Halftime Show
Geoff Yang
Thirty-five years! Wow, that’s literally a lifetime. I used to think that was middle aged for a human, ancient for a reunion. I remember being a senior at Princeton when a friend of one of my roommates’ dad hit on my date at his 25th reunion. I thought it was creepy. He was sooo old. Now it’s our 35th reunion of graduate school. Well, now it doesn’t seem so old.
I think about it like this. If we don’t die of cancer, heart disease, or stroke, our chance of living into our mid-nineties is very good. So, in that respect, we are halfway through our adult lives.
So, how is the second half going to be different from the first half? In order to predict, we should do what every good coach does, analyze the first half. Welcome to the GSB Halftime Show…
Pennzoil at the Half – first half analysis:
TL;DR Executive Summary: Forecast: sunny with chance of showers. (What I heard: Don’t need umbrella, sun’s out.)
When I came out of the GSB, I couldn’t wait to get started with the rest of my life. I had a plan for everything and all the steps along the way to get to where I was going. That was true personally and especially professionally. Goals have specific destinations and timelines. Lead my first deal in second year. Become a partner within four years. You get the idea.
Faster was better, and the journey was simply a path to a destination. Today, the journey is everything, and destinations are simply a structure around which the journey survives. About three years ago, I decided that my new journey was going to be to do things I want to do and to do fewer things I have to do. I admit it’s a luxury, but it’s one that’s important to me and one I can afford. I care who my travel companions are in my journey. I care about what I learn along the way and the people I meet along the way. I care that the journey has meaning. I used to care mainly about the destination and how long it took to get there.
In the first half, friends and family were taken for granted; I assumed they would always be there and full of footnotes and annotations. Unfortunately, along the way I lost a number of precious loved ones. We all did. We will never get them back and must enjoy the time we did have without regrets when the time together ends. I also learned that close friends are rare, and that’s okay. Not everyone has to be a close friend. I can enjoy casual ones too.
I learned it is exhausting to judge. It dampens joy. Each person has his or her definition of happiness. Judging them for their decisions in the second half will be penalized because it’s against the rules. If someone’s life choices make a person happy and hurt no one else, I will be happy for them.
Maybe the most important insight has been that everything has a cost and a tradeoff. I used to want to have it all without compromise. That’s the curse and magic of being in the game early. It drives you. It infects you. It allows you to do things you’ve never done before. But everything has a cost whether it is physical, emotional, cognitive, or spiritual. In the latter part of this game, I try to recognize that as some debts are coming due and some opportunities have passed, new ones emerge. I try to understand the costs and tradeoffs as well, and make the best decisions to maximize my chance of being happy.
Finally, in the first half, there was a lot of milking the game clock wishing it would go faster, that life would just hurry up. Now, all I want is for things to slow down. Anticipation and the anxiety that comes with it are part of the excitement of life. They give us energy and wonderment about what a new day will bring. Needing more time to find new friends has changed to finding more time for old ones. If I had a clock that ran at half speed, I would set every watch I own to match it. Mind you, I might be late for lunch, but at least you’ll know why.
Lexus Halftime Show – second half prediction
TL;DR Executive Summary: Forecast: sunny, clouding up mid-day, rain probable toward nightfall. (What I choose to hear: Wear a bathing suit, bring an umbrella, but pack light because we’re going to be outside and having fun until the rain starts.)
As we enter the second half, it’s time to concentrate on not wasting any opportunities to score. My perspective has changed from “What do I have to lose?” to “What do I have to gain?” From “How am I affected?” to “What am I leaving as a legacy?” It’s funny how clichés have a way of having meaning as time passes. I’m starting to believe that two of the most important axioms of life are (1) Be a lifelong learner and (2) Surround yourself with people who are younger than you. Translation: if I don’t call you right back, it’s because I’m learning something from someone younger than you. One of the questions that haunts me every day in doing what I do is, “When does knowledge become wisdom instead of a burden of an old way of thinking?” In the world of investing, said another way, “When is the past destined to repeat itself or remain just that, the past?” It haunts me and inspires me at the same time, and it’s one of the things I cherish about what I do.
As the second-half clock begins to tick down, I am still a work in progress. Emotionally, I am midway through the first quarter.
Orthopedically, I’m midway through the third. So, on balance I’m Even Steven. After thirty-five years of venture capital investing, I am winding down from the firm I started twenty-one years ago and now work part time as an investing partner. Instead I’m investing my own capital, am on several outside boards, and have started two companies as a founder and am actively involved in their management. I’m trying to reinvent myself, finding no shortage of things to learn about, and discovering that the three-point arc in the pros is a lot farther out than it seems. I’m running as fast as I can, and secretly wishing I’ll get a fifth down with which to score if I need it like Colorado got in its last-minute win over Missouri in 1990. You never know what happens if you scream at the zebras loud enough.
Toyota Game Notes: Five Reflections
- There were a lot of guys named Bob in our class.
- The Hug Club was appropriate for a moment in time and that moment isn’t now. It spreads germs and is probably considered inappropriate behavior today.
- I wouldn’t have gotten into the GSB today. (Neither would you, unless your last name is Pasquesi.)
- I should have played golf on Wednesdays (see Ceremsak.)
- The “dumpy” loft in SoHo that Horne, Woolway, Susie Burrus and I lived in during the summer of 1984 was probably bought by Jho Low for $62M for 1MDB. Morale of that story is NEVER trust Woolway’s instinct for real estate (or is that ALWAYS?).