VCinJerusalem

Getting Back to Work....And Then Life Gets In The Way

So we all know what it's like trying to get back to work after the Summer slowdown...late August there lingers in the global air a sense of not here and not there. People dribbling back to work. Many parents (and kids) expectantly waiting for the first day of school.

But in many ways we are tired. Just check out my youngest, Mishael, after our family vacation:

And just as we are turning the corner, to re-energize for the coming year, life comes along and reminds us that not everything works according to plan, for the good and the bad.

For the good, I can give an example of my oldest son Adin's bar-mitzva celebration. The Summer may be coming to a close, but that does not stop the fact that he becoming a man. And so we extend ourselves, pushing off work pressures (my venture capital activities, Haviva's books and classes) to focus in on Adin. As much as we can, with five other children, parents visiting from abroad, uncles and aunts, etc.

We (well, at least I) need to remind ourselves that these moments are life itself, they are not what we must get through to get on with life.

This Sunday morning Adin will stand and take his place as a adult, and boy, does this world need him to take up a little responsibility (and then more, and more).

And on Monday, I will re-focus a bit more on other parts of my life. Perhaps if we would truly live holistics lives, the phrase itself "Getting Back Work" would not exist. It would only be more living and more living.

To life, my friends, to life. May your life be filled with it

Celebrate Life, Even in Face of Death

A year ago my cousin's husband, who was a friend and business associate of mine directly as well, was diagnosed with life-threatening stomach cancer. Jeremy Coleman had always fused his life with tremendous optimism, energy and excitement. Probably some of the reasons my cousin fell for him...

Jeremy and Pam were married almost 9 years ago, and brought three beautiful children, Zoe, Leo, and Gil, into this world.

Many of us would crumble after hearing a doctor say to us that a terminal disease is coursing its way through the body. Not Jeremy -- he was determined to celebrate life. In between treatments this past year, Jeremy and Pam grabbed the moment, and traveled to Vietnam, where Jeremy had always wanted to visit.

Jeremy passed away last night, and we attended his funeral this afternoon -- but rather than leaving sad, we left inspired. Everyone around us had been in awe of Jeremy's love of life, and belief that the world could be made a better place. A friend of Jeremy and Pam's, who was one of Pam's teachers when she first came to Israel, reminded us that in Jewish law that if a messenger does an act in someone's name, it is if the person herself directly did that act-- and called upon us all to be Jeremy's messengers in this world.

May we blessed to celebrate life as Jeremy did, even when we are told all is falling apart.

Jeremy Coleman, of blessed memory

18 Forever

This past week Haviva and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. Mazel Tov. After four cities, two countries, and six children, our love and commitment is 18 times as strong as it was way back when -- and even then I thought, wow, how could it get any better?!

What is our secret, in a world where half [at least] of first marriages don't last? Well, I think it's a combination of many things, but for me the most important thing is that we are still 18. Wait, how is that possible -- did we marry at birth? In the kabbalistic [mystical] realm maybe, but no, what I mean is that we have preserved our enthusiasm for life and living it together no different than we were 18, just a little smarter and more experienced (it helps that Haviva still looks 18!).

Haviva and I met when we were 18, and it took us almost three years to officially "marry" (at age 21), but I still look at her like the day we met -- just much more in love. I hate to sound so sappy, but its true and I am thrilled to share with the world.

What is it mean to look at life from the eyes of an 18 year old? To believe anything is possible, anything is achievable. That there is an essential goodness to the other, and to be always optimistic, even when recognizing the challenges.

18 has become a magical number in many parts of the world, in Jewish numerology has long been a "lucky" number, as the letter for the hebrew word Chai [life] add up to 18. Oh, and our initials spell out Chai....

18 is the point at which the Western world deems you and adult--able to vote, fight, and yes, marry.

At the 18 point in our marriage, I am ready to [re]dedicate myself to a life together with Haviva and our expanding family...may we enjoy many more "18" moments together. Mazel Tov.

Where Google Goes, the Dollar is Not Far Behind

Google has represented the decade we are now winding down, and tracked the resurgence of the American economy after the blows of NASDAQ implosion in 2000 and then of course 9/11. With the succesful growth of Google, its IPO took off, and while I thought it was a short at 80, stock price continued to climb.

While the dollar did not follow the same meteoric rise over the past 6-7 years as the Google stock price, Google is many ways was keeping the dollar propped up, overshadowing the many serious problems in the American economy and government (not the least the American invasion and occupation of Iraq, costing the American taxpayer, which includes me, more money than it would take to feed all the hungry people in the world).

Clicks. Click throughs. PPC. Adwords. Adsense. These are the ingredients of Google's billions of dollars of profits (and still insane valuation). What it boils down to is the ultimate American value point: marketing. The Google guys convinced the world that clicks=$$, and until the emperors cloths start to fade noone knows he is standing there naked (or nude, if you prefer). But how well tested is the core Google theory? What are conversion rates really like? None of "know," tremendous amount of guesswork involved. Look back to my post on Jaxtr for a taste of emptiness of usage--10 million users and no revenue to speak of, in my eyes that is not a business.

Now, let me stress that while I know little about the public markets, I know far less about the global currency market. When my children ask me about the dollar falling in value against the Shekel, I blabber for a bit about "shakiness in the American economy," but actually have no idea what I am saying. I do know, however, that much like Google, America marketed itself well, even in the face of some astonishingly stupid moves in the world. In 1990 we defended one dictatorship from another (to this day not clear why). In 2001, in response to 19 Saudi men bombing New York and Washington the US went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Go explain that one to your kids.

Now people are losing confidence in Google, and in the Greenback. As long as you cashed out and your life is all in dollars, nothing to  worry about.

For those of us who live in the world, and I mean in the world...multi-currency,  multi-lingual,  multi-national,  the  rapid deterioration of the  Google stock price and  the dollar  remind  us  that we cannot rest  all our hopes on one player. Going global means being global, and even living in Jerusalem (in the center of the world) I am feeling left behind. Time to move savings in multiple currencies. Time to figure where the next waves are coming from -- because Google Greenbacks are so....what do we call this decade?

Mazel Tov: And Now There Are Six (Ner-David children...)

With great joy Haviva and I, along with Michal, Adin, Meira, Hallel, and Nachum, are proud to tell you of a new addition to our family, Mishael Binyamin.

No, you did not miss anything, Mishael is a wonderful 7 month old baby boy, who comes to us via an orphanage here in Israel where he has been living since he was born. Some time ago Haviva and I decided we had room in our hearts (and house, after most recent expansion) for another child. Influenced by many, including our families and friends (most of all our dear friends Yosef and Susan Silverman-Abramowitz and their children, Aliza, Hallel, Adar, Zamir, and Ashira), we decided to synthesize our desire for another child with our dedication to Tikkun Olam--Repairing the World.

While there are needs all over the world, we decided to look right here at home, and over a year ago registered with the Israeli Ministry of Health and Welfare (Service for the Child division) as being open to adopting. There were many meetings with our social worker, and then a six week intensive course together with other families with biological children that are open to adopting.

Last week we got a call, and we answered it. Today Mishael comes home.

Mishael (pronounced Misha-El) is named after my maternal grandfather, Moshe (Morris) Sterenbuch, of blessed memory. Zayde Morris moved as a young child from Russia to America, being "adopted," as it were, by his new country. My grandfather loved his new country, and I am the result of that wonderful process. We pray that we can provide a home for Mishael as loving and warm as my grandfather had, as a child and as an adult (I have never met anyone who loved as deeply as my Zayde Morris, he was a true family man).

Binyamin is the name our new son came to us with, but by "chance" it is also the name of Haviva's great grandfather.

In due course there will be a formal celebration, but obviously could not wait to share the news. May we all be blessed to find the home meant for us.

Pictures below....Mazel Tov.