:20] John left his practice and shifted into educational consulting.
- [09:55] He developed his presentation skills and was advised by an acting coach that maybe he should try getting back into acting.
- [10:17] He took more acting classes.
- [11:08] Being on camera really stretched John past his comfort zone. His acting teacher also encouraged him to take up acting.
- [11:21] He started auditioning and actually got some rolls. He acted for National Geographic, the History Channel, and did some commercials.
- [12:12] He discovered independent films called fan films.
- [12:54] He was blown away by Star Trek New Voyage.
- [13:44] John auditioned for the role of Sulu and even played across from George Takei.
- [15:24] While still trying to act he had a life-changing event. His mother had a heart attack. He was crushed when he lost his mother in 2008.
- [17:03] He started consulting again.
- [17:58] He decided to go back to school and get his MBA.
- [18:24] He met some great professors who were entrepreneurs.
- [18:52] John decided to take the leap and become an entrepreneur. Launching his podcast has been part of the journey.
- [20:24] John is a lifelong learner and being an entrepreneur fits perfectly with that lifestyle.
- [21:14] John and Deirdre connected on Twitter.
- [24:47] John stumbled upon podcasts accidentally and started listening to Robert Kiyosaki's radio show.
- [25:14] He became immersed in podcasts and realized that he might want to try it.
- [27:09] The podcast helped him develop relationships and find connections on social media.
- [29:14] John has been working on a project helping his dad take his business online.
- [30:38] Because of his podcast, John was invited to give his first TEDx Talk.
- [31:28] He is working on his first book and starting a second podcast.
- [32:34] John has been able to grow and try new things because of failures and setbacks.
- [32:53] For John, success is about family and health.
- [34:20] He considers business success being on your own and being able to pay the bills.
- [35:20] When you become an entrepreneur sometimes your outlook changes. Even relationships sometimes require an audit.
- [36:38] Trying something different can be a lens to see who in your life really support you.
- [37:47] As an entrepreneur, John has failures every week.
- [39:28] Making your own decisions can be stressful. You need a tolerance for ambiguity and a tolerance to know that everything you try may not work out.
- [40:17] John's biggest failure last year was probably saying yes to too many things which detracted from his real priorities.
- [41:32] It's also important to know your worth and guard your time when necessary.
- [43:07] Consume as much content as you can. Start creating content. Put yourself out there, because the content you create will become part of your branding.
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