Get Out of the Shadows and Into the Light of Your Unique Purpose Andrew Petty is Dying

Many of us are living life in the shadows--reluctant to step into the bright light of life lived in pursuit of our unique purpose. By staying in the shadows, we lead mediocre lives and deprive the world of our best contributions. 
Jono Belz lived in the shadows for a while, too. But not anymore. And his story will inspire you to step out of the shadows, too. 
In addition to the fact that I just find Jono super-interesting--and who DOESN'T like listening to an Australian accent!--I wanted to you to meet Jono because his story illustrates so well 3 themes that I hit on often in this podcast and that I hope you're taking to heart more and more: 
First, our Mortality is an incomparable motivator to bring our best into the world.  Second, our story and our unique purpose in the world are inseparable.  And third, if our Mortality is an amazing motivator, then giving our inner child permission to play again as adults is a master key to unlocking our best in the world.  Keep your heart and mind open for whatever this episode has in store for you--and pay special attention to these three big ideas. And since this podcast exists to help you live the life you were uniquely made to live--not just to fill cyberspace with more podcast clutter--I'll extend a challenge to you: Let Jono's story motivate you to connect one or two more dots between YOUR story and your unique purpose in the world. 
 
Meet Jono Belz
Jono gained fluency in Mandarin Chinese after just one year--a feat that normally takes English-speaking Westerners 8 years or more. In fact, China's Global Times reported that Jono Belz learned Mandarin faster than any other Westerner on record. 
That accomplishment is one fascinating chapter in the story that Jono has written with his life so far. Other chapters include an unfortunate run-in with a cricket bat that led to his first encounter with Mortality as a nine-year-old and a second shocking encounter with Mortality just 4 years ago. Listen to the episode to hear the full account of these experiences and their impact in Jono’s life.
Today, Jono is the founder of Belz Family & Associates, an investment and advisory business that leverages “family office intelligence” to build meaningful relationships between Australia and Greater China. This entirely new kind of endeavor is the current manifestation of Jono’s commitment to step out of the shadows, step into the light of his unique purpose, and put his story and his purpose to work in the world. 
Jono’s experience over the past 15 years covers investment banking, capital markets, private equity and family offices, spanning New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia. As a fluent Mandarin speaker, Jono has facilitated complex relationships and transactions between China and Australia, and is passionate about improving the cross-cultural experience.
Prior to founding Belz Family & Associates, Jono held the title of Investment Manager at the CEO Office of Victor Smorgon Group. In this capacity, he was instrumental diversifying the business’ China growth strategy. Before that, Jono was an Executive Director of Goldman Sachs in both Hong Kong and Sydney, where he was pivotal in developing key relationships in Asia and Australian family offices.
Jono holds a dual-degree in Law and Economics (Honours) from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and successfully passed the highest level of official Chinese fluency exams (HSK VI) in 2014.
BTW, I met Jono through my friend and past guest on this podcast, Phil Kohn. Check out Phil’s episode, More Alive Than Ever: How Pain Points the Way to Purpose.
 
Starting at the Top
We kick off this episode--after a lighthearted cultural bridge-building exercise I called “Stereotype Busters”--with Jono’s explanation of what he does professionally today. Then, we “read” the story of Jono’s life from back to front to discover how Jono’s life story has led him to this point today--where he is f