Lessons from a Quitter Ep. 19: Actor, Lawyer, CEO and more: How Isaac Lidsky created his reality by living Eyes Wide Open
As Inc. reported, “ISAAC LIDSKY may possess the most eclectic resume in business.” Series regular “Weasel” on Saved by the Bell: The New Class, he graduated from Harvard College at 19 (cum laude) and from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude); served as a Supreme Court law Clerk (to two Justices); was a Justice Department litigator (undefeated); and worked for an elite international law firm. He had a legal resume that most lawyers could only dream of. But after having his triplets, who required over 70 days in the NICU, Isaac re-evaluated what he wanted out of his life. He left the law to buy a failing construction subcontractor in order to try his hand out at entrepreneurship.
Though originally the jump seemed to be a failure, Isaac turned the company into a highly profitable construction services company (ten times larger) that now boasts annual revenue over $250 million. I got to talk to Isaac about how he was able to walk away from law, after building such a prestigious career, to follow a path more true to himself.
Isaac credits his experience going blind in his early twenties from a rare genetic disease as being the reason he is able to create his own reality and live Eyes Wide Open. He gave a main stage TED Talk on the subject of living Eyes Wide Open that was viewed more than a million times in its first three weeks. He also has a book by the same name, “Eyes Wide Open”, that is a New York Times, USA Today and Indie bestseller, and was named one of the Washington Post’s top 10 leadership books to read in 2017.
I got to find out what it means to live Eyes Wide Open and how we can all strive to live that way. I’m endlessly inspired by Isaac and hope to live my own life with Eyes Wide Open.
Here is what we chat about in this episode:
- Why he walked away from the glamour of Hollywood after finding success on Saved By the Bell: The New Class.
- How he dealt with being diagnosed with a rare genetic disease as a teenager, knowing that he was going to go blind.
- How going blind taught him about the subjectivity of sight and how we create our own reality
- How fear replaces the unknown with the awful and how it keeps us stuck
- Why Isaac left the law, after an incredibly prestigious career, to run a construction company
- How he determined what was important in his life and how that changed his decision-making process
- How we can all live our lives Eyes Wide Open
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl
Where to find Isaac:
- Website: www.lidsky.com
- Twitter/Instagram/Facebook: @isaaclidsky
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