I am a lucky man. I have had many successes in life and in business. I have also had a few failures in both along the way and I like to think that I’ve learned from every one of them. I think people deal with failure in different ways – some choose to give up or do something different to avoid going down the same path a second time or a third. I am just not that kind of person. I have an internal drive to get it right, especially when I know with conviction that the path was right but certain unfortunate circumstances contributed to each particular failure. So I try again and I bring people along my journey because I want to share the joy of the win with a lot of people.
When I was young, my family owned horses and we used to all ride together in the Griffith Park area of Los Angeles. My brothers and I shared a horse that was a little unconventional – an appaloosa named Santino who didn’t (or wouldn’t) wear horseshoes. He had a mind of his own, that Santino. When a new person would throw a saddle on him, Santino found a way to step on their feet as they were cinching up. And not just step on a toe! No. He would step on a person’s foot and lean with all of his weight to make sure it hurt. I could swear he would snicker as he was doing it. I used to say that everything that can be done to a horseback rider has been done to me, thanks to that friggin’ horse. Yes, he stepped on my toes many times. He also bit me, kicked me, threw me off a few times and rolled over on top of me. That last incident happened when we were crossing the LA River because he didn’t want to cross where the water was deep. So instead of following the dirt trail providing a path down the concrete walls of the river (this is Los Angeles, after all), he decided to try to cross on the cement to get to a more shallow crossing area. Only he didn’t have shoes or sure footing so we tumbled and he rolled over me, crushing my ankle. To say that horse was strong-willed was an understatement. But I learned something valuable from my father in those days – he made me get up on that horse and show him I wasn’t afraid of him. And I did. Over and over and over. I got a lot of bumps and bruises in those days, but I mastered that horse (as much as he would allow himself to be mastered, of course.) I kept going because I loved the view from the top of the mountain overlooking Los Angeles – it’s exhilarating to race up a hill at full gallop in the terrain of LA mountains and end up with a view of the bustling concrete city below. In those days, I wore those riding injuries like a badge of honor and in the end, I felt immensely proud to have ridden that horse for many years. We had a great bond as horse and rider and while I could have chosen to stop riding after any one of those instances, I didn’t quit. I persevered. Partially because I loved the ride, but mostly because I loved the win - and I loved the view.
In my business life, I have had a wild and exciting time. I have helped jumpstart a number of businesses who needed help with a path to a successful launch. I have jumpstarted a number of successful careers by giving internships and first jobs to some while making introductions to others who just wanted a fresh place to start. I’ve also made a lot of first-time investors a lot of money along the way and I have made a good living as well for me and my family. I have also had companies that didn’t succeed, made introductions that didn’t work out and had some investors lose their investments. But I have continued to do what I do because I love the view from the top. I love the calls from investors who paid off their debt or who paid off their house or changed their lives thanks to the opportunity I created for them. I once got a call from a television producer nominated for his first emmy, calling me before the awards show just to thank me for hiring him years earlier as a Production Assistant as his first job (yes, he won the Emmy that first year. The next year as well.) I love the opportunities I have created and yes, I’ve gotten kicked and rolled over along the way. I’ve also been bitten, stepped on and thrown. It happens. Sometimes when I am bending over to cinch up the saddle. But for me, I just keep getting back up on the horse and riding – and I do so because the view from the top is so worth it. My close friends and family know that I am going to continue to get back up on the horse – it’s who I am and it’s who I’ve always been. For me, it’s always an exhilarating ride, some more fun than others but in the end, it’s worth every bruise, bump and smashed ankle. I hope to ride for many more years to come.