Every career pivot starts before you have proof it will work. Tim Wong was told bands don't work in Hong Kong, then played to seven people.
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Tim is the lead singer of Dear Jane, one of Hong Kong's biggest rock bands. Before that he was on a TVB contract that his father's connections helped arrange, and when he told a supervisor he wanted to leave to do music, the answer was that bands don't work here.
What happened next is the part nobody puts in the highlight reel. A first show after signing to Warner that drew seven people. Roughly eighteen months dormant between labels. A founding member walking away. Falling over on stage twice in the middle of a guitar solo.
I wanted this conversation on the show because the mechanics are identical whether you are leaving a stage or leaving a corporate job. You are making a career decision without certainty, in front of people who have opinions about it, with no way to know if the thing you are betting on will land.
The line from Tim that I keep coming back to: \"if you think you have one hundred percent certainty, you do not know enough yet.
We also get into what it feels like when the room finally sings your song back, and why he taught himself to become a director.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 Told bands don't work in Hong Kong
01:17 Welcome to the studio and how Tim and I met
02:34 An accidental start in acting at TVB
05:03 Starting Dear Jane and the pushback that followed
07:05 Back to indie roots and finding a singing voice
09:36 Falling over on stage twice, mid solo
13:28 Playing to an audience of seven
19:42 Losing a founding member and rebuilding the sound
25:23 How to take the leap without a guarantee
30:56 The night the whole room sang it back
33:50 The cover that exploded on YouTube and brought the audience back
39:24 Why waiting for one hundred percent certainty keeps you stuck
41:17 Learning to direct and being a beginner again
45:39 What to do if you are standing at a crossroads right now
47:31 Fan questions and where Dear Jane is touring next
Onwards: Bonus content, Show & Tell and scenes that didn't make it into the full episode.