*TRIGGER WARNING* This episode of Extrology contains open conversations covering depression & suicide. If you/someone you know is in need of immediate support, Samaritans are available on 116 123.

Lee and Mark discuss:

• Mark’s upbringing, and the source of his interest in maths, tech and cryptography

• The birth of the Championship Manager video game

• Balancing a measured approach with the desire to be an entrepreneurial maverick

• Managing depression and investing in happiness over financial gain

• Freeing oneself from the past and the future

Links & references

Lee Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecooperrecruiter/

Mark Sear: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mark-sear

Inteligex: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inteligex/

Get in touch: lee@extrology.com

Episode highlights:

“My teacher called my parents and said that he'd put me in for a scholarship to a really good private school and I passed with flying colours, all they had to do was pay for the uniform and everything else was taken care of. I remember my dad saying, ‘Oh, why would he want to go to a private school?’, and the teacher said, ‘Because if he doesn't, he's going to prison’.” - 4:50 - Mark Sear

“There's a plus sign and a downside to a scholarship. The plus side is you get the education. The downside is, you're not part of that school, you're a bolt on, a kid who happens to be there. So where the other kids would have their own computer at home, I only had the one at school.” - 10:00 - Mark Sear

“I realised that if you consider there were 22 men on a pitch, and the pitches are, broadly speaking, 80 x 100, then you've got 80 x 100 possible places where an individual or the ball could be at any given time. Within that you've got a probability of where they want to be at that given time. So then it all boils down to maths.” - 16:00 - Mark Sear

“You get highly motivated people who work really hard for four days who say, ‘Yeah, I'm not getting paid as much money as I could do at X, Y & Z in Sweden, but I've permanently got a three day weekend’. The value of spare time is much underrated, I think, so I think we'll have to change like that.” - 32:15 - Mark Sear

“I would rather my kids be happy and living in a small one bedroom place trying to make a living as a jobbing actor, than unhappy living in a four bedroom, four bathroom, detached house, and wondering why they bother to get up a lot of the time. Maybe it’s an investment in sanity.” - 42:15 - Mark Sear

“One of the things that, as human beings, we've got to learn to do - and I'm terrible at both things - don't torture yourself about past mistakes, and don't worry about future events until they happen. I constantly do it.” - 48:50 - Mark Sear

“I just want to see my kids happy. They say that a parent is only ever as happy as the unhappiest child, and I completely understand that. I worry about my kids. That's what success means to me; I'd give up everything to give them something.” - 53:00 - Mark Sear

“I'm excited to see my kids live a happier life than me. I'm excited by the technological developments that are coming that may be able to free so many people from fundamentally crap lives. But maybe it's a function of depression that you don't get that excited about the macro things, so I get more excited about the micro things.” - 58:05 - Mark Sear

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