One World Observatory, New York City. The Freedom Tower. I look down at millions of moving parts below. Observing these moving parts of NYC, is like observing the moving parts of my mind. — The city was calling me. Throw out the budget for a month. It time to live in the belly of the…
New York is a manifestation. Formless ideas transformed into blueprints. Blueprints from an unknown dimension, to a human mind, to a piece of paper, and finally manifested into concrete and steel structures. These ideas were invisible before creation, yet just as real as the creation. We know for a fact invisible things exist. Think radio…
Seinfeld. The show saved me. It saved my life. George Costanza is in dismay about his life. He’s regretted every decision he’s ever made. He has an epiphany and decides to do the opposite in all aspects of his life. Through this inspiration, he attempts to engage a random girl at the restaurant, and tell…
I failed again. This 30 part blog series was supposed to be was supposed to be written in 30 days. I’m only on blog #19. It’s been 85 days. That’s 4 times slower. My original plan failed. I’m still working on it. Slowly. Looking back, my life has been a series of failures over the…
I unplug. I move my body. I let loose. The road, the river, the setting sun, its reflection against the buildings. Running. One of my favorite rituals. The motor which is my mind, slows down. It turns off. It’s usually obsessing about future scenarios or second-guessing decisions I made int the past. The mp3 of…
In my best Tom Cruise, “Jerry Maguire” voice: “SHOW ME THE “MONNEEEYYYYYY!” This was my thinking in my 20’s about investments. I made some money. I also invested wrongly in real estate and lost thousands of dollars. I invested in start up that went public, and then failed, losing even more thousands. Lots of thousands.…
For years I was told: “Joe, you have such a positive attitude! You’re such a positive person!” Maybe. Someone at a café in New York City shared this with me again. I appreciated it. It’s good to know I don’t have a negative attitude towards others. That said, it got me thinking to earlier in…
Drunken Halloween 2006 in New York. I don’t remember much. I dressed up as a pirate. I know that. I drank a lot of beers. Only reason I know is the pictures don’t lie. I can’t tell you anything else about that night. I reflect while living in New York for 30 days. I then…
I choked up. My eyes watered. I cried. It was tears from the movie. Tears from an experience I had. It was tears of joy. The joy of being alive. It was also tears of sadness for others. Others that didn’t make it out alive. It was Sully that did it. The movie turned me…
Maria Sharipova in Soho. Luke Wilson in Washington Square Park. A rapper I listened to in high school, Camron, in the Lower East Side. YouTube super star Casey Neistat jogging along the East River. I saw all of them within 2 weeks in New York City. It’s funny how you feel a rush when you…
Meet Bobby Morganti. He’s going to take you for a ride with his story. He was my college roommate for 3 years and very good friend over the last 14 years. He was the first friend I met in the my dorm. He helped me set up my cable TV. That entailed the complex act…
It didn’t go as planned. I was supposed to travel around the world. It was supposed to be for 1 year. I didn’t complete it. Now, I’m living in New York City. I did 7 months in South America. Then I came back to the United States. #1 I learned things don’t always go as…
I walk among the masses. I wonder about success. I wonder what it means. I see the musician playing on the streets. I see the businesswoman walking through the crowd. I reflect on what success meant to me in my 20’s. It meant winning in business. Showing people I made money. Owning real estate. Impressing…
Closing deals. Being a badass. In my early 20’s I would think about being this big shot real estate investor. I would look up at the tall buildings of New York City. I would think about owning one. After college, I worked for a real estate investment company. I had big goals. Ambitious ideas. I wanted…
I sent a text to my friend, “I’m moving to the city.” He text back: “You’re going to love the city, and the city will love you.” I do love New York City. I love getting lost in the complexity. I love searching for the simplicity. I love the chaos. I love finding the peaceful…