Today we’d like to introduce you to John Lim.
John, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
That’s a big question! I’ll start by saying, I’m a self-proclaimed expert in “career wanderlust.” If you were to look at my career map, it would look like a Rorschach test with lots of zig zags. I started out as a lawyer in DC but discovered that I hated getting up in the mornings, doing the slow walk to the subway. It was so bad that I felt the Monday morning dread on Friday night!
I eventually left to go work in the corporate world. I did account management and consulting for a Fortune 500 company, both here in the DC area and for a time, out in LA.
Somewhere along the way, I took a sideways journey into acting. This started before I went to law school as I thought I would spend my days in the courtroom as a trial attorney. Fast forward several years later and I got re-bit by the acting bug. I took some local acting classes to take my mind off of things after a breakup. One of my on-camera instructors, Brenna McDonough, started sending me casting notices and before I knew it, I ended up going to auditions and booking roles on TV projects that filmed in the DC area, including for The National Geographic and History Channels. This was around 2003-04. Meanwhile, I noticed a crop of Star Wars and Star Trek fan films were hitting the internet. I discovered one called Star Trek: New Voyages which recreated the original 1960s show. They didn’t have a Sulu at the time (originally played by George Takei), so I contacted them and ended up being cast as their Sulu for two episodes.
When I joined New Voyages, it started growing beyond its garage, fan film roots. The production filmed mostly in upstate NY but attracted a lot of industry professionals from LA, including many who work on the various Star Trek series and movies. The second episode I was in, ‘World Enough and Time,’ (WEAT) guest starred George Takei who reprised his role as Sulu in a really wild story where my version of the character gets caught in another dimension and is transported back to the Enterprise 30 years older. The episode was directed by Marc Zicree, who co-wrote the script with Emmy winner, Michael Reaves. During the shoot, I got to know George who encouraged me to pursue acting. Coincidentally, as we were filming WEAT, Paramount announced that JJ Abrams was rebooting the series. Shortly after I moved to LA in 2007, my buddy and former New Voyages co-star, Andy Bray (who played Chekov), and I went to Bad Robot, talked our way past the security guard and receptionist so we could drop our headshots, articles, and reels to JJ’s casting director, April Webster. The crazy thing is that I got a call a few weeks later to come and audition for April at Paramount for the role of Sulu in JJ’s film. John Cho ended up getting the role but just getting to audition for the same part in a big budget franchise was something I never imagined in my wildest dreams.
I eventually landed an agent and started doing lots of auditions, mostly for TV parts. Eventually, the acting bug left and I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go next and my life took a real nose dive in 2008 when my mom got really sick and ended up passing away. I quit my day job and relocated back to the East Coast and took a consulting job that had me traveling a lot. Ironically, the small company I joined got bought out by the same big company I used to work for.
So, I found myself back at square one.
I stayed for several more years and tried to be happy, settling into a normal corporate job but I got really restless. More and more, I started to ask myself, is this all there is? Am I going to do this for the next 40-50 years until I retire?
I decided it was time to go back to school and to get my MBA at Johns Hopkins. I did so hope that I would answer the question that I struggled with my entire life and still could not answer:
What do I want to be when I grow up?
Then in 2013, the company I worked for went thru some very dramatic changes. The department I worked in laid off 40% of its employees. I survived but the writing was on the wall. There was no future for me there.
I finished my degree and in 2014, decided to leave the company. I started planning this back while I was in business school, making sure I could do so smartly.
Since 2014, I’ve done a lot of things. I describe my entrepreneurial journey as the most real education I’ve ever gotten with lots of bumps, knocks, and mistakes along the way. I started with what I knew, business consulting and still do that from time to time. But I’ve really been concentrating on getting outside of my comfort zone and learning about creating different business funnels and passive income streams. I’ve done everything from start an ATM business to co-creating an adult coloring book to selling physical and digital products on platforms like Amazon and eBay.
I also launched a podcast called Moving Forward in spring 2015, a weekly podcast where I get to connect with really cool entrepreneurs, artists, and thought leaders. Through the podcast, I’ve spoken to amazing people like John Lee Dumas, Nicole Behnam, Winnie Sun, Sandy Grigsby, Jen Grisanti, Leonard Kim, and Academy Award-winning artist, Doug Drexler. I see the podcast as a way to build an incredible network, to continue learning beyond my education, and to inspire an audience to be more and do more.
Oddly enough, this has opened up doors I never imagined. I was invited to give my first TEDx talk this past February, and right now, I’m co-writing my first book on my Star Trek experience, due out this winter. I’m also involved in a really exciting biotech startup with a former b-school classmate who has an incredible vision to solve a really big problem – I can’t say much more at this time but it’s all very exciting, overwhelming, and unexpected to say the least!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
That’s a great question. I’ve been extremely blessed in that I’m healthy, I have wonderful people around me, amazing family and friends, and can pay my bills. Really, what more can you ask for?
So, I always keep that in mind when answering this question.
That said, there have been plenty of obstacles and bumps in the road: ones I face weekly, sometimes daily. That comes with breaking out of the traditional 9-5 mold to become an entrepreneur or even just doing something completely out of the norm.
As an entrepreneur, and as I shared in my TEDx talk, I’ve made every mistake you can think of:
• Wrong business partners
• Saying yes to the wrong clients
• Bad business decisions
• Saying yes to too many requests
• Not investing in Bitcoin in 2013 when I had the chance
You name it, I’ve done it.
But each mistake has been an opportunity for me to really assess and learn so I can make better choices that align with my big why. I know that sounds trite and cliche but it’s true.
The restlessness, curiosity, and inability to live life just playing it safe is, on the one hand, how you end up running head first into many obstacles. But they also can open up doors to wonderful opportunities. It’s because of this that I was able to fly a starship on camera, co-create an adult coloring book that has sold really well, and launch a podcast that’s heard across the country and in over 50 countries, worldwide.
I can’t tell you whether or not John Lim will be this huge success or a cautionary tale. That remains to be seen. But I can tell you this, I’m not living my life on autopilot and making the most of each day.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Be Moving Forward (Ba-Li Solutions) – what should we know?
Right now, I’m focusing on building passive income channels and investments. I’ve moved away from consulting work though I still do that from time to time and am trying to be much more choosy about who or what I say yes to.
I’m most well known for the podcast. It’s funny but most people assume I’m LA-based because many of my guests are based in California, particularly, in the LA area. In fact, this is why we’re speaking now. I got connected to you thru Sandy who I interviewed for the fifth season of the show. And I got connected to Sandy thru the amazing Nicole Behnam, co-founder of BeyondtheInterview.com.
What stands me apart from others is that I have this really unique background, having worked in very type A professions such as law and a corporate job, while also having gotten in touch with my more creative side as an actor and to see what’s possible. I can’t draw worth a dime but I had a vision for a coloring book and worked with two amazing people to turn it into reality. My science background is relegated to what I learned in high school and college but I’m now involved in a biotech project, working with really talented people who thankfully know the science very well, that has the potential to make a huge impact. And back in 2015, I had no idea what I was doing when I launched a podcast and today, I’m 160+ episodes in and going strong. When it comes down it, I’m not smarter, braver or more talented than anyone else. I simply am open to what’s possible.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think being open to possibilities and a lifelong learner. The reason I launched the podcast was to connect with and learn from as many people as I can from all walks of life. Some of the people I’ve spoken with are incredibly successful, having built multi-million dollar businesses. Others are just starting out. I learn from each guest who comes on to share his or her story.
The other quality I’ve developed is being comfortable with the uncomfortable or what one of my former b-school profs calls a “tolerance for ambiguity.” Entrepreneurship has become the “superhero” of the modern era. It’s glamorized in TV, movies, and media, having replaced the firefighter, pilot, and astronaut. But the fact is, entrepreneurship is a long uncertain road and you have to really want it. It requires a lot of sacrifice, loneliness and many people won’t understand why you’re choosing to walk away from a comfortable job to do something which in their eyes is bonkers. To make this work, I’ve had to give up the comfort of a steady paycheck, predictable schedules, 2-week paid vacations and more. You force yourself to look critically at what’s really important in your life. Do you really want a fancier car, bigger house or lots of gadgets? Or do you value something more? For me, it’s about not putting my future in someone else’s hands. This means, being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Finally, this is something I’ve had to work on, it’s being able to say no. In the beginning, no one is really going to bother you. But as you start to grow, you’ll start getting more messages, more requests, more invitations, more asks. It’s easy to fall into the trap of saying yes, especially if you’re the type of person who loves to start new endeavors and loves to help people. But unless it’s something you’re really excited about, you’re going to end up overextending yourself. I learned this the hard way in the beginning. Now, I’m much more choosy about what I say yes to, whether it’s a project or venture or even the podcast. I had to put a hard stop on taking any new guests because I’m backed up for the next several months. Not something I’ve ever imagined would happen. But saying a respectful no will clear the pathway to opportunities you really want to say yes to.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bemovingforward.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/JLim0025
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bemovingforward
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/bemovingforward
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-moving-forward
Image Credit:
Sandy Grigsby
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