How do I show up when the world is melting down?

With everything going on in the world at the moment, it feels important to look inward at how I'm showing up.

My personal objective is to prevent myself from contracting the virus for as long as I can to help flatten the curve and also to become laser focused amidst the chaos.

All in focus on the things I can control.

Yes, I want to be informed and prepared and understand what is happening in the world at large, but only so that I may help me make better informed decisions or take action. Halted trading on stock exchange or the decision to cancel Coachella has virtually no impact my immediate schedule and where I need to focus.

On the other hand, there's a lot of emotions that are surfacing during these times, and it's important not to ignore them.

I feel incredibly sad for the people all of the people already affected by this virus and the people who will be affected in the coming days, weeks and months. My personal, unscientific belief is that this is going to get much, much worse before it gets better and that makes my heart hurt. My sadness, my frustration with the current state of containment, testing and leadership in the US and all the other emotions that are coming up do not change where I need to focus. They do not change how I need to show up to each and every meeting, situation and activity.

Take care of myself, take care of my loved ones, do not get caught up in the hysteria and focus on what I can control. This is my reminder to show up as a leader and a rock for those around me during whatever comes next.

Am I allowing for synchronicity?

Over the last several years, my non-scientific analysis would lead me to believe that synchronicities in my life were happening with an increasing frequency, and I'm 100% down with this trend.

Every time this happens, it is a beautiful experience and a reminder of the interconnectedness of it all. It reveals something that was previously unseen.

For simplicity, I like this definition of synchronicity:

Synchronicity is an experience of two or more events which occur in a meaningful manner, but which are causally unrelated.

Previous versions of me would either be blind to such connections or write them off as completely random events. I've since learned to pay more attention and be open to what is being shown to me.

Some of my most profound breakthroughs, personal growth and critical decisions have come as a result a of well-timed synchronicity to open my eyes, mind, body and spirit to something that was previously inconceivable.

I have also come to believe that these synchronicities are happening all around us all the time.

It is up to us to put our phones down, not be so busy, avoid the constant rush or hurry to our next obligation. It is up to us to not be overwhelmed or too open or too closed emotionally. It is up to us to not write things off as mere coincidence, as random mathematical probability.

I've developed a self-care routine that has helped me increase the possibility of synchronicities. Meditation, yoga, long walks, nature and introspection have worked well for me.

When we pay attention at a more meta level, I believe the answers are all around us. Let's ensure we are doing our part to be able to receive these synchronicities and the information and magic they hold.

How should I prepare?

I've been thinking about the topic of preparation a lot these past few days.

At a fundamental level, I always want to be prepared and never be caught completely off-guard, but there's also limits to that.

I'm in the early stages of bringing a new company into this world, and people expect me to be prepared. Business model, financial projections, growth assumptions, risk analysis, hiring plan. Think through all of the questions ahead of time and be prepared to talk about all of it.

With leadership, one of my favorite tools is to mentally prepare for all possible scenarios.

I find it fascinating to see how people are approaching the coronavirus. It seems that preparation is scoffed at or completely written off. It reminds me a lot of what happens when a major hurricane or blizzard is approaching.

We don't know with any certainty what the impact of the coronavirus will be here in the US, and anyone (including the President) who says otherwise is misleading at best. There's predictive models that show that a majority of Americans will be infected with the virus overwhelming the healthcare infrastructure at all levels. And there's models that show all that impact could be virtually negligible. Maybe the storm blows out to sea or maybe the eye of the storm stalls right on top of us.

In this situation, I will feel better by preparing to not have to leave the apartment for a few weeks. Do I think that is probable? No. Do I think it's within the realm of possibility? Absolutely. Is the minimal effort of extra food and supply shopping a worthy trade-off of time? Most definitely.

I was caught completely off guard for Hurricane Sandy. On the night that Sandy was going to hit our area, we had a party with some neighbors and woke up the next morning to celebrate with banana pancakes in a sort of mocking fashion. For over 3 weeks after that, I was left without power, heat or hot water. For the first few days, I was fortunate enough to be able to charge my phone in my car which required me to sit on a line for gas for over 2 hours. Otherwise I would have lost communication with the outside world.

Fortunately, with Hurricane Sandy, for most of us, it was a non-life threatening situation. Yes, there was a lot of property damage and personal inconveniences. With the conoravirus, it could be much, much worse.

I don't want to be an alarmist or tell you how you should or should not prepare. As with most things, I believe it's best to have as much information as possible and make a decision based on what is right for you. Here's a great starting point to do your own research.

How do I expedite the no's?

I'm skipping over the part where we accept and embrace the fact that we are going to receive boatloads of no's in our adventures. That's a given.

Taking that a step further, we want to get through all of the no's as quickly as possible so that the yes's come through loud and clear.

I'm an optimizer and am always looking for greater efficiency. By expediting the no's, I can save lifetimes of maybes, time wasting, mental energy, stress and disappointment. Give me the "fuck yes, or no" as Mark Manson so eloquently put it.

Whether it's about hiring, fund raising, dating, where to eat dinner, or even (especially) what idea or business to start, it's our job to clear out all of the no's. We live in a world of virtually unlimited choices where we can spend 40 minutes scrolling through Netflix with a bunch of maybes. Stop that. If it's not a complete and total yes, it's a no.

Something might not be a no forever, but if it's a no right now, be thankful for the no and move on. If it's meant to be a yes later on, it'll find a way.

The best way to expedite the no's is to ask the really difficult questions that cut through all the pleasantries. If you know what you want, ask for that up front regardless of how awkward it might be. You'll save everyone involved lots of time and that's way more valuable than a few moments of difficult conversation.

Steve Schlafman has a simple and powerful way to do this when pitching investors. Ask them directly, "What are your concerns about our business?” You cut through lots of fat with that question. It's our goal to find questions like this in all that we do.

Give me all the damn no's until there are no no's left. Then the beautiful yes's can shine down upon us.

Why is wearing shoes the best starting point?

I have a bad habit that I'm ready to admit. I buy more books than I have been able to read. My book buying eyes are bigger than my book consuming stomach.

I've got some amazing books sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust. One way I have compensated for this in the past is by selecting the smaller, quick reads over the meaty, dense books. That didn't feel good and once I became aware of this, I started picking monsters. The 512 page, uber dense "Ascent of Humanity" by Charles Eisenstein is the current beast.

I'm only 32 pages into this slow-going journey, and I've already found some powerful nuggets, and the groundwork is being laid out for a fundamental paradigm shift.

A beautiful quote from the book: "Seek not to cover the world in leather — just wear shoes." That of course is not the actual quote. I had to dig deeper which of course slows down the reading even further, but I'm glad I did to find the source.

"Where would there be leather enough to cover the entire world? With just the leather of my sandals, it is as if the whole world were covered. Likewise, I am unable to restrain external phenomena, but I shall restrain my own mind. What need is there to restrain anything else?" — an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar Shantideva

Entrepreneurs see the world and the future through a different lens. They have a vision for what is possible and are able to see situations and people better and greater than they currently are. While I believe being an optimist is a competitive advantage for entrepreneurs, this quote feels like a nice counter-balance.

Start within first. If you want to change the world, change yourself first. Start with the man in the mirror.

Even if I don't ever get past page 32, I'm jazzed about this quote. In order to have the massive impact in the world that I believe is possible, I'll start by putting on my own shoes first.