Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
My neighbor's house burned down last night and the lack of urgency displayed by the firefighters reminded me of a unique insight I gleaned from an exploding artery in a goat...
...don't worry, I'll provide context
... and yes, the goat is dead ...
Today's "Sunday Sip" is inspired by Xuelin, an old friend and JNJ'er who messaged me:
"I can only imagine what it might feel to re-adjust to life back in US from Japan. I still fondly dream of Japan’s vending machines and 7-11 stores even 2 years after my trip there…If I ever swing a trip to Chicago for any reason, I’ll let you know."
7/11 in Japan is a glorious experience compared with the subpar norm in the US. While I typically dream of different food adventures than Xuelin, I do love their bacon, onion rice balls (onigiri)... Chef's kiss.
And while nothing compares to the pure convivences of Tokyo's Konbini's (convenience stores), I have experienced delight in a new gas station called "Casey's" that's walking distance from my in-laws home. They have pizza by the slice, cool drinks and more variations of Resees than I had ever imagined possible.
Ok back to fires, blood and potential engine explosions...
So do we start with the fire or a goat... Definitely the goat.
A large portion of my career at Johnson and Johnson was dedicated to the advancement of various ultrasonic technologies used in minimally invasive surgery.
We basically take a long, thin titanium blade and vibrate it 50,000 cycles per second to create a standing wave at resonance. Invisible to the naked eye, this tool can safely cut and coagulate tissue... allowing surgeons to make fine transections without bleeding. Search "Ethicon HAR1100" to see one of the devices I supported!
But enough nerding out... you're here for goats and fire.
Naturally if you design a device indicated for sealing large blood vessels, you have to prove said claims clinically to receive FDA approval. And while we do a large serious of bench top testing prior to launch, animal testing is a aspect of MedTech R&D... unless you'd like to volunteer your grandma as tribute...
While I'll be somewhat nondescript to not reveal proprietary test methods for JNJ Energy devices... here's what I can share.
...
Check out the full Sunday Sip Here:
afamilyfrenzy.kit.com/posts/sunday-sips-fire-ep-8
If you like what you read consider subscribing. This weeks Sunday Sip took about 5 hours to craft this morning and evening.
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I never planned on boomeranging back to my hometown in the north suburbs of Chicago. An impossibility to consider, after being "all in" on entrepreneurship in Tokyo... but life unfolds in beautiful, unexpected ways...
As I navigate the psychological dissonance between what my life was and what it now is, my focus is on "Here"... building my life rooted in the reality of today.
Today's "Sunday Sip" is inspired by Dylan, an old friend and JNJ'er who messaged me:
"Your post struck a nerve for me today, as I unfortunately lost out on both opportunities in Japan for different reasons. I hope you know that we are praying and rooting for you and your family every day - hope your transition to Chicago has been smooth and I'm excited to see you excel there, and make the journey 'home'"
Notes like this mean more to me in my present season of life than the authors could ever imagine.
I still don't know what home is... nor do I know how to contextualize this for 4 kids who have navigated 14 moves in the last 3 years.
As I write to you from my in-laws basement, I can't help but feel like the stereotypical young Millennial, whose dreams of the future were too high in the clouds. Who like Icarus, flew too close to the sun and needed a "soft landing" back home.
I know this is a lie, but it still weights heavy on me.
It keeps me stuck in the narrative of "failing" in Japan and prevents me from thriving right "Here" in Chicago.
For the 12 days since I boarded my plane at Haneda, I've been at war with myself concerning who I am, what stories I tell, and how I secure "my Next" in Chicago.
It is so painful to write honestly and be vulnerable. But I know there are many other "Dylans" in my community who find comfort in the adversity of our family's journey.
So as emotionally dissonant as it may seem... I want to celebrate the start of life in Chicago. I'm literally going to make myself list everything that has worked in our favor... force myself to see the bright spot... at least for a moment.
Who knows... maybe this is a fast track through the stages of grief to acceptance. Or... Plot twist this newsletter was all a dream and I'm still in denial.
Ok, enough M. Night Shaymalan stalling... let's get to work!
Things to Celebrate:
* Being greeted at O'Hare by Felicia's father/brother in a cargo van and loading 8 suitcases, 3 car seats, 1 tote, and 4 children that all didn't get lost by the airlines.
* Being proximal to Felicia's grandfather everyday who's navigating kidney failure. Simply enjoying casual conversation and letting him make me the occasional cup of tea.
* Securing a 2016 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite with 80k miles directly from a seller on Auto Trader for $19,000 cash (401k). Its comfortable, reliable and incredibly well priced beyond what we thought we could get in our price range.
*
*
Check out the full list on "Sunday Sips" Here:
afamilyfrenzy.kit.com/posts/sunday-sips-here-ep-7
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So why did we leave Japan so suddenly, choosing our 14th move in 3 years?
Here's our methodology spanning Assumptions, Risks, NUDs (defined in the newsletter), and our ultimate decision to move to Chicago.
Also if you haven't subscribed to Sunday Sips yet... you're missing out.
I put a ton of time into these and I promise that it will be one of the most value items in your inbox each week.
lnkd.in/gUqNxVrH
Let me know what you think!
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Sometimes you just need to show up... Regardless of how you feel.
Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon -> My last Run in Japan ->. . . for now.
The last 4 weeks of my life have been some of the most tumultuous I've ever experienced. So many challenging conversations with my wife and kids about whether or not we continue life in Japan or take the jump back to Chicago. Job hunting in Chicago medTech, packing out our house, and telling our friends that we need help to pull off our 14th move in 3 years.
Amidst all that my training completely fell off... the farthest I made it was 10 mi and a half marathon is 13.1. I also haven't done any strength or mobility work and I have a slightly injured knee as well as two compressed discs on my lower spine.
Yet this run is deeply meaningful to me.
A year ago I pulled together a 16-week half marathon training program to make long distance running accessible to individuals who are heavier-set,have pre-existing health conditions or prior sports injuries. I welcomed folks into the frenzy of my life as trained everyday as a 6' 3", 300lb dad in Japan.
This program culminated with me running the Tokyo Legacy half marathon as a trial run with a running club of 30 people... because I wasn't able to register for the real race.
https://youtu.be/fh99LNircOc?si=tmS6i...
Today I run with 15,000 people as I close out my first half marathon of "Japan Life".
Don't tell me to break a leg... that would be very bad and jeopardize our intetnstional moving logistics.
Keep showing up friends... regardless of how you feel. Push forward... at the same time create margin to process and feel... but don't let it paralyze you.
Ikimasho! Let's Go!
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"I think we're dead in the water..." 👉 to.... Alive but adrift at sea...
"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it." ~ Gandalf
I recently posted, "Burn rate depleted, and after a few hours at JETRO, it doesn't seem feasible to secure a Business Manager Visa."
I also posted, "that I was again open to work either in Japan or in Chicago in the event we needed to move back to the States."
Now I would never have the audacity to say that I "deserve" help.
As a family we have taken strategic risks to stay in Japan beyond my expat assignment with JNJ. So far, these risk have run their course and it may not be feasible to stay.
A portion of my value system makes it difficult to ask for help, and I'm very active on creating my own opportunities, and providing maximum value. The choices I've made should never be someone else's problems.
I never explicitly asked for help... I merely shared the circumstances that we we're navigating as an expat family in Japan because I thought it would be an encouragement to other who are navigating their own challenges.
And If I'm honest, I've been beyond surprised what support and engagement we've received in the last 72 hours.
* 16,000+ Post Impressions
* 20+ Dms, and 30+ Connections
* Within 48 hours discussion with multiple VPs, CEOs, VCs, and Global Recruiters
* 2 Interviews
* 5 New Skool Community Member Commits
* JPN Business Establishment Support
* 15+ job referrals
I've felt like Neville, pulling the sword of Gryffindor out of a hat. We're still in very dire circumstances (that snake is launching at us in slow Mo)... but we feel a bit more power in our hands.
Thank you all for journeying with us as we find "Our Next". And if you need help on your own journey feel free to reach out (comment/DM).
"Those who refresh others will be refreshed."
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"I think we're dead in the water..." 👉 to.... Alive but adrift at sea...
"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it." ~ Gandalf
I recently posted, "Burn rate depleted, and after a few hours at JETRO, it doesn't seem feasible to secure a Business Manager Visa."
I also posted, "that I was again open to work either in Japan or in Chicago in the event we needed to move back to the States."
Now I would never have the audacity to say that I "deserve" help.
As a family we have taken strategic risks to stay in Japan beyond my expat assignment with JNJ. So far, these risk have run their course and it may not be feasible to stay.
A portion of my value system makes it difficult to ask for help, and I'm very active on creating my own opportunities, and providing maximum value. The choices I've made should never be someone else's problems.
I never explicitly asked for help... I merely shared the circumstances that we we're navigating as an expat family in Japan because I thought it would be an encouragement to other who are navigating their own challenges.
And If I'm honest, I've been beyond surprised what support and engagement we've received in the last 72 hours.
* 16,000+ Post Impressions
* 20+ Dms, and 30+ Connections
* Within 48 hours discussion with multiple VPs, CEOs, VCs, and Global Recruiters
* 2 Interviews
* 5 New Skool Community Member Commits
* JPN Business Establishment Support
* 15+ job referrals
I've felt like Neville, pulling the sword of Gryffindor out of a hat. We're still in very dire circumstances (that snake is launching at us in slow Mo)... but we feel a bit more power in our hands.
Thank you all for journeying with us as we find "Our Next". And if you need help on your own journey feel free to reach out (comment/DM).
"Those who refresh others will be refreshed."
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Can a Battery Cost $75,000?
It sure does if your Laptop is the Linchpin of your first company... at least for now.
For context, I just took one of the craziest jumps of of life. After 12 relocations in one year to get to Japan, my family just completed our 13th relocation to stay following a strategic exit from a decade long career with Johnson & Johnson.
To navigate this transition, we pulled a 75k personal loan to cover a year of international schooling for 3 of 4 children and a few months rent in Tokyo.
A week into the transition my Laptop started swelling, which I noticed due to the housing physically separating as well as the keyboard bulging. You feel the cost of a $500 HP battery a lot more when you're already 75k in the hole with no salary, health insurance, or VISA status.
But I have 4 years of content creation, software presets, and automations built into this Laptop which enables me to go from a concept to top tier video in minutes. And as you may have expected no backups ... yet...
So everything stopped with my ventures, I internationally shipped a battery from Singapore, swapped it in, and prayed that everything would reboot as expected.
40 days later, I've closed my first 2 clients, secured a pending Sponsorship deal, and have more leads coming in daily.
When you take big risks, everything feels critical, challenging, and honestly terrifying. But maintain a cool head, and you can burn down linchpin risks... 500 dollars and a few screws at a time.
Go get it!
PS- If you're looking for someone who understands the nuance of branding, content creation, global leadership, surgical robotics, and more... you know who to DM
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Chasing down my learnings at Tokyo's Longevity Summit with Shake Shack in Shibuya...
Still waiting on a miracle drug from Voldemort to help me live forever.
All quips aside here's 5 things I learned about the antiaging (Vitalism) movement.
As a bonus I'll also share 3 tips for entrepreneurial introverts navigating these Summit/Mixer kind of events.
1. The vast majority of disease interventions (pharma/medTech) are down stream surface solutions to aging.
2. The vast majority of governmental, private sector, and VC funds are still being allocated towards down stream symptoms rather than tackling the upstream source. This is something I often saw in Johnson & Johnson as we were often devoting the majority of our R&D budget towards the backend of lifespan.
3. There's a difference between Lifespan and Heathspan. Lifespan is the literal years you live until you die, whereas healthspan represents your quality of life leading to the end.
4. PPK - Pin Pin Korrori... Means fit, fit, and then rest. in other words there is a desire within Japan's elderly population to maintain healthspan as long as possible and then experience a quick exit.
5. Advances in Stem Cell research do have positive clinical outcomes for reduction in inflammation and pain according to research from Dr. Midori Meshitsuka
Now for my fellow introverts, I was so exhausted coming into this session. I was navigating a lot on the family front as we transition into life in Japan and my extrovert was burned out before the summit even began.
1. You only need 1.
A lot of times when we attend these sessions and there's 10 minutes of networking time, folks will stand up, eye everyone and try to make an intro with the entire room.
I tend to be okay waiting for someone to come to me or casually with one or two people. I think it's a pointless to try to know everyone in the room when they're 70 people there. So you can reduce the social pressure you experience by hoping to make one good connection over the course of a couple hours. It frees you up to not feel bad when the first few chats don't seem helpful.
2. Be a friendly face.
As I was navigating fatigue figuring out who to talk to next, individuals I had met at a prior startup event popped over and said hello. Shout-out to Nicholas Muliadi for saying hello and easing me into the event.
Stand tall, take some notes on your notepad reflecting on the prior talk, smile, and make yourself available for someone to break the silence. Note: aimlessly scrolling on your phone makes you seem inaccessible... don't do that.
3. Leave
First of all, I think all the speakers had amazing things to say at this event, but after multiple hours I got a little burnt out. I realized it was more timely for me to start heading back home from Shibuya so I can put my kids to bed, instead of spending the whole evening fried and forcing first impressions. An early exit freed me up to have a great elevator chat on the way out as well.
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Denim Soft Serve Ice Cream
Would you try it?...
Even after in 3 years in Japan... I'm still uncertain about 'certain' things.
Like is this one of those things that's lost in translation, or did they literally make a soft serve ice cream flavor that tastes like a bite out of your jeans?
Either way they almost got my 500 yen, but it was just too flipping hot in Enoshima with four tired kids on the back end of a mini beach trip for me to stop off and try jeans mixed with milk.
But it does get me thinking about branding.
Sometimes it's not about a direct literal translation of your brand's value to an end user... but rather their contextualized perception of your brand's identity and how it makes them feel.
We like to believe that we're logical creatures, but often our actions follow feeling.
That's why I still use Milwaukee power tools... for some reason there's nostalgia connected to the brand from using them with my father that has given me a loyalty to their platform versus DeWalt.
So as you're starting your own ventures, sometimes it's less about product and more about the perception of the Grand Challenges you're bold enough to take on... Bring folks along in that and you'll go far...
...
...
oh but you should still also make killer products. That's post for another day.
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Welcome to the frenzy of our world as we raise four kids in Japan. The Pretentious Engineer 🧐, DadBod Fitness 🤮, and Japan life ⛩️.
"Hey Pretentious Engineer here...
I know you didn't ask, but I help Engineers, Global Leaders, and Entrepreneurs find their way.
🫀MedTech Innovation 🧙♂️Master Storyteller 🪡Network Weaver 💡Strategic Vision ⛩️Japan Market Access 🤖Robotic Surgery 🔮AR/VR 🏋️♂️Stay@Home Dad
I'm looking forward to your next 1on1 in SKOOL!"