Radical Honesty

As someone who has studied success, full-heartedly pursued "success" and even written a book on it, I feel like I must always project myself as somebody who is very, very successful. This creates a false picture in people's mind and gives me stress because I feel like I must uphold that image. When things aren't going well, I often avoid blogging out of fear that it will hurt my reputation. In the back of my mind I say to myself that once I'm successful in the ways I want to be, then I'll tell how I made all these stupid mistakes.

Today, I've decided to change that, which is not to say that I've considered myself dishonest. In fact, I think I've gone above and beyond what is generally considered "normal" in terms of honesty and integrity. However, I feel like I must go farther. Two things have influenced me to do this:

1. I read an article in Inc. Magazine called Exaggeration Nation, which said the following:

   For those who missed it, the hip-hop impresario was outed for serially -- and wildly -- inflating the revenue of his company, Phat Farm. Appearing on CNBC in 2003, for example, Simmons claimed sales of $350 million; in Newsweek, the figure was $240 million. And in his book Life and Def, he cited 2001 sales of $150 million. Unfortunately for Simmons, he's stuck in litigation with a former business partner; in a deposition, he was forced to reveal that his actual sales never topped a mere $14.5 million.

   When is enough, enough?

2. I was in the book store today and was looking for a very honest book on somebody's triumphs and tribulations with spirituality after a life-time of pursuing it full-heartedly. To make a long story short, I couldn't find one. All the books in the "spirituality and religion" and the "self improvement" areas seemed to only focus on and exagerrate the positives. This made me realize that I could possibly make more of a positive difference in myself and others, by fully sharing the ups and downs of my life. This may turn people off who would rather read a book by somebody who has 'been there and done that'. However, I think this is of value to young people who want to see what entrepreneurship could be like if they pursued it full-heartedly. I consider myself to be very normal. I consider myself smart, but not very smart. I come from a middle-class background with no special contacts or "entrepreneurs in the family". Hopefully people can relate.

• The road tour is coming along slowly, but surely. We're getting more incredible young speakers, However, we still haven't closed any sponsors. Therefore, we've postponed the tour until the Spring. I have a meeting with the managing editor of Inc. Magazine next week and we are going back-and-forth with a potential sponsor. Also, we're in talks with a potential fiscal sponsor. I was hoping to make a ton of calls this summer. However, Sheena and I are realizing that we need to bring somebody on who is an expert in sales and who can work full-time on the business.
  
• Since November, I've been working part-time as the program coordinator of the Bank of America Youth Entrepreneur Awards. My commitment ends this month and I've decided to not renew so I can work full-time on the business. Now, both Sheena and I are full-time.
  
• We just contracted with a literary agency/book packager in New York. We're extremely excited because he has high-level contacts in the publishing industry and really understands what we're trying to do. The publishing industry is slow over the summer, so we're hoping to close a deal with a publisher for a series in the Fall. We're aiming for a 6-figure advance.
  
• To grow the business, we've taken on about $7,000 in credit card debt and are taking out $30,000 in business loans. Good thing, my mom doesn't read my journal! We will repay this with our book advance and speaking engagements, which we're now paid up to $2,000 to deliver.
  
• Sheena and I are really working well together. In the past, having consistent meetings was challenging. 1) Because something would inevitabily come up and because we're so close, we'd cancel easily 2) Personal things would come up during meetings and we'd get in an argument. As a testament to our growth as individuals and with each other, the meetings have been going incredibly and our relationship is growing a lot closer. As a result, I feel VERY good about our strategies and focus moving forward.
  
• The beta of the feedback system has been going very well. People have been giving very positive feedback and a number of surveys have been sent out.
  
• We recently got headshots. So, now you can see what Sheena looks like :) I will also be changing the picture on http://successmanifesto.com/. It makes the company looks like its run by me, even though Sheena and I put in equal amounts of work and have a 50/50 equity split.
  
• I've been calling people in my network to ask if they could help us raise $200,000 for our company, which we're aiming to do over the next 6 months. I've always avoided this because I've felt awkward asking people I know. So far, I've had three meetings to this end. One person said they'd probably invest a little bit. Another said, they'd introduce us to others. The last said no, but gave incredible feedback and gave some acheivable criteria under which he might invest.
  I hope your journey is going well. That's about it for now.
  Posted at 09:11 PM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  May 08, 2005

  Entrepreneur's Credo via Thomas Paine

  Source: Excerpt from Common Sense, written in 1776 by Thomas Paine
  

  I do not choose to be a common man,
  It is my right to be uncommon ... if I can,
  I seek opportunity ... not security.
  I do not wish to be a kept citizen.
  Humbled and dulled by having the
  State look after me.
  I want to take the calculated risk;
  To dream and to build.
  To fail and to succeed.
  I refuse to barter incentive for a dole;
  I prefer the challenges of life
  To the guaranteed existence;
  The thrill of fulfillment
  To the stale calm of Utopia.
  I will not trade freedom for beneficence
  Nor my dignity for a handout
  I will never cower before any master
  Nor bend to any threat.
  It is my heritage to stand erect.
  Proud and unafraid;
  To think and act for myself,
  To enjoy the benefit of my creations
  And to face the world boldly and say:
  This, with God's help, I have done
  All this is what it means
  To be an Entrepreneur.

  Thanks to Alvin Huang for the excerpt.

  Posted at 10:39 PM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  April 29, 2005

  Journaling To Myself About Life

  For the past few weeks, I've been meditating for 2-3 hours/day sitting down. For the rest of the day, I practice an active meditation. Instead of thinking about life or business, I clear my mind and focus on awareness and equinimity. I don't know why I'm the way I am, but once I find the most effective technique for achieving what's most important to me; it is harder for me not to do it, no matter how hard.

  Pursuing meditation so earnestly is exciting. The experiences the body is having are different than any they've had before. I'm beginning to understand and trust the "knowing" feeling inside of me. I equate this to knowing something is on the tip of your tongue, but not quite being able to remember it. How is it that we "know" that the memory is there, but can't actually know it consciously?

  At the same time, doubts are coming up. It is hard, if not impossible, to logically support what has now become a central part of my life - to others, not to mention myself. Sometimes this makes me afraid of what others will think. Other times, it makes me afraid that I'm wasting my time and fooling myself, which I've done in the past.

  Perhaps the people reading this blog understand this feeling through entrepreneurship and having a vision that others don't understand. However, we (the West) seem to live in a culture that is accepting of business, but not of spirituality. Going on a spiritual journey seems more difficult because it is harder to measure success, it is harder to talk about, living role models aren't publicized as well, and it is very polarized. Just as there are crazy, make-a-million overnight schemes in business - I've come across some cults and have become better at knowing what to look for. Oddly, some of the craziest entreprneurs and mystics were later worshipped.

  Paradoxically, as I focus less on business, things seem to get better in that arena. I guess it's sort of like the negotiation paradox, that the side that is willing to walk away from a deal has more power. I feel more detached from the outcomes of business.

  The first time I can seriously really remember thinking about spirituality was when my dad died when I was 8 years old. There was a moment where I vividly remember coming to the decision that life isn't going to necessarily go as I or others have planned, and I need to take life into my own hands. I didn't rule out God, but I guess I sort of became agnostic, the logic being: "Whether there is a God or not, I seem to have a lot of control over my decisions and actions. I'm going to use that control."

  Although being raised as Jewish, I've been agnostic until college. In college, I really started to explore spirituality via reading, going to conferences, yoga, and meditation. A lot of stuff has been informative. Some stuff has been a waste of time. I've looked for religions/mystics I respect/trust and have looked for what they seem to agree on and have attempted to integrate those parts into my life. I pretty much did the same thing before with studying successful entrepreneurs.

  I don't know if I believe in God or not. The term has been used so many different ways by so many different people. What I do know is that the techniques I've learned have increased my happiness/peace more than anything else I've ever done. I believe that there are "higher powers" that I don't fully understand, but which can be known experientially. That is all for now.

  If not now, then when. If not you, then who.

  Posted at 06:38 PM | Comments (6) | Top
  
  

  April 22, 2005

  One Life, One Opportunity

  Wow. The last week has been really crazy!! Some highlights:

  • I co-presented a keynote at the Institute of Entrepreneurship with John Hughes, a role model for me and an extremely successful, retired entrepreneur turned philanthropist, to an audience of 750.
    
  • I co-facilitated a workshop at Danville Community College with my good friend Ryan Allis. We actually stayed up until 2am the night before working on the presentation. I thought we actually worked really well together and I can see us co-presenting in the future. Ryan entered the presentation with in a sweat suit the Eminem 8-Mile soundtrack blasting. He danced to the music for 15 seconds and drove home the theme of only having one shot and one opportunity in life. I must say it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. This made me realize how fun speeches can be.
    
  • I went to the Innercity 100 Conference in Boston. This is one of the most productive conferences I've ever been to. A number of people purchased books, I was invited to speak to 1,500-person audience, and I met Keyshawn Johnson, Kwame Kilpatrick(the mayor Detroit), Michael Porter, Time Warner Books, Merrill Lynch, Inc. Magazine, the Kauffman Foundation, Bo Peabody, John Bryant, Keith Ferazzi, and a representative of one of the top collegiate speakers' bureaus. I was supposed to speak on a panel, but I've been so busy the last few weeks that I overlooked the fact that I was supposed to confirm!! I would highly recommend this conference to other young people who live in cities.

  The speaking lifestyle is interesting. It gives you a lot of alone time on planes and hotel rooms, which can be advantageous. However, not having my own space, makes it difficult to stay centered and keep in a routine. Also, I see myself naturally caring less about what others think of me, which is very freeing. Tomorrow, I'm going to New Jersey for Passover. I look forward to seeing my dogs (not using slang here).

  Also, spirituality is becoming more and more a part of my life. It occupies more mind share than entrepreneurship or anything else. However, I'm not sure how to start talking about it with others, or even if I should. However, I did find it interesting that many of the speakers, without going into details, alluded to the fact that it was a central part of their life. It is interesting that in our society it is so difficult for dialogue to happen with regards to one's core beliefs. I wonder what I historian or sociologist from 100 years in the future would think about it?

  Posted at 11:22 PM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  March 05, 2005

  Power Introduction

  On Friday, I brokered the largest introduction I've ever done. It was between John Sexton, the president of NYU, and Steve Mariotti, the president of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Both John and Steve are mentors and I respect both of them more than I can say in words. They each have had dramatic impacts on my life over the past four years.

  At any rate, I won't go into the details, but it was very interesting to just sit back and watch them converse.

  Posted at 11:45 PM | Top
  
  

  My Spiritual Growth Journey

  The past few days have been transformative to say the least. For me, life seems to go in cycles:

  1. Down period
     
  2. Realization of what's important in life
     
  3. Peak period
     
  4. Forgetting what's important in life and/or taking it for granted
     
  5. Repeat steps 1-4 (evolving each time)

  Last Winter/Spring, I took a break from business for five months (hence the lack of blog entries) and explored spirituality through a few hours of meditation per day, reading, journaling/contemplating, and going on a retreat. Quite frankly, this worked. My quality of life improved demonstrably.

  Instead of waking up feeling like I was forgetting something or being stressed about a meeting, on many days, I'd literally wake up smiling for no reason. Other days, I'd start laughing uncontrollably and sometimes even crying from joy for no reason at all. Also, my work productivity increased as I stopped procrastinating and did things in order of importance. Of course, on a day-to-day basis everything wasn't perfect or drastically different, but it was noticeably different from my perspective.

  Things started go downhill over the summer when I decided that the positive state of mind could run itself without the routines I mentioned above. Then slowly but surely, over the period of a few months, I started to overwork myself and become stressed. I also forgot many of the things I had learned.

  At any rate, I'M BACK and with some personal lessons learned:

  1. Truth is only known from experience. Science is extremely powerful. It has allowed us to collectively understand the world and build effective, new technologies more than we've been able to at any other point in history. However, it can only take us so far. It can't answer many core, life questions and it can't prove things like whether I love my family. I think that truth can come from a "knowing". It is hard to say because I can't really back it up, but I don't necessarily think that makes it invalid.

  2. The mind/body is not me. So, let me explain the Vipassana retreat I went on. I spent 10-days in complete silence, meditating 15 hours a day. The specific technique used was very simple and involves scanning the body and its sensations. The whole retreat required more will power than I've ever had to summon.

     During the retreat, I realized many of the tricks the mind plays, and also just the sheer randomness and lack of control I have over my thoughts and sensations. At one point during the retreat, I had a "knowing" feeling that all these sensations and thoughts are not who I am at a core level.

     When I think about it, it is sort of interesting to observe how little control we have over our mind and body. For example, I have no idea what the next word I'm going to type is. It's just coming free flow. I know what I want to write this entry on, but the rest just comes. The same goes for whenever I talk. Also, sometimes I catch myself in the middle of a body movement, and I think, "Why am I doing this? I didn't plan to do it."

  3. Spirituality is important to me. I've re-dedicated myself to seeking truth and as I find it, confronting it directly. I know this is a long journey, but I'm excited to take it. I consider each moment an opportunity to pursue and be it.

  4. I'm an athlete Taking my recontextualization into account, I'm in the business of learning how to control my mind. Just like an athlete learns how to control their body through dedicated practice, so must I dedicate myself to practice. Just as an athlete practices for their entire career, so must I practice for my entire life.

  An author, which I'd highly recommend is David Hawkins. His work has inspired me the most. Over the past few years, I've re-read his 3 books more than I've re-read any other book. He is formerly a very successful psychiatrist, and he went through a process of what many would call enlightenment in his mid-life. His books have gotten testimonials from Mother Theresa, Sam Walton, and Lee Iacocca. Most mystics I've learned about come from India. I appreciate the fact that he is American and was like me when he was younger. He had this same urge to explore and used his career as one of the tools to do it. He became a M.D. and Ph.D. so he could learn more about how the human body works. Also, he started a very successful practice serving thousands of people. Furthermore, he has extensively researched other religions, but separates himself from any one of them. He self-published his first book, Power vs. Force, in 1995. He knew that his message was so powerful that he decided to do no marketing. I think it has just recently got in the book stores. Interestingly, I just looked on Amazon.com and it is the 129 bestselling book!

  
  I know the topic of spirituality and religion are very polarizing. Furthermore, they are fairly taboo, so I haven't talked about this stuff, even with my family and most of my close friends. I've written this entry as an effort to be more honest with myself and the people in my life. You can disagree with me or agree with me.

  Posted at 10:41 PM | Comments (4) | Top
  
  

  February 05, 2005

  Professional Networking Strategies

  I'm a big believer in networking. In my opinion, it's one of the most fulfilling things there is. Beyond that, I've been extremely fortunate to have people who've taken me under their wings! Here's how I view the process:

  1. Do favors early and often. I mainly do this by:
     • Giving people valuable information and advice. This shows people that I understand what they need and am willing to take steps to fulfill this need. I often find this information through my online reading, experience, book reading, or through my network.
       
     • Make introductions. This is one of the easiest things to do in the world. You connect two people who you think could derive value from each other. It's a win-win-win.
     At the level of giving away information and contacts, there is a ton of abundance. Very little time is needed to make a big impact. I'm very willing to help people at least once, given they make a good case and earn my trust.
  2. Give more if they reciproocate and/or appreciate. While it feels good to give, I much prefer giving to those who appreciate it and who are willing and able to help me now or in the future. For me to keep giving, they need to follow some basic etiquette:
     • Follow up promptly with introductions that I broker and "cc:" me.
       
     • Show appreciation/consideration and provide feedback on the helpfulneess of information and contacts. Email is a good way to do this. Sending something in the mail would probably make more of an impact, but isn't necessary.
       
     • When meeting me, come early and prepared with questions.
       
     • Research me. I've written a book and hundreds of journal entries. Spending a little time early on getting to know how I think will help us get more out of the relationship. If you want to go a step farther, you will purchase and read the book. If you have an online presence, I will do the same for you.
       
     • Proactively think about how I can help you and you can help me. I will do the same. Even if you're at the beginning of your career you can always help people. Little things that help me a lot are posting comments on my blog agreeing/disagreeing with my ideas, purchasing and providing feedback on the book, and giving ideas for improving the company and/or web site.
     From here, the relationship can develop into a business partnership, a friendship, a combination of the both, or anywhere in between.

  With all of this said, I'd like to explore using LinkedIn, a leading online social networking tool for professionals. If you'd like to develop a relationship with me, please add me to your LinkedIn network (email: michael@successmanifesto.com). We can work from there!!

  Posted at 02:03 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 26, 2005

  Ruminations on Being a Youth Motivational Speaker

  Wow! I just watched two video reels of youth motivational speakers who I know and admire; Ryan Blair and Joshua Shipp. My first thought was, wow, they're incredibly good. My second thought was, damn, I need to improve a lot.

  Now that I'm graduating college, I've decided to do more speaking. In the next few months, I'll be speaking to thousands of youth in places like Nevada and Milwaukee. In the past, I've been doing speaking as more of a hobby and am transitioning to doing it on a professional level (in others words - getting paid a lot of money). As such, I want to develop my style more. Below are some thoughts that ran through my head after I watched those videos:

  1. I'm tall. Although digital pictures of me make me look 3-4 inches tall, I'm actually 6'5" in real life. I think I can use this to my advantage in terms of my presence.
     
  2. Speaking with Sheena. Sheena and I work extremely well as a speaking team. She thinks differently than I do and therefore connects with people on another level. Also, I think we are an example of how you can use the Extreme Entrepreneurship philosophy to become successful in more than a career.
     
  3. I'm not as high-energy, and that's ok. The common idea for motivational speakers seems to be that you have to be very high energy on stage. The common idea for "connecting" with youth seems to be that you have to have an MTV-Style presentation. Quite frankly, I don't have a TV or listen to a lot of the same music as my peers, let alone my audience. Furthermore, I'm a laid-back, down-to-earth person. I think my role as a motivational speaker is:
     • Share my story. Not as a success story necessarily, but as somebody who has full-heartedly pursued their journey and had good results. I want to be so honest with myself on-stage that I help people be more honest and accountable with themselves. I want people walking out saying, "If he can do it, I can do it." If people say, "I could never do that", then I've succeeded in bragging about my accomplishments, but failed as a motivational speaker.
       
     • Expose people to success stories. No matter what you want, whether it's having an incredible relationship, tons of money, changing the world, or finding a passion, it's been done by millions of socially, economically, and mentally disadvantaged individuals in addition to just normal ones. You don't have to be superman or superwoman. You just have to plan, prioritize, and pursue your vision. It's not rocket science.
  4. I need more hooks. I have a ton of stories and ideas in my mind. However, I need to get them into powerful sound bites.
     
  5. I have trouble knowing how to challenge people. In the past, if I didn't see people living up to their full potential, I often called them on it. After awhile, I could tell I was alienating some people. So, for the past few years, I've spent a lot more time trying to understand why people are the way they are. Now that I can see from their perspective, I often acknowledge how they feel and don't challenge them. I think I could find a better balance.

  Posted at 02:55 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 19, 2005

  On Hearing Paul Orfalea, Founder of Kinkos

  This weekend I had the opportunity to hear a keynote speech delivered by Paul Orfalea, founder and chairman Emeritus of Kinkos. He was a very laid back, personable, and charismatic speaker in my opinion. Some key ideas that stuck in my mind are:

  1. Every product and service that you see around you is a success story, or you wouldn't see it. This world is full of success stories!
     
  2. Paul is dyslexic and was expelled from high school numerous times. Therefore, he realized very early on what he was not good at and partnered and/or hired people who were smarter than him in these weak areas. So, he actually considers his weaknesses to be strengths. I actually agree with this. To think you're good at something when you're really not or to be good at too many things can actually be a curse as you may try doing everything yourself.
     
  3. Everybody is always busy. They focus too much on today and yesterday. As result of giving responsibilities to others, he freed himself to visit stores, learn secrets from each, and share them across the organization.
     
  4. He made a great distinction between people managing their career (CEO) and managing their business (Owner). I never made this distinction, but these are two very different paths in many respects. A CEO must think a lot more about politics, pleasing people, and looking good to move up the ladder. The founder and owner, is more interested in the results of the businesses he or she is a part of.
     
  5. A students work for B students. C students run the company. D students dedicate the building.

  After he spoke, I went right up to him (something I'm normally too afraid to do) and was the first person to talk with him. I gave him my book and mentioned that he was in it. Two days later, I followed up about a potential testimonial. The next day the executive director of his foundation wrote back and said I could use the following testimonial on the web site and the next edition of the book:

  ?I wish the ?Manifesto? had been around when I was younger. The Student Success Manifesto is an inspiration to not only students, but an entire generation!? Paul Orfalea, Founder & Chairperson Emeritus, Kinko?s Inc.

  I can die a happy man now :)

  Posted at 04:10 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 10, 2005

  Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring

  Ever since I've been young, I can remember a slight feeling of discontent. When I was much younger, I remember feeling powerless against this feeling and not in control of my life.

  However, as I've grown, I've gained exposure to ideas that I believed could quell this discontent. From sports, popularity, making millions, making a difference, eating raw foods, to enlightenment through spirituality - I've full-heartedly tried many methods that I believed would bring happiness at the time. Looking back, I not only feel fulfilled that I've given my all to these methods, but that I've explored so many without losing hope.

  I've gone multiple days without eating (fasting), traveled cross-country on train to spirituality retreats, started multiple businesses geared to making money and making a difference, and most recently went on a 10-day, silent meditation retreat in Illinois. What have I learned?

  • Learning seems to never come on the first try. There seems to be this belief out there that it is ok to make a mistake once as long as you learn from it. If you don't learn from it the first time, you're somehow incompetent. I don't know about you, but I find myself making the same mistakes over and over until I finally master them. Even then, I still make them on ocassion.
    
  • Learning seems to be related to cycles of remembering and forgetting. In my opinion, most people could increase the quality of their life 10-fold or more with the knowledge they already have. Look, it isn't a mystery that eating McDonalds everyday isn't healthy and makes you overweight and sluggish. That overwork leads to exhaustion and unproductiveness. That losing sleep makes you more grumpy and unproductive. That drinking too much alcohol makes you throw up and feel really sick the next day. That being on time, looking both ways before you cross the street, and so on can be helpful. The issue seems to be that french fries taste good. Drinking & partying is fun. Watching TV is easy and relaxing. etc. We all have our weak spots. We are constantly confronted with the same decisions. Sometimes we make the 'right' decision and feel good about it and other times, we're tempted by 'evil' chocolate cakes and forget about their effects until they start to show and then we remember the 'right' decision again.
    
  • Learning Seems to Happen via Tipping Points. I find myself learning most potently when I'm at the bottom. It is at these moments that I commit myself to never doing something again. Even when I see myself going down and try to recommit myself to what I know is right, my thoughts seem to have no power. For example, if I'm making a commitment to eat healthy food, sometimes I know I'm just fooling myself and I will cave in on my first temptation. However, there seem to be moments when I make commitments to myself and I know without a doubt that I will follow them. These moments are incredibly empowering.
    
  • It's a journey. On the back cover of The Student Success Manifesto, the words "Plan, Prioritize, and Pursue Your Vision Today!" are written in big letters. I believe in this statement more today, than when I wrote it almost two years ago. You can't learn by not trying. I believe that if you want to achieve something, you have to:
    1. Pick a strategy (plan)
       
    2. Commit to it (prioritize)
       
    3. Pursue it
       
    4. Repeat steps one through three (this step is for all you Brian McNight fans) with lessons learned.
    To me, it seems that the worst thing one could do is just use the same incompetent strategies over and over.
    
  • Vipassana Meditation Works. At least it did for me. Perhaps it was the right time, and I was ready for it. I don't know. However, I feel that I would be doing the people who are reading these words a disservice by not pointing that out. It's not easy work, but for me it was well worth it. From my personal experiences, aiming for happiness by trying to make a lot of money, become famous, and/or make a difference DEFINITELY do not work as methods to happiness. I'm not against these or anything, but I'm not fooling myself that once all these happen that I will be happy

  Besides being one of the best movies I've seen this year, the movie, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, illustrates the idea of life's cycles better than I've ever seen it done before. It won't make you jump out of your seat because of suspense or action, but it is such a beautiful movie. If you have Netflix, rent it!

  Now, what are you waiting for? Plan, prioritize, and pursue your vision today! Be the change you want to see! Taking constant, calculated risks; fall forward and have fun.

  Posted at 11:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 06, 2005

  Life's Journey Isn't Always By the Book

  Be the change I see in the world! That is the challenge I've given myself for when I wake up everyday. I aspire to live by the book. Not by school's book, or my family's book, or anybody else's. I aspire to live my life by the what I've learned to be true.

  But here's the thing that gets me - I don't. I don't always live by my book and I don't know if I ever can - exactly. I still get in large arguments with loved ones. I feel bad when things don't go my way. I feel behind when those close to me accomplish big feets. I still get nervous when interacting with new people. In other words, I still have trouble living by the book even though I've been pulling all-nighters to study it.

  Do Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, or the Da Lai Lama ever not live by their own book. From their writings, it would seem that life can be 'perfect' if you try hard enough and smart enough for long enough. I wish that people who were 'successful' would talk about these challenges more while they're having them.

  I keep on wanting to wait until The Student Success Manifesto sells hundreds of thousands of copies of the book before I say, "Yea, it was a hard journey, but..." However, I feel I owe it to myself and to the people who are on a similar journey to talk more honestly about the internal challenges I face on a daily basis. I may lose credibility by admitting that my life isn't perfect and that everything isn't success, success, success, but here goes (eyes closed).

  Posted at 11:17 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  December 23, 2004

  Creating a Personal Brand

  Source: Brand Called YOU

  Laura Ries and her father are very well known in the corporate branding world. Here are some of her thoughts on how individuals can leverage their brand.

  Posted at 06:59 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  December 16, 2004

  The Life of Russell Simmons

  I've learned a lot from Russell Simmons in the past week. Today, twenty-five alumni of the Bank of America Youth Entrepreneur Awards, a few Citizens for NYC staff, and I met with Russell for a 1-hr, informal mentoring session. In addition, last weekend, I read his book, Life and Def. I honestly think it is one of the best business books I've ever read. It's a page-turner and is just honest and real.

  My main take aways are related to what it takes to build a movement. The hip-hop movement is everywhere now, but when Russell first started, people had no idea what it was and were very skeptical. Below are quotes from the book that encapsulate the key lessons I learned:

  "My whole career has been about cultivating, understanding and expanding this [hip-hop culture] auidence (83)..."

  "Run D.M.C.'s greatest asset was that they never aspired to be bigger. They aspired to keep it real when that wasn't yet considered important in rap (64)."

  "You have to know your core and noncore audiences and understand how to reach both without alienating either (82)."

  "And the fact that I wasn't a conformist trying to fit in - that I was making people accept me on my terms - worked for me (104)."
  

  Over the past two years, Sheena and I have been thinking about how to position Extreme Entrepreneurship, a movement where young people passionately plan, prioritize, and pursue their OWN vision, today not tomorrow. Our philosophy resonates most with young entrepreneurs, but is applicable to all students who want to achieve success by leveraging the entrepreneurial mindset and thinking of themselves as a human enterprise.

  Over the years, I can't tell you how many times people have said that there isn't a market of motivated young people because youth aren't serious about life and that they're too busy. At the same time, my gut tells me something else for the following reasons:

  1. I know that this way of thinking has completely transformed my world for the better and I've seen it done for many others my age. The teenage/college years are particularly important as people are getting more freedom and at the same time making decisions that will determine the course of their life.
     
  2. Looking at things historically, it seems like youth is a time of rebellion and trying to change the world. This is a proven philosophy to facilitate that change.
     
  3. Entrepreneurship education has grown tremendously over the past twenty years as research continues to show that innovation and new jobs in the economy are coming from small business.

  I know that this is a long, difficult journey. In the short-term, it might be easier to sell something that I know people would buy, but might be bad for them. However, I'm in this for the long haul. I want to make a large difference and I believe by doing so, I can also make a lot of money.

  Posted at 09:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  November 15, 2004

  Birthday Note

  On this day five years ago, I turned 18. The web development company a friend and I were working on was growing rapidly. Also, it was a particularly memorable day as I made $1,000 in the stock market. In fact, my one year plan was to become a millionaire.

  Looking back, my predictions were completely wrong. On one hand, I did not foresee a bubble bursting and losing most of our web development clients, but on another hand, I did not foresee writing a book or meeting a girl friend that I want to spend the rest of my life with.

  Perhaps the biggest change has been the majority of my thoughts switching from possibility to probability. While, I think this has been good as I've been more effective, the idea of falling into conformity scares me. I sense that I'm at one of the very real turning points in life, as I believe all college students are, and I don't want to simply go from youthful idealism to adult realism.

  The successful people who I've studied who've achieved success in happiness, making a difference, or making money all seem to be a little bit crazy. They seem to live in a fantasy world that through intelligent persistence, they make into a reality for others. This is the world I would like to inhabit for the rest of my life. The key is finding the balance between being a "crazy" person and a "normal" person, and just being an "effective" one.

  Posted at 01:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 17, 2004

  Young Entrepreneur Conference

  Sheena and I are speaking next week at the Young Entrepreneurs Summit '04 near Washington, DC. Registration is free and there are some great speakers. If you're in the area, stop by.

  Posted at 11:24 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 11, 2004

  How People Perceive You Matters!

  For example, today I spoke at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship conference. People treated me nicely beforehand, but once I got up and spoke, people treated me much better and much more seriously. Teachers and administrators asked a lot more about the book/workbook and talked about including it in their curriculum. I was still the same person, but people's perception of me changed. This is exactly what happened with The Student Success Manifesto ebook when it was originally published. People thought it was interesting that I had written an ebook, but when people saw a professionally produced physical copy, we had 1,200 sales in two months.

  I also think clothing is critically important. It really is true that dressing for success brings success. At the same time, I've seen people in business who are very successful dress down. By doing this, it seems like they're implying, "I'm so successful I don't need to dress up" or "I'm successful, but I'm still down-to-Earth." So, dressing down and carrying ones self in the right way might actually make people think you're more successful. I've seen this done well by some people, but it's generally hard to pull off. One person who comes to mind is John Sexton, the president of NYU. Most of the times I've seen him he's wearing hiking books, corduroy pants, a sweatshirt from his former high school, and a Yankees baseball cap. I don't think he dresses like this by mistake.

  Unfortunately, people start off in different places economically, physically, and culturally. Some people have an accent that makes them sound less successful. Some people are born more attractive. Yes, it sucks, but I think people need to work with what they have. One's greatest differences or unique aspects can actually be turned into strengths. By doing this successfully, one actually changes the system for others. Rather than complaining about how things are unfair, one could change oneself to produce the results they want. At the time, it is important to do this without basing one's self-image or happiness on what other people think (I know, easier said than done) or the success might actually be counter-productive.

  In the end, for the better or worse, people do seem to judge a book by its cover, whether it be a product or a person. Sure, some people are really good at seeing through the exterior to one's potential, but most people aren't or don't have enough time. The wait until someone "discovers" you might be a never-ending one.

  Think about yourself as a product or as a brand and ask yourself the follow questions:

  1. When people think about you, what do you want them to think?
     
  2. How can you create your brand in a way that people will want to tell others about you?
     
  3. How do you want to position your brand compared to other people?
     
  4. How will you change what you dress? How you act? How you talk?
     
  5. Who is your target market and how can you expose them to your brand? events? speaking? strategic volunteering?

  I think answering these questions can not only help individuals in business, but can help anyone find and develop incredible friendships, acquaintances, contacts, and significant others.

  Posted at 04:45 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 08, 2004

  My Current Business/Life Philosophy

  1. Decide what you want to accomplish.What's important to you? What are you passionate about pursuing? What benefits do you expect the accomplishments to bring?
  2. Learn the best way to get there.
     • Learn from the past experiments (experiences) of yourself/others if the results are still valid, and/or
     • Methodically and rigorously choose and perform your own new experiments
  3. Attract resources (money, people, etc.) through mutually-beneficial exchanges.
  4. Build a measurement system that tells you the effectiveness of your actions.
  5. Apply the resources in the way you planned (perhaps modified because of limited resources).
  6. Observe feedback from measurement system.
  7. Repeat steps 1-6 with lessons learned.

  In short, the philosophy is, "plan, prioritize, and pursue your own evolving vision in every moment to create a life of passion, purpose, and prosperity."
  

  Posted at 07:33 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  September 25, 2004

  The Best Self-Help Books Ever!

  In the past, many people have asked me what the most influential self-help books in my life have been. After much delay, I just made a list on Amazon.com. These books were particularly powerful because I had not been exposed to their ideas before and because I was ready to hear and incorporate those ideas into my life. Even if you think you already understand what these books have to say, these authors have written so cogently about important ideas that you will gain a deeper understanding of their importance and be able to use them more effectively in your life.

  If you enjoy the list, it would be very much appreciated if you could give it a good rating.

  Posted at 08:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  August 31, 2004

  Moving Bottlenecks in Meeting People

  Today I went to an panel on blogging, politics, and personal voice. The panel was moderated by Jeff Jarvis and consisted of:

  1. John Aravosis - Writer and political consultant specializing in using the Internet for political advocacy
     
  2. Cam Barret - Created the Clark Community Network
     
  3. Jen Chung - Edits the Gothamist
     
  4. Jay Rosen - Chair of the Journalism Department at NYU
     
  5. Douglas Rushkoff - I follow his blog and just read his book, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, which I highly recommend. It will make you look at religion in a new way.
     
  6. Julian Sanchez - Assistant editor of Reason magazine

  The main idea I found fascinating was that the costs of finding like-minded people have been on a dramatic decline as a result of blogs and the Internet. What occurred to me then was that the bottleneck in building strong relationships has moved from finding the right people to perhaps finding the right people locally. While it may be easier than ever to find a like-minded person that lives hundreds of miles away, how easy is it to actually build a really close relationship when you see each other once a year, if that? Wouldn't you rather meet a like-minded person that lives close to you, one that is part of your local community?

  It seems that search engines are catching on to this idea as both Google and Yahoo are beta-testing local search services. I guess these moves are not surprising when about 25% of online buyers look for local merchants (Bizrate and The Kelsey Group).

  Ironically, it seems that the Internet, which is a global medium, may also have a huge impact on how communities function locally by connecting people that are geographically close to each other in new and meaningful ways. Due to lack of expertise, I will not try expound on what I think this means. However, the consequences for politics, volunteerism, personal happiness, and commerce seem like they could be large, very large.

  Posted at 10:57 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  August 29, 2004

  Sometimes I Wonder

  A few nights ago, I couldn't fall asleep. Normally, I would wake up Sheena and try to make her talk, often unsuccessfully and often against her will. However, a few nights ago, I decided to try and clear my mind instead as part of my continuing quest to follow the "Golden Rule" (to do unto others as you would want done to yourself). Interestingly, all I could think about was getting a piece of bread and spreading butter on it. After 5-10 minutes of deliberation, I started to get up, when to my surprise, Sheena said in an annoyed voice, "Don't let the butter melt!"

  You can imagine my shock, considering the facts that:

  1. She was asleep. This was confirmed after prodding her side and saying her name in an increasingly louder voice (sometimes the "Golden Rule" must be broken).
     
  2. I hadn't mentioned my bread & butter thoughts out loud.

  Part of me says that the odds of somebody briefly waking up and emitting one sentence about butter at exactly the moment its on my mind seems miniscule. So miniscule in fact that it cannot be explained using accepted scientific principles of causality. On the other hand, given all the things that happen in one's life, improbable occurrences are bound to happen. When events like this happen in your life, how do you react? How improbable does something have to seem, before you say, "Something is fishy here."

  Posted at 07:20 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  August 24, 2004

  The Power of Religion & Science

  In January, I made a post about questions I had on the scientific method and its relation to religion. Now, eight months later, I'm doing an independent study with the president of NYU related to the subject and have begun to dive into the subject more thoroughly. The two books that I would most recommend to others are:

  Religion and Science by Bertrand Russell
  First published in 1935, this book talks about where science and religion have come into conflict over the past few hundred years. More specifically, he goes into detail on the following conflicts:

  • Sun vs. Earth (as the center of the solar system)
    
  • Evolution vs. Creationism
    
  • Demonology vs. Medicine
    
  • Soul vs. Body
    
  • Determinism vs. Free Will
    
  • Mysticism (experiencing truth) vs. Scientific Method (proving truth by replicable experiments)
    
  • Cosmic Purpose
    
  • Limits of Science (how ethics/values can never proven by science)

  The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
  If you've ever been skeptical about the power of science, this book will lucidly explain why science is extremely important and is a fairly recent phenomenon in the course of world history. Sagan believes that the scientific method is the best method the world has ever known for understanding reality and predicting the future. He also brought up many arguments against science and cogently refuted each one (although I didn't agree with all of his arguments).

  Major Take Aways from the Books

  1. The Old Power of Religion. I've gained a more thorough understanding of how dominant religion was in people's lives. For example, Aristotle believed that the speed of which objects fall is proportional to its weight. In other words, he believed that a ten pound object dropped at the same moment from the same height as an one pound object would reach the ground ten times more quickly. Surprisingly, this easy-to-test idea wasn't even tested until 2,000 years later when Galileo tested it by dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa and observing the results.

     Over time, the power of religion is also demonstrated by the fact that millions of innocent victims have painfully died as a result people using the Bible as a guide to conduct. In fact, Russell says that, "It is estimated that in Germany alone, between 1450 and 1550, a hundred thousand witches were put to death, mostly by burning. (95)". Interestingly, the most common accusation against witches, at the time, was that they caused bad weather (i.e., tempests, hail-storms, thunder, and lightning). After accusations, women (who obviously pleaded that they were innocent) were brutally tortured until they admitted that they were witches. According to Russell, the last burning of a witch occurred as recently as 1722 or 1730. Wow!

  2. Religion will Always Exist. While the trend for the past few hundred years has been for science to take over parts of religion, it seems that religion will always exist where science has not proven itself yet or where science can't make conclusions (i.e., values, ethics, questions that ask why, etc.).

  3. Religion Isn't Innately Bad. I've come to the conclusion that religion isn't innately bad or useless (which is what I've thought for a large part of my life). In fact, I think it can be very useful and practical for people. I'm exploring this ideamore, but when religious diversity is accepted and used synergistically and when religious creeds and ethics evolve with culture and science, I think they can be powerful.

  4. Like Democracy, Science isn't Perfect, but is the Best that We Have. It is hard to argue with many of Sagan's points. Some that I thought were interesting are:
     • In Western Europe in Medieval Times, the human life expectancy was about 20 to 30 years. Today it is approaching 80 in the United States.
       
     • "Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history. (11)"
       
     • Communication, transportation, entertainment, and other technologies, which have drastically changed the way we live our lives.
       
     • If prayer is so powerful than why didn't kings and queens live longer when all of its citizens were constantly praying for his/her health and praying, "God save the Queen".

  Posted at 07:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  July 16, 2004

  Uncensored Free Write on Life

  It's amazing! Here I am, 22-years-old, writing a blog entry to many people, most of whom I've met in the past few years. I'm writing this entry at 2am from the world's biggest city in the world's smallest apartment. I live in Spanish Harlem with my girl friend whose my business partner on a socially-active, for-profit company. I'm graduating the Stern School of Business at NYU in a few months and embarking on what seems will be an entrepreneurial career. Who would've thought?

  1. Not the 12-year-old basketball player expecting to go to the pros, practicing fade away, game-winning Michael Jordan jump shots until dark.
     
  2. Not the grade school student dreaming about Harvard, wanting to make his mom happy.
     
  3. Not the lonely middle school student who thought that once he found the person of his dreams, he wouldn't have to work at the relationship and he'd live happily ever after.

  When it gets down to it, life is down right hard to predict, if not impossible. Hell, being a millionaire has been in my 1 year plan for the last six years.

  Life is nothing but seeds and sun. We plant our life with the seeds of values and visions, beliefs and goals. Sure, we can control what types of soil we plant the seeds in, but can we control the sun? Can we control the clouds, the weather, or the weeds? We live in a dynamic world where we collectively cede control to a large, interdependent system bigger and more powerful than us all. How? Simply by living life and planting our seeds, whatever type they might be, from moment to moment and day to day.

  There is a saying that if a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world, it may result in a tornado in another part. I can only hope that values create value. I can only hope and believe that by being the change I want to see in every moment, that the sun will shine a little bit brighter for everybody.

  Posted at 02:22 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  July 06, 2004

  My Five-Minute Memoir

  Yesterday, I wrote an acquaintance to tell him more about myself and my life so we could get to know each other better. After all, there is always more than meets the bio (ed note: play of words on 'more than meets the eyes'). Here is my view on an unfinished journey:

  1. My dad is black; from Trenton, New Jersey; and grew up pretty poor. I was eight years old when he passed away. When my mom was eighteen, she and her family were kicked out of Poland for being Jewish. Their passport was taken away and they could only take very few belongings. As a teenager, her and her brother came to America by themselves.
     
  2. My mom and dad met at Mercer Country Community College. They divorced when I was four.
     
  3. Growing up I always felt different because I was an agglomeration of different classes, ethnicities, and races. I grew up in a small, suburban, middle-class town fifteen minutes from Princeton University. At the same time, both of my parents worked very hard for what they got. Consequently, they instilled in me a very strong work ethic and a belief in myself that I could accomplish anything I wanted to.
     
  4. I grew up playing a ton of sports and was generally one of the best at each one I played. At the end of grade school, I decided to focus on tennis and played tournaments for the next six years and eventually played on the NYU tennis team where I was the MVP my freshman year. In eighth grade, I had a growth spurt of seven inches in six months. This gave me very weak knees and led to injuries that still plague me and limit my potential.
     
  5. Academically, I did well. In grade school, I was always on the border line between "gifted and talented" classes and "average" classes. My mom, against my desire at the time, pushed for me to be moved up. I guess they realized it wasn't worth arguing with her and let me join the "gifted and talented" group. As such, I often felt like I was the least intelligent of my peers. To preserve my ego, I decided that I had to compete in other ways beyond academic intelligence. That's one of the reasons I think why I was open to starting a business.
     
  6. Socially, I was rather quiet and nervous, perhaps because I was an only child. My small group of friends was in between a lot of groups in the social hierarchy so we were able to hang out with any other group by and large. In ninth grade, I decided that I wanted to be popular. So I started trying to be funny and developed a reputation for being a goof ball. In the end, it worked fairly well, but not as well as I would have hoped at the time. I started to let the popularity hunt go when my business partner and I would transition from having a meeting with a client for thousands of dollars and then going to Gym class. We realized that there was a lot more to life. Similarly, I keep perspective on the 'rat race' culture of selling out ones values for what's perceived by others as success.
     
  7. My friend and I started our web development company when I was sixteen years old. We didn't know much of anything, but fortunately for us this ignorance gave us the balls to do what we did. We grew by partnering with a web development company that outsourced to us at $25/hr. This gave us the opportunity to build our client list and our skills. Our next growth spurt came when we went out on our own and outsourced our projects to India. At one point we were charging $75-$100/hour and outsourcing for $25/hour and sending a lot of projects through the pipe line. Alas, we made many mistakes and also realized that the market doesn't always throw clients at our feet that are willing to pay a lot of money. When the bubble burst, my partner and I were at college and we decided to stop doing the business. It was good while it lasted.
     
  8. Running the business was difficult because of skepticism from my mom. She wanted me to succeed, but on her terms, which meant getting good grades at good schools and moving into a safe job as a computer programmer. She saw my interest in entrepreneurship as a direct threat to her dream for me. As such, she'd often ignore, discourage, or make fun of me when I talked about doing business. After crying a few times, I decided to simply not talk about it. However, things have changed a lot now and she has been there for me during times when I really needed it.
     
  9. I didn't have any girl friends in high school. But, I met my current one my third day at NYU. We've lived together for about three years now and it has been an absolutely incredible relationship, no without its ups and downs though. We are partners on the business and our skills really complement each other. We still haven't gotten sick of seeing each other many hours every day. Miraculously, we still find interesting things to talk about.
     
  10. At NYU, I've gotten very involved in youth entrepreneurship organizations, particularly the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. I am an alumni, on the NY Metro advisory board, volunteer, and work for/shadow the president once a week.
      
  11. While at NYU, I've spent quite a bit of time attending self-development/spirituality/creativity seminars and conferences. I also journal quite a bit. Keeping everything in perspective is extremely important to me.
      
  12. I've also spent a lot of time networking. When I got to New York City, I didn't know anybody. Now, I have over 700 contacts in my personal database.
      
  13. I didn't really enjoy NYU when I first came here. In retrospect, I think this was due to a combination of large required classes with hundreds of other students who didn't want to be there. It also was due to picking classes very poorly, having a lot of difficulty sitting in one place for an extended amount of time, and not giving school the chance I could've in terms of time. During my sophomore year I took a semester off to get away and to soul search. The experience really helped me grow and when I came back to NYU, I made the most of it! Overall, I've really enjoyed my NYU experience and am extremely happy that I chose it over the other schools I got into, including higher ranked ones. I would even call it a dream school. For me, it was definitely true that you don't really learn how to maximize school until its too late and you graduate. I may go back to school for a Phd some day.
      
  14. I could talk about Extreme Entrepreneurship and The Student Success Manifesto, which have been a big part of my life the last two years, but you'll just have to read this blog to find out more.
      
  15. My vision is to make a large, lasting, positive difference in the world by being the change I want to see in every moment.

  To be continued...

  Posted at 01:28 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  June 29, 2004

  Life's Ups and Ups

  Right now, I'm in one of those crazy work modes where I'm just inspired. Last night, I worked until 6:00am, woke up four hours later, and here I am now - eyes wide open, heart pounding. Either everything is coming together or I'm just really happy with the way things are or both. In various news:

  1. Last week we met with the managing director of the venture capital firm that Sheena works for. He gave some really great advice about how we could incorporate technology into our publishing model. The meeting concluded with him asking if we could do it again in a month.
     
  2. Two weeks ago we met with a Brown University professor who was a successful entrepreneur in a former life. Also, he teaches a course that helps students create a framework for their lives through the lens of entrpereneuershp. It was really great to see that a course like this exists! Right now, we're communicating via email about potential ways we could collaborate.
     
  3. Sheena and I are doing an independent study with John Sexton, the president of NYU, which started last week. It promises to be extremely exciting and will be on the topic of community development.
     
  4. I'm doing an global entrepreneurship independent study with Professor Wiesen, who is a Stern Professor and as well a cofounder of Tofutti and the Financial News Network (sold to CNBC).
     
  5. I'm back into playing tennis. I'm playing about once a week and hoping to move that up to three or four times.
     
  6. Besides that I've just been enjoying another summer in the city.

  Posted at 12:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  June 21, 2004

  The Tyranny of Choice

  Article Summary
  Logic suggests that having options allows people to select precisely what makes them happiest. But, as studies show, abundant choice often makes for misery.

  Link to Scientific American Article

  Posted at 09:35 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  June 16, 2004

  Fixate or Focus

  A few years ago, a friend of mine mentioned that many famous artists eventually go crazy. For some reason, this was just one of those things that stuck in my mind. Well, over the past few months, I've been developing a theory on why this might happen...

  One of my most distinctive attributes is that I often enter into states of flow and creativity where I lose sight of everything else. Food, significant others, school, etc. all become meaningless no matter how much I might normally love them. In those hours of flow, in addition to working for many hours straight on pure inspiration, I come up with many creative ideas (at least they seem that way until I wake up the next day). In fact, I'm so impressed with my ideas that I might start dancing around our apartment or fall to my knees in euphoria. In the past, I've taken pride in this, considering it one of my strengths.

  However, recently I've been noticing that it does come with its disadvantages if not managed properly. Below are those disadvantages coupled with possible solutions:

  1. Execution. Something that the entrepreneurially minded aren't lacking is ideas. What are lacking are resources to execute those ideas. Constantly becoming infatuated with the next 'million dollar' idea does not lead to real results.
     Realization: Ideas don't have value in and of themselves. They are seeds that require resources to grow. A general rule of thumb is that whatever amount resources you think a project requires, multiply by two.
     
  2. Focus. Sitting in one place is extremely difficult for me, especially during classes. If the class is too boring, than my mind starts to come up with new ideas. If the class is too exciting, then my mind also starts going off the wall with new ideas. My heart rate speeds up, I bite my nails until their bloody (one of those childhood habits that didn't go away), and I intermittently write in my notebook and make eye contact with my professor when in reality I'm just brainstorming about business. Also, on a smaller level, I have difficulty listening to people for the same reasons as above.
     Realization: Fixation leads to separation from your environment and lack of open-mindedness.
     
  3. Perspective Lastly, these flow periods often get more and more hectic. Instead of the problems being exciting, they become larger and more important than they actually are. With so many possibilities, I begin to feel behind because I don't have the time or resources to implement them.
     Realization: Ideas can create a false reality, no matter how much you think your ideas are the truth. I love flying on stormy days because I learn the power of perspective. I'm always surprised and awed to see that the sun is always brilliantly shining when the plane gets high enough.

  In the end, I think both flow and creativity are not innately good or bad. It's about how they're used. Proceed with caution.

  Posted at 08:05 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  May 10, 2004

  Time Focus

  For the next few months, I plan to focus my time on the following:

  1. School
     
  2. Meditation (1.5 hours/day)
     
  3. Extreme Entrepreneurship
     • Building advisory board
       
     • Raising funds
       
     • Helping to launch workbook
       
     • Writing the second edition of the book
       
     • Further building systems (web site, etc.)
       
     • Looking for distributor
     
     
  4. Writing Fiction Book with Best-Seller and Movie Potential (50 pages in so far)

  Posted at 12:54 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  To Blog Or Not to Blog?

  I started blogging in late June of 2003 and updated it fairly continuously until January of 2004, making over 200 total posts in all. Some of my general musings on it are:

  1. Word-of-Mouth: In the back of my mind, I pictured the blog quickly growing via word-of-mouth and having lots of regular readers. While it did garner regular readers, the number was fairly low. This probably has to do a lot with my writing style, how long I've been writing, the interestingess of what I write about, and so on.
     
  2. Managing the Network: Overall, I thought the tool was very effective in keeping in touch with people of varying relations to me. With a growing network of contacts, I'm quickly realizing that actually effectively managing my network is going to be a larger obstacle than growing it.
     
  3. Accelerating the Network: I thought the blog was a very powerful tool to accelerate initial growth of contacts. For example, let's say I just met somebody at an event. By reading my blog, they can rapidly learn more not only about certain things I've done, but who I am and how I think.
     
  4. Inspirational/Useful: I did get comments from regular readers of the blog that they found it inspirational read.
     
  5. TIME!: In the end, the largest challenge to blogging was the time spent creating a quality entry, which is about 1.5 hours for me.

     In the end, did the benefits outweight the costs? In other words, was it worth it? To that question, I must give the answer that nobody likes to hear, which is 'maybe'. I think I learned a fair amount, which I can apply to making a blog that is better moving forward. Here are the preliminary changes, I plan to make:

     1. Make less frequent, but higher quality posts.
        
     2. Measure what works and what doesn't.
        
     3. Integrate Sheena and I's blog more. If you haven't noticed, we are dual-blogging now.
        
     4. Generate word-of-mouth. I plan to spend more time thinking about what I'm going to write about and making the writing more interesting.
        
     5. Leverage Notifications. Movable Type has a feature where whenever new blog entries are made, you can notify people of the entry and send them an excerpt. I would like to advertise this feature to people when they sign up for the quarterlyEE Newsletter so that Extreme Entrepreneurship is on their mind more often.

  Posted at 12:28 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  Life Update

  It has been nearly four months since my last full length post. Let me first start off by saying that while a lot has not changed in my life, a lot has changed in my thinking. Let me start off with the life updates though:

  Life Updates:
  

  1. I've chosen to graduate NYU in August. I'm taking 13.5 credits over the summer, which includes the following classes: managerial accounting, global history, consumer behavior, and two independent studies.
     
  2. Upon graduation, Sheena and I have chosen to raise funds and focus on the publishing company full-time.
     
  3. Sheena and I have moved from Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, NYC to Washington Heights in Manhattan, NYC on April 1st after a 24-hr moving marathon (no exaggeration). The area is completely different than any I've ever been in before. Rather than go into details, I will just say that it is very much like living in a different country. The first language is Spanish, not English.
     
  4. I spoke to the freshman class at the Stern Business School at NYU. It was the largest audience I've ever spoken to and I thought it went very well.
     
  5. My dog, Ginger, died.
     
  6. For spring break, I went to a 10-day meditation retreat in Illinois. It was absolutely one of the best experiences I've ever gone through! More that later.

  Posted at 12:03 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  April 19, 2004

  A Dog Died Today

  Today, my dog, Ginger, died. Or rather she fell asleep in my mother and I's arms and will never wake. And now she lives on in memories that I know will never be repeated.

  About three months ago, Ginger was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She was given one year, may be two live. However, her condition rapidly declined. I had come home many times over the past few months thinking that each time would be the last time I'd see her. So when my mom emailed me this morning and said, "I'll have to put Ginger to sleep tonight," I thought I was ready. Now, I know you can never truly be ready for something like that.

  My last memory of Ginger is my mom and I holding her at the vet along with two attendants. She stared at me unaware of her imminent fate. I stared deeply and affectionately into her round, brown eyes, until at last, her eyes glossed over with death and mine with tears.

  Posted at 11:47 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 28, 2004

  A Fictional Business Bestseller

  I just finished The Goal, which I read for my Operations Management class. Even though it isn't due until late February, I haven't been able to put it down the past few days.

  It is actually a fictional account of a plant manager's saga to turn around a plant and, for that matter, his marriage. As I read the book, I learned about an important operation management concept that revolutionized manufacturing called "The Theory of Constraints". Also, I saw a lot of relevance of how the concept could be applied to my own life right away.

  I found the fiction format appealing because:

  1. It's more interesting.
     
  2. It puts the theory into a real-world context, which makes it easier to understand.

  Robert Kiyosaki really took advantage of this format in his series of Rich Dad, Poor Dad books by turning the topic of accounting into a perennial bestseller with wide appeal. This got me more excited about the concept of a fictional book that explicates the concepts of Extreme Entrepreneurship.

  Posted at 12:31 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 25, 2004

  Fiction, Here I Come!

  After a five year hiatus from creative writing, I'm back having just completed the rough draft of my second paper for Baseball as a Road to God. (Yes, I eventually got in after being waitlisted.) This is my first piece of fiction since my 11^th grade creative writing class where I pulled an all-nighter at a friend's house to write a story of a student's travels in time. Let's just say that I'm happy I lost that one in the computer crash of '01.

  It's amazing that after only one class, I've already read three books and written two papers, but the good news is that I've tentatively gotten permission for each of my papers to be a chapter of a story. This means that by the end of the class I will have at least 60 pages done and might be on the road to my first fiction book. It's funny how intentions become realized.

  On a side note, our first class was great. President Sexton basically told stories for two hours as twenty-one of us (fourteen students and seven teaching assistants) smiled, laughed, enjoyed the show, and learned a lot too.

  Posted at 09:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 18, 2004

  If I Had Schooling To Do Over Again

  Today, I was thinking about how various subjects such as creative writing, economics, history, international relations, etc. are interesting to me now. At the same time, I realized that I had taken these various courses at some point during my 15+ year school career. Even though I passed these classes, mostly with fairly good grades, I either joked around in them or did not take them seriously, mostly because I did not find them interesting or relevant.

  If I had to do everything over again (assuming I was a super learner), I would...

  1. Focus almost completely on finding the right teacher/mentor for my passions and apply their knowledge to real-world projects. For example, when learning to write, I would have tried to write publishable work. When learning about sciences, I would have wanted to create my own experiments based on questions I developed from my experiences in the world.
     
  2. Actively seek out mentors who were scientists, authors, and professionals using pre-teen boyish charm.
     
  3. Go an alternative, unconventional school or be unschooled/homeschooled.
     
  4. Focus on building a like-minded community of peers that I would have long-term relationships with.
     
  5. Start a business earlier.
     
  6. Start reading self-development books earlier.
     
  7. Find an invigorating learn/work/have fun balance that I could sustain and improve upon for the rest of my life.

  The Power of a Teacher.
  I think great teachers have the ability to:

  1. Give work in a way that it doesn't feel like work.
     
  2. Make what they're teaching relevant, an extension of one's life and not something that we may or may not use in a future career.
     
  3. Make a subject really interesting often because they themselves are obsessed with it.
     
  4. Care more about teaching then about following standardized rules.
     
  5. Know how to control a class without ever yelling.

  Posted at 11:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  The Suave AIM Dis

  When someone says 'Hi' to you in Instant Messenger and then you log out immediately afterwards. I was just on the receiving end of this, literally hearing the infamous AIM door slam sound. I guess this is acceptable Internet etiquette.

  Posted at 12:24 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 17, 2004

  Fiction Quirk

  As I was listening to The Iowa Baseball Confederacy today on tape, I remembered something which I had forgot about fiction books, the power of the ending. To me, it seems like an ending can make or break a book.

  As I got to the second side of the last tape of the audio book, I started to become nervous as I didn't see any clear way for the book to end in such a short amount of time. It reminded me of the feeling I sometimes get while watching a really good movie, knowing that it is nearing the time it is supposed to end, and fearing that it will have one of those abrupt, unsatisfying endings. In the end, I found myself asking, "What just happened?" After re-listening to the ending, the question only became stronger in my head, "What the hell just happened?!" I wondered - half disappointed at myself for not knowing and half angry at the book.

  Oh yeah, I have another problem from my six hours of reading today. This one has to do with audio books. During the duration of my listening, I accidentally fell asleep or daydreamed five-six times while lying in bed staring at the ceiling. I think I only missed a few minutes each time, but I can't be really sure. Perhaps, this is why the ending baffled me.

  Posted at 08:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

  Over the past few years, I've spent thousands of dollars on books: 80% of which I actually ended up reading and 99.99% of which were non-fiction.

  Somewhere in my junior year of high school I became enamored by the fact that you could find and buy books on practically any subject written by inaccessible, world leading experts for $15. The realization that you could get decades of knowledge logically distilled over a period of a few hours was just amazing to me. I started to be and still am amazed at how unpopular and uncapitalized upon reading is. I remember reading somewhere that the average American only reads two books after finishing with schooling, but watches four hours of TV a day. Wow!

  At any rate, I thought about the areas where I wanted to learn more and started buying away, on topics ranging from spirituality and self-development to biography and business. I reasoned to myself that even if I took away just one major concept from each book and applied it, my life could take a completely new path.

  My reasoning against fiction was the following:

  1. There were often slow spots that were hard to get over, which resulted in many books being only half-read.
     
  2. I often had difficulty applying the concepts to my own life because they were too vague for me. I wasn't exactly sure what the author was trying to get at and that bothered me. I wanted to know exactly what the author was thinking and his/her reasons for thinking it.
     
  3. I'm a fairly slow reader, so I felt like I could get more bang for the buck by simply watching movies, which were more grabbing.
     
  4. Fiction isn't true. This bothered because I felt that the information gleaned from it wasn't as useful.

  However, as I get older, more introspective, and more firm in my world-view, I'm slowly beginning to realize the value of fiction more. Namely, I think good fiction can raise more questions than answers, which in itself is extremely valuable.

  Over the past few years, journaling has become a more valuable process than reading for me. Through journaling, I'm able to effectively process my life experiences and develop new and evolving questions and answers. Perhaps some really good fiction, would help me look at life from new perspectives, challenge my existing beliefs, and bring up new, interesting, and enigmatic questions for me to ponder.

  When I get time, I would like to make a concerted effort to read some good fiction. Similarly, the idea of writing a fiction book or screenplay is something that has been secretly appealing to me over the past few months.

  Posted at 07:56 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 14, 2004

  Psyched, But Afraid

  While searching for a class to top off my schedule for next semester, I found a 2-credit class that I really want to take called Baseball as a Road to God taught by John Sexton, the president of NYU. Below is a course description with an ensuing email dialogue that will help you understand why I'm very psyched, but afraid of the workload:

  Baseball as a Road to God
  Permission of the instructor required. Prospective registrants should contact the instructor by email (john.sexton@nyu.edu) and provide a little information about yourself, including your area of concentration (or major, if you are a non-Gallatin student), your reason for taking this course, and how the course relates to your area of concentration (or major)...

  Baseball has been called America's game, and it captures the American progressive spirit in a special way. (Only in America would there be a game the object of which would be to bat a ball outside a playing field, with the result named "going home.") Still more, the game has revealed a capacity to grip individuals, families, and collections of friends in a way that transforms their experience of the mundane into something sublime -- for some, a genuinely spiritual experience. This course examines baseball as a metaphor capable of producing such experiences. It uses both a set of readings illustrative of the metaphor (such as Kinsella's The Iowa Baseball Confederacy) and a set of readings reflecting on the metaphor (such as Giamatti's A Great and Glorious Game). These readings are discussed against a background of religion as a phenomenon (illustrated with texts such as Eliade's The Sacred and the Profane). The course entails a commitment to substantial reading (12 books and additional short pieces) and writing (7 papers of 5-6 pages and 1 longer final paper). Class discussion requires a mastery of the readings before class and participation.

  For my email back and his generic response (abbreviated), please continue reading through the extended entry.

  To: John Sexton
  From: Michael Simmons
  Subject: Taking "Baseball as a Road to God"

  Dear Professor Sexton,

  I am extremely interested in taking your baseball/religion course, which I just came upon half an hour ago! As soon as I saw the course, I knew that I wanted to do whatever I could to take it even though it was already closed. I hope that my answers below will result in you approving me to take the course?

  About Me

  • Senior, Stern Marketing Major
    
  • Author, Best-Selling Youth Entrepreneurship Book, The Student Success Manifesto
    
  • Advisory Board Member, The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
    
  • Winner, Three Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
    
  • Former President, NYU Entrepreneurial Exchange Group (Winner of President?s Service Award)

  Reason for Taking Course

  There are two major reasons I would like to take the course:

  1. ?Because you are teaching it - I?ve been to almost every single one of your town hall meetings and have read all of your speeches/texts that I could find online over the past year and a half. I have applied to all of your dinner lotteries (unsuccessfully) and spoke (unsuccessfully) with JJ Jackson / Diane Yu about the possibility of shadowing you last summer. Simply, I find your presence and style of communicating very inspiring and I think spending a whole semester with you would leave a large impact on my life.
     
  2. ?Because I?m interested in spirituality ? I believe that spirituality (who I am / why I am here) are core to life. As a result, I think it is extremely important to constantly ask myself these questions and challenge my current perspectives on them. Over the past few years I?ve been to a diversity of conferences and have read many books related to spirituality and have found most of them very useful. However, I would be very interested in looking at the topic from a more rigorous, academic perspective.

  How Course Relates to Your Area of Concentration

  To me, marketing is the science of understanding and influencing people. Therefore, I think that by learning more about myself and about core aspects of being human through religion/spirituality, I can understand more about others, and therefore market to them better. However, rather than boring you by trying to create a strong correlation between Marketing and ?Baseball as a Road to God? (although anything can be argued), I would just like to say that I believe the course is very relevant to my life because it would challenge some of my core assumptions. Therefore, it results would positively color all parts of my life.

  Best,
  Michael Simmons

  To: Michael Simmons
  From: John Sexton
  Subject: Re: Taking "Baseball as a Road to God"

  Michael:

  Thank you for expressing interest in working with me in the Spring course, Baseball as a Road to God...I think we will have a terrific class, but I want to let you know in advance that it will be a lot of work.

  ...For that first class, you should have read two books thoroughly: Mireca Elliade's Sacred and Profane and W.P. Kinsella's The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. You also should complete and bring to the first class a five page (typed, double spaced) paper offering some theory or story of connection between these two books. If other commitments prevent you from completing this assignment, you should not take the course...

  Thank you again for your interest. I very much look forward to working with you.

  John

  Posted at 10:29 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 12, 2004

  Titles for Blog Entries

  I've seen many blog entries written about blogging, but never any about coming up blog entry titles, which is an art in itself.

  I realized that I needed to put more psychic energy in that direction when I started naming my next entry, "On Spirituality". Just adding an "On" at the beginning of a title may be grabbing when first employed, but, at this point, I feel like I'm falling on it as crutch and have used it for nearly 10 entries (i.e., 'On Parents and Entrepreneurship', 'On Hearing Kaleil Isaza Tuzman Speak', 'On Listening to the Former Chairman of the SEC', etc.).

  In the past, I've haven't put too much thought to coming up with a title. Today, I decided to read three articles that will hopefully help:

  • Microcontent: Headlines and Subject Lines - Written by Jacob Nielsen, one of the most respected usability gurus.
    
  • 52 Idea Starters for Creating Headlines and Titles that Sell
    
  • Powerful Headlines

  Moving forward, you can judge the results for yourself.

  Posted at 08:40 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 11, 2004

  The Power of Inspiration

  In my opinion, the power of inspiration is marginalized way too much by people in general. We aren't really taught how to become inspired and motivated in school, and "motivational" books are considered flaky by many.

  However, as I look back on my life, I see it as many moments of inspiration. I see it as about-face moments where I see new, purposeful directions my life could take and I set out on them.

  Below are some of the key aspects of inspiration to me:

  1. Lost in the process. Forgetting about anything else, but the task at hand (e.g., HW, food, time).
     
  2. New Priorities. Completely prioritizing the task at hand.
     
  3. Clarity. As a result of extreme clarity, I suddenly see numerous opportunities and possibilities that I hadn't seen before. In other words, I see new paths that my life will take.
     
  4. Rejuvenated Will-Power and Belief in Self. I know that some things will never be the same, simply because I choose for them not to be. In other words, pursuing and achieving an opportunity becomes a matter of when, not if.
     
  5. I'm happy. I'm completely fulfilled by the task at hand.

  Although these experiences fill up a relatively small amount of time in my life, they are what I believe to be the main shapers of it. Something I definitely want to think about more, is getting better at sparking and holding on to these experiences. I want to constantly get better at "being the change I want to see in the world."

  Posted at 06:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 09, 2004

  On Meeting with Kaleil Isaza Tuzman

  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with Kaleil, about a month and a half after I heard him speak in late November. I thought the meeting went as well as it could've and lasted about an hour and a half. I thought that we were really able to connect based on the fact that we both had Polish, Jewish mothers and on the fact that we each have a strong commitment to spirituality.

  We actually never spoke about Startup.com, but one thing I thought was interesting was that the movie really didn't do a good job of depicting his personality in my opinion. It must be annoying that the 40 million some odd people who saw the movie, have an inaccurate first impression of him. I guess that comes with the territory though.

  One insecurity I had before the meeting him was that I didn't see clear, compelling ways that I could add value to him or for him to add value to me. Often times, I have a fairly clear idea of these two things. In this case, I was very impressed by his speaking engagement and I knew he had a new book coming out, so I just wanted to meet him, develop a relationship, and learn about and from him as an individual. At any rate, things worked out.

  Posted at 05:10 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 07, 2004

  Attractiveness Tip / Quip

  I've gotten Sheena to admit that she thinks my crackly, post-flu voice is "a little attractive". I've come to the conclusion that she really thinks it is more than "a little attractive" for the following two reasons:

  1. She was trying not to inflate my ego so I wouldn't ask her more questions about it.
     
  2. She didn't want to admit that she likes raspy voices.

  The only reason I ask is because at a Model United Nations conference in high school, I was attracted to a girl who was getting over a flu and had a cute, raspy, post-flu voice.

  Could it be that since the dawn of human kind the raspy, post-flu voice has been attractive, but nobody was aware of it enough to talk about it. If so, should I try to write an article on it for YM or Seventeen Magazine, or should I take my world-changing idea to the Vogues of the world. Or...Is this just a me thing? Did I interpret Sheena's comment in the wrong way? Did she really mean to say, "I'm doing something else, and if I say 'a little' he will get off my back."

  5 Minute Update: Sheena's response to how valid my idea is - "a little".

  ed note: I wish she hadn't said that.

  Posted at 08:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  January 05, 2004

  The "Sell Out" / "Starving Artist" Dilemma

  Van Gogh didn?t sell a painting during his lifetime (according to the movie, Mona Lisa Smile). Yet, today he is considered one of the world?s most famous painters. In choosing to fully express himself, Van Gogh did not become ?financially? successful from his art (forgive and correct me if I?m wrong art history majors). Was his artistic integrity worth it in the end? Was being a starving artist worth it?

  The past few years, I?ve been fairly cutting-edge or "out there" depending on how you look at it. I?ve gotten very interested in entrepreneurship, spirituality, health (raw food), alternative education, and creativity and really enjoyed learning about these areas of life that I had never been meaningfully exposed to while living in a suburban town in New Jersey.

  So let me reflect with some questions:

  • Which of the three choices below is better:
    1. Fitting into evolving cultural and financial systems. By fitting in an individual capitalizes on what is accepted or proven to work. If people wear suffocating pieces of fabric around their neck (ties) in the business world, then they wear ties too. If everybody around them gets high grades, goes to good schools, and follows a certain career path, then they follow that path too. While this path seems to have the least resistance it is risky because the system is always evolving and when the system changes, this individual might get the short-end of the stick.
       
    2. Being cutting-edge. This is an individual who participates in the cultural and financial institutions of the time, but who actively makes decisions based on their private beliefs about the world, which may not be proven or accepted.
       
    3. Being the "Starving Artist". The starving artist stays true to his/her "unconventional" beliefs about the world and expresses them, whether or not they are popular with other people. Van Gogh was a starving artist. Galileo was a starving artist. For example, born in 1564, Galileo invented the telescope. Using this invention he confirmed that the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around. As a result of exposing/confirming this theory and teaching it to his students at university, even though it went against the beliefs of the Catholic Church, he was convicted of heresy and life imprisonment (because of old age, he was alllowed to pass the sentence at his villa). Is it worth being the Galileo of the world? Is it worth being the Van Gogh of the world?
    
    
  • Is it possible to not sacrifice artistic integrity and still capitalize on the cultural and financial system? Is it bad to 'tweak' artistic integrity? For example, is it bad for a publisher who believes in helping the environment, to not use soy ink or recycled paper for printing materials to save costs? What if the business could not be started without using "normal" paper and ink?
    
  • Should one choose to fit in until one has achieved a large amount of cultural respect and/or financial success and then become cutting-edge or "out there"? For example, I've heard from numerous people that have met him, that Tommy Hilfiger wears very scrappy clothes that are sometimes not even from his own company. If he did this when he was first starting his company, people would question his commitment and fashion-style. At a recent Business Today conference, Russell Simmons wore attire from his line of clothes (Phat Farm) even though he was speaking to an audience who was dressed in suits. If I did this, it might be considered weird.

  Posted at 08:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  December 13, 2003

  End of Finals Create New Beginning

  My last final is this Tuesday. While I've enjoyed this semester, I look forward to having the next month to reflect, restrategize, relax, and blog (sorry for the lack of it lately).

  Posted at 11:00 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  December 07, 2003

  Possible Project

  I've been extremely busy the past week catching up with school. After 6-7 hours of sleep, I've been pretty much working until I fall asleep. Ironically, I would say that past two weeks have been two of the best of my life. I haven't been jumping off the walls with glee, but overall I've just been very happy, fulfilled, present, and loving. When I do get angry or worried, I've been noticing it and returning to a baseline state more quickly than I normally do.

  A lot of this can be attributed to my lessons learned from the Amazon.com Bestseller Campaign and my resulting prioritization of happiness. For some reason the silliness of being so worried and stressed about something, especially something that ended up working out, seemed so silly to me.

  At any rate, I've decided to prioritize happiness even more by embarking on one of the largest projects I've ever embarked on (it still has to pass the morning-after test though). I will put happiness and fulfillment as my #1 priority and focus on them religiously through out the day. As I go along, I will journal and blog about my successes/set backs and what I've learned. This is not a project with a clear end in mind where once acheive it I can get an award that says, "Happiest Student of the Year Award". It will be an ongoing process. I imagine I will continue to focus on it if it brings the benefits I'm hoping for.

  As I write this, I realize that I may feel completely different tomorrow morning. In which case, I will make an addendum to this entry saying, "Upon further reflection this project has been postponed indefinitely." I also realize that this is another impulsive decision. Therefore, if I wake up tomorrow morning and really like it, I'm going to think about what the commitment entails and how the commitment is going to look like in my life on a daily basis. And then I will journal about the costs and benefits.

  Some reasons this project seems very important to me right now are:

  1. Everybody talks about how happiness and fulfillment are two major keys to life (something, which I agree with). However, very few people really act like they are. Very few people seem to keep life in perspective on an ongoing basis.
     
  2. It's nice to be happy and fulfilled.
     
  3. I believe very strongly that it is possible to be the change I want to see in each moment regardless (to a point) of my external situation.
     
  4. Happiness is contagious and will improve the lives of those around me and consequently my life.
     
  5. I believe that by being the change I want to see, I will make better decisions and act more harmoniously.
     
  6. I believe that the decisions I make in my life (even the small ones) are extremely important and that their effects compound over time. For example, if you look at the decision tree below, you can see that the first decision completely changes the paths followed in the future.

  
  

  
  With that said, I want to put my efforts more where my beliefs are. I've always aimed toward being happy and enjoy my life , but I think I could focus on it more directly and walk the talk even more. I really want to think about how to systematically overcome my obsctacles WHILE going on with normal life.

  Over the next few weeks or months, my journal entries might be more focused on the progress of the project/experiment. They will also keep me accountable.

  One thing that I'm watching out for is fake happiness. I'm not exactly sure what 'fake happiness' means, but I've definitely met people who say they're very happy, but don't act or behave accordingly (in my opinion). As such, I'm going to have to really think about what it means to be happy and fulfilled and how I know if I'm getting closer to it.

  Posted at 12:03 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  December 01, 2003

  Amazon.com Lessons Learned

  I keep on telling others that I learned a lot from the Amazon experience, but I've kept on pushing back writing about these lessons until now.

  The Lessons Learned

  1. Always plan for the worst. We were expecting nearly $10,000 in checks since September. Because they were already delayed we figured that they would come any day, so we incorrectly assumed that the money would arrive when we needed it. In retrospect, we should have followed up with the organizations earlier and created backup plans no matter how sure we were.
     
  2. Know the benefits and costs of your various choices. Based on Amazon.com Bestseller Reports I had read, I determined that the main marketing strategy to be employed would be writing a sales letter and getting other list owners who target enterprising students to tell their lists. What I didn't think about was:
     
     1. The number of people that normally open the newsletters sent out.
        
     2. The conversion rate for these people that open the newsletter.
     My good friend, Ryan Allis, who operates a newsletter with 10,000 suscribers, sent out the offer to his list. 1 out of 10 people opened the newsletter and 1 out of 100 of those 1,000 purchased the book. In other words, 10 people purchased the book as a result of his email newsletter. With those statistics, 250,000 enterprising youth would have had to been reached with our offer through newsletters. With those sort of numbers earlier on, I would have devoted most of my time to bulk purchases. As it were, more than 70% the orders came from bulk purchases, yet I spent 90% of time trying to get individual purchases.
     
  3. Pursuing a large, short-term goal with varying levels of support from many people, with a very uncertain outcome can be a lot of fun. After making a public commitment (through this blog, the newsletter, and through conversations) and a private commitment with myself, Sheena, and other collaborators, I was extremely focused on the goal. Also, because I felt like the goal could be achieved, but that we were behind where we wanted to be, I committed a lot of time and lost sleep (something that I haven't done for anything over an extended amount of time since Freshman year). I sacrificed a lot of pleasantries so that everything I was doing could lead to the goal. While this was certainly stressful at points, I have to say that there was something exhilarating about the process. Part of me wants to avoid that stress ever again and part of me wants to leap into another project with my lessons learned.
     
  4. Selling yourself to soon is risky. In retrospect, I don't think we should have aimed to become a bestseller on my birthday. One night in early October while I was reading about a how to become a bestseller, a press release headline shot into my head, "Birthday Boy Becomes Bestseller". I even started to write a press release for it. Once this was in my mind I stubbornly made the vision my reality and tried to fit our limited time and money resources into it, instead of practically thinking about the sacrifices that would need to be made. Because the idea had become a reality in my head and I had sold myself so strongly, I had a logical, convincing reason for every point that Sheena made for pushing back the bestseller day.

     According to my entrepreneurship textbook, The Entrepreneurial Venture, "Entrepreneurship is a management style that involves pursuing opportunity without regard to the resources currently enrolled." While this style of management ended up working to achieve the goal, I think it can be risky when pursued in haste, without proper planning. In the future, I need to be careful what visions I sell myself on. If we had pushed back the date, we still could've been a bestseller, been less stressed, have lost less sleep, and been a #1 bestseller.

  Good thing that there is always tomorrow.

  Posted at 10:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  On Parents and Entrepreneurship

  What makes an entrepreneur, an entrepreneur? I once read research that said that entrepreneurs are unique because discouragement leads to encouragement. In other words, entrepreneurs enjoy proving other people wrong.

  This description of an entrepreneur has certainly fit me before! My mom is very traditional in terms of her views towards education. She moved to America when she was seventeen years old. Through a lot of hard work, she was able to complete college, something that she considers one of the most major achievements of her life. When I was born, one of her major goals for me was to graduate from a prestigious college. Consequently, she has always wanted me to get good grades so I could go to a good school and she supported me very heavily towards this end.

  As I became more interested in entrepreneurship in high school, my mom started to see my business as a threat. At first we got in arguments over it, and after awhile I vowed not to talk about it with her because it hurt so much to have something I was so passionate about be shot down by somebody so close to me. In the back of my mind (and partially in the front), one of the major reasons I wanted to succeed was to show my mom and others that I could follow my own path and be successful. While this isn't my main motivator anymore (I think), it definitely served its purpose.

  Now, my relationship with my mom is better than it has ever been before. Growing up it was just my mom and I, and arguments were a way of life for us. Our relationship going so well now is so new to me. I'm realizing a love for her that I didn't know existed because it was covered by years of mean things I wish I hadn't said. Even though we have some very different beliefs about the world, we are now connecting on our similarities and I can feel this new change rippling out through my entire world view in a good way.

  I have often heard others say that the people closest to you will try to stop you from following your passion because they love you and want you to be safe. It is one thing to understand this intellectually and another to feel it. I feel it now.

  This feeling definitely helps me appreciate other students who have 'sacrificed' their own goals to keep the family together or to keep loved ones happy. While I generally believe that 'sacrificing' your own goals hurts everybody in the long-term, I can definitely see how there is a lot of gray area and that decisions that go against the grain can be difficult to make.

  Posted at 02:16 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  November 24, 2003

  On Hearing Kaleil Isaza Tuzman Speak

  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to hear Kaleil speak and then talk with him briefly afterwards. For those of you who don't know him, he was the main character in Startup.com, a movie which follows Kaleil raising over $60 million and then eventually losing $50 million of it. In addition, he is writing a book on entrepreneurship, which is coming out in the Spring. I think it will be very well received based on the concepts he brought up in his talk.

  He definitely has a good blend of charisma, determination, and centeredness. It is interesting to see how the movie depicted him very much differently (more selfish) in my opinion. I wonder if this depiction hurts him when he meets new people.

  At any rate, I followed up with an email, sent my book, and asked if we could meet. Hopefully, we can build a mutually-beneficial relationship.

  Posted at 11:11 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  Things Change

  You know those moments where something happens and you realize how much you've changed over a certain amount of time. For example, maybe you go home after being gone for a long time or maybe you have this realization on New Year's evening when you're reflecting.

  Well, when I was walking down the street eating a whole cucumber like one would eat a corn dog, I realized that I had changed. (For those who are new to this blog, I eat a primarly raw, organic, vegan diet. If you're curious about that type of diet, you can read my earlier blog entries.)

  Posted at 11:00 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  Not Making a Scene

  

  Real Note to Self: Remove MetroCard from wallet before walking really quickly into an unyielding turnstyle.

  If you do happen to forget this and walk so quickly that you almost fall over it, avoid eye contact with others, calmly swipe your MetroCard, and disappear.

  If you can't avoid looking to see if anybody noticed and realize that a group of surrounding rush hour commuters are staring at you, some laughing out loud and some laughing silently, you should: laugh with them and play down the situation with one of the following comments:

  1. "Just one of those days (add a slight 'what can you do?' shrug of the shoulders)."
     
  2. Pat the turnstyle like you're patting the back of a horse and say something like, "Yep. Yep. This thing isn't go anywhere." Then procede as if nothing had happened.

  Pretending like it never happened definitely seems to work for a certain range of awkward situations. You just have to be mindful to stay in the range. For example, let's say you are running really quickly to catch a train and you see somebody you know right before you go through the turnstyle. As a result, you forget to swipe the card, slam into an unyielding turnstyle, and flip over it. Although, you might feel both stupid and in pain, you should acknowledge it and go for 'Are you o.k.' comments. In fact, you may want to give out a slight shout of pain, hold your legs, or stay down on the ground longer then you have to. You shouldn't stand up right away, dust yourself off, ignore the friend who said hi to you, and walk to your train. If you did, you might seem a little bit weird. Similarly, if you are walking calmly and you mis-swipe your MetroCard once on the scanner, you shouldn't look at the person behind you, point at the turnstyle and say, "Whoa there boy" or "Can never be too sure about this technology?"

  At any rate, if you can downplay awkward situations within the right range, you are gold. Below are some situations you might find this advice helpful with:

  1. You finish a really good conversation with somebody you just met or only sort of know and say good bye to each other. Then you constantly see each other through out the night. Should you say 'hello' when you see each other again at the event? the second time? the third time? If you happen to make eye contact, should you quickly look away?
     
  2. You're walking down the street or hallway with somebody you sort of want to impress. You see a friend or acquaintace walking by and you wave to them and say 'hi', but they keep on walking because they didn't see you.
     
  3. You say what you think is a really funny joke and get no response at a speaking engagement. You repeat it again, but with more detail because you thought people didn't understand it the first time, but you get a similarly quiet response again.

  Good Luck!

  Ed Note: Sheena is at a Business Today Conference. She normally edits out corny, unfunny, and nonsensical parts of my entries.

  Posted at 09:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  November 17, 2003

  Mouse in the House Update #4

  Below is an excerpt of an email sent to me today by Sheena:

  The mice are coming out already and it's only 4:30 pm. I scared it pretty bad with a penny to get it out of the pan on the stove but could you please look into a have a heart trap today? I think it has moved into a necessary "realm of action".

  I looks like we're going the route of the "Have-a-heart Trap".

  Posted at 05:12 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  Mouse in the House Update #3

  I write now with cutting-edge news on the Mouse in the House saga (hopefully, the final part of a trilogy):

  1. Mouse in the House
     
  2. Mouse in the House Update #2

  Apparently, there is a whole mouse problem on our street. So the grand daughter of my land lord came home with a plethora of mouse traps one day. She came with poison, something that had a smell that mice don't like, and a trap that is very sticky and makes it so the mouse can't get away. She made me promise to put out the traps, even after I said I didn't want to. So I took them to please her and haven't done anything with them. A few days later, I heard that she had caught two mice and so I thought "The Mouse in the House" saga was over....until now!

  Here are some startling observations/thoughts:

  1. Tonight, I've been hearing the thrashing a plastic bag in the cabinet. Sheena's been asleep and I've sort of just been ignoring it.
     
  2. While I was hearing these sounds, I suddenly saw a mouse appear four feet away from me, on the other side of the room from where the sounds were coming. Upon seeing it, I immediately jumped in the air completely shocked. The mouse did something similar and ran back to where it came from. With this observation I realized that withstanding the possiblity that it rustled the plastic bag and went 20-feet across the room wihout me seeing it in less than 5 seconds, there are at least two mice. However, I'm not ruling out the possiblity of the one mouse bag rustling / running across the room combo. I've seen movies where individuals try to make noise from various locations at the same time so that their prey thinks that it is surrounded or at least outnumbered.
     
  3. A few minutes later the mouse reappeared. This time I was a combination of shocked, angry, and quite frankly frightened. However, this time anger was the strongest emotion. Sheena and I could have easily put out the traps, but we decided not too. At this point, I feel like the mouse or mice are taking advantage of us. I mean, come on!!
     
  4. Since the incident, I've been sitting with my feet resting on another chair for fear of the mouse running up to my feet, biting them and then running up my leg and under my clothes. Yes, I know this scenario may be unrealistic, but (a) You can never be too sure and (b) I underestimated it once, and I don't want to again. The pain in my back has been increasing with this un-ergonomic posture over the past few minutes, but I'm sure the mouse biting scenario would be more painful.
     
  5. If there are, in fact, two mice, are they related (ie - brother/sister, mother/son)? If so, are there other siblings?
     
  6. How did the mice get to the third floor? Did they take the stairs? Climb up a pipe?
     
  7. The obvious question I've been asking myself for the past few minutes is, "What do I do now?" Some possiblities that went through my mind include:
     1. Buying a have-a-heart trap.
        
     2. Putting out a normal trap, but I'm still against that.
        
     3. Putting away all food. However, we've already done this.
        
     4. Not doing anything tonight and then hoping that Sheena discovers the problem and fixes it before I wake up tomorrow morning.
        
     5. Accept the new living situation

  In the end, I think I will go for option #4 and hope for the best. I like to go with what works and it worked well before when the wheat grass seeds needed to be cleaned up and they were. Wish me luck!

  Update (5 minutes later): I think a lot of conflicts arise out of misunderstanding. If the two sides could communicate with each other and see how the other side sees the world, the conflicts would often be dematerialized. Unfortunately, I realized that the mice and I coming to an understanding is impossible. We live in completely different worlds - the mice in our cabinets and me in front of the computer, on the bed, on the subway, or at school. How can we ever hope to understand each other, save getting consulting from Sonya, Animal Planet's pet psychic.

  On a more serious note, I do think it's sad the evil what happens to animals at
  the hands of humans. I can do certain things like adopt-a-pet, wear non-animal-based products, etc., but just by living in our system, I'm probably doing more damage. In this way, I feel sort of helpless and hypocritical. Is it really possibly to help the mouse? Is it worth my time? Will it make a difference? Although, I talk about the mouse, the mouse could be a sweat shop in asia producing appareal, child slaves in Africa producing Hershey's chocolate, companies destroying rain forests to create paper-baased products, electrical equipment being powered ultimately by polluting fossil fuels. What are we to do?

  On another serious side note, I found myself wanting to delete my serious thoughts in the last paragraph for fear that people would think I'm too animal-friendly or to environmentally-friendly. It seems so silly that being those things could be consdered 'uncool'.

  Anyway, as Yoda would say it, "Off to bed, I am".

  Posted at 12:56 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  November 13, 2003

  Google

  Somehow, I'm #1 for "tenth commandment" on google. My mom would be happy for me (as I'm Jewish).

  Also, I noticed that somebody came to the site after searching for "what to do about mouse droppings in house". They were directed to my Mouse in House entry. Hopefully, they found what they were looking for.

  Posted at 09:34 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  November 11, 2003

  Pretending to Work

  At some point around 1:00pm today, I veered off my to do list, which included going to two classes and a group meeting. Nearly three hours later, I think I might have made the wrong choice for the wrong reason.

  The reason I made the choice is because I was in a state of 'flow' while doing my work, a state where I lose sense of time/hunger and become very interested in what I'm doing. This state can be extremely effective in terms of getting work done and being creative. One specific memory is spending seven hours on a random day in January of 2001, searching for entrepreneurship awards on Yahoo, many of which I eventually won. These awards changed my life.

  With that said, this great strength has also turned into a great weakness. For example:

  1. If Sheena tries to talk with me when I'm in this state, I often don't hear her or even worse get angry. Somehow, I've managed to pretend to listen without really doing so. This has backfired a few times (2 out of 10 times - she would argue more. I would argue less) when she tells me something very important like what airline I'm taking and I don't realize I don't know the airline until I'm in a cab on the way to the airport.
     
  2. I end up doing whatever grabs my attention instead of what I've decided beforehand is most important. I've noticed that when I'm in different states of being, I have different priorities. The most obvious example of this is when I wake up, but am really tired. I can't tell you how many times I've extended my sleeping time after deciding that going to an early morning class wasn't as important as I thought it was the night before.
     
  3. I have this sense of urgency and instead of priorities, I see everything I have to do at once and I get overwhelmed, start to rush, jump from one task to another, and feel guilty about it.

  The Solutions

  1. Spend more time creating a prioritized, manageable to do list.
     
  2. Take breaks often to return to baseline state and reflect upon what happened and plan what is going to happen next.

  With that said, you'll have to excuse me. I've only eaten one cucumber, one orange, and a bowl of salad today and I'm very hungry.

  Posted at 04:49 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  Some Things Do Change

  I just got off the phone after having a great conversation with my mom. Besides this being her first cell phone conversation where somebody had called her, she was actually out shopping for books on raw food and kitchen appliances (a.k.a., juicer / dehydrator / processor) for my birthday. Being that my mom doesn't agree with my mostly raw food diet, I feel especially and sincerely loved.

  Posted at 12:16 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  November 07, 2003

  I normally don't forward emails, but...

  ...His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
  
  The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

  "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

  "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
  
  "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

  "Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

  "I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
  
  Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

  What saved his life this time? Penicillin.
  
  The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name?
  Sir Winston Churchill.
  
  Someone once said: What goes around comes around.
  Work like you don't need the money.
  Love like you've never been hurt.
  Dance like nobody's watching.
  Sing like nobody's listening.
  Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  Posted at 11:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  On the Road

  Things have been hectic for the past few days. Wednesday, I went to Florida to speak to a group of 100 high school students about my story and experiences with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. After I spoke, I met up with a very close friend who lives in Florida, who I first met three years ago at Operation Enterprise. We ended up watching the Matrix and staying up until 5:00am talking about life. At 7:00am, I woke up and I caught a 11:20am flight to New York.

  Upon, getting to New York, I was hit with a few days of procrastination and started to frantically prepare for the CEO and Entrepreneurship Education conferences with Sheena. Later that night (Thursday), Sheena and I took a delayed flight to Chicago. We ended up staying up until 4:00am, with most of the time at Kinkos making a banner and doing other Kinkos-like stuff.

  Surprisingly high on energy and spirits (the non-alcoholic kind) for having only five hours of sleep in the past two days, I attended day one of the CEO conference today. I had the honor of introducing John Hughes, a very successful entrepreneur and entrepreneurship education philanthropist, to a 1,100-person audience in the following room:

  

  Tomorrow, my keynote will be one of the most significant ones I've ever made. The conference staff actually has her as my moderator. She better do a god introduction or I will say bad things about her in my speech :) There are 387 chairs in the room and I will be one of two speakers. One thing that worries me is that, it is late in the day so some schools may leave early. I have a feeling that it will go well though. I can just feel it. We've sold about 15 books, but the key for sales will be speaking.

  Sheena brought up a good point today, while we were eating dinner in the main ballroom with 1,100 people. So far the book has reached 1,100 people so it was interesting to look at the room and visually see the number of people the book has touched.

  Chicago is pretty, but I will have no time to enjoy it as I depart tomorrow evening. Ahh, the life of an entrepreneur...to be continued...

  Posted at 04:36 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  November 05, 2003

  Young Entrepreneur's Conference

  I thought that you all might be interested in the conference below. The expo only costs $35.00 to attend and registration includes a 1-year subscription to Black Enterprise Magazine or Entrepreneur Magazine. In addition, they're offering full scholarships for qualified attendees!

  

  For more information, visit their web site.

  The organization that is running the conference is A Million for Us. Their mission is to promote entrepreneurship as an alternative in career development for young college graduates and they're in the process of raising a $1 million fund to be used for loans/grants for young entrepreneurs (18-30) who want to launch a business.

  Posted at 09:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 31, 2003

  LOL (to myself)

  Today was just one of those days where I've been laughing to myself, sometimes for a reason or sometimes for none. Even as I write this entry, I just sort of want to laught out loud.

  Below is a quick recap of the day:

  1. I dropped off the book at the printer.
     
  2. I submitted the book for the American Library Association's Best Book for Young Adults award. We find out on Sunday if it is nominated to go to the next round!
     
  3. An executive from Sony spoke to my Entertainment Marketing class. It was very interesting to see how much the industry has shrunk because of file sharing and what they have planned for the future.
     
  4. Danny Schechter (the news dissector) spoke to my TV & Information Explosion class. He is a media critic and showed some really interesting clips about the deception of the media. I'm going to start reading his weblog.
     
  5. I met up with Aleks Kulczuga (a good friend/NYU alumni I haven't seen in awhile) and Mahesh Krishnamurti (publisher and CFO of Worth magazine) at the W Hotel in Mid-town. We had a great, philosophical conversation about the best ways to make a difference in the world.
     
  6. I enjoyed an 11:00pm dinner with Sheena at a Thai restaurant in Brooklyn.

  Life is good.

  Posted at 01:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 28, 2003

  A Close Shave with Time

  In a quick rush to leave the house today, I shaved very quickly without confirming that I had shaved adequately. You can imagine my disappointment when I got to school and realized that I had missed a little tuft of 4-6 strands of 3-day old hair on my upper right lip. After confirming the presense of the suspect hairs with a quick lick of the tongue, I knew I had to do something. My first reaction was to try and pull each hair out with my fingers when I was alone in the bathroom. However, a combination of the pain and my short nails (grinded down by nearly two decades of nail biting), made me realize that I would need a different strategy.

  Some questions/thoughts that raced through my mind were:

  1. Should I buy a disposable shaver?
     
  2. Maybe I should put my hand in front of my mouth when I talk and make it look like I'm thinking.
     
  3. When I talk with people, maybe I should look to the right side of them so they only see the left side of my face.

  At any rate, I just ended up ignoring the issue and nobody ever brought it up. In addition, when looking into people's eyes, I didn't notice them uncomfortably making quick glances at my upper lip like I was afraid they might. OK. OK. So maybe I overreacted.

  I now that in the big scheme of things, I may not be better off for devoting so much of my mental energy to 4-6 pieces of hair. And furthermore, writing a blog entry about it may be throwing good time after bad time. But, in an altruistic sort of a way, I want you to know one thing. If this ever happens to you whether it be with shaving, a bad hair day, or some weird skin blemish that came from nowhere, I just want you to know that I understand. I understand.

  Posted at 12:43 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 26, 2003

  Bikram Yoga

  Yesterday, I did Bikram Yoga (with a mentor who works at The BlackStone Group) for the first time. The main difference between Bikram Yoga and normal yoga is that the room is 105 degree Fahrenheit. Besides being sore, the session was very poweful. Last night and today, I have a lot of energy and feel more centered. Perhaps this will become a staple of my exercise diet.

  Posted at 05:25 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 24, 2003

  Pieces of the Puzzle Fitting Together

  If life runs in cycles, then I'm definitely on a good cycle. I just had another hour and a half, inspiring conversation. This time it was with another entrepreneur my age who found the site through Google. He is working on starting an organization called Youth Network for Enlightened Wealth (Y-NEW). Below is a description of the company:
  

  Y-NEW is dedicated to inspiring young entrepreneurs to create prosperity using enlightened principles.

  Young people have more opportunities and tools available to improve the financial and social condition of the world than ever before in history. They are motivated to impact society positively and contribute to the higher good of humankind.

  Research finds that young people are volunteering at rates higher than previous generations. They understand that all humans are part of a global community, and want to take action to form a more a better world. The data is clear: young people are ready to serve.

  However, most opportunities for service provide little to no economic incentive, and often do not focus on true internal change. Y-NEW seeks to change that common assumption. Now is time that the younger generations must choose to take responsibility for themselves and the state of the world, and they shouldn?t have to sacrifice their financial freedom in order to serve their fellow citizens.

  Y-NEW is founded on the belief that personal prosperity is an honorable life goal, as long as one uses it for the good of others. Y-NEW also believes that wealth combined with service is one of the most ? if not the most ? powerful catalysts for change in the world. Y-NEW gives young entrepreneurs the tools they need to succeed financially, psychologically, spiritually, and physically, and to create abundance in the world while serving others.

  We couldn't have been more on the same page about personal growth, spirituality, and entrepreneurship. The conversation ended with us talking about the possibility of collaborating to throw a conference next summer targeted at students interested in personal growth.

  Posted at 07:22 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  The Power of Mentors

  Wow! I just got off the phone with another mentor (from the New Venture Mentor Program). I called him for the first time only knowing that he had experience with:

  • Business Idea Refinement
    
  • Food/Grocery/Packaged Goods
    
  • Retailing

  After getting off the phone, I now know that he started and sold a $100 million grocery chain, is a former Stern professor, and is now focusing on charity. He will be helping to refine our business plan!

  So much of what I have accomplished, am accomplishing, and will accomplish is due to individuals and organizations helping me! As such, I think it goes without saying that I owe it to my mentors, to return the same service to others. More on scalable, win-win ways of doing this later!

  Posted at 05:26 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 23, 2003

  The Soon To Be #1 Michael Simmons

  Every few weeks (fine, every few days), I go to Google and type in Michael Simmons. Each and every time, I appear as the second and third Michael Simmons. While, I'm happy to have moved up, part of me still wants that number spot. Part of me wants to be the #1 Michael Simmons out there (at least according to Google). All I have to say is, "Michael Simmons. Watch your back."

  Posted at 12:23 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 22, 2003

  Pursuing That Which We Don't Want

  My very close friend and former business partner, Cal, made a post about the corporate interviewing process he is going through. A process he is going through even though he knows he will reject the job if he is offered one. At the risk of being non-political, I'm going to completely disagree with Cal. At the risk of being more non-political, I'm going to be more frank than I normally am and perhaps alienate some people.

  I believe that people too often pursue that, which at some core level is not right for them and at some obvious level is not exciting for them. I think people do this for a few reasons:

  1. To prove that they could succeed in the conventional way.
     
  2. To "feel" like they are doing the right thing.
     
  3. To pursue a 'safe' path so a passionate, but 'risky' path could be pursued in the future.

  While some people try out something they're not passionate about, and then pursue a life of passion. I think many people, unfortunately, follow this path for years and maybe even a life. I personally feel that the best way to be successful is to find your passion, pursue it, and follow it even as it evolves.

  Today, I went to another RoadTrip Nation event to watch the screening of their newest documentary where three students take a 21-day road trip to interview very successful individuals. What seemed common among all of the inviduals was that they were willing take on "dedicated poverty". In other words, once these people graduated, they were willing to take on "ramen-noodle (sp?)" lifestyles so they could pursue their passion. And as a result of pursuing their passion, they excelled. And as a result of excelling, they became successful on their own standards and society's standards.

  I believe two basic ideas:

  1. If people spent less time being busy on stuff they're not passionate about, they would have more time for stuff they are passionate about.
     
  2. If people spent less time on items that aren't very valuable to them, they would have more financial freedom.

  If people didn't spend so much time and money on stuff that isn't important, they would have more time to pursue what they really want.

  I learned the power of this when I took a semester off. After 13 years of getting up at 7:00am to catch a yellow school bus and take classes that mostly weren't appealing, I decided that I needed a break. Although A's and B's made mom happy, I stopped blaming boring classes on myself. Memorizing and getting by wasn't enough. Taking a semester off was difficult because everybody told me I shouldn't. My mom spoke VERY strongly with her words (yelling) and actions (not supporting me with rent/food money).

  In the end, taking the time off was one of the best decisions I ever made. I dramatically decreased my expenses, but I pursued my passion 24/7 doing whatever the hell I wanted, when I wanted to and ironically choosing to write a book, when writing was always my worst subject.

  After this taste of freedom, I decided to dedicate myself to pursuing my passion 100%! Looking back, I've done pretty well, but not 100%. Cal's entry renewed my vigor.

  Posted at 10:55 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 19, 2003

  Fired Up

  Today, I had two great conversations with youth entrepreneurs; Bryan Sims, founder of Brass Magazine and sophomore at the University of Oregon, and Stephen Douglass, a successful social entrepreneur and a junior at William & Mary. There is something incredibly inspiring about talking with successful youth versus talking with successful adults. There is about a 90% chance of severe "brain" storms tonight (excuse the pun, but I thought I would run with it despite its inherent corniness).

  Posted at 08:17 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  How to Make a Global Impact

  For the past year or so, I've been looking at life from a more systematic perspective. Specifically, I think the idea of mutually beneficial exchanges is interesting. The charts below illustrates its power:

  Before an exchange

  

  
  During an exchange

  
  

  
  After an exchange

  
  

  As you can see from the example above, both individuals received something that was greater in value (to them) then what they gave. As a result, both person A and person B were happier as a result of the exchange. Taking this a level higher, imagine the billions of exchanges that happen in the world everyday. What role (quantity and quality) do you want to play in all of these exchanges?

  As an individual who wants to have a large social impact, I think it is really important to think about the various exchanges I'm a part of and ask important questions, which form the basis for mutually-beneficial exchanges. Some of these core questions are:

  1. What products/services have I purchased, do I purchase, and do I plan to purchase? Are these products/services more valuable than the money I spend on them? Some examples of products/services types are:
     • clothing (shirts, hats, shoes, jackets, etc.)
       
     • food (alcohol, candy, healthy food, etc.)
       
     • entertainment
       
     • educational (books, college, etc.)
       
     • personal care (tooth paste,
       
     • etc.
  2. Am I responsible for how the products I purchase are produced? For example, should I only buy products that are made in an environmentally and socially responsible way? Am I responsible for taking time to research companies I buy products from to see how they are made? Should I be willing to pay more for these products? If so, how much more? Some examples of issues that may be worth considering are:
     • Fair-trade coffee
       
     • Recycled paper
       
     • Sweat-shop free clothing
       
     • Dolphin-safe tuna
       
     • Low-emission automobiles
       
     • Animal-tested products
       
     • etc.
  3. What intangible exchanges have I participated in, am I participating in, and do I plan to participate in? Examples of intangible exchanges might consist of are:
     • Yelling at someone
       
     • Embracing somone
       
     • "Being there when someone needs you"
       
     • etc.
  4. What do I produce now? What do I plan to produce as a career? Is this the way I can add the most value to the world? How can I add the most value to the world?

  I encourage all readers to take a few moments to answer these questions, pose your own questions, and post them as a comment to this entry.

  Posted at 02:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 17, 2003

  Mouse in the House Update #2

  1.5 days later and the story continues...

  Sheena and I (read: Sheena. Yes, I do feel guilty about this), cleaned out the seeds and rat droppings from the cupboard this morning. Hearing no crumpling sounds during the day, we thought the story of the "Mouse in the House" had ended. In our minds, the mouse would find that its few months supply of super-food was gone, and move on to other apartments.

  However, just moments ago, our hopes of a rodent-free apartment were dashed. Sheena and I witnessed the mouse boldly walking on our stove in plain sight, something it had never done before. When we sat at our computers, just witnessing the mouse's sheer audacity, some new questions/thoughts raced through my mind:

  1. Is the mouse trying to send us a signal by coming out in the light when we could see it? As if to say, "I won't give up that easily. You may have taken away my super-food, but if I can smell wheat grass seeds through two layers of plastic bags; I can easily find your rice, your granola, and your fruit, which are a few cupboards over!"
     
  2. Is it bad that we took away its main food source after it had become dependent on it? Does the same philosophy apply where you can't feed a wild animal for too long or it will forget how to hunt on its own?
     
  3. How did the mouse get from the cupboard under the stove to the top of the stove? With his new mobility, should we begin wrapping up other food around the kitchen? Around the house! In our bags! When is safe to safe and can we afford to underestimate the mouse a second time?
     
  4. What if in the time between when we found its hiding spot and when Sheena cleaned up, it took the wheat-grass seeds (one-by-one) to a new location, which we can not access? And what if it uses this new location as a base to look for new food sources in our kitchen?
     
  5. Can a mouse eat through an inch of wood, given enough time?
     
  6. How many city- and country-folk face the same problem? If I came up with a quick & easy, humane idea that would erase anybody's mouse menace forever, could I write an ebook or special report on the topic? Could I follow on the success of Who Moved My Cheese? and become an international best-seller?
     
  7. As I ask Sheena for feedback on my blog entry for a third time, is she laughing with me or at me?

  Despite this late breaking news, I think we're just going to keep the kitchen very clean and hope for the best. Hopefully, an update #3 will not be necessary.

  That's the news and I'm Michael Simmons.

  Posted at 08:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 16, 2003

  Mouse in the House

  For the past few months, Sheena and I have been hearing bags crumpling in the cupboard under the stove where we keep all of our plastic bags. Our suspicions were confirmed a few weeks ago, when we discovered mouse droppings, or heaven forbid, rat droppings.

  After this conclusion, we sort of went about our daily work routines still hearing sounds, but ignoring them. I don't know what we were expecting, since we didn't take any sort of action, but I think we both thought it would sort of disappear now that we had discovered it.

  Today, we made a startling discovery that tells us that the mouse is here to stay. It has torn into a bag of wheatgrass seeds, removed all the seeds, and built a nest, replete with its own droppings. This discovery has certainly shifted the situation into our action threshold.

  Sheena and I had a brief discussion on courses of action we could take before she went off to class. As I was raised to love animals by my mom who volunteers at a Wild Life Center every Sunday, we had trouble deciding what to do. Our best idea was to catch the mouse in a have-a-heart trap and let it loose in a local park. My counter-argument was that it would be too cold for the mouse to survive. We also both felt bad that we would have to destoy the nest due to the fact that it obviously took a long time to build.

  This isn't the first time that I've been challenged to come up with a practical and compassionate solution to dealing with "pests". What should we do? On a larger scale, is it possible to be compassionate and practical with animals? As a consumer, I've indirectly participated in the destruction of many animal environments. Is it silly for me to pretend to be compassionate by helping one mouse, if all the products (environmentally-conscious or not) I buy do much more damage?

  Update (1 hour later): I've removed all the bags and seeds from the cupboard and left the cupboard open. As I can see the cupboard from my computer, I've discovered a few things:

  1. The mouse is actually eating the wheat grass seeds, not necessarily sleeping on them. However, I wouldn't rule out the sleeping.
     
  2. According to a health web site, benefits of wheat grass include, "increased energy and mental focus: reduced incidence of cancer; fewer colds; reduced incidence of diabetes; better weight control; and so much more." If this is all true for our mouse friend, then we may have a harder time catching it than we had planned.
     
  3. The mouse is definitely a mouse and not a rat! As a result, I'm still taking the matter seriously, but have lowered its priority in the overall action threshold.

  Questions to Self:

  1. With so much space in the cupboard, why does the mouse choose to eat, go to the bathroom, and possibly sleep in the same place?
     
  2. Why did the mouse remove all the seeds (presumably one-by-one) from the bag, which they were in? Wouldn't it have been easier to simply eat out of the bag?
     
  3. How was the mouse able to smell the seeds through two layers of plastic bags in the first place?

  Posted at 11:02 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  Great Blog Reading

  One of my best friends and former business partners has started a blog at http://www.inspiringmoniker.com. Cal is a senior at Dartmouth, has a non-fiction book deal with Random House, is interviewing presidential candidates for Dartmouth's humor magazine of which he is the president, and is great writer. I would definitely recommend visiting his blog daily!

  Posted at 10:19 AM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 13, 2003

  There Must Be a Problem

  If you type in "Christopher Reeve wheel chair" into Yahoo, the entry I wrote on him is #1. More than the popularity of my blog, I think this says something about the quality of search results.

  On a partial side note, it is interesting to think about the effects that search quality has on the world since 80% of people (I think that's accurate) use search engines to find information online. Webmasters who understand how search engine algorithms work can push their information to the forefront as opposed to quality information naturally pushing itself to the top.

  Posted at 03:27 PM | TrackBack | Top
  
  

  October 09, 2003

  Isn't It Ironic?

  Don't you think it's ironic when you receive spam from anti-spam companies (companies that help customers avoid spam)?

  Posted at 05:56 PM | Top
  
  

  October 08, 2003

  On Listening to the Former Chaiman of the SEC

  Yesterday, I had the great opportunity to listen to Arthur Levitt, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Comission (SEC) and author of Take on the Street: What Wall Street and Corporate America Don't Want You to Know for my Professional Responsibility and Leadership Class.

  Below are some key points I gleaned from the presentation:

  • Arthur went from being a drama major in college to careers in public relations, cattle selling, journalism, and wall street until he finally became the chairman of the SEC. As a result, he strongly believed that careers are unpredictable and that one's fist job is largely meaningless in the big picture.
    
  • He emphasized that there is nothing worse in somebody's professional life than not liking the job they're in.
    
  • He had a great balance between idealism and realism. On the one hand, he made a lot of change at the SEC, which made a lot of powerful people angry. At the same time, he made sure to act pragmatically and never take on everybody at the same time. Having seen both ends of the idealism/realism spectrum in the past few years, I personally think he has chosen his battles well.
    
  • He struck me as very sincere, caring, and honest.

  Posted at 08:49 AM | Top
  
  

  October 06, 2003

  Online Networking Tool

  Many of you are already aware of the Friendster phenomenon that has swept the nation. Friendster is a "popular social-networking service that cleverly assimilates real-life social groups into a large virtual network."

  I haven't used Friendster because it is mostly used for making friends and finding dates. However, a real esate mentor recently very highly recommended a similar service, but for professionals. As such, I've decided to try out RYZE. If you try it out, feel free to add me to your friends. My home page is http://www.ryze.com/go/michaeldsimmons.

  Posted at 01:53 PM | Top
  
  

  October 05, 2003

  Famous Quote and Response

  "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."
  - Albert Einstein

  I couldn't agree more with this quote. During elementary, middle, and high school, I was an above average student, but by no means extremely smart. For example, in grade school, my mom had to argue vociferously to get me into "Gifted and Talented" classes. So I always felt like I was the worst of the best in terms of intelligence. Now, after writing a book and starting a business, people are all of a sudden saying I'm "smart" and "creative" and that they could never start a business or write a book.

  Disregarding the irony that my GPA has dropped from an A- in high school to a C+ in college, I attribute any "smartness/creativity" I have to three things:

  1. Being "creative" by persistently spending a lot of time thinking rationally about things most other people are too busy to think about.
     
  2. Being "passionate" by doing what I love to do and trying my best to always love what I do.
     
  3. Being "practical" by applying what I learn to life.

  While many may disagree with me, I think being a successful scientist, writer, musician, or business person are possible for anybody if they apply these lessons to their life. To often we disassociate ourselves from incredible acheivements even though they were acheived by simple processes that we can all replicate.

  Posted at 01:11 PM | Comments (2) | Top
  
  

  October 01, 2003

  The Tenth Commandment

  Because of my limited life experience, I could never fully appreciate the tenth commandment when I was going to Hebrew School (yes, I know I don't look Jewish):

  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

  More recently, I've realized the importance of this commandment, but at the same time, the difficulty of achieving it. It is hard to consistently not value what other people value. In American society, having material wealth is valued to an extreme level along with things like beauty and power. People seem to pursue material wealth in the following ways:

  1. Blindly with a willingness to sacrifice a lot of things in their own life and other people's lives to achieve it.
     
  2. Willfully ignorantly (I couldn't remember the actual phrase for this so I made one up), like when a person knows the ending to the movie, but still wants to watch it anyway. In the same way, people want material wealth to reassure themselves that they didn't really need it after all.
     
  3. Altruistically, with the sole purpose of helping others.
     
  4. Competitively, to just have more than others.
     
  5. Fearfully, to avoid being broke and/or be financially free.

  All of this can be applied to economic theory. If somebody has two widgets, they may be very happy. However, if they learn about people with more than that, their happiness goes down even though they still have two widgets. When a whole society values widgets, it is extremely hard to resist valuing them even if they lose practical value once you have a lot of them. Sure, one can go through spurts, but when somebody is constantly surrounded by people who value having lots of widgets, it is hard not to value them as well (at least in the back of your mind).

  This extremely powerful concept applies to all levels of society, not just people with less of what everybody values. For example, I remember watching an interview with Ted Turner, one of the richest men in the world, talking about how he wanted to move up in the rankings of the world's richest people.

  In the past I've dismissed the power of this force, but being constantly confronted with it, I can appreciate its power. Some questions we must ask ourselves are:

  1. Should I spend my whole life resisting what other people value, when what they value doesn't seem to have a practical purpose?
     
  2. Should I go along with the flow and find ways to make the most out of going with the flow (ie - using money and power to help others)?
     
  3. Should I move somewhere else and/or only surround myself with people who value what I want to value?
     
  4. Is there a very powerful way to neutralize the power of the force on a consistent basis?

  Whether we want to or not, we all choose answers to these questions in our life by our actions. In the end, it is interesting and unfortunate that this commandment is still so relevant.

  Posted at 01:29 PM | Top
  
  

  September 28, 2003

  Overwhelmed with Email

  Lately, I've not been able to keep up with email. This is particularly difficult for me because I've always prided myself on responding to emails quickly. Some ideas I have to solve the problem are:

  1. Making my responses shorter.
     
  2. Have some sort of autoresponse that tells people that I'm busy and that I will eventually respond.
     
  3. Respond to questions in the FAQ portion of my blog so that I don't answer the same questions multiple times.
     
  4. Make a new systems of folders in Outlook.

  
  Do any of you have an email system that works really well for you? If so, what are your secrets?

  Posted at 03:17 AM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  September 24, 2003

  On Listening to Christopher Reeve Speak

  Today I had the great opportunity to sit in on the first day of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) "Making a Difference" Seminar and deliver a few comments as an alumni of the NFTE program. The requirements to be a YPO member are having a corporation with 50+ employees or a value of $10,000,000+. Needless to say, it was a great opportunity. I made two contacts that I will stay in touch with.

  In addition, Christopher Reeve was a speaker. Some ruminations on his speech are:

  • A lot of people give to charities as a reaction to a life-threatening experience. For example, if somebody close to you died of cancer, you would be much more likely to donate to the American Cancer Society.

    One of Christopher Reeve's main points is that we shouldn't be reactive and wait for something bad to happen and then choose a charity. We should be proactive and take time to imagine what it is to be like in other people's shoes. With over 1/3 of the world population living on less than $1/day (1985 purchasing power), I think that this is an extremely important message.
    
    

  • Since his accident over 8 years ago, he has made a really large difference in paralysis research that has affected millions of people. One audience member asked him whether he would choose the same fate or make the jump on his horse like he did every other time. His answer, which reflects his honesty, was that he would not choose the same fate and that he isn't O.K. in the wheel chair. He said that he has learned to adapt, but that he isn't in some exalted place where being in a wheel chair was great. I appreciate this answer because of its hope. Whether we are in a wheel chair or not, it is so much easier to compromise for the status quo and settle for less than is possible than it is to reach for a vision that nobody else sees or believes in. Although it must be difficult, he believes that he will walk again and he is acting on that belief.

  Posted at 12:31 AM | Top
  
  

  September 20, 2003

  Is T.V. worth it?

  Since moving away to college, I haven't had a T.V. While this was hard at first, it has become progressively easier (except during the US Open). I still love watching DVD movies on my laptop, but I think most TV is useless.

  From an educational perspective, think about the war in Iraq. After all the news on Iraq, how much does the average American know about Iraq, Saddam Hussein, and the people that live there? Most people don't know much beyond that Saddam is a crazy, evil dictator of a country in the Middle East and that he may have been somehow how connected to 9/11 and therefore needed to be overthrown. Use yourself as an example. In the end, What do you actually know about Iraq? Do you have enough information to make an informed decision about whether what our country did was right? Let's say you've seen 50 hours of T.V. coverage. In that amount of time, you could have read 10 books on the subject and been an expert.

  From an entertainment/relaxing perspective, I think the TV is pretty good. It is easy, passive, and there is usually something on that is at least somewhat interesting. At the same time, why not find ways to be entertained AND grow as an individual?

  A great book I would recommend on the topic is Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, a NYU professor.

  Posted at 04:50 PM | Comments (2) | Top
  
  

  The Power of News

  There are certain things I do every time I'm on the computer.

  1. I check my hotmail and successmanifesto.com email accounts.
     
  2. I catch up on blogs that interest me (e.g., Joshua Newman , Chris and Luke, Michael Furdyk, Ryan Allis.
     
  3. Now, I look at web site and accounting statistics for The Student Success Manifesto.

  I really enjoy these routines, but sometimes they get to the point where I'm checking them more than makes practical sense. However, I just love the possibility that any time I check my email or statistics, there is the potential for something incredible and exciting to be there. Every time I check my email, there is the potential for a bit of news that will result in me jumping around the apartment or fighting to hold back laughter in a public place. There have been a few times when I was in the NYU computer labs and a let out of burst of laughter before I could cover my face.

  Some examples of exciting news for me include:

  • While checking the web site statistics yesterday, I noticed that somebody from Random House's servers visited the web site.
    
  • An email I received from NYU saying they might potentially want to make a 600-book order.
    
  • The number web site visitors steadily growing.
    
  • People I don't know signing up for the newsletter.
    
  • Emails from people I really admire agreeing to my request to meet with them.
    
  • Emails from readers who enjoyed the book.
    

  Conversely, there are many times when I'm nervous I will get an email or phone call from somebody saying that I forgot to do something really important. Or there are times when I receive strings of bad news at once. The trick is to be able to stay motivated and happy despite bad news. In the end, all the news I receive sways to the good side, but it is very interesting to see how much of an effect "news" can have on my day.

  Posted at 04:29 PM | Top
  
  

  September 18, 2003

  The Self-Development Experiments

  "All I have done is to try experiments...on as vast a scale as I could." - Gandhi

  In the past, I've had many role models that I learned about through books, word-of-mouth, and other forms of media. Upon meeting and getting to know more about them, I was invariably disappointed in some way. Because of their brands, I created unrealistic, idealistic images of them and didn't really see them as having normal human flaws. While "super-human" brands may motivate some, it seems to turn off most people who end up disassociating themselves from very successful people.

  I hope that any success I achieve will be a reminder to others of how doable pursuing and achieving one's dreams are. I believe that people who go for their dreams are scientists performing experiments on human potential. These people offer a great service to society by honestly talking about their journey so other people can copy their lessons learned and avoid their mistakes.

  Posted at 11:26 PM | Top
  
  

  Can Blogs Be Honest??

  Earlier this week I had lunch with Joshua Newman who is a fellow young entrepreneur and successful blogger. One of the topics we talked about was how blogs were an interesting medium and how they were limited with respect to honesty. A few things I've realized are:

  1. Many of the events that happen in my life involve other people. Because I respect them and my relationship with them, I can't blog about many details. For example, Josh mentioned a few instances when he had received backlash from people he mentioned in blog entries.
     
  2. The content of blogs are half-truths. Blogging about everything in my life would be boring and tedious for readers to go through and a drag on my time. So I must be selective based on my limited time and my interest in grabbing reader attention. As a result, readers form a "limited" picture of me, but I guess we all have to deal with this in our interactions with others.
     
  3. At one point, Josh asked me if I felt limited in what I could blog about as a self-development author. Sometimes I definitely have hesitations about being completely honest about my limitations, but I still go forward anyway. Obviously, I have an interest in getting readers back to the site and eventually purchasing the book. At the same time, I want to build a brand based on honesty. If I build a brand based on perfection, people will create a false picture of me that I will constantly be having to live up to. If I'm honest in my blog, I don't push myself into a corner and I can always just be myself. Hopefully this will be appreciated.

  Moving forward I promise that I will be as honest as I can about topics that I think will be of interest and benefit to readers.

  Posted at 11:07 PM | Top
  
  

  September 16, 2003

  The Hmuan Mnid

  My mom snet me the floloiwng eamil...

  Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
  Amzanig huh?

  Posted at 02:24 PM | Top
  
  

  September 14, 2003

  Mixing Business and Pleasure - Part II

  "Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being." - Gandhi

  The business and personal relationship between Sheena and I has been blossoming. I think this is happening because:

  1. We've been taking a 1+ hour walk every day for the past month.
     
  2. Working in teams is a strength for Sheena.
     
  3. Although working in teams has been a major weakness for me in the past, I've been working really hard on making it my greatest strength.
     
  4. We are extremely interdependent. Living and working together truly means that if one person has a bad day, then both of us have one. While this is difficult, it can also create an incredible momentum where both partners are continually inspiring and supporting each other.

  With shows like Judge Judy and Divorce Court , we often see the down side of relationships. It is both exciting and scary that we have such a small understanding of how people can work together in a mutually beneficial way on a one-to-one and world level.

  At one point in American history, most people were entrepreneurs, either owning shops or farms. Families worked together to achieve success in commerce and in life. Sometimes I wonder if the following trends will return us to a similar state of affairs:

  1. Small business growing explosively.
     
  2. Woman being treated more equally in society.
     
  3. Growth in home-based businesses.

  Posted at 07:30 PM | Top
  
  

  New Blog Format

  After reading the columns of Aaron Karo, which are both funny and insightful, I've decided to make my blog a little bit more light-hearted, but still insightful.

  Posted at 02:44 PM | Top
  
  

  I've Been Very Busy Lately

  Sorry I skipped posting to the blog a few days this week. I was really busy.

  Speaking of which, everybody (including myself) uses the "I've been really swamped" or "I've been really busy" excuse way too much. Either we need to come up with a new excuse; manage our time better; or find a new, indirect way of saying, "I had more important things to do with my time."

  Posted at 02:31 PM | Top
  
  

  Follow Up Calls

  For me to actually get through to decision makers often takes one email and one phone follow up. I think people get so overloaded with emails and phone calls, that they use the number of follow ups as a filter to determine how serious the person is.

  I probably shouldn't be blogging about this because if everybody starts doing two follow ups, then I will have to do three, but I thought you should know.

  Posted at 02:19 PM | Top
  
  

  To Give or Not to Give

  Living in the big city, I'm asked for money about 10 times a day. I probably give money about 2 out of the 10 times depending on how much money I have, how bad I feel, and how convinced I am. When I don't give money, I always feel a little bit bad.

  About a week ago, I was running to catch a subway train. Right behind me was a guy with a cane leaping up the stairs. As we got close to the train, he used the cane to find his way to the subway door. During the ride, he began soliciting money as a blind person.

  When I saw him, my mind started racing with questions. Was he actually blind and able to run up stairs very nimbly because he had developed his other senses extremly well? Or was he making a career out of pretending to be blind? Although it was a hard decision, I decided to not give money.

  I thought I would never find out the answer, but I saw him on my way home talking with some people at the subway station with his eyes open. Clearly, he was not blind and I had made the right decision.

  I've now decided to move the giving ratio to .5/10 and focus on giving in other ways.

  Posted at 02:04 PM | Top
  
  

  September 13, 2003

  Uncertain Times

  During the past week, I've been overwhelmed by all the directions my life could take. While going to NYU and living in NYC, I've been exposed to so many interesting and convincing belief systems. The only problem is that many of them completely disagree with each other, and it's hard to be open to all of them at once. For example, one professor has spent his whole career in entertainment and makes it sound very attractive. Another professor thinks it's destroying our culture. At the same time, my health and nutrition professor has differing health perspectives than people in the raw food movement. As a result of these and other conflicting view points, many of my core beliefs are being challenged.

  I find myself wanting to just follow one school of thought and avoid the cognitive dissonance from second-guessing all of my actions and thoughts, but I think it's probably good for me to seriously try everything out. In the end, it is both scary and empowering that there is no right answer beyond what I decide is right for me.

  Posted at 12:28 AM | Comments (2) | Top
  
  

  September 08, 2003

  Selling Yourself on Success

  Last week, my patterns of entrepreneurship professor mentioned that she thought one of the most important traits of a successful entrepreneur is selling yourself on your own idea everyday. This idea stuck in my mind and today I came up with what I think is an interesting idea...

  Everyday, we are barraged with messages from the media influencing us to make decisions that aren't in our best interest. As a result, actions like eating healthy food and not wasting one's time with TV have become very difficult. Imagine, if it were the other way around and it was easier to eat healthy food than bad food. Imagine, if it actually took will-power to make bad decisions, not just good ones.

  I propose that this vision could become a reality if we create and implement marketing campaigns to influence ourselves to be the way we want to be whenever we want to be that way. This could be done by planting personalized, empowering messages/quotes (ie - Michael, Be the Change You Want See Today) in places that advertisers dream about, such as:

  1. posters through out your apartment/house/dorm
     
  2. desktop background
     
  3. screen saver
     
  4. t-shirts
     
  5. stickers on your bags, notebooks, and other places that you look a lot.
     
  6. custom pens

  In addition, the campaign might include surrounding ourselves with the right group of people and eliminating environments where we receive limiting messages. It might also include "brain washing" ourselves by repeating empowering affirmations (ie - Come on. You can do it). Maybe it's just another crazy idea that will seem silly when I wake up tomorrow, but maybe it won't. In the end we're always selling ourselves on something whether we realize it or not. Why not take control of it?

  Posted at 05:32 PM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  September 06, 2003

  Digital Video Revolution

  I came across a site called Chat the Planet yesterday. The initiative brings TV to the web and addresses issues such as youth culture, activism, and materialism.

  In my opinion, Chat the Planet and other sites like it highlight two major trends that will change the world of television in the Internet:

  1. Increased penetration of broadband worldwide.
     
  2. Lower time and monetary costs of individuals creating and distributing digital video.

  As these two trends develop, I think we will see an exponential growth in the amount and diversity of digital video content online. The implications of this are many!

  Posted at 01:21 PM | Top
  
  

  September 05, 2003

  Paradoxical Pragmatism

  I've been noticing a lot more paradoxes (A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true) in my life lately. Being aware of them is extremely important for making the most of them:

  1. Your greatest strengths can be your greatest weaknesses and vice-versa. Writing was my worst subject in high school and I was petrified the few times that I did speak, yet I'm now the author of a book and speak fairly regularly. "All the great speakers were bad speakers at first (Ralph Waldo Emerson)."

  2. What you resist, persists. One day while I was still in grade school, I remember trying to clear as many dishes as I could in one run after having dinner at a family friend's house. When my mom saw this the first thing she said was, "Don't drop those!". The next thing I knew, I lost control and dropped all the expensive dishes on the ground.

     The only way I could understand what my mom said was by putting a picture of myself dropping the dishes in my head and trying to resist it. I believe that our mind has a weird way of making these pictures come true. If only my mom had said, "Michael, I admire your creativity. I believe that you can easily carry all those dishes to the sink. Keep up the good work."

  3. The more you give, the more you get. For one of the best essays ever written on this subject read Emerson's Laws of Compensation essay for free online. Each time you read it, I promise you that you'll get new insights.

  4. The most successful people fail the most. The average millionaire entrepreneur has gone bankrupt 3.75 according to Robert Kriegal, the author of If It Ain't Broke...Break It. "Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve neither liberty nor security (Ben Franklin)."

  5. The more you get, the more you want. In a weird way, when we get what we want, we want something bigger. And when we lose what we want, we appreciate what we had. If we can focus our attention on appreciating every moment, then we can achieve success from fullness and not from striving.

  Posted at 12:36 PM | Top
  
  

  September 04, 2003

  If I had only known

  If I had only known how important choosing the right professors is. Those who know me, know that I was thinking of transferring or dropping out of NYU after the first semester of my sophomore year because I didn't like my classes. Now, about a year and a half later, I love NYU. One of my professors raised $70 million for her last startup while another was a former senior vice-president at Simon & Schuster while another is doing work with the BBC and revolutionizing the TV industry.

  I found great professors by:

  • Seeing what professors were featured in the media or who had won awards.
    
  • Going to the NYU bookstore and looking through books by NYU professors.
    
  • Asking friends who their favorite professors were.
    
  • Looking through professor web sites and bios.
    
  • Researching mentions of professors on the Internet.
    
  • Looking through student rankings of professors.

  Posted at 07:42 PM | Top
  
  

  September 03, 2003

  Subscribe to This Blog

  One major benefit of blogs is that they can be easily subscribed to and read from your desktop or email program. If you are subscribed to a blog feed, every time an update is made to that blog you receive a headline, excerpt, and link to the full entry. This is beneficial to you because:

  • All your news in one place. You no longer have to go from one news site or blog to another to see if new updates have been made. You will now know whenever there is an update to a blog you are subscribed to.
    
  • No more junk mail. You do not run the risk of having your email sold when you subscribe to blog feeds. Also, legitimate blog updates are not lost in a sea of your junk mail.
    
  • Major news sites use blogs. In addition to personal blogs, you can subscribe to major news blogs from organizations like the New York Times and BBC.

  There are a few programs that you can use to aggregate your news. I use and really like News Gator, which sends my MS Outlook headlines, excerpts, and links to updates of blogs I'm subscribed to. Some other similar programs are:

  • Headline Viewer Windows
    
  • NetNewsWire
    
  • Amphetadesk
    
  • Radio Userland

  Once you download one of these programs, you can subscribe to my blog using the xml and rdf links at http://successmanifesto.com/michael/.

  Posted at 01:34 AM | Top
  
  

  August 31, 2003

  What you Resist, Persists

  Eearlier today my dog, Maura, ran away while I was taking her for a walk at my mom's house in New Jersey. She darted across the yard into the woods despite my angry yells. Although we have a 2-acre yard, I've always walked her on a leash. Otherwise, she runs away. As I ran after her, I was picturing her dead body on the road after being hit by a car, which is what happened to the dog I grew up with.

  Today, when I finally caught her, I decided to try something new. Instead of yelling at her, I showed her love. Instead of angrily pulling her on the leash, I kept her leash off and let her follow me home (which to my surprise, she did!).

  Often times, parents are the largest deterrents of their children taking risks to follow their dreams. Not out of anger, but out of love. They are afraid to give their child freedom for the same reason I'm afraid of walking Maura without a leash. Today I learned that what you resist, persists. If you believe in people more than you fear for them, you may just be surprised.

  Posted at 03:21 PM | Top
  
  

  August 30, 2003

  Raw Food Diet Update

  A lot has changed in my diet since my last post on the subject. While I haven't been reading a lot, I've been really paying attention to my body and learning from the feedback it gives me. Here is a summary:

  • For now, I've decided to not only have raw food in social situations. If I can get it, I will have it, but I don't think it is worth the difficulty to always eat raw.
  • In my opinion, eating less food makes me feel a lot more energetic. Also, not eating before I go to bed makes a HUGE, positive difference in how I feel when I wake up. Both of these are easy to test on your own.
    
  • I've been needing less sleep. I've been waking up naturally after 6 hours feeling refreshed.
    
  • I don't feel particularly more energetic during the day. I was pretty good on being 'high energy' before the diet.
    
  • I'm having difficulty with cravings, especially when my girl friend buys ice cream or cooks meals that I know would taste great. Also, there are always five restaurants in view practically no matter where you are in the city. This makes it difficult.
    
  • It is hard to stop thinking about food. I'm literally thinking about my next meal before I finish a meal.
    
  • Even though I've learned so much about food this summer, I've realized more and more how little I know. As such, It is hard for me to enjoy many foods because I'm always worrying about possible negative effects. I need to relax, which is easier said then done. Especially, when I've been hearing how so many things lead to cancer. Worrying so much probably counteracts a lot of the health benefits I'm looking for.
    
  • Changing diet is very difficult (but worth it). I think things like entrepreneurship have been easier for me!!

  When all is said in done, I'm going to keep exploring reading books on a variety of subjects related to health. I look forward to my class at NYU on health and nutrition.

  Related to health, I had an interesting conversation with my mom today about death. We were talking about one of my dogs (I love dogs!!!), which is already 7 years old, which I guess means she's in her fifties. We got Ginger (that's her name) when I was in 9th grade and my other dog, who I had grown up with, was hit by a car. To me, the curse of owning dogs is that you know you will have to watch it die even if you get it when it is a puppy. Would the curse of having super-health, be knowing that you would have to watch everybody you were once close with die?

  Posted at 01:54 AM | Top
  
  

  August 28, 2003

  Re-Learning About All-Nighters

  You may remember a August 22nd post entitled Adrenaline. In this post, I talked about an all-nighter I was in the process of having. For the days following the all-nighter, I wasn't able to catch up on sleep and I noticed my mind was cloudly. Yesterday and today I have a cold. Now I know why I don't do all-nighters any more. But, sometimes it's nice to do things to remember why we don't do it. Isn't it?

  Posted at 11:34 AM | Comments (2) | Top
  
  

  August 27, 2003

  Seeing Potential

  One of the happiest moments that I have in life is when I get into a state where I feel like anything is possible and I'm extremely inspired. It reminds me of how a young child might feel when exposed to something new that opens a completely new way of seeing the world. In these states, I can lose track of time and journal/think for hours. I would say I have this state a few times a month, but I wouldn't be surprised if many of the results of my life hinged on these moments and the decisions made in them.

  It's a very odd thing to me. For the past two weeks, I've haven't been doing as well as I would like and feeling overwhelmed. All of a sudden I can see what's important and what's not. From this realization, I am now focused and committed on what's important.

  For the past two weeks, while I've been focusing a lot on Extreme Entrepreneurship, I've been lapsing on my health and relationship focus. When it should be the other way around. Altough it may take longer, I think the best way to build the life and business I want is to focus on things that may not pay off immediately the way 1,000 new book orders tomorrow might. I think I need to think about slowing things down when school starts so I can keep my priorities.

  Posted at 12:47 AM | Top
  
  

  August 25, 2003

  True to the Blog

  Looking back through old entries I've posted, I notice that the majority of my entries highlight postive parts of my life. When negative events are happening I put a positive spin on them or I avoid talking about them. In other words, let's say there is a scale that goes from 1-10 with 10 being the best thing I could ever blog about. It is much easier to blog about stuff that falls in the 4-10 range. Once events gets in the 1-3 range, it becomes a lot more challenging to write about them.

  Why is it so hard to blog in the 1-3 range?
  Well, for one reason, some 1-3 range blog entries may make somebody else look bad and burn bridges (ie - arguments with loved ones). So, obviously there is a limit to what I will post about. But more so, I believe that me blogging in the 4-10 range stems from my fear that people may not consider me as much of an authority if I don't always follow my own advice. But the truth of the matter is that I don't always follow my own advice, although I try darn hard. In fact, I think the weakness of many self-development books is that the authors only highlight the positive sides of their strategies.

  With that I said, I really want to build my brand around always speaking the full truth about my journey. In so doing, I believe that I will fill an important, largely unment need for people who want to pursue a life of passion, purpose, and prosperity. Readers can learn about my successes AND my mistakes as they happen. Although I may lose readers, I hope that others may be able to see and appreciate a truer version of my journey toward a vision. Also, to be completely honest, it feels good to tell the truth.

  A Few "1-3" Entries

  • I have difficulty working with people in teams (downside of being an only child). In late May, we hired another NYU student to help with building a database of student entrepreneurship clubs. We paid him $12/hr for 10 hours a week over 8 weeks (a.k.a. - $980). The arrangement ended up not working out very well for us. I believe this was due in part to my weakness in motivating and managing other people.
    
  • This summer I've been focusing a lot on success from fullness. In other words, passionately pursuing a vision, but loving each moment of the way. However, right now I'm unfortunately leaning more towards just pursuing success. This has been putting strain on my body and even my relationship with Sheena. While it may work in the short-term, it certainly won't in the long-term.
    
  • Sheena and I have been having difficulty figuring out an exact vision for the company. I have a tendency to come up with ideas and start implementing them based on the vision I see. This leaves Sheena either following my vision or going off in a different direction. I need to be committed to reaching shared understandings. As an entrepreneur, I can see working with people as my next hurdle. For Extreme Entrepreneurship to go to the next few levels, it will be crucial for me to surmount it.

  Posted at 10:18 PM | Top
  
  

  Conversation with Best-Selling Author

  Late this afternoon, I left a message with Patrick Combs, the author of Major in Success, an award-winning book that I would very highly suggest to everybody (that's why I called him). To my surprise, he called me back soon after and we had a great conversation.

  The major take away I had is that I shouldn't be afraid to be myself. Since writing the book, I've had a concern that other students would perceive me as cocky for writing a success book for students my same age. Our conversation reminded me of the following quote:

  "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?"
  - Nelson Mandela

  Posted at 07:48 PM | Top
  
  

  August 22, 2003

  Adrenaline

  About 13 hours ago, I sat down to check my email before going to bed. While I did check my email, I never went to bed making today the first impromptu all-nighter I've had for over two years. The excitement of marketing at NYU and all the possibilities of life and the company have kept me running on adrenaline and inspiration. I'm not even tired now. Some things I did were:

  • Submitted an application to have the book posted on Amazon.com.
    
  • Took a web marketing crash-course from my friend and marketing guru's web site.
    
  • Made a few posts on a youth entrepreneurship community site.
    
  • Worked on a web site membership system that will launch next week.

  Life is good. Life is good.

  Posted at 01:09 PM | Top
  
  

  August 18, 2003

  Tribute to My Mom

  The more we get of something, the less we appreciate it. Or so it goes for most of us.

  After (and during) a conversation I just had with my mom on the telephone, I realized how little appreciation I've shown her over the years. I've realized this in small ways before, but this time, I realized it more than I ever have. As a result, I started crying, something I do very, very rarely.

  Soon after having me, my mom worked full-time and graduated college at the same time. When I was eight years old and my dad died, she raised me by herself. As I started to excel in sports in grade school, my mom drove me to all sorts of matches and practices 4-5 times/week up until I got my license when I was 17. All the while, she believed in me more than I believed in myself, until finally my confidence was unstoppable in life.

  But as is with most things we have a lot of, I rarely appreciated it. Instead I only saw our arguments and differences. Moving forward. I want to be more appreciative and supportive of those closest to me no matter how hard this is. Ironically, I know that doing this will be harder than making the first million or even ten million, but I think it is well worth the effort.

  I find it a sad thing that it is often easier to be nicer to a stranger than it is to those closest to us. I want to do everything I can to change this starting today!!

  Posted at 10:10 PM | Top
  
  

  Fall Class Schedule

  I'm really looking forward to my classes this fall. I spent a lot of time picking some really good professors/classes as you can see below.

  Entertainment Marketing: Al Lieberman has extensive international and domestic marketing and advertising management experience with global communications companies. He has been a Executive Vice President at Young & Rubicam, World-Wide Director of Marketing at Simon and Schuster, and CEO/founder of Grey Entertainment.

  Professional Responsibility and Leadership: Bruce Buchanan is the director of the Stern School Markets, Ethics, and Law Program, and the C.W. Nichols Professor of Business Ethics. His numerous publications have appeared in Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Psychometrika, Journal of Mathematical Psychology, Harvard Business Review and other journals. Professor Buchanan received his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Doctor of Philosophy in business economics from Columbia University.

  Nutrition and Health: Sharron Dalton - web site unavailable due to blackout.

  Patterns of Entrepreneurship: Elizabeth Ingrassia is a seasoned entrepreneur, having starting several businesses in the retail, wholesale, licensing and Internet sectors. In 1999, she founded Eluxury.com, an internet retailer selling exclusive luxury goods. Ms. Ingrassia currently runs Harvard Managment Group, Inc., a boutique consulting firm specializing in startup issues and fund raising. She also advises early and later staged companies in the areas of marketing, sales communications, strategy, and product development. Ms. Ingrassia holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Boston College, where she was Captain of the Womens Varisty Tennis Team.

  TV and the Information Explosion: Michael Rosenblum is leading the drive for video literacy, and the complete rethinking of how television is made and controlled, Rosenblum has been on the leading edge of the digital video revolution for more than a decade. His work has included: the creation of 'VJ' units for BBC and Oxygen, the complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United States Government's broadcasting agency (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the 'VJ' paradigm (1998-present), as well as the construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and currently the largest producer of non-fiction television in the U.S. Rosenblum was both the Founder and President of NYT TV (based on the 'VJ' paradigm, 1996-1998). He was also the President and Founder of Video News International, a global, VJ-driven news gathering company, with more than 100 journalists around the world (1993-1996).

  Posted at 11:44 AM | Top
  
  

  Why this journal is important!

  "...anybody who makes it, anybody who does achieve any level of success, that says to the rest of the world, 'This is possible.'" - Oprah Winfrey *

  This quote summarizes my strong belief that any accomplishment one person can make or has made, anybody else can too. I think an interesting and saddening phenomenon is that most people disassociate themselves from people who've accomplished incredible feats. One of the major reasons I think this happens is because we only learn about 'extra-ordinary' people after they've become 'extra-ordinary'. We don't see or fully understand where they came from and how they got to where they are today.

  As such, I think a powerful application of online journals (blogs) is to document, in real-time, ordinary people setting out to do extra-ordinary things. In the end, I hope my blog can work toward this end. I invite you to ask any questions you have about what I'm doing or how I'm doing it. I would also love to hear about what you'd like to see in this blog.

  
  *Source: An interview with Oprah Winfrey on WCVB-TV 5 News CityLine (Boston, January 13, 2002).

  Posted at 12:51 AM | Top
  
  

  August 16, 2003

  Finding My Passion

  I was just thinking to myself about how my interests have changed an incredible amount over the past few years. It all started when I got the Internet and started designing web pages after my sophomore year of high school. I thought I would be doing that for the rest of my life. However, about a year later my interests moved on to the business world where I realized that I personally could make more of a difference and more money by managing other web designers.

  At NYU, my career interests have spanned the following:

  • Professional Entrepreneur
    
  • Life Coach
    
  • College Professor
    
  • Author
    
  • Consultant
    
  • Speaker
    
  • Government Office
    
  • Company President

  These are only types of careers. At different times, I have been interested in topics such as:

  • youth empowerment
    
  • entrepreneurship
    
  • marketing
    
  • management
    
  • psychology
    
  • health
    
  • spirituality
    
  • etc.

  With that said, college majors are outdated, in my opinion. The world is changing so quickly now, it seems very restrictive to pick a topic that we will supposedly focus on the rest of our life. I think one of the best ways to be "successful" in life is to be passionate about what you're doing. I think that this is best done by pursuing career types and topics that you are passionate about through out your life.

  I've found college to be an incredible buffer period where I have the freedom and flexibility to pursue my passions and set my life up in a way so that when I graduate college, I can continue following my passion instead of a pay check.

  Posted at 03:32 AM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  August 04, 2003

  Singing in the Rain

  Normally when it starts pouring in the middle of a sunny day, you find dryness and stay there until the storm passes. Today, for reasons I'm still not privy to, I decided to walk onward even though I wasn't in any particular hurry. Sometimes, when I managed to brush the water out of my eyes, I was able to make eye contact with somebody under one of the various awnings lining Court Street in Brooklyn. The looks I got seemed to either say, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" or "Aww..that's too bad. Better luck next time." I did make 2-3 eye contacts with people that seemed to be in my situation (neither hurrying or carrying an umbrella). Although, we did not exchange smiles, we exchanged meaningful head nods. As I entered my apartment with everything I was wearing and holding completely soaked, I thought to myself, "I have to do this more often."

  Posted at 09:03 PM | Top
  
  

  August 01, 2003

  Relapse

  My girl friend bought two boxes of Tofutti Cuties today (if you haven't had one, you don't know what you're missing). I was able to resist for awhile, but they eventually broke me down. And I didn't just have one. I had 13!!! Damn my addictive personality.

  Now, I'm off to journal and make sure it never happens again (after I buy two more boxes for my very angry girl friend who was also looking forward to some).

  Posted at 07:05 PM | Top
  
  

  July 28, 2003

  The Fast Is Over

  My 91-hour fast officially ended today at 9:45am when I had an orange. My energy returned surprising quickly, as I had three different meetings with NYU administrators regarding the book and felt alert. Here are some of the results:

  1. I've lost weight. I'm not sure how much, but my pants are too big now. Once I go back to a normal diet and start exercising, I should gain it all back.
     
  2. The fast was most difficult in the beginning, but actually got easier as I went along. My main symptoms were dizziness when standing abruptly, lethargy, and an "empty" feeling in my stomach, which felt good sometimes and bad other times.
     
  3. Even though I wasn't eating anything, a lot came out of my system, which in a weird "detoxing" sort of way made me feel good.

  Based on the research I've done, I will base the fasting and diet's success on:

  1. Decreased need for sleep
     
  2. Constant high energy through out the day

  If I were able to get these two things on a sustained basis, my quality of life and productivity would take major leaps forward. If not, I can chalk it off as something to tell my children about when I'm older.

  Posted at 02:24 PM | Top
  
  

  July 26, 2003

  Juice Fasting and Detoxification

  Well, I'm over 50 hours into my juice fast now, nearly tripling what I've ever done before. All I've had to drink are:

  1. The herbs from the ejuva cleanse
     
  2. Distilled Water
     
  3. Three Lemonades
     
  4. 1 Odwalla Super-Food Drink

  The logic behind fasting is that the beginning is the most difficult because our body is cleansing itself the most. And as we know from symptoms like head aches, runny noses, throwing up, etc; this is not the most feel-good process in the world. The past two days were fairly difficult because of this. It is weird not knowing how my body will feel next. I place my trust in the number of books I've read by authors who've helped thousands of others through fasts collectively and who base their findings on academic research.

  From my understanding, the greatest risk that I face right now is my body being overwhelmed by toxins that are being let loose into the bloodstream for evacuation. While it is good for the body to cleanse itself, it is bad for the body to be overloaded with more than it can handle. Thus, whenever I begin to not feel good, I have lemonade or "food-juice" to help my body get rid off toxins.

  Things have taken a big swing in the past hour, though. I really started to focus on utilizing what I consider to be one of the greatest forces in the world if applied; the power to be the change we want to see in every moment.

  I believe that no matter how we feel or what we've done in the past, we always have the ability to control our thoughts, feelings, action, and attention.

  Too often, we (myself included) justify being angry, stresed out, bored, or hateful for some reason or other. In other words, we unconsciously and sometimes consciously make decisions that are not the best decision available to us. Yet, in each moment, we have the power to change this. It may be easier for some than others, but we all still possess this ability.

  By consciously focusing on this power, my energy and spirits have gone up tremendously in the past hour. Experiences, like what I'm going through in the fast, are incredible opportunities to increase this power provided I move forward with caution.

  Posted at 07:17 PM | Top
  
  

  July 24, 2003

  Now I Know

  As my meal for today, I had:

  1. 4 apples
     
  2. 1 orange
     
  3. 60 ounces of Odwalla Superfood Juice
     
  4. 1 large home-made salad with mixed greens, carrots, and onions

  Now, nearly five hours later my stomach is still protesting angrily and I feel very sluggish. I feel like I went backwards on the cleanse. It is amazing how much the body changes in a matter of a few days. A week ago, that meal would have been fine. Oh well, now I know that I need to work up to more levels of food and I can't just make the jump.

  Posted at 07:59 PM | Top
  
  

  July 23, 2003

  The Results Are In

  Going into my speech this morning, I had only slept three hours as a result of staying up late talking with Ryan Allis and doing last minute prep. That on top of the fact of having not eaten in nearly 24 hours beforehand because of the cleanse, made me fairly nervous that something would go wrong. To my surprise, I actually was very high on energy and I thought the talk went very well. So far 11 copies have sold out of 80 students, making it a 14% conversion ratio. I don't know if that is good or bad, but it only gets better from here.

  Now, it looks like I might speak in two weeks at CSLC's next program. I hope that Sheena, my business partner and girl friend, has the workbook done by then so we can speak together!

  Posted at 05:03 PM | Top
  
  

  July 12, 2003

  Highs & Low

  High: People ordering the book who I don't know. Emails from people who loved the book.

  Low: Realizing I have my work cut out for me because only a very, very small percentage of high school and college students actually read books outside of school!

  Posted at 09:19 PM | Top
  
  

  July 08, 2003

  5 Weeks Raw and I'm Not Dead Yet!

  It's 5 weeks and 1 day since I started eating raw food and I would like to report my results:

  Observations

  1. I have much less indigestion. I had once considered flatulence a part of life. Now it isn't.
     
  2. I had once just ignored all of my body's indicators. Now, I've become much more attuned to indicators like breathe, energy level, flatulence, burping, cramps, runny noses, cough, bowel movements, etc.
     
  3. My body has become more sensitive to bad food. Somebody who smokes is much less sensitive to cigarettee smoke than somebody who doesn't. This is because smokers develop a lining in their lungs, which protects them from the smoke they're inhaling, but also makes their lungs hard and less efficient. In the same way, I notice that it is more difficult to eat bad foods because my body has gotten rid of the mucuous lining that was protecting my intestines from bad foods.
     
  4. My body has been detoxing. Following the smoking analogy: When somebody stops smoking they don't immediately feel better. They cough up everything that was in their lungs. I won't get into details, but my whole body has been "coughing" up toxins.
     
  5. With a fully stocked kitchen and basic knowledge of raw food, consistently eating raw food is not that difficult, especially for a college student that doesn't really know how to cook. Also, I think going all the way raw is easier than going part way. When I go into the kitchen, I don't have any tempation to eat bad food simply because there isn't any.
     
  6. My palate has expanded and I have a new appreciation for the taste of food!
  7. I have less bad breathe and body odor.

  Challenges

  1. Eating raw is difficult in social situations for me right now. Practically, the only thing I can order on the menu is a fruit plate, salad, or bottled water. Also, I'm still trying to figure out what to do when I'm invited to people's house for dinner. Should I just bring my own raw dishes and share them with everybody?
     
  2. People generally are against and afraid of raw, organic food. At first I was telling everybody that I went raw. Now, I simply don't talk about it because people have such strong beliefs about it even though they have little or no kowledge of it. I agree that people can be unhealthy eating raw food in the wrong way, but so can people eating a Standard American Diet. From what I've learned so far, eating raw in the right way is the most effective way to fuel the body.
     
  3. Since I've been having considerably more fruit, I've been noticing spikes in my blood sugar. This leads to me feeling dizzy and moody sometimes. So, I need to work on building more vegetables into my diet.
     
  4. At first, the fruits and vegetables weren't filling me up at all so I was constantly eating. Now, I'm noticing that my body needs less.
     
  5. My main question is, "When is enough, enough?" When I started playing tennis in second grade I couldn't care less what string and racquet I used, whether the balls were dead or live, or whether I was wearing tennis shoes. As I began to compete in tournaments I started to change my diet, buy tennis clothes, accessories and racquets/string that fit my style of playing. These changes helped me compete at a higher level. At the same time, after awhile I got paranoid when I didn't have the racquet at the exact right tension or my grip felt a little slippery. In other words, I think I had went too far.

     Now, that I want to take my life to the next level in every respect, I think having a properly fueled body is crucial. I'm just having trouble figuring out when it isn't really worth my time to make small improvements in my diet.

  Conclusion
  I think that I'm making good progress on my diet and more importantly my health. One of the main things I'm looking for in the diet is increased and constant energy through out the day. I would say that my overall energy has definitely gone up, but also goes down more than I would like because of too much fruit. After I'm done a cleanse, which I just started, I will look more for the increased vitality.

  Posted at 11:36 AM | Comments (3) | Top
  
  

  July 01, 2003

  Getting to the Core

  Getting to the core of life has always been a big philosophy of mine. In my opinion, constantly solving and resolving core life issues is an incredibly leveraged way to create positive change in all parts of our life. Addressing core life issues earlier in life (i.e. - quarter life crisis) is more effective than doing it later, because we are less locked down mentally and financially to a way of life that may not be right for us.

  Like a drop in a pond, one small change in a core issue can solve many other, seemingly unrelated, issues we face on a daily basis. In my opinion, not taking a step back is like bailing water out of a sinking ship instead of focusing on plugging the hole.

  Two core questions I ask myself often are:

  1. Who am I?
     
  2. Why am I here?

  These may seem like simple questions that are self-evident, but each time I visit them, my understanding of them evolves, and the effects of this greater understanding ripple out as a result of the new decisions I make.

  This summer I've left a lot of time for self-exploration and made it my #1 priority. So far it's been paying off very well. On a good day, I will do:

  1. Yoga for one hour
     
  2. Meditation for one hour
     
  3. Journaling for one hour

  At this pace, this will be the best summer I've ever had!!!

  Posted at 11:32 PM | Top
  
  

  June 29, 2003

  Jumping Out of Planes

  Yesterday, I jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet in the air (a.k.a. - I went sky diving).

  It was definitely quite an experience. Have you ever stood close to the edge of a tall building and looked down? You know that feeling you get? The hardest part for me was sitting on the edge of the plane with my feet hanging over it and looking down. Once I was actually in free fall and parachuting, I felt more relaxed. (Note to self - Keep mouth closed when free falling if I don't want to feel light-headed).

  I will post pictures on the site later this week hopefully.

  Posted at 03:52 PM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  June 26, 2003

  The Extra-Ordinary Road

  I've come to believe that to be extra-ordinary, one must must not follow the paths that lead to being ordinary. In my life, I've gotten a large amount from following what I believed was right even if it was unconventaional. The three major examples of this are:

  1. Starting a successful web development company when I was 16-years-old with no experience.

  2. Moving in with my girl friend the summer after my freshman year at NYU, when we had only been dating for nine months.

  3. Taking a semester off of school when practically everybody around me was urging me not too.

  About a month ago, I made the fourth leap and became a raw vegan. In other words, my diet now consists of uncooked vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. For those concerned (mom), I'm observing my body very closely and doing an incredible amount of research on diet and how people have failed with this diet. I will keep you all updated. So far, it has been great in terms of results. It has definitely been difficult at times, but not nearly as hard as one might think.

  Posted at 07:51 PM | Comments (1) | Top
  
  

  June 20, 2003

  Changing the World

  For the past four years, my vision in life has been to make the largest, lasting, positive difference in the world that I could. I've found that pursuing this vision has been very inspirational.

  Over the years I've made the realization that change is accomplished through networks of people and not just by single creative and dedicated individuals.

  As such, I hope that this blog will help me create and manage a network of individuals who would like to further the vision of making a large, lasting, positive change in the world. I also hope that the ongoing story of "The Student Success Manifesto" will be an inspiration for others.

  Posted at 11:51 AM | Top