The Hard Thing about Hard Things; by Ben Horowitz-

This book is about Ben's journey through 3 companies and the difficult role of CEO in 2 of them.
A pattern quickly emerges throughout the book basically when he would come to a fork in the road; one road being very hard and the other harder.  Basically the book is about him continuously running into tough spots that he had to go through, find a way through and the "answer" if you can call it that to these problems were always difficult.  It gave me perspective because many things in life can be like that; where there is no easy option; there is option A) tough and option B) tough; and you have to use your best judgement, crunch numbers, use your gut and use any thing you can to determine which road to choose knowing it isn't going to be easy.  Things ended up very well for him and the companies he ran; but he even says while he was in the middle of  some of those situations his reputation was not doing well, people might have been calling him a horrible CEO, only later, long after his decisions paid off do people call him a genius.

Al Sharpton prank call

Ralph Nader before the 2000 election

The Boss Impersonaters - yesmen

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yes men -

I wanted to be

Coolest thing of the year -

I used to work at Bay Ridge realty and financial, in Berkeley. My boss was a nice guy named Steve, I got the job because my mom was friends with his wife. I worked there for about 6 months learning about the business while in college. His wife passed away from cancer about 2 years ago, I believe he had no reason to continue working as hard as he had been. Money didn't mean to him what it used to without the person he loved s o much and shared his life with.

this is a recent email from Steve.


Dear Loved Ones,

Today is the Day!

I fly to India today. It is hard to believe. Time moved quickly.

If I haven't spoken to you recently I apologize. Official excuse: So much to
take care of and get done before I leave. Many times it felt like I would
never complete all my tasks. But I really did. What a relief.

My daughter Chandrika, and
granddaughter, Nayeli (2 1/2 yr.s young)are happily moved in to OUR house
now. Chandrika will have all the up to date news about me. My cell phone
won't take messages until my return.


My first stop in India will be Bombay (Mumbai). Two days of rest, a minor
shopping for clothes, and then I'm heading north towards Pakistan. Not going
to Pakistan. Too scary... A friend from the early seventies lives in Baroda,
Gujarat, just south of the border. He is 80 by now and is a Swami. That
should be a fun visit.

Then I will take a night train to New Delhi in the northeastern part of
India, From there it's on to the base of the foothills of the Himalayas:
Rishikesh. My real destination.

My agenda is to settle in Rishikesh. The tasks include securing a building
to rent or buy, or building one if possible. The task of getting a better
visa with longer durations allowed is immediate as well.

During this time I will be setting up my "ashram schedule". Yoga will be my
newest full time job, complete with lots of overtime. I hope to do a lot of
meditation, chanting of Sanskrit songs, chanting with groups, and trying to
keep silence as much as possible. Every night, at sunset, there are
wonderful gatherings at the River Ganges where the most worshipped River in India gets worshipped some more. A powerful scenario.
I will also be getting private hatha yoga lessons. Ayurveda, an ancient
Indian healing system, thrives in Rishikesh, with many clinics, teaching
programs, etc... I will be working on my health issues under this system.
The surrounding foothills and the collosal mountains beyond are a major
draw. It was only some 35 years ago that I trekked through these higher
mountains. I should be in shape for some trekking in June.

So, with that said, I want to wish each and everyone of you a good life
filled with love, peace, good health and happiness.

Bye for now,
Steve

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