Wui Foo’s Post

This week I turn 40. As I was going through the week, my sister sent me a photo of myself at nine that she'd dug out of some old boxes. I stared at it and thought, "that kid had no idea what was coming." He hadn't lived through the leaps from Wall Street to startups, the hospital scares, or the people who'd reshape him. So here are three lessons I'd share with my younger self, if i could go back in time. 1. If you're going to hack your health, just focus on sleeping better. In my early thirties I pushed my body until it gave out, running on too little sleep and a constant hum of anxiety, until one day it landed me in a hospital. In fact, twice in six months. That was my wake-up call. I rebuilt my sleep from scratch and taught myself to put the day down before bed, and that one change has powered the best decade of my life. The most driven people I know have all worked out the same hack: at least six hours of good sleep, every single day. Sounds easy, but it's brutally hard. The lesson? Protect your rest, because sleep debt never gets forgiven. It compounds, and one day the bill comes due. 2. When life gets too comfortable, make it uncomfortable. When I was early at Google, everything was going right. The promotions were coming and the path felt smooth, which was exactly the problem. So when the chance came to help make Southeast Asia a better place, I left for Grab, and I've kept repeating that pattern ever since. Bet on yourself while the window's still wide, because it only narrows with time, as marriage, kids, aging parents, a mortgage, and thinning energy stack up. The lesson? Join the smaller company for the bigger role, not the bigger company for the smaller one. You can always revert to safety later; almost no one manages the reverse. 3. You become the average of the five people closest to you. Look at the five people you've messaged the most this month, across work, WhatsApp, Slack, and real life, and ask honestly whether they're the ones you most admire and want to become. I got lucky here. I'm surrounded by people sharper than me, who outwork me and push me to think harder about work, impact, and legacy. And the most important of them isn't at work at all - I met my wife when we were 18, and more than 20 years on I'm still appreciating the anchoring effect that she has had on me pursuing the hardest, riskiest decisions, because I had a safe space at home. The lesson? The people around you set your ceiling, so choose them purposefully. Final Thoughts There's a saying I'm fond off: "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now." I can't go back and tell the 9 y.o me, or that 25 y.o me, any of this. But my son turns 9 this year, and there are plenty of 25 year olds out there who still have their best years ahead. So hopefully this is useful! P.S: Attached are photos of me at 9, at 25, and of me and my wife when we first started dating 20+ years ago. Funny how time flies!