“Well behaved people seldom make history”

I came across this article written by MATT HARRIS on fortune.com in THE WEEK and found it interesting:

“As a venture capitalist, I have done due diligence on many business founders, said Matt Harris.  If I’m going to be in “a foxhole” with someone, I have to be sure that person is ethical and acts with integrity. But I don’t stop there. I also look for signs that a founder is “persistent (bullheaded), persuasive (flexible with the truth), and visionary (delusional).” Like it or not, those are the character traits typical of people who have found businesses that create or redefine an industry. In fact, starting a game changing business is so “audacious, disruptive, and preposterous on the face of it” that you have to be a little crazy and “transgressive” to try it.

So I’m not surprised to read that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg allegedly “stole the idea from a set of Olympian twins” and “screwed the college buddy” who provided seed capital.  Don’t get me wrong… I’m not endorsing criminal or unethical behavior. But if you’re looking for people who want to change the world , don’t go in search of those who fit neatly into the world as they originally found it.

Don’t live by rules, live by YOUR OWN ideals and values!

You can’t do this… don’t do that… My folks wouldn’t like it if I did… Screw that! Again, my favorite motto to live by: “It’s my life… who cares!”

Learn to instill your own ideals and values into your life and stop living by the rules of others! OK, there are some rules we MUST live by… anything that breaks the law. But after that… your life should be your own, not dictated by society, peers, issues from your childhood, etc. I could think of a hundred excuses why people don’t do what they want to do. (That should be a future post!) Stand up and say “that’s it! It’s my life… who cares!”

I know, easier said than done…. but no, not really. If you say “It’s my life… who cares!” every morning for a week, on the 8th day, you’ll begin to believe it, and you’ll think about acting on it. Again, bringing up the word brainwashing from a prior post. You are washing your brain, getting rid of the dirt and applying soothing moisturizing brain lotion.

Everything we do in our lives is controlled by our mindset. We talk ourselves into believing… we convince ourselves, it”s not just talk, it’s a tool we use to get ourselves to do what we want ourselves to do. How do you think the Tony Robbins types, not only get to be so successful, but they also get to help others… they woke up one morning and (theoretically) said “It’s my life… who cares!”

I know this all sounds pretty harsh, but life is pretty harsh. And the only life you have is the one you’re living right now. When you’re dead, you’re gone, that’s it, no more, ciao! So really think about dictating your own life. It will help you be truer to who you are, and you’ll have a lot of fun on the way. Just yesterday I said to someone out of a clear blue sky… “I love my life!” They replied that was the best thing they heard all day. Yes, we live in a world of 6 something billion other people. We should never hurt, degrade, or cause malice to someone else, but that doesn’t mean we can’t live an extraordinary life which makes us happy.

with a warm smile,

-Jeff in NYC

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Central Station in Antwerpen, Belgium goes la, la, la… or is it doe, re, mi?

I loved this 2 years ago when it first came out & I saw it again this morning… it made me smile (refer to prior post “If smiling makes me feel good, why don’t I smile more?”).

This makes me smile, always surround yourself with people, sounds, sights, smells… etc, that make you smile. Smiling makes us feel good and it doesn’t cost a penny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY

-Smiling Jeff in NYC

The night before…

It’s the night before the inauguration and I already feel the buzz in the air. This is an exciting time to experience history being made…

Got though the holidays… nothing better than to spend them with people you care about & love being around.

Have an audition on Thursday for an independent film, going to the festivals… good role, will shoot for 3 weeks in Cape Cod… don’t know what I’d do with the “survival” jobs… I guess I’ll worry about that if I’m cast.

Cat has my tongue tonight…
I’ll leave my buck at the door on the way out doc.

-Jeff in NYC