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…
I walk the streets in New York City. I forget about my goals, my plans. Walking the streets I see only the passions, desires, the vices. I keep walking. It gets me focused again. The city brings me back to my goals, my focus. I get inspiration from other people I see. The distraction and…
I met Ronnie in Tompkins Square Park. I awkwardly asked him to take a picture of me meditating. He was a friendly and patient guy. We started small talking. Usain Bolt. NFL. Giants won. Jets lost. The highs and lows of sports. Then we talked about meditation. He said he should start doing that meditation.…
I’m big into rituals. I like to learn the rituals of the mentors in my life. To see what they are doing on a daily basis to improve their lives. So I thought I’d share my rituals living in New York. Maybe one thing will help you. They’ve helped me. The time I wake up…
September 11th, 2001. I was 17 years old. Senior year of high school just started in New Jersey. I was just 7 miles away from New York City. I was in the guidance counselor’s room. It was 9am. The footage of the first crash was already on TV. Shocked, I went back into my history…
I feel inspired in New York. More than living in the suburbs of New Jersey. More than when I was backpacking through South America. It’s not that the suburbs are bad place to live, or that backpacking through South America is not inspirational. New York just has this hustle vibe like no where else. Every…