I needed $20 million or I was going to die. That’s how I felt. I had a business, $20 million was invested in it, and then my investor went broke and needed the money back. But that would put me out of business. And then I would go broke and die. He threatened me. He… Continue Reading

Young Mining Professionals is expanding its reach across Canada with the founding of a Toronto chapter, and the Vancouver-based group has lined up a mining legend for the occasion. YMP Toronto will kick off with a Distinguished Speaker Event on Oct. 7, 2015 featuring Peter Munk, the founder and former chairman of Barrick Gold, the… Continue Reading

After my dad went into a permanent coma I had to take his car back to the dealership and hand them the keys. They wanted to know what happened and I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t sign papers. I was shaking. I held out the keys and they took them. I walked out. My dad was… Continue Reading

When I was ten I wanted to be an astronaut, a writer, a spy, a superhero, and an advice columnist. I wrote a play. I did spy on people. But I couldn’t figure out how to be a superhero. I read collected columns of “Dear Abby” (an advice columnist) every day. The only advice I… Continue Reading

I think I’m in love with Mimi Ikonn. Oh, and also her husband Alex Ikonn. Don’t want to confuse anyone! When I was a kid I didn’t think I would be happy unless I was a “millionaire”. Some kids in my school said they were millionaires and they would make fun of anyone who wasn’t.… Continue Reading

I can’t believe how I’ve gotten away with what I’ve gotten away with even though I’m so stupid. I was having a weird argument yesterday with my ex-wife. I was trying to say, “I’m stupid” so she was disagreeing and accusing me of lying. So I kept insisting. “I got bad grades all through high… Continue Reading

I feel I need to make a post about this. Tell a story. Make it poignant. But it’s really all I want to say: Get. Keep. Grow. It’s really hard to do those three things. It’s three different skills. Like with money. Getting it. Keeping it. Growing it. I’ve succeeded and failed at all three.… Continue Reading

I lost my keys and was locked out my apartment. It was the middle of the night and I had nowhere to go. I left a message for the landlady. I tried to climb up the fire escape to see if I could sneak in but I’m afraid of heights. About two stories up, I… Continue Reading

Choosing yourself means taking risk, means not being afraid what people think, or your chances of success or failure. It means doing what you want and hopefully helping the world along the way. Because when you help others, that’s how you get paid in a choose yourself world. Elon Musk is inspirational to many people,… Continue Reading

Louis CK turned down $500,000 a year from Conan in the early 90s so he could go broke instead. Conan wanted to hire him as head writer of his show. Every step of the way in the 20 years since he put a challenge in front of himself that seemed impossible and it was until… Continue Reading

The woman had tattoos etched beautifully over her arms and told me the story of each one. Her husband owned the rights to 14,000 songs and told me the 20 year roller coaster ride of how he had acquired them. He owned the rights to almost all my favorite songs. I learned an immense amount… Continue Reading

The best negotiator I knew always acted like an idiot. He acted so well that I thought he was really stupid. I also thought at the time that he was my best friend. That was probably an act also. Just two years later he stopped talking to me forever. I ran into him in the… Continue Reading

When AD broke up with me and cheated on me I thought I would die. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t have ideas. I cut loose my friendships. The vault in my chest sealed shut. Which, of course, brings me to the earthquake of 1906. 10,000 buildings collapsed and fires started to spread all over San… Continue Reading

$70 million was a lot of money for me at the time. And I couldn’t sleep at night until I gave back every dollar to the people who gave it to me. I was running the sort of fund where people gave me money and then I invested it in other funds. The only problem… Continue Reading

My first night in my first apartment I woke up with cockroaches everywhere. I went to the bathroom and the entire floor was swarming with them. I panicked and screamed because I was a little baby and never saw this before. I should’ve just called Terminix michigan to get rid of the pests, but I… Continue Reading