I am not a rockstar. But I like to joke that I am, ever since my record label shafted me out of my royalties, all $97 of them.

I’m not a professional animator either, but I briefly worked as one for the New York Times, until they fired me, which at the Times is communicated as “we are putting your project on hold, indefinitely.”

I prefer to measure my life not just by the depth of my successes, but also the breadth of my attempts. To that end, I have been a professional trader and money manager, viral music video director, published author, concert producer, certified personal trainer, Sherpa and college professor. Coffee spoons, be damned.

The Wall Street Journal once accepted an op-ed I submitted for publication, then emailed me to ask “who are you, again?” I was once the most popular person on YouTube, for a week. America’s self-help guru Tony Robbins recommended my video in a tweet and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, panned it in a memoir.

My desire to connect with others is the wind in my sails, and my curiosity is my compass. The best way for me to understand something is by figuring out how to explain it to others.