Right now Tiktok is one of our big global clients and it’s a very interesting platform. It’s very good at understanding what’s interested to a human brain and giving them the right amount of content at the right time. It uses an incredible machine learning algorithm because it creates such relevant content. But is it great content? It’s almost like eating a candy bar so I’m not going to let my kids eat candy bars all day long. We’re pretty diligent about screen time and getting outside because of the pandemic. I would attribute my wife to 90% of my success, being able to have an amazing partner that you can confide in that can give you a wellspring of confidence to go out, take risks and be innovative. We decided we wanted to move our kids to our cottage so we sold our house in the city and moved beside the ski hill and golf courses that we enjoy. Our kids are involved in nature. Right before this interview we were out chainsawing a bunch of trees down to build a mountain bike track in our backyard. I think the more you can get your kids into nature, the better it is for them. I think screens have a time and place for it. We very much live in a digital world, but I don’t think you can overdo it. Everything in moderation.
We try to make sure they’re well rounded and put them in lots of sports. Also we make sure that they’re studying stuff that they’re interested in. I got two great tricks for raising kids. One is having a board meeting with them every two months where the kids get like four hours of me, uninterrupted to do whatever they want and they love it. The kids look forward to it and they get to plan it. Since our business is largely around behavioral psychology, neuroplasticity, emotional research and behavioral science, I learned how the brain works. I’ve read as much as some PhDs in neuroscience but fortunately enough not to write a thesis or anything. I wouldn’t say my knowledge is expert level but I know enough that it could be dangerous. Every night I know your brain can shapeshift as needed. For example, if smokers and people with 100 cats in their house don’t know that they stink because they’re nose blind. The neurons in their brain decide that you don’t care that there’s this terrible smell around so we’re just gonna stop using energy to process that. So, the brain has neuroplasticity that so I just want my kids to be creative. I want them to be happy, sociable with others, have grit and perseverance. I think creativity is going to be a super core skill set as machines and AI come after a lot of jobs. Human creativity will be the last thing that machines can figure out. When I say let’s go to bed, I talked to him and I ask them to think of three creative uses for a chainsaw or three for a golf club. I asked him for the first two and then I have them tell me the next one in the morning. I just try to make sure that they’re developing properly and it’s my thing I’m obsessed with. I want to make sure that they can go out in this interesting world that’s their way and that they can be happy.
