In this first‑person narrative, the speaker recounts how trying LSD and other psychedelics after moving from conservative Korea to New York sparked a profound personal transformation. Inspired by stories of Steve Jobs’ psychedelic use, the speaker describes a vivid experience of seeing a familiar Manhattan painting in a new way, which illuminated the concept of negative space and revealed personal blind spots. Subsequent psychedelic sessions guided major life decisions, such as choosing to attend London Business School, and deepened empathy, allowing the speaker to mentally inhabit others’ perspectives (e.g., a friend in Kyiv). The talk emphasizes the importance of set, setting, intention, and trusted companions, while warning against misuse. It also references the micro‑dosing culture in Silicon Valley as a tool for creative problem‑solving. Overall, the content presents psychedelics as a catalyst for self‑understanding, relational healing, and purposeful goal‑setting when approached responsibly.
Chapters
And if Steve Jobs recommends it, it can't be that bad, right? Trying LSD for the first time and other forms of psychedelics set off this chain of events that really allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of myself. We were just like walking around the streets of Manhattan in New York, and I see it and I was like, wow, like I'm seeing something completely different even though I see this painting all the time. All right, so psychedelics. I've always had a very negative relationship with anything that was labeled psychedelics, drugs, or whatever, because I grew up in Korea. Korea is a very conservative society. Whether it be marijuana, whatever, it's like you go to jail. So I always thought that it was like a bad thing. So I don't want to have anything to do with it, right? Because I don't want to get in trouble. Everything changed when I moved to New York in 2012. I was following Steve Jobs, you know, like the old CEO of Apple. Apparently he did a lot of psychedelics like magic mushrooms and LSD. And I learned that, you know, actually it can be very beneficial. For you. And if Steve Jobs recommends it, it can't be that bad, right? So I was like, okay, let me give it a go, right? And it just so happens that, okay, like, it's not like I'm getting like LSD from like a random person that's selling it on the streets. I'm getting it from this like trusted source. Like, why not give it a go? So I tried it for the first time, and actually trying LSD for the first time and other forms of psychedelics really like set off this chain of events that really allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of myself and allow me to essentially transform my relationships with myself and those around me, including my family, friends, and then like help me see kind of like the bigger picture of life. The first time I took it, I tried it, I remember like we were just like walking around the streets of Manhattan in New York, and there's this one street that I would always like walk by on the way to work. And then this time around, I walked by it, and then it's like there was like this little painting And I see it and I was like, wow, like I'm seeing something completely different even though I see this painting all the time. At that moment I was like, oh, this is what they mean by the beauty of negative space. When they talk about the essence of Korean art, when I was a kid in school, they were always talking about the beauty of negative space. And I'm like, what does that even mean? Negative space is an empty space, right? How is empty space beautiful? You know, like I don't get it. The moment I saw that painting, I got it. I was like, all I could focus on was the composition of the background. And I was like, this is amazing. And I was like, Wow, it's like in this heightened different state of mind, like I can sort of process what I normally don't see. And like it's almost on my blind spots. Really that experience helped me understand that, yeah, like in life we just have so many blind spots and we don't even know what we're missing out on, right? Yeah, it really gave me this opportunity to really reevaluate, okay, what am I missing out on in life? And what opportunities could I unlock further if I were to say yes to these moments? Whenever they grab my attention instead of just saying no because I don't know about it within my current realm of thinking. That was really powerful. There's another episode where I was, a couple years after, I was evaluating my life. I had done a lot of different careers and I wanted to explore the next steps in life. I wanted to go to business school. That part I was really sure about it. I didn't know which one to pick, you know. I got into a couple of schools, one in France, one in Spain. I didn't wanna be in the US. And then I applied to the one in London.. And then basically while I was on psychedelics, it kind of showed me the path in a way. It was almost like, okay, there is like the Steven, me, my current way of thinking, but then there's just like a— my higher soul can see what kind of decisions that I was making based on the different decisions that I would make, what kind of vibe I would feel. And it told me, my higher level of soul told me that, hey, go to London to nurture your soul. And at that time I had no idea because the school I applied to, London Business School, in London, like I got waitlisted. So I had no guarantee that I would be able to go to London. Fast forward a few months later, I got off the waitlist and I ended up moving to London and it ended up becoming like a really good decision. It's crazy. It's just like it told me something that like my current mind or brain cannot, it's hard to process, you know. We actually, I remember this morning we were talking about how like your brain and your mind like they already know, like if you really think hard about it, process it, like you can direct your life in the way you want. I agree with you, absolutely. Being on psychedelics, it really allows you to— allow me to actually live what it's like to be in other person's shoes. Let's say I know like what kind of life you're living in Kyiv, Ukraine, theoretically with my brain, but like on psychedelics, my soul can be in your body. So I can picture myself imagining your vibe. Really hard to explain it, but that's what you experience. Yeah, when you close your eyes and when you kind of like really tune into yourself, and that's all real. Let's say we're having a really intimate conversation, and then it's like, it's— I'm like, I can be there for you, you know? And like, once you've actually experienced that, it's hard to go back. And unlike alcohol, psychedelics, like a lot of the time, if they're pure, they heighten your awareness, and then you never forget what you experienced. It was really, really beneficial for me to actually continuously to experience that. And yeah, it really transformed my relationship with myself. I started really acknowledging myself for who I am. I started loving myself more deeply. It really transformed my relationship with my parents. For example, I could literally picture like everything they've done for me and our family. It's not just like me understanding it because I know about it logically, but it's like, oh, like I can actually picture them kind of like making these decisions, doing all these things just to be there for us. Been super, super therapeutic in a lot of ways. Obviously, you, you need to do it in the right setting and you need to do it with the right purpose and intention. And I was just very fortunate to have experienced it with a couple of friends, really good friends of mine. And it's been amazing because like we have these like very deep, meaningful conversations and then like our intention is to get to know each other. So then whenever we would do it, we would actually see something that we we never would see if we're just having conversations sober. That's been very beneficial, and using it as a tool to really transform your life and accelerate your path to achieving your, your goals and vision. So it's been nothing short of ordinary, like very philosophical, very like deep and transformative. Yeah, you got to do it when you feel like, you know, you're actually ready, because I had heard about psychedelics for a long time, and then when I decided to do it for the first time, I knew that that was the right moment because I was in a good mood. I just quit my job, my corporate job in New York. I was ready to embark on this world adventure. Everything was going the right way. So my whole like vibe was like elevated and uplifted. And then also my friends were in that state of mind. It just really— psychedelics usually amplify your subconscious mind, what's sitting at your subconscious mind. If you feel like, yeah, you're ready, do it. But I wouldn't really recommend it for people who just feel like, oh, I have to do it because I want to get to the next level. Well, like, you got to first make sure that you're in a good state of mind, and ideally you have like a good group of friends who can really support you. That's the vibe. Yeah, because actually psychedelics help you amplify what's at your subconscious level. We have different problems that we want to solve on a daily basis— business, personal, whatever, family, whatever, right? A lot of the time psychedelics can help you solve these problems in like the most outside-the-box thinking way. That's why in Silicon Valley, for example, like a lot of software engineers like microdose psychedelics and stuff like this. But yeah, like I would say it's really, really important to first of all not abuse it because this is a tool. It's not, you know, if you do anything heavily, it loses that purpose, you know. Um, but I definitely recommend at least trying it out once if like your vibe is in the right place and then you want to unlock your potential. So when did actually who Steven talked to. It's like, it's actual person, it's not like empty chair. So watch new videos.
