To make things easier — because I know things currently are just the opposite — the answer is simple: I needed to be happy. The formula was a no-brainer…
My brother is my best friend + We share skill sets that are similar but supportive (he is the math person, I am the big picture person) + We make each other laugh = Happiness and Health.
So what do we do now that makes us healthy and happy? A little over a year ago, my brother and I started a social impact-driven production company. It has become more apparent than ever, that the name of our company rings true. We are NOT A BILLIONAIRE. At it’s heart, the name simply means good Samaritan.
You don’t need to be a billionaire to help out your fellow human.
We decided that our combined skill sets could be used to embody this message. We are storytellers, and as you know, humanity throughout history has connected through stories. Our drive stems from the deep entrepreneurial spirit of our family that is built into the fabric of New England. From fishmongers and restaurateurs, to an award-winning trauma nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess, we have seen firsthand what it takes to reach success: a combination of grit, desire, a little luck, and to be completely cliché, to see failure as nothing more but a stepping stone.
Max (yes, that’s his name!) and I are striving to be social impact warriors. Together we have the grit and the desire, and have already been lucky enough to work with some of the most inspirational individuals and organizations: a memory-athlete who climbs Everest for Alzheimer’s, a woman running 50 marathons in 50 days to end the silence around domestic violence, to working with the Alzheimer’s Association, Nokia, Discovery Channel, Lokai, NowThis and others (like Thrive Global 😉 ). We have been grateful this last year to work with such amazing humans who believe and trust in our spirit and our work.
Our success is not measured by dollar signs (or fish) but by the lives we’re impacting. To drive it back home — I quit to work with my brother because it is what makes me happy and keeps me healthy. And those two points are more important to me than anything else.
You’ll notice that there is a video attached to this article. That is a new show my brother and I launched together on New England Sports Network. This show was a dream come true for me. Taking us back to our Boston roots, and it is an opportunity to direct my brother in his element. Our new digital series PILLOW TALK SHOW is an unscripted 3-camera sports and entertainment talk show. Where is history rewritten? Where do our most intimate secrets get shared? Where do our bonds form? It’s during pillow talk. We all want to know the latest trade rumors, inside information, and gossip within the sports world. The host, sports broadcaster, and my brother, Max Berkowitz takes the sports interview show and gets…intimate. Sports industry experts, celebrities, writers, athletes, and fans, will all hop in bed with Max to dish all things sports. It’s funny, uncomfortable, but through Max’s genuine good-natured personality, guests are able to get intimate and really open up. And of course, because of our passion to make positive change in the world, we have added a charitable aspect to the show. Details are still being worked out — but lucky fans of the show will be given a chance to win a mattress designed to the specification of the celebrity guest, and all proceeds will go to a selected charitable organization.
I end you with this…
Do what makes you happy.
For additional reading, here is a The Boston Globe article published on our new show. Click here
Originally published at medium.com