"It’s not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game" is one of those quintessential expressions we grow up being taught to live our life by from a young age. And that’s true for Little League and most amateur sports, which is in fact who the sports poet Grantland Ricef was addressing when he wrote what would become one of the most famous aphorisms of all time. In all aspects of competition “how you play the game,” should of course always be conducted with good ethics and morals, honor, and integrity. Sportsmanship aside though, winning matters. As you get older and graduate from the minors to big league, winning becomes essential with real situations in your life and career. With big wins you can take care for your family, rise the ranks at work, or accelerate your own company to new heights. Contrary to popular belief however, competition does not mean there is only one winner. Often in business competition is desirable and necessary to drive growth so that everyone wins.
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In 2000 I founded JoonBug.com with the idea of bringing together the offline events world into the online digital world. In the pre Facebook, Eventbrite, and smartphone camera era, we were the first ones to go around the NYC nightlife scene taking photos every night of party goers living their best life at all the hottest venues and events. If you went out in NYC then chances are you were “bitten by the JoonBug”. From 2000-2009 before the advent of modern social media, JoonBug was the ultimate online resource for party photos and nightlife information on the web. Unfortunately many of those hundreds of thousands of photos are lost somewhere on a hard drive that I misplaced during a move. But luckily I was able to dig up a few hundred random nights of archives (about 100,000 photos) from 2004 to 2009 with the help of Pako Dominguez, one of our most prolific and long standing JoonBug photographers.
Below are many photos from the year 2004 to 2009 mostly from venues and events I have forgotten (including places like Pangaea, B’Lo, Rehab, BLVD, Flow, Bed, Duvet, Centrofly, PM, Cain, Au Bar, Home, Guest House, Guastavino’s, LQ, Pacha, Spirit and many more). If you know any info that can help me place some of these photo galleries please help out by putting notes in the comments.
Enjoy taking a very nostalgic ride through memory lane!
Check out what I’ve been reading and listening to that has helped me navigate through these crazy and unprecedented times. From remaining unemotional during tough decision making in this economic whirlwind, to adapting in Quarantine isolation while still staying happily married, sane, and productive, to new ways of rejuvenating my immune system in a time when immunity is extra important. These resources helped me keep perspective, stay motivated and bring a lot of benefit and positivity into my life during the otherwise devastating crisis of COVID-19.
What I Am Reading:
The Three Equations for a Happy Life, Even During a Pandemic
The point of everything you do is ultimately for you and yours to be happy. If you can figure out how to be happy during lockdown then imagine how happy you will be once things start to open up again!
Standing on the Shoulders of Solitude: Newton, the Plague, and How Quarantine Fomented the Greatest Leap in Science
How are you spending your time in quarantine? Seems like Newton was able to accept his situation and make the best of it by using that downtime to come up with his most brilliant theorems. Stop watching Netflix and get to work on your next business venture, the book you always wanted to write, or the course you’ve always wanted to take.
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My Tips For Finding the Right People to Build Your Next Great Idea
I have turned to every country and continent known for outsourcing talent. In Asia-China, Vietnam and India. In Latin America, Argentina and Colombia. Foreign outsourcing always seems like a great idea, right? Everyone says, “Oh, hire a bunch of smart people in another country for half the price!” But in reality, the challenges that working with offshore talent pose doesn’t make it quite that simple.
Throughout my career, several of my attempts to build an offshore development team ended up in failure. Despite having a similar level of education, when people come from different backgrounds there will inevitably be major cultural impediments. This may show up in terms of opposing work ethic or simply not understanding what conducting business in the #1 economy in the world entails. The language barrier is certainly one obstacle but the cultural challenges of working with foreigners is a completely different aspect that has to be considered.
My struggle with intense back pain led me through a variety of different therapies, some that worked better than others, but all worth sharing with the hope that one may help you too.
Back pain is one of those ailments that unless you experience it yourself, you don’t fully understand how debilitating it is and how much it permeates throughout your daily routine. It quite literally affects your entire life not to mention your mood (constantly being in pain can lead to constantly being pissed off). You’ve heard of ‘hangry’ - the mood you get when you haven’t eaten in a long time? Someone needs to come up with a term for those of us with back pain. It makes ‘hangry’ look like a trip to Disney World. Some people have back pain and it goes away over time. Some people have it and it never goes away; it’s a constant part of their life that they just have to cope with and manage. I don’t yet know which category I'll fall into but it's been ever present for several years now.
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What I am reading:
If You’re Willing To Look Stupid For Long Enough, You’ll Eventually Become a Millionaire - Publishous
This article resonated with me a lot. I clearly remember when I first started JoonBug everyone thought that there would be no way people wanted to see their party photos online nor wanted to buy tickets to events online. Every event producer or club owner rejected us for months until all of a sudden they loved us when we started to bring in cash $$ for them. Likewise when I started EZ Texting everyone told me that SMS was old news and that apps were the things of the future. "SMS is dead," is what I was told by investors and users. Now SMS has the highest open rates and is growing in usage by 25%+ a year. Who looks stupid in the end?
The 20 Best Works of Nonfiction of the Decade - Lit Hub
I exclusively read non-fiction books and I am always looking for great recommendations. This is one of the best lists I have found so far. My favorite: How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell.
Human Health Is in the Hands of Bacteria - Time
Ever since I have taken my health and diet seriously, I've noticed that many of the benefits and results I've achieved is because of my healthy gut. Your health is definitely the sum of your parts and this article shows you how true that is. Take care of your gut and live well and long.
The Illusory Truth Effect: Why We Believe Fake News, Conspiracy Theories and Propaganda
I read Farnam Street religiously every Sunday and subscribe to their email newsletter. If you are looking to change the way you think, learn, and live life then this is the right blog for you. In particular this article compels you to rethink what you find to be true and how you came to believe in your truth in the first place.
What I am watching:
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Dungeon and Dragons is a lot more than just a role-playing game; D&D is a sneak peek into the bigger game of life and business.
Games are regarded by society as a means of relaxation, a fun pastime during those cherished Sunday early evenings with family and friends. And while games are certainly an enjoyable recreation, oftentimes they also teach a lot more about life and business than conventional educational methods do. Take chess for example; a good chess player often turns out to be an excellent strategist in life because they analyze and find the best solutions to multifaceted problems. One particular game that helped me numerous times in both life and business decision making is none other than Dungeons and Dragons. If you've ever played it, you have first hand knowledge of the advantage it gives you in so many aspects of life.
From Animal Flow to the GNC InBody Machine - There’s no boundary I won’t cross
Last week I shared with you the diet that helped optimize my body, energy levels and blood work. Much in the same way people ask me what I eat, I get a lot of questions about my fitness routine. And while I post a lot of stories on Instagram about my peculiar “animal flow” workouts, that’s actually only half my formula.
I’ve always generally been what would be considered “in shape.” I was on the track team in high school. I played sports. I exercised (somewhat) regularly. As fitness culture evolved, so had my repertoire with the likes of Barry's Bootcamp, boxing, pilates, yoga (in all its various forms and temperatures) and other types of classes at least once a week. Cardio was a constant thrown into that mix.
Usually when doing cardio I’d go super intense because I was under the impression that I’d get the best results by dedicating an hour to accelerated running or sprinting intervals. I thought that would get me the physique I wanted and burn calories to lose fat quickly. I was wrong. It definitely got me a great sweat but it didn’t transform my body.
Finally after years of trial and error, I completely transformed my body with one pivotally crucial workout: weight training. Compared to cardio alone or cardio with a mix of “body weight only” activities, weight lifting is far more effective. And while pushups, situps, and lunges are great, if you aren’t using actual weights with those movements, your muscles and overall physique simply aren’t pushed into true transformation. Granted a few years ago I was doing lunges with a ‘spare tire’ around my waist but that’s not the kind of extra mass I’m talking about here!
What I am buying:
If you use a new MacBook then you know how bad the keyboards are. If you also own an iPad then you also know that there aren’t very many good keyboard solutions out there either (I currently use a Brydge but its pretty heavy and bulky). The keyboard struggle is real and this new keyboard promises to solve both issues in one. I am looking forward to hopefully receiving mine once they get through the first production run.
Kickstarter - Nu Type Keyboard
For the past few months I have been looking for a solution to replace my kitchen oven with a smart oven that can be turned on with an app. While doing my research I couldn’t find anything that was both internet enabled and good quality. But I came across this kick starter project which can internet enable any offline appliance or switch simply by physically pressing the on button when you use the app. Still waiting on delivery of this genius product and I hope it can deliver as promised!
Kickstarter - Fingerbot
I suffer from chronic lower back pain yet I still workout everyday and usually use a foam roller to release the knotted fascia in my leg and back muscles. I saw an ad on Instagram for this massage ball that turned out to be surprisingly very effective and the best workout recovery I use now. After 15 minutes of using it I am much looser and feel way better than using the foam roller.
Hyperice - Hypersphere Massage Ball
What I am reading:
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If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve likely seen some of my out-of-the-box fitness practices (Animal Flow) and over-the-top nutrition habits (green juicing & tons of carbs?!). I practice a way of life that incorporates and prioritizes healthy living into every aspect of my daily routine. But I wasn’t always like this. I didn’t always feel or look healthy; nor did I pay attention to what went into my body (tons of processed junk) and the havoc it was doing to my body.
Everyone I know commits to 30-minute workouts at least a few times a week. We live in a newly health-obsessed culture, and perhaps besides LA, nowhere is that more obvious than here in Miami. But I don’t know many people who take a daily 30 minutes to plan or prep their meals. In fact, NOT planning your meals after a solid workout is like getting a car wash on a day you know it’s going to rain. You simply aren’t reaping the full benefits of your actions. I’ve learned over and over again, that no matter how rigorous my exercise, without the right diet I wont see good health or fitness results. On any given day, presented with the choice to workout vs stick to my healthy food, hands down I skip the workout and choose to feed my body right. Obviously if you can do both the results and gains are optimal!
The experience of building JoonBug from the ground up during my days as a nightlife impresario and before the days of EventBrite and social media provided valuable tools and lessons that have come in handy in all areas of my life.
It’s not that some of the best ideas don’t happen over a few drinks at 2am. Sometimes they do. But what’s unique is the experiences that happen in the places and with the people that associate with the 2am timeframe that produce the best ideas. Nightlife (a place shrouded in mystery) often propels some of the more interesting characters in entrepreneurship into not only stardom but great wealth. Though it’s not necessarily nightlife where that stardom and wealth happens; Sometimes nightlife is just the stepping stone. For me many of my greatest life and business lessons spawned from my experiences in nightlife.
Let’s go back to just around September 11, 2001; a time when many New Yorkers and Americans were not only recovering from a national tragedy, but where businesses and workers were also struggling. The tech bubble had burst and I was out of work after a failed tech startup I had founded went bust.
What I am reading:
Nicholas Pelham, the Middle East Correspondent for the Economist gives a rare glimpse into the conditions in modern day Iran. His account is particularly fascinating to me because my parents immigrated from Iran in 1977 and I have never been able to go back to visit given safety concerns. Warning this is a long read.
1843 Magazine - Trapped in Iran
Howard Marks is one of the most successful investors around and in my opinion his brilliance exceeds even Warren Buffet's. I look forward to reading his famous Memos that typically come out every quarter. His latest one speaks about the parallels between real life situations and investing with game theory. After reading it I have been actively looking for a poker coach for myself and my daughter.
Oak Tree Capital - You Bet!
I love watching nature and animal shows and am particularly fascinated with exotic animals like Giraffes (although I dont have any pets). If you are too, then have this quick read about some fascinating facts about Giraffes I bet you never knew.
Quartz - A tall drink of water
As sunny South Florida continues to develop into a world-class locale, and a legal tax haven, many New Yorkers are reconsidering whether the city that never sleeps is the right place in which to live and park their assets. But few know how challenging the process can be for those within a certain tax bracket… Lucky for you, I have the scoop.
I’m a New Yorker through and through – born in Brooklyn, an NYU grad, and job-creator for hundreds of locals through three different companies I founded in the city. More than 35 years later, however, I realized that perhaps the concrete jungle wasn’t the best place in which to take the next step in my career, and continue to grow my net worth. The tax burden, and exorbitant costs that come with living in one of the world’s greatest cities are steep. This is common knowledge. A lesser-known fact, however, is that it’s a massive headache to relocate from New York to a new state once you reach a certain rung on the financial food chain. The state of New York doesn’t let its prized residents flee so easily, a fact that is especially salient today as prominent figures and institutions – Icahn Enterprises, U.S. President and Queens native Donald J. Trump – are stealing headlines for relocating to Florida, just as I did in 2014.
My move was prompted by the same factor that promoted Carl Icahn and Trump’s – the math simply was no longer working out. The family I had always wanted had materialized, and as my wife and I began researching elite schools for our daughter, which were practically the same cost as a state University, the siren song of sunny South Florida began calling me. We knew we wanted a bigger family, and the financials were not making sense. While I’ve never looked back on the decision to relocate, I urge anyone considering following in my footsteps to educate themselves on what the process will entail and be both mentally and financially prepared.
