My Top Finds of 2012

Here is my annual list of my top finds for 2012. It was definitly a challenge narrowing the list down, but I hope you'll find some inspiration.

  1. A Wall Street Journal interview with Gloria Romero, an education reformist out of California. 
  2. Some great music I found from Bruce Hornsby.
  3. An article from INC Magazine on questions a couple should ask each other, when considering a start-up.
  4. The return (a much better vintage than the last two years) of an outstanding wine from Brancaia. One of my favorites.
  5. Central Park, NYC. A wonderful place for many, but a place of dreams for me from earlier this year.
  6. I introduced this exercise program into my well-being plan and it had a tremendously positive impact on my health.
  7. A great charter school that I've had the pleasure of helping and partnering with.

The Loss and the Gain

As painful as it may sound, and potentially feel, being in a position where you have nothing to lose is a pretty inspired place to be.  I'll give you one caveat with that; it is a relative exercise.  In other words, your place of nothing to lose could look different than mine.

The following is a clip from Inc  They did a fabulous job featuring Ryan Blair, the author or Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain.  He has a perspective that I "get."  Take the time to watch and see if he doesn't make you think through your own perspective on how you view losses and gains.


 

My big take-away from Ryan's talk is you don't want to be in the middle.  It's a vulnerable place to be.  If you're not careful you'll wake up and find you're a slave to multiple things (job, money, power, etc.).  And remember, there are people who don't make a lot of money, don't have prestigious titles, don't get promoted, who are very wealthy.

Manage your life well!