Finding Happiness After a Billion Dollar Exit with Justin Kan
Hello our dear friends! Happy New Year to you! We start 2021 with an exciting story of Justin Kan, a renowned Internet entrepreneur and investor who, after selling his company to Amazon for $1 billion, rediscovered the power of mindful living, holistic health and emotional well-being. Tune in now and join us as we discuss what it means to be a conscious and successful human being in today’s world.
Justin Kan grew up with the echoes of the scarcity mindset and deep desire to make money and become successful. Feeling like he was an outsider, Justin always wanted to get the approval of his peers. After graduating from Yale university and understanding that the regular job isn’t an option for him, he decided to embark on the entrepreneurial journey in Silicon Valley.
Since that moment, Justin became a renowned visionary entrepreneur who has founded 5 startups and invested in over 120 companies. He also co-founded Twitch, formerly known as Justin.tv, which he sold to Amazon for $1 billion in 2014.
After a successful exit, Justin felt like he was hitting the rock bottom. He was feeling stressed by constantly pushing himself to do better and become even more successful. Justin began to realize that all the companies he started and different ways he chose to raise money and become successful in reality was just the subconscious desire to get the approval of others.
He was faced with the vital question: does he really want to show up in the world being driven by the desperate need of approval from other people? For him, it was the pivotal moment to decide who he wanted to be and how he wanted to act in this world. Around that time, Justin started to use the Headspace app, and from there he built his meditation and gratitude practice (with the help of the Five Minute Journal App). After that, he realized he was feeling a lot better no matter what happened in the outside world.
Today, Justin has a lot of ongoing projects and he managed to redefine success and happiness. For him, success means to be a good person every day; be kind and compassionate; do well; be a good father and husband; and show up as a good human being in this world. He stopped pursuing the goal to be approved by the world around him, and instead focused on self-awareness, genuine connections and joy as a fuel to live.
Justin’s books recommendations:
Business books:
1. High Output Management by Andrew Grove
2. 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman & Kaley Klemp
Well-being books:
1. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
2. Awareness by Anthony de Mello
Here is what we have discussed:
How to be ambitious and think big
Getting safe job vs. starting your own business
Growing up with entrepreneurial parents
Self-belief in entrepreneurship
Finding and embracing your power
Imposter Syndrome
Living in Silicon Valley bubble
Changing beliefs system
Creating genuine connections
Accepting people the way they are
Self-approval vs. approval of others
The power and freedom of self-awareness
We hope you enjoyed today’s episode with Justin Kan. You can find out more about him here:
Justin’s Twitter
Justin’s Podcast: The Quest
Justin’s wellness habit builder & tracker app: Kin App
You can find out more about Alex and Mimi here:
Mimi’s Instagram
Alex’s Instagram
https://www.youtube.com/mimiikonn
https://www.youtube.com/alexikonn
Produced by Jason Sanderson - Podcast Tech
Show notes by Veronica Joce
