Birthday's really have a way of forcing you to pause/reflect, and if you do them right allow you to take inventory, access, and get realigned with where you're at and where you're heading. This year I didn't have a bit party in Miami like last year, rather I stayed home with the family and did the internal work required to take another quantum leap in growth and development. Sharing this picture as it's likely THE best birthday gift I ever received, although I sure didn't realize it at the time. This was the catalyst that led to joining Eolian. I hadn't really seen or spoke to Michael McCormack in a while, but when he sent me a message after he saw I was going to be in NYC (H/T LinkedIn) I knew had to make it happen to get together. I ended up inviting him to crash my birthday dinner at the Rainbow Room (On top of Rockefeller Center) with my wife Claire Simmons. The conversation was mind-blowing, and the ideas we discussed even back then will continue providing us a pipeline for decades yet to come. Fast forward 6 or 7 years and we are still building the dream, creating a legacy, and truly helping to play a small role in changing lives for the better. The best birthday gift ever wasn't material, it wasn't a tangible thing, it was the gift of a lifelong mission and purpose that I had been searching a lifetime for. Of being part of something where "I/me" takes a major back seat to "them/we/us." Going forward this year for me is all about prioritizing serving others and putting everybody else first. These days it seems like selfishness and a me-first attitude is running rampant throughout business and society. Hopefully we can help change that a bit and lead by example. Ok that's the end of my longwinded reflective post. Thank you all for the birthday love from the bottom of my heart, means the world! https://instagr.am/p/Cd51-msOJEK/