Interview originally published as “Model Feature: Ian Chang” on Sutherland’s blog HERE.“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Dr. Chang in the seat of his patients
Failure is always an option.
An unusual phrase, coming from the Toronto dentist and international model. From the briefest of views looking in, the résumé of Ian Chang appears hardly linear. Missing are the clean threads of chronological progress – replaced instead by a seemingly incoherent corkboard of duelling careers, a la Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
On one hand we have the dentist: serving midtown Toronto since 2015, while instructing part time at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry, whilst providing dental care to Ontario’s northern First Nations communities. Yet simultaneously – as if in the possession of Hermione Granger’s Time-Turner – he pursues success in the world of modelling, working with such brands as: Hugo Boss, Armani, Harry Rosen, Adidas, and Lululemon.
Reading this far, any talk of failure emerges as completely disingenuous. From the man himself:
I’ve fallen so many times in my personal life and careers, but there’s rarely reason to advertise it. Failure is always an option… failure is never an identity. My advice is to stop wasting time wallowing in self-pity, because the world doesn’t owe you anything. The only thing you can do is take in the mistake, absorb it, realize what mechanism led to that screw-up, and resolve to never do that again.
For example, I sought out modelling after spectacularly failing dental school entrance interviews. All applicants are ranked, and there’s me sitting in the bottom 20%. In what some may describe as, ‘an act of desperation,’ I figured the fastest way of breaking out of this introverted shell was to immerse into the world of fashion, a field where communication and outward expression are assets.
If you’re not getting the results you want, change what you’re doing and try again. The rest is history.
Find the right projects.
Ian thrives on productivity, but he stresses that productivity itself is never the goal. When we feel like we’re not productive, it’s not necessarily because we’re lazy or have bad habits – it’s because we aren’t working on the right projects. We haven’t found the ones that are intrinsically meaningful and motiving to us. So, if productivity is our goal, then maybe we’ve got the wrong goal. Discover what those projects are and fill your life with people pursuing similar paths. Ian continues with this observation:
Many of my students are obsessively focused on taking the right class, getting the highest grade, and volunteering at the right non-profit organization. When really, they should be taking every class that’s interesting to them – learn who they are as individuals. Shape the human being for who you are and not for what some possible future profession demands. We lose ourselves in the pursuit of another’s ideal. If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.
And it’s in this pursuit of his best self that Ian finds himself walking a tight rope along two worlds – perfectly content in the richness and chaos each brings. We end this interview with one of Ian’s favourite quotes:
“The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain