I aspire to have Jerry Colonna to be my professional coach.  We swapped notes last year and he told me he is at full capacity and isn't accepting any new clients. I've gotten to know a couple of entrepreneurs to have made it on his client list before he closed it and they've told me that I am in fact missing out. So, when Jason Calacanis had Jerry on This Week In Start-Up, I was intrigued. After I pressed play, I took three full pages of notes and became even more determined to earn a spot on Jerry's client roster int he future.

I considered posting my notes here, but then reconsidered as each of the pieces of wisdom that Jason and Jerry share is incredibly and refreshingly personal.

I know that 90% of you reading this will not invest the 90 minutes to watch this in its entirety, but for those of you that do, I know that you will see the adventure ahead differently.  When you're finished up, shoot me a not or leave a comment below, would love to hear which piece of the discussion jumped out to you most.

UPDATE: Jerry mentions a talk he gives called The Crucible of Leadership. I found a great summary he wrote about that talk over on Fred Wilson's blog HERE. Another great piece of thought provoking questions and deep thoughts worth pausing to explore.

A friend of mine recently had his birthday party in a Meatpacking Gallery space. He invited just about everyone he knew in NYC to be there. He knows a lot of people in NYC. The day of the event, torrential down pour and the kind of rain that no one, regardless of size of umbrella or having Uber on call, escapes.

As a result, the attendance of his birthday party was about half of the RSVP list.

And it was, by his telling, the best weeding out process of real friends vs. tag along when it is convenient friends. He said it was one of the best birthday parties ever because it was just real friends that didn't care about showing up looking like a drown cat for the first five minutes, friends that wanted to be there for him despite the conditions.

Will Smith said, "If you're absent during my struggle, don't expect to be present for my success."

Woody Allen is famous for saying, "Half the secret of success is just showing up."

Whenever there is a change in life circumstances, for the better or for the worse, you learn a lot about your friends. Which ones show up on a rainy day, and which ones wait for the sun to come out.

Here's to being able to spot the difference and be a better friend regardless of weather.

This week, wow. So many things in such a short amount of time. And the effects of them all are going to be much further reaching than the attention span of the 24 hour news cycle. Families in Boston and in West, Texas and those surrounding areas are going to be dealing with the impact that these tragedies made for a long time to come. And, while it is in a much less direct way, I am concerned about the long lasting impact that events like this have on me. Whenever there is an intentional act of evil committed, there is an obsession and in depth look the perpetrators. When the terror is committed in the name of an ideology or religion or as an act of war from one country against another, my mind can wrap my head around it. Not completely, but a little bit more than when it is an act of individual cowardice and pure evil, one human being deciding that he is going to take out as many other human beings as possible. For whatever reasons eventually come forward, they are never understandable.

On September 11, 2001, my 2pm Economics class wasn't canceled when just about every other class was. My professor, a grizzled old Vietnam vet, explained to us that for ever minute of that day and every day going forward that we lived our lives differently because of the acts of terror committed against human kind, for each moment we spent in fear, the terrorist won. They hate our way of life and each moment of our way of life that we lived differently because of them, they claimed victory.

I thought about that statement yesterday afternoon when getting on an incredibly full New York City subway. And I hate that I thought about it then. I hate that, because of these two brothers in Boston, I looked at everyone on the subway with a little bit of suspicion. I hate that their act of cowardice and evil caused me to look at my fellow New Yorkers and their backpacks and wonder. I hate that the shrapnel of the bombs detonated in Boston landed in my consciousness and now requires some healing on my part.

These are insane times we live in. Both here in America and around the world. But, as my professor said, every moment we spend in fear is a moment that they win. Here's to beating back that kind of mental terrorism and reclaiming the benefit of the doubt.

Always remember, "the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows..."

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

In the past week, since returning from SXSW, I've seen more than a handful of examples of New York City tech and digital personalities opening calling out others in our community in the oh so context-less 140 characters of Twitter. From hate mail for big companies like Foursquare or young companies like Bib+Tuck (who I am an advisor to), the call outs haven't been constructive for the companies or their founders and make the VCs, PR professionals, and Media types spouting the digital venom look like playground bullies. Are there conversations to be had about elevating our game? Can we hold the standard high in our community of chip-on-the-shoulder Silicon Alley start-ups? Can we expect more from our fellow entrepreneurs and partners? Yes to all of the above. But, in such a small, by comparison, community of people working in the technology and digital realm, no one is more than one email introduction away.

Success in the NYC digital scene is not a zero sum game that only one company gets to take home the prize. Investments are being made, companies and jobs are being created, and we have a huge cheerleader in the Mayor's office. The fledgling community is at a turning point that has all kinds of potential just around the next bend, but only if as a community we raise the bar in a constructive and actionable way. There are more than enough wins to go around, let's go get them together.

"A rising tide carries all ships." - Warren Buffett