I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
I want you to get angry, and don’t wallow in it. Use it. Anger is energy and it’s fueled incredible changes: the Civil Rights Movement, women’s suffrage, gay marriage, and every nonprofit with a passionate mission. Some of the very best things I’ve ever done in my life started because I was angry – Compass Yoga, Sing After Storms, Chasing Down the Muse, my education. Anger builds fire and fire transforms everything around it. Let it motivate and inspire you to build a better world.
Don’t worry about your competition. It’s not what you do but how you do it that will set you apart. We all have a different method to our madness, so let your own unique brand of madness take flight.
There are many things that hold us back from doing what we want to do. Most of them are self-made and the chief among them is focus. We are bombarded with opportunities, ideas, and doubts. Most of it is noise. We’ve got to find a way to turn down the volume on that noise and turn up the volume on our own dreams. We’ve got to say no to the noise and yes to what moves us forward. Lists help me. Every day I make a list of three things that I must get done. That list keeps me from wasting time and forces focus. How do you stay focused?
Lately I’ve been a bit restless. I’m looking to break out of all my routines, to let go of anything and everything that makes me feel the slightest bit stuck. I’ve been here before and there’s only one way to fix it: let’s run amok.
I love New York, right down to my bones. However, housing prices are out of control. It is time to completely disrupt real estate here to spur creativity, innovation, and a rebirth of art and culture. New York is losing its edge because the people with edge can’t afford sky-high rents and the ridiculous hurdles to getting an apartment. That’s why my latest projects, still in the very preliminary stages, are two tiny drops in what I hope will be a sea change for this city that I love so much. They’re ideas to encourage and support the boldest, most creative people in their pursuits to do well and do good right here in the Big Apple by making housing much more affordable and easier to attain. More details soon…
“Are you willing to give up your dog?” This is just one of the hideous comments a real estate broker recently asked me during my search for a new apartment. That’s all the motivation I needed to take action. New York City real estate market, your days as an inhumane, cold-hearted beast are numbered so enjoy them while they last. I’m changing you, like it or not, and New Yorkers are going to be so much better off for it. I’m on a mission, and you really don’t want to mess with me when I’m on a mission. You may get me down but you are never going to count me out. You may be tough, but I am tougher.
Don’t pine for the past. Instead, use the past only as a marker. It takes a lot of strength, courage, and grace to come from where you’ve been to where you are now. That’s something to celebrate!
Whenever I feel down on my luck, I always try to do something nice for someone else because it lifts me up to know that I’ve helped someone in a way that they couldn’t help themselves. You get what you give.
If you don’t think you can, then you won’t. It’s that simple. A belief in your own abilities to do something extraordinary is what makes all the difference.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to financially turn more of my attention toward my own professional projects. There are a lot of options available to business owners today to finance their work – debt, investment, crowdfunding, grants, partnerships, sponsorships. The list is endless. For the next 3 months, I’ve got a full work plate. After that, I want to take some time and figure out how to refocus on this very long list of ideas that may deserve their shot at a life off the page. I’m already excited about taking that journey.
