CK LIN

Founder Wholeness Coach

ACT 1: THE EQUATION I COULDN'T SEE

3am in a university clean room. Alone under fluorescent lights. Pipetting samples for an experiment that wouldn't matter in five years.

I was chasing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering because that's what smart people did. That's what would prove I was worth something.

But I didn't care about the research. I cared about the title. The validation. The armor against the voice that said I wasn't enough.

Achievement = Worth. That was the equation running me.

No PhD? Worthless.
No company? Worthless.
Divorced? Worthless.

I didn't know I was running this equation. It was invisible. Like water to a fish.

I jumped arenas thinking the NEXT one would finally be it.

PhD program → University director → Silicon Valley founder → Full-time coach.

At every stage, I was capable. Disciplined mornings. Strong craft. Good ideas.

But I was also burning out. Scattered. Running on fumes.

Surrounded by people but profoundly alone. No real friends. Convinced no one could understand me or do things as well as I could.

Coffee for blood. Maybe 4 hours of broken sleep on a good night. A few near-catastrophic accidents from exhaustion. Business decisions that capped growth because I couldn't think straight. Mechanical conversations with people I claimed to love.

I was killing it at work. And it was killing me.

ACT 2: THE MIRROR

Then I had a client—8 figures in net worth, should've been set for life—who wanted to kill himself because he "only" made $10M instead of $50M.

And I felt ANNOYED at him.

Not compassionate. Not curious. Annoyed.

Why? Because he was reflecting the thing I couldn't see in myself: no amount of achievement would ever be enough.

His math: $10M = failure. $50M = salvation.

My math: No PhD = worthless. No company = worthless. Divorced = worthless.

Same equation. Different numbers.

That mirror changed everything.

I couldn't un-see it. The equation that had been running my entire life—driving every decision, every sacrifice, every late night—was the same equation destroying him.

And it was going to destroy me too.

ACT 3: THE PATTERN WAS DEEP

I didn't just decide to "think differently" and fix it.

The pattern was wired into my nervous system. Decades deep.

My body had learned: Stress = threat. Threat = survive. Survive = control everything, sleep never, push through pain, prove your worth.

That worked when I was building from nothing. It was destroying me now that I'd built.

I tried the usual fixes:

• Therapy (processed the past, didn't change the present)

• Business coaching (gave me strategy, didn't address why I was avoiding it)

• Meditation apps (nice in theory, didn't stick under pressure)

• Productivity hacks (made me more efficient at burning out)

Nothing addressed the ROOT: my nervous system was dysregulated, and my mind was at war with itself.

You can't think your way out of a nervous system problem. You have to train your way out.

ACT 4: THE EXTERNAL SHIFTS (2019-2022)

So I did the work. Not the surface work. The deep work.

I spent three years (2019-2022) doing 200+ transformative experiences:

• Breathwork ceremonies

• Plant medicine journeys

• Somatic therapy

• Nervous system training

• Cognitive reframing protocols

• Shadow work

• Spiritual practice

I trained my nervous system like an athlete trains their body. I learned to regulate on demand—moving from fight-or-flight to calm in minutes, not hours.

I rewrote my mental equations. Not just "achievement = worth" but all of them:

• "Control = safety"

• "More work = more value"

• "Rest = weakness"

I examined where they came from, what they were protecting me from, and what they were costing me now.

I built relationships with people who could actually see me—not the performance, not the credentials, but ME.

I developed a spiritual practice that grounded me in something bigger than my own striving.

ACT 5: BUILDING RISE

Through all of this, I noticed a pattern:

Most approaches to transformation fail because they're incomplete.

Some focus only on inner work without outer action. People gain insight but stay stuck.

Others focus only on outer action without inner awareness. People optimize their way to burnout.

Others offer peak experiences without integration support. The breakthroughs fade.

Others create mindset shifts without nervous system work. People white-knuckle their way through "transformation."

We need both. Inner AND outer. Consciousness AND capability.

That's why I built RISE: a framework that integrates what most approaches leave fragmented.

R — REGULATE: Train your nervous system so your body becomes an ally, not an obstacle.

I — INTERPRET: Rewrite your mental equations so stress becomes information, not identity.

S — SKILL: Sharpen your decision-making and strategic clarity so you focus on what matters.

E — ENGAGE: Build relationships that sustain you instead of drain you.

This isn't theory. It's what I lived—and what I teach to those ready for lasting change.

ACT 6: WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Today?

Six-figure coaching practice. Loving marriage. Deep spiritual faith. Surrounded by people I trust. Leading in my community. Opportunities flowing without me chasing them.

Most importantly: I stay calm in chaos. Not because I'm special, but because I'm trained.

The 2 AM anxiety scrolls? Gone. I sleep through the night.

The constant knot in my stomach? Gone. My body tells me what I need before it becomes a crisis.

The voice that says "you're not doing enough"? Still there—but I recognize it now. "There's the Judge." Not "I AM inadequate."

The marriage strain? Healed. My wife doesn't say "you work too much" anymore. She says "I see you."

The achievement addiction? Replaced. I still build. But I build from surplus, not depletion. From clarity, not chaos.

I turned down a $250K opportunity last year because it didn't align with my vision. Old me would've said yes out of fear. New me said no out of sovereignty.

ACT 7: THE MISSION

Here's what I know now:

Everyone wants hacks. The silver bullet. The panacea.

There are no shortcuts.

The daily work IS the shortcut.
The moment-to-moment awareness and conscious choice IS the shortcut.

If you're willing to do the internal work AND the external work, you will have results.

But I can't want your transformation more than you do.

If you're addicted to suffering, no amount of coaching will reduce it.

If you're ready to walk this path as a conscious being—let's work together.

WHO I WORK WITH

I help two types of founders:

Anxious Achievers (Burned Out Founders)

You're killing it at work. And it's killing you.

You operate from anxiety/fight-or-flight constantly. Can't turn off, can't calm down. Achievement never feels like enough. White-knuckling your way through life.

You already know how to execute—you just can't stop.

You need: Nervous system regulation and mental reframing.

Program: [Anxious Achiever to Calm Commander (1:1) →]

Scattered Builders (Unfocused Side-Hustlers)

Your mornings are dialed—but by 4pm your week has been hijacked by "urgent."

You're too capable for your own calendar: ten good ideas, three half-started, no clear scoreboard. Money trickles, not flows. Shiny objects win over the long game.

You're not dysregulated—you're unfocused.

You need: Strategic capability and peer accountability.

Program: [Scattered Builder to Focused Finisher (Group) →]

NOT SURE WHICH ONE YOU ARE?

Take the Saboteur Assessment. Discover which inner saboteurs are running your show and get a personalized regulation protocol based on your results.

[Take the 5-Minute Assessment →]

READY TO TRANSFORM?

[Apply Now →]

Not sure which program is right for you? Book a conversation. We'll figure it out together.