America is at a cross roads.

The land of free and the home of the brave is leaderless and now demonstrating our worst traits of racism and sexism.

The highest position in government is being made into a joke while Washington, Lincoln, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan are rolling over in their graves wondering what the hell is going on.

As a former Army officer and serial entrepreneur, I understand the importance of leadership, mutual respect and above all integrity.   I understand how leading by example can affect change and succcess.   But President Trump seems to be lost in this area.  

He lacks a true understanding of America’s role on the global stage. Our status as a world power goes far beyond our military might and economic strength.  It’s something we’ve earned over decades of global leadership, standing our ground, defending our allies, opening our county to immigrants and always providing a moral compass to define the difference between right and wrong.

But in the first 100 days, Trump is destroying all of this.   

First, he fails to understand the basics of leadership and what it means to be President.   He should set an example in his words, actions and daily rhetoric.  A good first step is simply to be present. His regular weekend visits to Florida while his wife and son live in NY is NOT acceptable. Every President has understood the significance of the White House until now. Current estimates for extra security are roughly $1M a day in NYC and $3-5M for weekends at his Country Club for a whooping $1.96 billion estimated over his four year term.  (Obama, Biden and their families spent $98M over 8 years)

Second, our President is failing to uphold the Constitution.   Consistent violations of the First Amendment by restricting established and credible news outlets from White House press briefings.   This temporary action combined with Sean Spicer essentially lying to the Press while mocking them only reinforces this disgraceful situation.

Third, he lacks mutual respect and continues to stick his foot in his mouth insulting our allies and their leaders.   This will have a devastating and lasting long term effect on both our reputation and their cooperation.

Fourth, he lacks integrity.  His career is full of lawsuits, bankruptcies and taking short cuts.   His rhetoric is one of hate fueled by unsubstantiated statements (also known as lies).  He is not fit for office.

So what can we do?

We can start by living our own lives with our own integrity beyond reproach, a focus on mutual respect to our fellow man and woman and lead by example with your family, your kids and your co-workers.

If you didn’t know this already, bone broth is an excellent source of amino acids, minerals, and cartilage compounds that can quell inflammation, speed healing, calm allergies and combat fatigue.

So with that in mind, I’ve developed a technique to take the concentrate from the homemade Greensbury bone broth and add it directly to my venison chili.   

The result is delicious and healthy.

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I hope you enjoy

Today is one of those days as an entrepreneur, where I feel like I just got kicked in the gut.

But my friend sent me this Will Smith quote about “I Will Die On The Treadmill”

This is for all the entrepreneurs out there that work their asses off every day.

Digestive health is key for the immune system to work properly and ensure you can withstand the fluctuations of weather during these bizarre seasonal times.
My friend asked me to share, so here it is:

(1) Kombucha – I love the synergy ginger berry flavor.  I take one sip in the am when I wake up and one before dinner.  This is a healthy natural probiotic for digestive health.

(2) Kevita – This is a great tonic although not always easy to handle.  The apple cider vinegar tumeric and ginger with probiotic provide a super healthy shot.   Normally I take one sip in the am

(3) Pure Aloe Force – There’s lots of different aloe vera products and brands but this is one of the highest qualities I’ve found.   Take a sip every am and anytime your throat tickles as it’s a super powerful elixir for indigestion and inflammation.

Hope this helps.

More to come…

Most people are totally freaked out by President Trump and the current state of politics in the United States.   It seems that some of the most basic principles and values that we strive for as Americans are getting challenged on a daily basis.   We still struggle internally with racism and sexism as a country divided by geography and generations of discrimination and hatred.  Perhaps this is our generations civil war.

Now we have begun to turn this hatred outward and create policies that seemingly demonstrated our President’s willingness to violate the law and spirit of the Constitution.

But perhaps there is one silver lining – people of all races and religions are uniting in the streets and standing up for what they believe in.

The multi city women’s marches and the current airport rallies protesting the immigration ban demonstrate that there are Americans who are willing to unite and stand up for our values.

Many Americans feel that the immigrant ban will fuel American hatred around the world and give ISIS a powerful recruiting tool.    But yesterday I heard from a friend in Iraq that one Iraqi said that while they often wondered about America, now that they see our citizens taking to the streets protesting the immigration ban, they know America is a great place.

Protecting freedom is our duty as Americans.   Make sure you do you part.

 

To my friends and all of us entering the time of higher awareness, I hope this post gives you a sense of hope.

And to those who have no idea what I am taking about, I hope this post makes you contemplate what it means to elevate yourself to a higher consciousness.

A quick history lesson, the Mayan civilization appeared and disappeared in 3000 years. Once the dominate civilization of Central America, it is believed their time on Earth is of celestial origin and their swift departure represented their sacrifice to end a low vibrational state for humanity and Mother Earth.

The Mayan have seven prophecies which pretty much sum up the current state of the world.   I encourage you to read them.   For there is hope for humanity and Mother Earth but it requires us all to become more aware.

I know the news and media rhetoric is difficult to handle these days, but please stay positive.

Trump, Putin, Kim Jong-un and the rest of these idiots are insignificant.

Live in a higher state.   Love in a higher state.

I leave you with this quote:

When the Sky God came to the Mayan People, he brought with him the Universal Principle of Integrity, and instructed the people to operate always from a center of unconditional love, honesty and compassion. He taught the people that they must live by a code of conduct that would be impeccable, and that they should seek to benefit and care for one another, to live in harmony with the planet and all other life forms. (Source)

If you haven’t watch any videos from Matt Kahn, I highly recommend him.

He provides an amazing perspective on our awakening and how to use love and gratitude to create a better world.

I know this video is long, but I promise its worth the time.

On a daily basis, I am inspired by blogs from the likes of Fred Wilson (AVC) and Brad Feld (Feld Thoughts) who consistently publish insightful and educational pieces for entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone who wants to better understand early stage investing and current technology trends.

From this inspiration, I’ve committed to be a more prolific writer in 2017 and beyond.

This morning, I was talking to a long time friend, advisor, and co-founder of Everplans, Adam Seifer about the ever changing landscape of early stage investing.

Specifically, we were discussing how NYC was become a more competitive market, with many of the micro-VCs now writing bigger checks ($500k-$1M) leaving less room for other firms and angels to participate in the seed round.    Most of the micro-VCs have well defined investment thesis’ and thus look to take a big position in early stage companies that fit their profile.

A few key thoughts to help better navigate this changing landscape.

(1) We almost always know if we’ve made a good investment decision within the first six months.   We think reporting, team construct, product development are helpful indicators.   If you have a good deal, then you will need to invest in the next few rounds to optimize your return.

(2) Its extremely difficult to make money without pro-rata and information rights.   If you get in a great deal without these rights, it is highly likely the Series A or Series B investors will take the whole round and squeeze you.   This really sucks when you were the first money in.

(3) It is critical to focus on building a solid relationship with each and every entrepreneur you give money to.   It can be the difference in whether or not you get an allocation to participate in a highly competitive deal.