A lot of people don't know this, but I have been in a relationship with another man since 2007. Both of us being adults, made this legally binding decision freely and with confidence because it was right for us. There have been ups and downs, but, like all relationships, we have found ways to work through it and move on. Our ability to do what is in each other's best interest and build something awesome together was in no way impeded by the fact that we are both men.

Before we entered into this relationship, we talked through what would happen if one of us were to pass away, become disabled, or want to leave the relationship at some point in the future. We knew what we were getting ourselves into and the government said it was okay by them.

Amazingly, our contract to enter into this relationship wasn't protested because we were both men. When we finished filing our documents, no one else felt like we were encroaching on their relationship or keeping them from having a fulfilling lifelong relationship as a result. Our all male relationship didn't keep anyone who was in a man and woman relationship from living out that choice for them.  When it was all said and done, the LLC that me my business partner formed didn't affect ANYONE but us.

And, while forming an LLC is a much less emotionally charged issue than that of legally recognized marriage, there are some stark and clear parallels that I can't help but think about today.  When two adults decide that they want to enter into a lifelong relationship, who should be able to stop them? The government sees no reason to not let me and my male business partner be committed to each other for life because our gender, age, and race make no difference in our ability to make that decision for ourselves.

On an even more personal note, Annie and I are in love. And have been for almost ten years. We've chosen to build our lives together, are committed to each other, and don't need anyone to tell us that our love isn't as real as theirs because we don't have a marriage certificate. But, when the day comes and we decide that we want to sign that legal document, I can't even imagine what I would do if people who don't know us told us we couldn't because they didn't like that we were in love. Our love doesn't affect them and has nothing to do with theirs.

Love is a choice between two people. Not the church. Not the government. Love is not something to be regulated or allowed. Love is far bigger than any definition we can put on it.

"Love is only a word until we decide to let it possess us with all its force. Love is only a word until someone arrives to give it meaning." - Paulo Coelho

This week on Forbes I only shared part of the story about increasing time in 2013. I made the bold claim that, if you found one hour each day to be more productive than you were the year before, you could add 365 hours of time to your year. Or said another way, 15.2 days of better living in 2013. (Read it HERE) Awesome thought right? Who wouldn't love an extra two weeks to get things done in the new year?

The idea hit me while recovering from jet lag after our Thanksgiving trip to Europe. I was going to be at my usual time (midnight) but waking up an hour earlier than normal (4:45ish) and functioning just fine each day on less sleep than I usually run on. So one morning around 5:15 as I started my 2nd cup of coffee, the thought struck me, what if I slept one hour less everyday for a year? That question led to the math that lead to the Forbes post this week. If I slept one hour less every day in the new year, I would be AWAKE for an additional 15.2 days worth of the year.

So, like I frequently do when I have an epiphany over my early morning coffee before anyone else is awake, I sent myself an email reminder to run the idea past some friends later in the day. When I did, I was met with two reactions:

1) You are freak who doesn't need sleep, stop judging me. In fact, you are unhealthy for sleeping as little as you do now.

2) That's cool, but what on earth would I do with all that extra time?

The first reaction was some what in jest, but it was definitely interesting to see how long people sleep being such a hot button issue that my suggestion of GAINING TWO WEEKS OF AWAKE TIME IN THE NEW YEAR set off their defenses.

But the second reaction was actually more concerning to me. Some of the very same people who I've heard complain recently of not being as far along on projects or goals as they'd hoped were viewing the sacrifice of sleep as a price too high to pay. Or that whatever they might be able to accomplish in that extra hour wouldn't be as valuable as an extra hour between the sheets.

This is not a post recommending you sleep 5-6 hours like I do, I know that isn't for everyone. But I am of the mind to say that it is amazing what you body can do when it is trained to. It is even more amazing to see what your mind can do when it is trained to consider every waking or sleeping hour as part of a much bigger plan.  My goals and ambitions stress me out everyday. The "what" and "why" are bigger than what I can see as far as the "how" are concerned. Most nights when I go to bed I am already thinking about what I am going to be working on when I get up the next morning.

Again, this rant isn't to say that my sleep patterns are to be modeled or are right for anyone other than me. But it is to say that, I hope in the new year, every hour of your day, waking or sleeping, will be considered as far game towards getting you to your goals and the ambitions that you have for the new year and that those goals and ambitions will be big enough that all habits and patterns are open for discussion and modification to optimize your life in the new year.

When Bruce Wayne decides to get back out on the streets of Gotham as the Batman, he does so because others need him to. He does so because it seems like the right thing to do and that he is the right person to do it. All of those things are true. There isn't another super hero waiting in the wings on. But, (spoiler alert) when he comes up against the pure evil of Bane, he stands no chance the first time around. The reason was simply the "WHY" In one of the best TEDTalks out there, Simon Sinek talks about the difference between how good companies and great companies talk about what they do. Good companies explain what they do and then share how they do it. Great companies explain WHY they do what they do and the beliefs that back their motivation and then may also mention how and what they do to help round out the story. It is an 18 minutes well worth the time.

In thinking about Bane's WHY vs. Batman's WHY, it was crystal clear that Bane would win out in their first encounter (that and there was almost two hours left in the movie...)

His belief was forged in something bigger than himself and a quest that had nothing to do with personal gain. Bane's belief was the playing out of a vision that would last much longer after he was gone. The belief behind Batman's WHY was conjured at best.

When advising start-ups or taking a look at any new projects myself, the first thing that I am learning to ask is WHY. WHY does this project, opportunity, or company care more about the problem they're solving and the solution their providing than everyone else? WHY am I willing to turn down other initiatives and potentially also successful endeavors to see this one through? WHY does this campaign towards something that others are also considering get their first and with more gusto?

If I can't answer that question, I too will end up missing a vertebrae and exiled to a professional living hell until I find the strength to act first on belief and then out of confidence in that belief.

Believe it or not, it's halftime. The craziness that began 2012 has't stopped for 6 months and now you are on the down hill side of this calendar year. Everything that you said, "This will happen in 2012" that hasn't, only has 26 weeks left to be accomplished.  The way this year will be remembered hangs in the balance and you've been given a moment here at halftime to make sure that you don't let 2012 slip through your fingers. Let's think through your performance in the first half. You took some good shots, you push hard on some of the new ideas that you'd been tinkering with, and you even exploited those that stood in your way and made their defense look weak. But, you also took more time to get to the goal than you needed, your pace started great but was dragging by the time the end of the 2nd quarter rolled around, and you allowed others to walk all over you when it came time to block their blatant attempts at accelerating your defeat.

So right now, in this slow moment between halves when everyone else is sipping Gatorade and reliving their one highlight moment of the first half, this is the chance that you've been asking for to clean the slate from what was and take command of what's to come. It's right now that you can lock in on the strategies that worked in the first half and get rid of the ones that didn't and the ones that held you down. Right now is all that matters because right now is all you have.

This year won't be won out on the battlefield, this year will be won the place that all great victories are won: in the moments of preparation and commitment in the in between.

Hustle now or forever hold your peace.

This quote was shared with me this weekend by a very good friend, Randy Brandoff. We then discussed the things that we are respectively are interested in and that we do very well. Now it is on us to live out the rest of the truth in this quote and put soul into it. "The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have."

- John D. Rockefeller