“You have great style when you can make a tee shirt and jeans memorable.”
Choose wisely.
It starts with Rhythm Is A Dancer.
Then, it’s Pump Up The Jam.
Suddenly, it’s Mr. Vain, The Sign, C’mon Ride The Train, and Baby Baby.
Now I’m dancing around my office like a 12 year old at a roller rink.
Listening to 90s dance music is a slippery slope.
Be careful, kids.
(Boom Boom Boom, now let me here you say ‘way-o.’)
“Art is design with a message.”
Sometimes life provides us with cinematic moments that seem too good to be unscripted. They happen unexpectedly and are often short-lived. It is in these moments that we discover love, opportunity or simply revel in some kind of swift internalized euphoria.
Right now, I’m experiencing one of those moments.
I’m on a plane descending toward my home, New York City. On my iPod: Michael Buble’s version of “How Sweet It Is.”
Looking out the window at New York’s famous skyline, I’m reflecting on the past eight years I’ve spent in Manhattan and realizing that I’m in a full-fledged relationship with the city that never sleeps. And I love her, dearly.
“I needed the shelter of someone’s arms and there you were…”
Growing up in South Florida, I often felt like a big lion in a small pond. Forget about being a big fish. I was in the wrong ecosystem entirely. New York City confirmed that I wasn’t alone in thinking that the world and all of it’s constructs were malleable and open to change.
“I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were…”
Often times, entrepreneurs and artists in the big city bond over shared struggle and sacrifice, not shared success. We all relate to fruitless pitch meetings, countless instances of people over-promising and under-delivering, and the multitude of other ways things just don’t ‘work out.’ But we galvanize and inspire one another. We confirm each other’s talents, gifts, and ideas. And we do this because we need each other.
“For me, there is you and nobody else.”
Like all real New Yorkers, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. As John Updike famously stated, “The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding. ”
“I want to stop and thank you, baby. How sweet it is to be loved by you.”
So my big moment on this plane boils down to this: I want to thank you, New York City, for allowing me to have this relationship with you. You’re a tempestuous creature who has challenged every fiber of my being. You’ve made me a better artist, entrepreneur, and friend. But most of all, you’ve made me a better man. You’ve prepared me for the worst, inspired me for the best, and continually reward me with the knowledge I need to get what I want.
Now, will these people f**kin’ move already. I need to get my bags and go. I’ve got sh*t to do.
“There is something deeply satisfying about working late at night while the rest of the world is fast asleep. Like a mad scientist in a laboratory, I feel as if I’m not simply working — but creating, plotting magic.”
“Fight for the stars in the sky or settle for a telescope and a view from afar.”
Gratitude is a lens through which I watch the world,
a filter for every experience,
the mental gravity that keeps me grounded,
my inspiration to persevere, to celebrate and to love,
the catalyst for my confidence,
the spring in my step,
and the depth of my smile.
I am happy, for I am grateful.
And I am grateful, for I am free.
