Li's first job was with World Overview, and because of this program, the majority of his younger days were spent running around to locales far from home. His first deed each time he entered a country was to change money; thus began his story of collecting gold coins. True to the meaning of his Chinese given name Nianzu, George Li is mindful of his ancestors and ancestral land.
《放眼看天下》是李念祖的第一份工作，因為這個節目，他大半的青春少壯都在異域他鄉闖蕩；也因為每進入一個國家的首件要事就是兌換該國錢幣，於是開啟了他收藏金幣的故事。