As children we have unlimited potential, or at least feel like we do - what happens to that feeling of limitlessness as we get older? Will Wing be the greatest VC of all time? Will Ivan be a pop star or create Jurassic Park? Will Andrei be Peter Pan? Listen to find out as we discuss the limitations and hard choices that come with growing up and achieving our dreams.

0:00 Intro

1:55 Feeling limited manifests in your life as you grow older as closing doors // optionality is the enemy, you have to commit

4:57 Courage --> confidence --> limit removal & beating herd mentality // intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic motivation

10:25 Is it always bad to be limited? In order to do great work you have to do 1 thing

12:23 Maximize exploration during school days

14:04 You have to make choices / sacrifices at some point; limits are going to be imposed on us whether we like it or not 

17:03 It's better to impose limits yourself instead of having them imposed on you out of your control

18:19 Sacrificing your goals, dreams and ambitions for "adult things"

20:00 Know yourself well before you make important choices

20:39 How do you know when a startup founder is too idealistic? Realism vs idealism in VC

22:19 Reality is largely negotiable; blind belief that you have no limits a powerful force & prerequisite for success

25:17 Habit/discipline is underrated, motivation is overrated

28:16 Practical advice on if you actually have no limits or if you're crazy: incremental indicators // Is it too late for Ivan to be a pop star? No matter how old you are personal limits are a myth

35:35 Wing believes he will be the greatest VC of all time

36:23 As you get older do you gain or lose belief in your ability to change the world? 

38:13 Why do you even want to change the world?

39:56 Practical approaches to exploration as you get older: people, break boxes, learn new skills

More about us:

- Wing (https://wingvasiksiri.com): "Founder and Managing Partner at iSeed SEA"

- Ivan (https://ivanfj.com): "PhD researcher in Biodegradable Plastics at UC Berkeley"

- Andrei (https://andrei.ai): "PhD researcher in Machine Learning at University of Cambridge"

What is freedom? What is equality? Can a society exist in which you have both? This week we debate and try to answer these questions.

0:00 Intro

0:59 Naval inspired definition of freedom: health, wealth and intentionality

4:16 “Everyone is a slave to something” - Attack on Titan

5:55 Freedom == control of your time

7:58 Freedom is a good metric for humanity moving in the right direction

10:06 Is freedom a fixed state or can it only exist relative to a state of being unfree (juxtaposition)?

10:39 Freedom --> time to gain self-awareness and find meaning --> the ability to fulfill our meaning

13:20 Freedom is only valuable if you know what to do with it, if you don’t then it can be destructive (i.e. children)

19:19 Inequality is rising to a local maxima and only revolution can stop it

26:09 Freedom and equality cannot exist together

35:18 You cannot have equal opportunity without removing opportunities from those with more leverage

45:33 Unless…

More about us:

- Wing (https://wingvasiksiri.com): "Founder and Managing Partner at iSeed SEA"

- Ivan (https://ivanfj.com): "PhD researcher in Biodegradable Plastics at UC Berkeley"

- Andrei (https://andrei.ai): "PhD researcher in Machine Learning at University of Cambridge"

This week Wing, Ivan and Andrei discuss role models, specifically discussing some people who we look up to and who inspire us.

0:00 Introduction

0:43 Who you look up to vs who inspires you - is there a difference?

2:18 3 of Andrei's evolving inspirations (Father, Gary Vaynerchuk, Konrad Feldman)

4:36 Discovering role models at different stages in your life

7:54 3 of Wing's inspirations (Peter Thiel, Joe Rogan, Naval Ravikant)

9:32 Controversial role models & critics that come with success

11:54 Do role models want to be looked up to?

13:16 The purpose of this episode (flow/homology of ideas & time stamp)

13:48 Ivan's inspirations - people we know (father, peers) & don't meet your heroes?

16:26 Ivan's inspirations - people we don't know (Elon, Lex Fridman, Chamath, Andrew Yang)

17:44 Commonalities of our inspirations: vision, courage, heart, sacrifice, rationality, all men?

22:30 Anti-role models (are they more effective than role models?)

23:40 The importance of having role models that you can relate to, representation & diversity

28:03 How do you find good role models? (Bias towards action & Volume approach)

32:02 Aspire to become role models & inspirations!

More about us:

- Wing (https://wingvasiksiri.com): "Founder and Managing Partner at iSeed SEA"

- Ivan (https://ivanfj.com): "PhD researcher in Biodegradable Plastics at UC Berkeley"

- Andrei (https://andrei.ai): "PhD researcher in Machine Learning at University of Cambridge"

We continue our conversation from last week where we share some big ideas and life lessons that have changed our lives.

0:00 Introduction

0:28 Seeking happiness is flawed one should seek meaning

9:02 Happiness is a choice and a skill you can practice to get better at over time

12:13 Growth mindset // weaknesses are things you deemed unimportant or were not self-aware of

18:32 Getting out of your own way & controlling your monkey brain // meditation

25:05 Most people are limited by thinking not capabilities

32:32 Human desire is mimetic (don’t be a sheep!)

37:12 Education is everything

44:26 You make your own luck

More about us:

- Wing (https://wingvasiksiri.com): "Founder and Managing Partner at iSeed SEA"

- Ivan (https://ivanfj.com): "PhD researcher in Biodegradable Plastics at UC Berkeley"

- Andrei (https://andrei.ai): "PhD researcher in Machine Learning at University of Cambridge"

We share and debate some big ideas and life lessons that have changed our lives.

0:00 Introduction

0:57 There is no right answer to the fundamental questions of what is success, happiness and meaning - you provide the answer

3:30 Living life by the scientific method

8:16 Trust the process // live in the moment vs plan for tomorrow

13:12 Using death as a tool to live a happy life

16:06 Every man has 2 lives, the second starts when he realizes he only has one // don't take yourself too seriously

25:32 Everything exists in juxtaposition

30:40 Good at high velocity and volume is much better than great or perfectionist

37:46 Fear setting as a decision making tool

44:09 Creating content is the best way to learn and remember

More about us:

- Wing (https://wingvasiksiri.com): "Founder and Managing Partner at iSeed SEA"

- Ivan (https://ivanfj.com): "PhD researcher in Biodegradable Plastics at UC Berkeley"

- Andrei (https://andrei.ai): "PhD researcher in Machine Learning at University of Cambridge"

Time is all we have; it's our scarcest resource, painfully finite and never to be taken for granted. In this episode we discuss how to appreciate, allocate and control your time.

0:00 Introduction 

0:30 Time is your scarcest resource  

3:40 How to appreciate the scarcity of time  

8:44 Time is an allocation 

11:50 Allocating, tracking and categorising time 

16:28 Time management strategies 

33:23 Career is just a time allocation 

35:44 "You" are just time allocation 

37:06 Is full control over time right for everyone?  

39:00 All you have is time 

 More about us: 

- Wing (https://www.wingvasiksiri.com): "Founder and Managing Partner at iSeed SEA" 

- Ivan (https://www.ivanfj.com): "PhD researcher in Biodegradable Plastics at UC Berkeley"  

- Andrei (https://www.andrei.ai): "PhD researcher in Machine Learning at University of Cambridge"

The inaugural episode of the Don't Be a Sheep Podcast hosted by Wing, Ivan and Andrei. We discuss Ivan's current life philosophy that life is about stories, dive deeper into the importance and role of stories in society, as well debating what elements make for a good story.

0:00 Introduction

1:44 Topic: Life is about stories

4:20 Stories are how you internalize them / No objective truth to stories

5:45 Dangers of no objective truth (ft. GameStop)

8:44 Stories evolve / corrupt over time?

13:16 Influence & legacy are the mechanism by which stories propagate

15:20 Practical value to stories (happiness, career)

17:24 Exaggerated stories in startups & pitching - good or bad?

20:25 Storytelling culture of founders in Silicon Valley vs Southeast Asia

21:42 Storytelling in academia

22:45 Do stories need to be exciting? What are the obligations of a listener?

24:27 Do you need great talent to tell great stories? (Marvel vs DC)

26:18 Experience more things == better stories

27:29 How do you tell a great story?

29:43 All the stories we tell are different versions of the same story

31:55 Should great stories challenge you?

33:15 Great stories have human connection (Marvel vs DC Pt. 2)

34:04 Predicting the direction of stories vs surprisal and subverting expectation

38:40 (Modern) Art & satire

43:01 Closing thoughts

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