John Wang: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Big Asian Energy
Spread Great Ideas: The Podcast
Release Date: 02/25/2025
Spread Great Ideas: The Podcast
Please welcome Bo Bink to the show. Bo is the "kraamzorg" who supported our family following the recent birth of our second child. What’s a "kraamzorg," you ask? In the Netherlands, it's part of a system called "kraamverzorgster," a unique form of in-home care provided to every new mother in the days after childbirth. Think of it as a blend of medical checkups, emotional support, breastfeeding guidance, light housekeeping, and hands-on education for new parents, all in the comfort of your home. Bo has been a "kraamzorg" for 22 years. We talk about the Dutch model of childbirth,...
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Please welcome my friend Allen Brouwer. Allen is a father of two, an accomplished entrepreneur, a boat and nature lover, and a wicked combination of both good-looking and charming. We chat about his old company, BestSelf Co., which he co-founded. It was the only company to win both Shopify's Build-a-Business and Build-a-Bigger-Business. And his new company, WithLove, which he also co-founded, offers a deceptively simple, delicious protein and gut health powder specifically made for kids. (Trust me, there's more to this than meets the eye.)...
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Please welcome my friend Taylor Pearson to the show. Taylor is a fellow father and entrepreneur, the author of The End of Jobs, an essayist with his Interesting Times newsletter, a fellow Tennessean, one of the founders of a long-volatility and tail-risk hedge fund, and a former college football player, where he played offensive line. He's spent the last decade researching and writing about how you can better invest your time and money in an uncertain world, i.e., how to be more antifragile. Welcome, Taylor. Taylor Pearson Quotes From the Episode "Reality has...
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Please welcome my friend Janwillem de Kwaasteniet to the show. He's the founder of Bright Horizon, which he started after visiting Medellin, Colombia. He’s got a great entrepreneurial story to share. We go over how he started his first company, what it’s like being a long-term adventurer, and yes, why I jokingly call him an underwear model. Honestly, to me, he’s the Dutch version of Tim Ferriss. Except, unlike Tim, Janwillem speaks five languages, so there’s that. We’ll be jamming on lifestyle design, aligning business with your values, and what it really takes to build...
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Please welcome my friend Julio Froment Castellvi to the show. Julio is the "brains and brawn" behind , one of my favorite YouTube channels that is just about to crack 150k subs. And "", a weekly newsletter where he shares timeless ideas (from influential doers) with handmade infographics to 16,000 plus subscribers. His three defining values are curiosity, truth, and freedom. Please welcome Julio to the show! Julio Froment Castellvi Quotes From the Episode "I see myself as a professional opportunist and always sort of guided through my curiosity, through my genuine curiosity." - Julio...
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Please welcome my friend Shawn Wells to the show. He's known as "The Most Trusted Voice in Supplements" after formulating over 1000+ supplements and having patented 40 unique compounds. He's also known for the catchphrase "Caffeine is Dead," which we'll get into, especially as it relates to his energy drink company, Update. When Shawn and I met in 2018, he was living outside of Dallas, TX and in a marriage he wasn't happy with. Nowadays, he's moved on, literally and metaphorically, to a much happier relationship and to "Dripping" (Dripping Springs) outside of Austin, TX. ...
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Please welcome my thoughtful and thought-provoking friend, Schalk Dormehl. Schalk is an aspiring polymath and a fellow lover of liberty and action-based philosophy. We jam on the past, present, and future political landscape of South Africa, personal sovereignty (one of my favorites), and civic responsibility in today's world. Lastly, we touch on entrepreneurship, crypto, and AI in the context of South Africa and on the global stage. Schalk Dormehl Quotes From the Episode "Like you own yourself, you own the things that you make, you own the things that you trade the things you...
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Please welcome John Wang to the show. John is a leadership coach to the Asian American community, a corporate speaker, and host and writer of the and upcoming book of the same title. He's the founder of Mastery Academy and has coached Asian American clients from Google, Apple, AmEx, Goldman Sachs, and other Fortune 500 companies. He's also a celeb on TikTok, making videos that have reached over 25 million views, and a TEDx presenter. John's done some pretty cool (dare I say, intense) personal development, including training to walk on airplane wings mid-flight in an...
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Please welcome my adventurous and curious friend, Gareth Hermann. Gareth is an entrepreneur, an "ops nut" like I am, an expat, a fellow lover of travel and "steel ponies," and an aspiring overseas real estate mogul. Most recently, he built and sold a seven-figure digital marketing agency pioneering impact marketing. Nowadays, he splits his time between Nosara, Costa Rica, and Boulder, Colorado. Today we'll be learning what it takes to build a geodome village in Costa Rica and jamming on his new simplified version of EOS that is easy to implement and actually...
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Please welcome my handsome and talented friend, Billy Bosch. He's a long-time health entrepreneur, a travel aficionado, a real estate investor, and, as far as this podcast goes, he is someone rare in that he's reduced his "Biological Age" by ten years as he's gotten into the best shape of his life and started to really dial in his healthspan, not just his lifespan. We'll be talking about his newest venture, , and unearth the best of what he's learned in the longevity space as he's gotten his body fat down to 8% at 42 years old (according to the calendar, that is). Please...
info_outlinePlease welcome John Wang to the show. John is a leadership coach to the Asian American community, a corporate speaker, and host and writer of the Big Asian Energy podcast and upcoming book of the same title.
He's the founder of Mastery Academy and has coached Asian American clients from Google, Apple, AmEx, Goldman Sachs, and other Fortune 500 companies.
He's also a celeb on TikTok, making videos that have reached over 25 million views, and a TEDx presenter.
John's done some pretty cool (dare I say, intense) personal development, including training to walk on airplane wings mid-flight in an aerobatics performance to become a more confident speaker.
We talk about the bamboo ceiling, culture vs. race, high-context vs. low-context communication, how to overcome imposter syndrome, and so much more. I hope you enjoy!
John Wang Quotes From the Episode
"Imposter syndrome just means that you're challenging yourself, which you should be."
- John Wang on redefining imposter syndrome as a natural part of personal growth.
"If there's no risk, there's no stakes, we're not going to learn."
- John Wang on the importance of risk-taking in learning.
"The best work you can do is working on yourselves. Because a child will learn more from watching what you do than what you tell them to do."
- John Wang on the most effective way to help a student learn.
Additional Resources
- John Wang on Facebook
- John Wang on Instagram
- John Wang on YouTube
- John Wang on TikTok
- Big Asian Energy
Show Notes
- 0:00 – Meet John Wang: The Leadership Coach Empowering Asian Professionals
- 3:47 – From Taiwan to Canada: John’s Immigrant Experience
- 5:22 – The Bamboo Ceiling: Why Asian Americans Struggle in Leadership
- 9:27 – Culture vs. Race: Which One Holds You Back More?
- 13:40 – High-Context vs. Low-Context Communication: Why It Matters
- 19:27 – Filial Piety and Social Hierarchy: The Asian Cultural Mindset
- 24:49 – Finding the Balance: Assertiveness Without Losing Cultural Respect
- 30:05 – Mastery Academy: John’s Mission to Equip Future Leaders
- 35:06 – Imposter Syndrome: Why So Many Asian Professionals Feel Like Frauds
- 45:08 – The Confidence Myth: Why Competence Alone Won’t Get You Ahead
- 49:20 – Own Your Achievements: Stop Downplaying Your Success
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