never eat alone blog

A Quote to Consider

Great quote from my friend Agapi:

“Confidence has nothing to do with perfection. It has to do with a quality of deep self-acceptance that leads us to do things in a masterful way, as it allows us to speak our mind and our hearts.”

Spontaneous Generosity

This weekend I had an awesome experience at a gospel church here in LA, the Noel Jones Ministry. I would never have heard of it except for the fact that two weeks ago I had an encounter at the gym that turned out to be exactly the kind of blended networking that I’m always after all of you to practice.

That day at the gym I ran into my friend Wilson, a movie guy who just released a big picture nationwide, so I was excited to see him. He was with a friend, Steven, a photographer who I had never met. Spur of the moment, I invited Wilson to come to the reception I was throwing for Mayor Cory Booker.

Steven piped up and said, "Can I come too?"  Of course, he didn’t just ask to come over, he also generously offered to take pictures at the event.

Steven's audacity and spirit of generosity were contagious.  He invited me to his photo exhibit and also to his church, which brought me to the Noel Jones Ministry.

What a great serendipitous encounter - a reminder to be open to those around us, always!

Here are some highlights from the Corey Booker Brunch.

Find more videos like this on Greenlight Community

First European Greenlight Meeting

 

The Greenlight Community had its first European meeting in Paris this week. I truly wish I could have been there. Paris is one of my three favorite cities in the world and someday I will spend even more time there. It is deeply moving to me to have this group leading a movement of such importance in such a magical city! And all this despite the fact that Never Eat Alone has not yet been translated into French.    

Heads up: Milken Institute Global Conference April 27-29

Next month, April 27-29, I’ll be leading a marketing panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference. If you haven’t been before, get your butt to California next month! I think of it as the Davos of the U.S., an incredible meeting of influentials, thought leaders, and policy makers to discuss the most pressing economic and social challenges of the day.  But it’s also one of the only top-notch conferences that’s still open to the public. (For the moment, anyway, you can still register online.) So many of the big mover-and-shaker powwows are now invitation only, and the fact that the Global Conference still keeps its doors open has everything to do with the core beliefs of the man at the center of it – Mike Milken. You might remember from Never Eat Alone that he once quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson to me: “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.”

That kind of thinking animates the entire event - a chance to learn new ideas, hear innovative solutions, listen to inspiring advice and explore new ways of looking at the world from hundreds of amazing thinkers and visionaries across many disciplines.

The conference hosts 3,000 attendees from around the world -- all senior executives and decision-makers from the world's most forward-thinking financial institutions, companies and organizations. Other speakers this year include Steve Forbes, Sherry Lansing, and John Sperling – check out the full list here.

Hope to see some of you there!