It didn’t take long for Mr. Perkins to Miyagi me into a disciplined student, who could not only tackle reading comprehension exercises on end, but actually enjoy it. For me, the appreciation for my studies and the stillness it required was the ultimate gift.

Numerous heroes have unfortunately endured self-inflicted tragedies: Tiger Woods, OJ Simpson, Lance Armstrong, and Bill Clinton to name a few.

I often battle with my ego, asking myself how to impact more people. Do people even read the MML? Could I be doing more? Why do I continue doing this? Your responses to the call of action were my answer.

Your speaking of living to expectations touches on a reality many experience. I remember struggling with that myself along the way.

When others saw you as shallow, pretentious, and superficial, you showed me you could be just as genuine, honest and giving as the best of them. But what did I do?

When I look in the mirror, I see a man that I’m proud of—and a work in progress.

I could write a book on the mental toll getting benched had on me. Realizing someone else’s “best” is better than mine and losing the spot to a friend was incredibly humbling, but it was a season that forever changed my life.

In reflecting on this journey and the truly transformative impact it’s had on my life, I realized that certain core lessons are applicable for any goal that anyone pursues.

Despite the pain I felt then, I do think it strengthened me, allowing me to mature into who I am today.

Slowly, I began making small compromises, betrayals of my belief system. I stopped strategizing the game and instead started taking pieces off the board.

What have we been doing with our voices, our pens, our stories, our genius, our bodies, wrapped in our color? What?

There are people you cross paths with in life that are so strong and powerful, they unlock the strength and power that is buried deep within you. They see you when you can’t see yourself.

We need to keep advancing the ball down the field. Continue to stand on the shoulders of all those before us.

I spent most of my life looking outside of myself for the answers, which slowly but surely whittled my intuition down to a brittle stick - barely something to lean on.

To me what we’re dealing with is far deeper than skin issues. This fight will be fought long after we’re gone, but that doesn’t absolve me of doing my part, or feeling like this is too steep an incline to climb.

Embrace it, listen to it, and allow it to inform your next move. Become a reporter = success (and I did it!) but that same job sent me into a deep depression.

So why is entrepreneurship and venture capital so important to me? Because it’s personal. Deeply personal. It fed me...literally.

I think one’s legacy is directly correlated to the impact they make…

Anywhere that people gather, groups are more complete when they’re composed of people that provide differentiated perspectives and skillsets.