Professional basketball player-turned-entrepreneur Jeremy Lin is probably known best for “Linsanity”, the term given to his meteoric rise to fame.

But for the talented athlete who was the most Google-searched person for a period of time, the big questions had always been “What is it all for?” and “What is my whole career and my whole life about?”

The basketball celebrity-turned-entrepreneur, who experienced both the height of success on the courts and the lows of failure, disappointment and crushed dreams “on full display for everybody to see”, shared openly about his struggles and his journey as a Christ-follower on a recent podcast with Faith Driven Entrepreneur Asia.

Jeremy Lin’s entrepreneurship journey arose out a desire to steward his God-given gifts of fame and influence to “redefine love”, build God’s kingdom and bring glory to God.

Lin relates how he set up JLIN LLC with his sister-in-law, Patricia Sun, to impact culture by “redefining love”. They do this by mobilising resources at their disposal – influence, expertise, relationships and capital – to create opportunities, remove barriers to equity and instil hope for marginalised youth and communities.

“Being a faith-driven entrepreneur-athlete is very difficult is because there’s so much pressure,” said Jeremy. “There are people whose livelihoods depend on what you do and whether you succeed.

“And if you don’t have a foundation, first as a child of God, that pressure will suck you into a different world,” he said.

Below is an edited excerpt of the podcast hosted by Faith Driven Entrepreneur Asia:

Tell us a bit about your journey.

I’m entering my 13th season as a professional basketball player. My first nine were in the NBA, then I spent the majority of the time after in the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association).

The average career of a NBA or professional basketball player is less than five years. With such a short career window, you’re always thinking about next steps, especially for me going into my 13th year.

I graduated from college, went straight to the NBA and knew nothing about entrepreneurship.

Jeremy (extreme right) with his sister-in-law, Patricia, and his brothers several years ago. During the Linsanity craze, Jeremy was staying with his brother Josh and Patricia in their apartment in New York and had asked Patricia to be his manager.

The first thing that hit home, that God really made clear to me was: This isn’t enough. Being great at basketball is not enough for you to be fulfilled forever.

It is almost this different world where it’s like you’re so focused on something, and then finally you get it (being great) which I got a hundred times over during Linsanity.

So then that obviously begged the question: Okay, then what should I be pursuing? Because being successful in the court, that’s not wrong but there’s probably more to it.

That’s where God was really challenging me: Hey, if you’re just building your own kingdom, you’re chasing the wind. It’s completely meaningless. But you can do things to build My kingdom to give Me the glory and to point people to Me.

That was when I really felt something in my heart and my soul. Oh, this is my calling. This is why I was created. This is what I’m supposed to do.

Jeremy Lin (right) with one of the partner organisations that JLIN LLC works with.

And that’s what led to: We have the platform, the brand, the network and all these opportunities. We had to start to really ask tough questions of: “What would it look like if we really stewarded and did this well for God?”

That was kind of, you know, a multi-year journey.

You’ve undoubtedly felt success, scoring 38 points against the Lakers versus the feeling of success when you feel like you’re in line with God’s plan for your life. How would you compare and contrast the two different types of feelings, if indeed they are different?

Scoring 38 on the Lakers – those are like highs, adrenaline rushes, where you say: “But I gotta go chase the next one.”

Like when you go on a roller coaster or if you go out with your friends or you have a great meal. Or if you start off flying economy. And the first time you go to first class, you’re going to be, “Oh my goodness!”, but at a certain point that is going to become a little bit more normal.

And then, what’s next?

In 2012, Jeremy led the ailing New York Knicks in a seven-game winning streak which included him scoring 38 points in a game against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

That’s what God was really humbling me with. Not only did I have Linsanity but I also lost it all. The starting position, the contract, the love of the fans of New York City, the endorsements and the NBA career … all these different things got slowly stripped away. 

Through that, I had to chase something other than those highs.

When Linsanity was at its peak, I had such bad anxiety before a game. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat. And I remember before we played the Chicago Bulls being filled with so much anxiety.

If Linsanity and being the most popular person on the planet is not enough, then nothing is. 

I always contrast the moment with one about seven years later when I ruptured my patellar tendon in the first game of the season and missed all 82 games of that season. And I can go on to this whole story about why this opportunity with the Brooklyn Nets was something I had waited for for years and years.

I always try to compare those two moments, where on paper, I was at my height, but in my heart, I felt really empty. And on paper, I was in a very low moment, but I knew that I had done things the right way. I knew that He was proud of me. I knew I had His approval. And my heart was still very full.

When you’re a part of something like that, you are so much more deeply rooted. And it’s this feeling of “This is what I was meant to do”. It’s deeper.

Being a faith-driven entrepreneur, you’re going to have a lot of stress, a ton of uncertainty, pressure and doubts. But even amidst all of that, God can give you this peace, a groundedness that is more stabilising than when you think you have it all in your finest moments of success.

What does faith-driven entrepreneurship look like? 

When I think about faith-driven anything, and especially faith-driven entrepreneur, what that looks like for me is who you are as a person – integrity-wise, character-wise. 

That is something that I was just not ready for at a young age.

When Linsanity happened, I knew it was from God, I knew was a miracle.

God really tried me, tested me and taught me a lot. And He’s still teaching me. I learned through a lot of sin and mistakes. 

But to be faith-driven means God is your North Star. He is not one of many priorities, He is the priority, the focus. He is what you live for, what you strive for, who you want to please. And He gives you that identity and that purpose. 

One thing that I really struggle with, to this day – and I spend a lot of time on this –  it is when I think about the Cross and getting back to my identity.

As an athlete or an entrepreneur or someone who is always striving and working to be better, your first step is to rest. In God’s grace. In your identity.

That’s the exact opposite of anybody who’s trying to grind to succeed, the exact opposite of everything that your industry is going to tell you as an entrepreneur: You gotta go get it. You got to train, work hard, crush it on the court or at work.

That is so hard for me. I have to remind myself and meditate on that. For me, it’s like: “Man! I’m so ingrained in this!”

The “no days off”, or “always-be-better-than-you-were-yesterday” mentality. That is also the essence of pride. 

Jeremy and his mother. With wisdom that only mothers have, she had warned Jeremy since young: “You’re gonna have a lifelong battle with pride.”

Thinking that I can go and get something that God has already given to me or that I can go and – almost – be my own god, in the sense of trying to achieve worthiness or approval. 

Where does your motive come from?

It comes from love. God’s love for you will naturally change you. Once you encounter God, you won’t be the same.

You don’t work to earn God’s love. You work because of God’s love.

And I struggle with this – it is literally why I’m in therapy. 

This is what Patricia has challenged me day after day as she has tried to instil this culture into our team and company: Are we growing and being who God created us to be before we do anything? Because then the doing comes naturally and freely – not out of shame or obligation – it’s just something that flows out of you naturally.

That’s the joy of being a faith-driven anything. When you have your identity deeply rooted in Christ, you live from abundance and not scarcity.

What is God speaking to you and teaching you right now? 

My recent one has been: “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in Me, you will bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) That is been a big one for me and you know, honing in on the word “abide” or “to be” or “remain”.

Just being with God, you will naturally bear fruit. It just happens. It’s not like I have to bear the fruit of myself or I have to be the source of life myself. I just need to abide.

Catch the full interview of Jeremy Lin and other entrepreneurs like Grab’s Anthony Tan on the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Asia podcast here. 

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