Years ago, I asked a young boy begging on the streets of India what he wanted most in the world. His answer was simple: “a pencil.” I reached into my backpack and handed him one of my own, and immediately saw his eyes light up with possibility. In that moment, I felt a sense of purpose that has driven my actions ever since.

Let's start with a basic fact - Buzzfeed and Upworthy are able to get us to open their articles with far higher frequency than most other websites. But how?

One of the first video games to really blow my mind was Contra. The Nintendo classic came out when I was just a kid, but in modern culture it’s more famous for its cheat code than the actual gameplay.

The internet was set ablaze last night by film director Michael Bay's meltdown on stage at CES when the teleprompter apparently malfunctioned and didn't show his prepared remarks properly. As you can see below, he became so flustered that he walked offstage entirely and abandoned the talk altogether

This is the time of year when we all make New Year’s Resolutions to improve health, well-being and happiness. So in the spirit of the time, I’d like to share three essential practices that you can implement today that will improve your life drastically.‍

I had a call this morning with someone who is launching a new idea and was seeking advice on how to get it off the ground. In her words, “I’m so passionate about this one issue, but I have no idea how to solve the whole thing when I’m starting so small.” Here was my advice to get an idea off the ground :1- Publicly set a bold but attainable goal.

Last month, I noticed a few people on my Facebook feed sharing a link to a Reddit post that announced the launch of something called the Pineapple Fund. The person behind it wrote that they’d been an early investor in Bitcoin and felt as though at a certain point, enough money is enough, and he or she now wanted to donate $86M in Bitcoin to charities.

When my friend Dan Teicher sent me the music video above, it did just that. For years he's been telling me about his desire to craft a music video using the years of footage he has of his grandparents' life together.

It's not every day that you have the opportunity to meet one of your real life heroes. Not a mainstream celebrity, but someone who you've watched and admired from a distance thinking, "Am I the only one who is so transfixed by this individual?"

Every so often you come across a clip that's just so insane you have to share it. This crew of "urban skiers" prove that you can pursue your passion in any environment. Using wooden crates, cinder blocks and snow, they create ramps out of abandoned buildings, rooftops and anything else you can imagine.This clip is well worth all 10 minutes.

Sometimes you see news headlines proclaiming miracles that seem too extraordinary to believe. “Man reunited with lost love fifty years later,” or “Child falls thirty floors and only suffers a broken leg,” they read. I’ve always questioned the truth of these tall tales, but for the first time in my life I read one of those headlines last night and when I clicked to watch the local news story, I saw a member of my own family being profiled.

What’s the difference between a one time success and those that build a culture that produces an enduring legacy? Learn the five keys that the most successful teams in the world have imbued into their mentality and processes to create repeatable, resounding successes that powers year-over-year growth and evolution.

Imagine a world where disruption isn't a constant threat, but a playground for innovation. Where leaders, instead of scrambling to keep up, are shaping the very landscape of their industries. This isn't science fiction – it's the power of foresight.

Why the best advice I've ever received or given - "Make the little decisions with your head, and the big ones with your heart" - is such a transformative ideology for so many.

This is an abbreviated version of the original article that appeared in the First Round Review called "The Habit Behind This Founder’s Fast Financings, Product Development and Book Deal" on September 20 2017. Written by the First Round team.

Within the last year, I have moved across the country, immersed myself in a new industry, and launched a new company. But most notably, I became a father.With the joy of welcoming newborn twins into the world this past November, I experienced a tectonic shift. My personal vision, my professional rituals, and my overall life mission ceased to be certain to me.

Now that fall is approaching and kids are headed back to school I find myself fascinated with the act of motivation.When it strikes, suddenly you're eating healthy for the first time in months or working all day on a brand new idea you deeply believe in.

Have you ever had someone directly criticize you in public? It’s humiliating right? Earlier this month I hopped on a flight to give a talk at a college that chose The Promise of a Pencil as the common read for all their students.

Anytime you publish a book, there are many rounds of drafts, iterations and edits. If your book is put out by a major house, as I experienced with Simon & Schuster, you have several “passes” at the manuscript until there comes the daunting day when they essentially say, “Once you email your approval, there can be no more changes, the book will go to the printers and into the world.”

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how much competition drives people. Would you describe yourself as personally competitive? How are you viewing competition?

In today’s culture, the phrase “influencer” is thrown around quite frequently. It usually describes an individual who has an outsized impact on the lives of others. These people are often quantified through the size of their followings on social media or the depth of engagement we see when they share a new piece of content.

Three weeks ago I went to the underground Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village with my fiancé for a Friday night of laughs. It was the week that The Promise of a Pencil launched, so I figured there’s no better way to take the edge off than with my lady and some laughter.

Yesterday I found out that The Promise of a Pencil will be spending its second week on the New York Times Bestseller list. It debuted at #2 last week and within five days completely sold out all of Amazon and BN.com’s stock nationwide.This week it’s at #8, joining a list of authors in the Top 10 that includes Arianna Huffington, President Jimmy Carter, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill O’Reilly, Chelsea Handler and Sheryl Sandberg.