Evan Golub: How Living with Lyme Disease Taught Me That "We Are Not Alone"

Episode Summary Sometimes Western medicine does not have all the answers. Evan Golub discovered this first hand after seeing over 30 different practitioners and receiving numerous misdiagnoses which left him frustrated and alone. This frustration lasted for 4 years until a functional medicine doctor finally got to the root cause of his sickness and properly diagnosed him with Lyme disease. Evan started interacting with other “Lyme buddies” and he realized the world needed a social media platform that is entirely dedicated to health conditions. Evan co-founded Wana (we are not alone) which created a simple way for people with chronic and invisible illnesses to find support, comfort, and also discover new ways to manage symptoms. Syd Finkelstein Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.  Evan Golub: Evan Golub is the co-founder and CEO of Wana (we are not alone), a community platform that fosters hope, direction, and healing for people with chronic and invisible conditions. Before launching Wana, Evan spent 13 years working in the hedge fund industry. His decision to pivot direction stemmed from his own experience with chronic illness, which included seeing 30 practitioners over four years before finally learning he had Lyme. After his diagnosis, Evan began to dedicate himself to getting smart on his condition and helping others do the same. Creating a community of “Lyme buddies” brought him incredible satisfaction and purpose, and it ultimately led to Wana, which he co-founded in 2018. Evan lives and breathes wellness, and when he’s not exploring the newest trend in integrative health, he can be found on his yoga mat or at acupuncture.   Insight from this episode:Secrets to navigating health crisesTips to help avoid misdiagnosis of Lyme diseaseHow to decide between Western medicine and functional medicineStrategies on starting your own company and the risks associated with itDetails on how Wana is becoming one of the leading platforms in health social mediaHow to find inspiration out of a frustrating situation Quotes from the show: Learning to deal with numerous misdiagnoses: “This was four years of being really frustrated and alone and no one understanding that this was not just an inner-ear infection.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57“I never had a headache my whole life. For twenty-nine years I never took an Advil and then all of a sudden I have daily vestibular migraines.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57“The most helpful people are the people who have been through these battles and experience them and have the wisdom of what’s helpful.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57“The world needs this.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57“There’s no shortage of good ideas but there’s a shortage of great talent.”- Syd Finkelstein, Episode #57“Execution is everything.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57“The ideas 1% and execution is 99%.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57“Having passion is what is going to spring you out of bed in the morning.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57“Respect your elders and learn from them.”- Evan Golub, Episode #57  Resources Mentioned: Rita Charon Stay Connected:   Sydney Finkelstein Website: http://thesydcast.com LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein Twitter: @sydfinkelstein  Facebook: The Sydcast Instagram: The Sydcast Evan Golub   Website: https://www.joinwana.com/ LinkedIn: Evan Golub Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.   This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)