I took a year off and intended on spending that time with my family and as I like to say, “staring at a tree,” which I did. I’ve gotten to see my wife smile and laugh a lot together. We had our first child and for 11 months we’ve watched him in awe and wonder as he showed such personality, curiosity, and genuine joy. I got to be dad - dance parties every day, starting to teach him music and to love animals, introducing him to all kinds of foods, taking him on planes and automobiles, playing in dirt and sand and grass. After nearly a year, I am firmly convinced that the way we help our sons and daughters experience the world in their first year sets them up for how they grow and explore for the rest of their life. I also got plenty of time in peaceful settings, particularly staring at beautiful old trees. I wouldn’t trade the last year for anything.  

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t sit still often, and I’ve long gotten satisfaction from things getting done. I have some new perspectives about the importance of stillness and ‘being,’ and those perspectives have reshaped my way of looking at life. Still, that get-things-done part of me is alive and well. Over this time, I managed to start a few investment companies and make our initial acquisitions, take over and move/grow a dog business in West Hollywood to give dogs the best place to be when not at home, outline a few books, travel, lose 20 pounds, be a much better pianist, increased my average night’s sleep by an hour, and learned a lot about a lot of things. I’ve met incredible people and integrated more with the community around me. I’ve spent time with the trees, with myself, with God, with family and friends. Today, I believe I am more at peace, more complete, intrinsically energized again, grateful, hopeful, curious, eager…. Sunday nights and Monday mornings are as great as Friday nights and Saturday mornings. 

I’d be lying if I said this time and these changes were without anxieties. I’ve questioned myself and changes at times, mostly because of the way we are raised in today’s society. Mostly, we are taught to play it safe, spend a lot on a good education, get a solid job (and pay off that education), put your head down and climb the ladder, put any money you can into a well-diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds and mutual funds and hope whoever is managing it is good enough to help you have a retirement somewhere around 65.5 or 72 when you can take some time to be with your family (now grown) or do exciting things between your naps. Except we’re not really told about how we only really have this moment (and each one is a gift), that we’re the youngest we’ll ever be right now, that you’ll more fondly remember those peaceful family times than the long work days, and that there are other types of investments that will set you up to have much more freedom (and earlier in life). I wrote myself a letter 14 months ago about what I hoped for myself. Today I’m certainly closer to that person than I was a year ago, and I think that old self would be proud of me. 

Despite what some see as a long break, I’m more energized than ever to do big and great things. There are some issues I care deeply about that I’m involved in and will lean into further: helping build good humans (and particularly more good, empathetic, kind, strong men); building good places where people live, love, and experience life; building places and teams that love and nurture animals the way they deserve; and planting as many trees as possible because they are our best chance of taking care of the world we live in. I’m looking to help good people with good hearts do good things for the sake of doing good. If that’s you, and if there’s something I can do to help you, please do let me know. 

I say, tongue in cheek, that my job is the Mayor of Mickeyland and I somehow ran and won unopposed. As mayor of Mickeyland, my job is not one thing but many. I am a father, husband, and son. I’m an entrepreneur and investor and consultant. I work across multiple industries and see patterns of how things work similarly across them all. By diversifying my life, I actually de-risk life while increasing rewards now and in the future. 

I’ve decided to create this new blog in order to more freely share my ups and downs, lessons learned across industries, and what it’s like to shake off some of the weight of a risk-averse mindset in order to more freely ride the big wave of life. I call it staring at a tree because I’ve long thought that my most peaceful and clear-headed times were when I did just that - got out from the business of life and sat in the presence of these incredible living things that pair perfectly with humans - if we embrace the partnership. And as I sit with my tall wooded companion, my mind clears, my heart is heard above the busy ramblings in my head, and the right path forward becomes more clear. 

I hope my musings are of some benefit to others on their journey. I wish you much joy and adventure.