What one year will do. Let us review shall we. One year ago personally and professionally, I am not afraid to say it…I lacked…focus and was well, let’s just say it, a miserable human being. Markets were tanking, I was in a revolving door of interviews, settling into a new apartment, learning a new world – trying to gain some foundation here in California….San Francisco – trying to learn about why I left my life in New York City for a brave new world.

One year later I can almost quantify the quality of my new life. I’ve found a wonderful home to volunteer with, not just in the Jewish Community, but the Environmental one. I am honored to sit on the Young Leadership Committee of Temple Emmanuel and be the main photographer for San Francisco Green Drinks. Each day I leave my home in beautiful Pacific Heights and within a short amount of commuting time I am right smack in the middle of my office here at Embarcadero Technologies.

Last October I was asked to be the Online Marketing Manager at Embarcadero. I work with amazingly smart, funny and compassionate people. I have the ability to be creative and at the same time am challenged to be better. And in the end, having your office 2 blocks from the San Francisco Ferry Building, your gym in basement and surrounded by natural beauty your mind wanders into a place that it may not have known before…a sort of calming ability to think clearly.

Moving forward into my 2nd year in San Francisco the Jewish New Year is here again. And I am feeling blessed that my life has a strong foundation now. I love my work, I savor the neighborhood I live in, I adore the friends and relationships I’ve built and….feel confident that I can accept the past, understand the good, the not so great – and starting to learn how to truly thinking clearly about the future.

The future is not just what we make of it, but how we harness the best possible scenarios that lie ahead. I am not writing this note to gloat, or to think that I need to prove my happiness. But I’ve seen many cross my path, new to SF, those leaving for new ventures and even those that have spent all their lives here, looking for a way to truly, oh what’s the expression: get busy livin…or get busy dyin…

I hope whether you are Jewish and celebrating the New Year, or perhaps another religion and this is just another day, that each day brings out the best in you and you find any solid foundation you may need. That you are at peace, your family, friends and loved ones know that your heart is pure and your compassion for life is great. And if you happen to stumble upon this, read this and know that you are in a good place in your life…my only request upon you…well, what Yoda asked: pass on what you have learned.

And to my Jews, my beloved Jewish Communities of NYC, SF, LA, Chicago, London, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo(!), Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, …and wherever else the Jewish people may live and breathe…SHANA TOVA!!

Much love and peace….
Michael