This post will be different, because for me the world is different for me now.
The sun was shining yesterday here but it shone a little (actually) a lot darker.
In posts, it's rare you will see a me or I because for "me" it is ALL about Rory and #teamVERB, what they are doing and what they are striving to achieve.
I am choked up and tears are flowing as I write this.
It is my way of grieving. My way to saying Thanks /Mahalo to the many here that I have started this journey with! Funny one just text me as I wrote that... hey brah, you are a great man and great friend and an even better husband and father!
My introduction to the LAKERS was through arguably (but not to "me"
the greatest sports owners of all time...
Jack Kent Cooke
I grew up going to the Skins games, loving them celebrating the highs and physically getting sick though the lows.
For many many people, they don't know this so here's a piece of history that for me has had a monumental impact in my life.
Jack Kent Cooke owner of the
Washington Redskins (NFL)
Los Angeles Lakers(NBA)
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
Los Angeles Wolves (United Soccer)
Toronto Maple Leafs (IL).
And was the one who developed
The Forum in Inglewood...
Dr. BUSS built
SHOWTIME!
But JKC build its home!
As a kid, I was riveted to watching any game I could 3000 miles away.
Years later.....
Kobe's #8 first game was not at the Staples Center
It wasn't even at the Great Western Forum
It was an away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 3, 1996.
#8 only played six minutes
He came off the bench.
He went scoreless
Had 1 rebound
1 block
And just a single steal.
A few weeks later on Nov. 20, 1996
#8 had his first game in the Great Western Forum against Utah.
Again, coming off the bench
He scored just 11 points in 21 minutes.
3 of 3 from the 3!
In fact, in The Mamba's rookie season he only started 6 games !!!
Of which "I" was lucky enough and now blessed enough to see a few. And over his career, man countless in the Forum and too many to count Playoffs and "nothing" games at the Staples.
My last Lakers game I got to see him at was his Jersey Retirement 2 weeks before I moved from LA to here. It was an incredible night, one of the best I had witnessed of his and he didn't even shoot once
Actually, he slam dunked with his speech
"Those times when you get up early and you work hard," Bryant said during the number-retirement ceremony. "Those times you stay up late and you work hard. Those times when you don't feel like working. You're too tired. You don't want to push yourself, but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream."
And with his short film ‘Dear Basketball’.
https://believeentertainmentgroup.com/portfol...asketball/
I had been in the "industry" at one time for some time.
They played that short and when it ended I turned to my love and said, "he's gonna get nominated for that! That was incredible"
Well, in Momba fashion, he fricken won ...( earned ) that one too.
Kobe Bean Bryant as a kid taught me more about life and how to get after it than most people that were in my life.
I learned you may get beat, that happens, but won't happen is getting out worked!
You may not be great but you can get on the road and walk that long path to becoming it.
And anyone ANYONE can decide to step on that path any second.
My mom whom I lost a few years ago, NEVER watched sports. Ever...
Then came Kobe. She loved him. Absolutely adored him. She would call me screaming with seconds left in a game. She would swear as he hit the game winning shot time and time again. Never failed!
It was his work ethic that impressed her and impacted me.
Well, some here could and will be jaded enough when they don't get where I am going with this, but anyone who knows me or has read and understood where I am coming from knows why I am writing this and how it connects for me.
If it weren't for the lessons I learned from Kobe, I would have never had it in me to email Rory, then call Roey then stop by nFusz. And then ask if I could personally invest after meeting #reamnFusz after sitting with them for an afternoon.
When you see people who are committed to achieving greatness and trust me, when you are around it, you know it, you feel it, not only do you see it you do feel it because it's palpable!
I knew right away where this team was going.
I am fiercely a backer of Rory and all of #teamVERB.
Not because I am invested, but because of what I have seen first hand that made me want to invest in. THEM!
They have it.
And just like his first game before the Mamba was ever The Mamba, #teamVerb is now past coming being scoreless off the bench ...
They are on the path to GREATNESS!
I know there are countless of people here that hate me. I mean hate me. Despise me. And more.
But not as many that hated or despised #8 and then #24...but he never quit or gave up.
Tearing an Achilles then hobbling back on the court to sink those two Free Throws. The rehabbing to come back.
See, noise is only noise if you listen to it.
If you block it out, it's peaceful and serene.
Everyone can walk up to that path and take a step to greatness.
""A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - Confucius
Be a better person starting today.
Love more. Laugh more. Help more.
Learn, Love, Live and Teach Aloha
Here is what I wrote after my trip to NYC.
Just getting my wits about myself after an Epic trip.
Hanging out having drinks with Nat T at St. Cloud looking up at the Times Square Ball.
Then later having more drinks on another rooftop Bar on the 54th Floor aptly name B54 looking down at the Times Square Ball.
Then the 3 of us putting away dogs at 4AM in the middle of Times Square after said drinks talking about how all of this happened and how we got here.
When reality separated for me when things got quiet n the tv studio just before Rory was called out. Standing next to him and Jaymie seeing the support and love they have for one another and then Rory being called out onto stage as he takes that deep breath and right on cue, then becomes Rory the CEO the visionary the man who will and has moved mountains.
Watching his wife beam with sheer joy and pride. His Daughter watching her father do what her dad just keeps doing!
Then seeing Jeff and him share that moment on stage together . a bond that very few will ever comphrened and will only get a glimpse of if Rory ever does write that book!!!
Then the excitment building that is very real absolute organic and overwhelming palpable as the countdown begins.
Whats different. Why does this moment matter? VERB has already uplisted and been trading on the NASDAQ for about a week already... So what's the excitement? As the sp is being attacked before the bell....
In that moment its everyones dreams and support are all in sync. Denise, Mitch, Jeff Dennis, Tal, Chad, Jaymie, etc.. the SC family, investors they were all there to celebrate what Rory has done and Rory was there to Celebrate what's to come for everyone that was sharing that moment.
Then applause, whooping, cheering, hot lights Bell Ringing and confetti .....
Ok so this is were it was profoundly beautiful for me.
As the bell stops ringing and the applause begins to quiet and the stage manager guides everyone off stage, there's Rory... The man who made this happen. The fight he took on and looked in the eyes of his team and investors when doing his videos telling each and every one of us, "I'm telling you, I will, we will make this happen...together"
Well he did it. Late nights, planes, meetings. Road shows, midnight arrivals , trains, in those quiet moments when it feels like the universe is either against you or just testing you that one last time to see of you truly got what champions are made of....it was ALL on his shoulders. He did it.
And you could see the weight. In that moment, there was no whats next on his schedule.
He did the meetings, made those flights hired the right team etc etc and after he walks off stage there was no Rory now you have to.....
I was on the phone with him just after the uplist was announced. It was late his time and we were having just a great conversation. I am lucky, blessed and honored to be able to call him a friend now. So as we were wrapping up the call, he said, ok now its time to watch the videos again, pick the winners and choose others to come.... He did watch every single one. So did many at #teamVERB and they let people know by being able to have a conversation about those videos... What it meant to them, not a just it was nice in passing.
So in that moment when there wasn't one more I have to do .... Rory was there surrounded by everyone who was there for him, you could see it sink in.
And now he gets to do what he wants to and lives to do, is run this company and turn this into what anyone that has done a weekend worth of DD knows whats coming.
This is where he shines.
And the team, I couldn't say it enough. The team/family he has around him are all stellar CEO's in their own right. How everything went off is such short time without a hitch.
The smiles the energy the desire and drive the openness to connect and get to know each and everyone of us is something I have never seen before collectively.
It is spectacular to watch and humbling to be invited in to be a part of.
So, now, Rory and the team are back at it. And they get to do what they love and thrive on doing taking this newly uplisted stock which took a beating getting here and turn this into a MultiBillion Dollar company.
Closing deals and integrations is what they were made for. We know whats coming, the world doesn't ... Yet.....
Stay Tuned!
And to those whom I was lucky enough to meet for the first time, it was my pleasure meeting you and Mahalo for taking the time to talk.
Looking forward to what's next....
Live Life With Aloha
https://investorshangout.com/post/view?id=541...z6CFQ8wW1z
The sun was shining yesterday here but it shone a little (actually) a lot darker.
In posts, it's rare you will see a me or I because for "me" it is ALL about Rory and #teamVERB, what they are doing and what they are striving to achieve.
I am choked up and tears are flowing as I write this.
It is my way of grieving. My way to saying Thanks /Mahalo to the many here that I have started this journey with! Funny one just text me as I wrote that... hey brah, you are a great man and great friend and an even better husband and father!
My introduction to the LAKERS was through arguably (but not to "me"
the greatest sports owners of all time... Jack Kent Cooke
I grew up going to the Skins games, loving them celebrating the highs and physically getting sick though the lows.
For many many people, they don't know this so here's a piece of history that for me has had a monumental impact in my life.
Jack Kent Cooke owner of the
Washington Redskins (NFL)
Los Angeles Lakers(NBA)
Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
Los Angeles Wolves (United Soccer)
Toronto Maple Leafs (IL).
And was the one who developed
The Forum in Inglewood...
Dr. BUSS built
SHOWTIME!
But JKC build its home!
As a kid, I was riveted to watching any game I could 3000 miles away.
Years later.....
Kobe's #8 first game was not at the Staples Center
It wasn't even at the Great Western Forum
It was an away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 3, 1996.
#8 only played six minutes
He came off the bench.
He went scoreless
Had 1 rebound
1 block
And just a single steal.
A few weeks later on Nov. 20, 1996
#8 had his first game in the Great Western Forum against Utah.
Again, coming off the bench
He scored just 11 points in 21 minutes.
3 of 3 from the 3!
In fact, in The Mamba's rookie season he only started 6 games !!!
Of which "I" was lucky enough and now blessed enough to see a few. And over his career, man countless in the Forum and too many to count Playoffs and "nothing" games at the Staples.
My last Lakers game I got to see him at was his Jersey Retirement 2 weeks before I moved from LA to here. It was an incredible night, one of the best I had witnessed of his and he didn't even shoot once
Actually, he slam dunked with his speech
"Those times when you get up early and you work hard," Bryant said during the number-retirement ceremony. "Those times you stay up late and you work hard. Those times when you don't feel like working. You're too tired. You don't want to push yourself, but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream."
And with his short film ‘Dear Basketball’.
https://believeentertainmentgroup.com/portfol...asketball/
I had been in the "industry" at one time for some time.
They played that short and when it ended I turned to my love and said, "he's gonna get nominated for that! That was incredible"
Well, in Momba fashion, he fricken won ...( earned ) that one too.
Kobe Bean Bryant as a kid taught me more about life and how to get after it than most people that were in my life.
I learned you may get beat, that happens, but won't happen is getting out worked!
You may not be great but you can get on the road and walk that long path to becoming it.
And anyone ANYONE can decide to step on that path any second.
My mom whom I lost a few years ago, NEVER watched sports. Ever...
Then came Kobe. She loved him. Absolutely adored him. She would call me screaming with seconds left in a game. She would swear as he hit the game winning shot time and time again. Never failed!
It was his work ethic that impressed her and impacted me.
Well, some here could and will be jaded enough when they don't get where I am going with this, but anyone who knows me or has read and understood where I am coming from knows why I am writing this and how it connects for me.
If it weren't for the lessons I learned from Kobe, I would have never had it in me to email Rory, then call Roey then stop by nFusz. And then ask if I could personally invest after meeting #reamnFusz after sitting with them for an afternoon.
When you see people who are committed to achieving greatness and trust me, when you are around it, you know it, you feel it, not only do you see it you do feel it because it's palpable!
I knew right away where this team was going.
I am fiercely a backer of Rory and all of #teamVERB.
Not because I am invested, but because of what I have seen first hand that made me want to invest in. THEM!
They have it.
And just like his first game before the Mamba was ever The Mamba, #teamVerb is now past coming being scoreless off the bench ...
They are on the path to GREATNESS!
I know there are countless of people here that hate me. I mean hate me. Despise me. And more.
But not as many that hated or despised #8 and then #24...but he never quit or gave up.
Tearing an Achilles then hobbling back on the court to sink those two Free Throws. The rehabbing to come back.
See, noise is only noise if you listen to it.
If you block it out, it's peaceful and serene.
Everyone can walk up to that path and take a step to greatness.
""A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - Confucius
Be a better person starting today.
Love more. Laugh more. Help more.
Learn, Love, Live and Teach Aloha
Here is what I wrote after my trip to NYC.
Just getting my wits about myself after an Epic trip.
Hanging out having drinks with Nat T at St. Cloud looking up at the Times Square Ball.
Then later having more drinks on another rooftop Bar on the 54th Floor aptly name B54 looking down at the Times Square Ball.
Then the 3 of us putting away dogs at 4AM in the middle of Times Square after said drinks talking about how all of this happened and how we got here.
When reality separated for me when things got quiet n the tv studio just before Rory was called out. Standing next to him and Jaymie seeing the support and love they have for one another and then Rory being called out onto stage as he takes that deep breath and right on cue, then becomes Rory the CEO the visionary the man who will and has moved mountains.
Watching his wife beam with sheer joy and pride. His Daughter watching her father do what her dad just keeps doing!
Then seeing Jeff and him share that moment on stage together . a bond that very few will ever comphrened and will only get a glimpse of if Rory ever does write that book!!!
Then the excitment building that is very real absolute organic and overwhelming palpable as the countdown begins.
Whats different. Why does this moment matter? VERB has already uplisted and been trading on the NASDAQ for about a week already... So what's the excitement? As the sp is being attacked before the bell....
In that moment its everyones dreams and support are all in sync. Denise, Mitch, Jeff Dennis, Tal, Chad, Jaymie, etc.. the SC family, investors they were all there to celebrate what Rory has done and Rory was there to Celebrate what's to come for everyone that was sharing that moment.
Then applause, whooping, cheering, hot lights Bell Ringing and confetti .....
Ok so this is were it was profoundly beautiful for me.
As the bell stops ringing and the applause begins to quiet and the stage manager guides everyone off stage, there's Rory... The man who made this happen. The fight he took on and looked in the eyes of his team and investors when doing his videos telling each and every one of us, "I'm telling you, I will, we will make this happen...together"
Well he did it. Late nights, planes, meetings. Road shows, midnight arrivals , trains, in those quiet moments when it feels like the universe is either against you or just testing you that one last time to see of you truly got what champions are made of....it was ALL on his shoulders. He did it.
And you could see the weight. In that moment, there was no whats next on his schedule.
He did the meetings, made those flights hired the right team etc etc and after he walks off stage there was no Rory now you have to.....
I was on the phone with him just after the uplist was announced. It was late his time and we were having just a great conversation. I am lucky, blessed and honored to be able to call him a friend now. So as we were wrapping up the call, he said, ok now its time to watch the videos again, pick the winners and choose others to come.... He did watch every single one. So did many at #teamVERB and they let people know by being able to have a conversation about those videos... What it meant to them, not a just it was nice in passing.
So in that moment when there wasn't one more I have to do .... Rory was there surrounded by everyone who was there for him, you could see it sink in.
And now he gets to do what he wants to and lives to do, is run this company and turn this into what anyone that has done a weekend worth of DD knows whats coming.
This is where he shines.
And the team, I couldn't say it enough. The team/family he has around him are all stellar CEO's in their own right. How everything went off is such short time without a hitch.
The smiles the energy the desire and drive the openness to connect and get to know each and everyone of us is something I have never seen before collectively.
It is spectacular to watch and humbling to be invited in to be a part of.
So, now, Rory and the team are back at it. And they get to do what they love and thrive on doing taking this newly uplisted stock which took a beating getting here and turn this into a MultiBillion Dollar company.
Closing deals and integrations is what they were made for. We know whats coming, the world doesn't ... Yet.....
Stay Tuned!
And to those whom I was lucky enough to meet for the first time, it was my pleasure meeting you and Mahalo for taking the time to talk.
Looking forward to what's next....
Live Life With Aloha
https://investorshangout.com/post/view?id=541...z6CFQ8wW1z
23
