We recently had the chance to connect with Michael Zyda and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Michael, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I swim 2,000 meters, do 20 minutes of stairclimber followed by weightlifting for 30 minutes everyday, seven days/week since 1979.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am an Emeritus Professor of Engineering Practice, University of Southern California. I now live in Carmel by the Sea, about 9 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. After I swim each morning, I spend most days advising 5 to 6 of the startups I am advisor for. I help those startups hone their vision and help them with the protection of their intellectual property via authoring patents. I additionally am the Games.Film & Generative AI Editor for IEEE Computer Magazine – I write a bimonthly column and turn that into a YouTube for my channel (mikezyda). I have over 12,000+ subscribers.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
When I started as a consultant by creating an office with a business partner, Kazy Yokota, in Shiba-Daimon near Tokyo Tower. We became immensely successful and I realized that focusing on global consulting was the best way for me to grow with respect to technological innovation.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Well, I have been successful in many ways/domains but one of the things I always know is that once you become successful, there is always someone who wants to take over managing what you have created. I used to be bothered by that but now know that if what I have created is so successful that someone wants to take it over, then I should let it go so I can work on the next great thing!
The only thing that does bother me immensely is that usually when this happens, there is a lot of backdoor skullduggery where people are busy trying to make decisions for my life without including me in those meetings. Motherfuckers!!
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That I was always kind and helpful to those who sought counseling with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://mikezyda.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikezyda/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikezyda/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikezyda
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikezyda
Image Credits
Pics by me or from camera.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
