by Steve Wolf | Jun 2, 2013 | Business, Giving Back, Lifestyle
In the great words of the late Perry P. (my friend, mentor and role model in the later part of my formative years) he told me: “Steve, In life, believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see. ”
I have been in business for a long time now. In about two weeks I’ll be 29 years old. I haven’t work a “W-2” type job taking a paycheck since I was 18 years old. First it was my clothing company All Else Failed Ind., I built that company out of front room in my little dingy apartment in South Los Angeles. Everyone told me it was a stupid idea, my partner Justin ended up quitting 6 months in to it, but by the end of the first year, I was selling my clothes in 35 states and out in the UK.
When I was 20 years old, I got in to the financial services business breaking off and starting my firm in 2003, I built that little brokerage in to a company doing 10-15 million a month in transactions. During that time I published my first book about my life growing up which I have now sold thousands of copies of.
When the industry crashed in 2008, my life fell apart. My mentor died, I lost my business leaving me about $140k in debt, parents were struggling, broke up with a girlfriend of 2 years, my best friend at the time screwed me over and a con-artist posing as roommate stole my last $10,000 that I had.
I realized that when I lost all of the material stuff, and my status and prestige was taken from me when life humbled me, the only thing I really had left that mattered to me in my life was my honor, loyalty and integrity. I watched fair weather friends disappear when the money was gone. I lost people who I thought were my friends over money and women. I lost hope at times and was furious with god because I couldn’t understand why he would take such innocent people away from me.
When I finally came in to acceptance about the reality of my life, I began to question everything, the meaning of my life, who my friends were, who I thought I was or was supposed to be, and generally everything.
I made a commitment to myself that no matter what happened, no matter how bad it got, that I would never sell my integrity. My idea of success changed. Instead of wanting to get money to be rich, I started to pursue happiness, and serve the truth, defy the lies, and get willing to be in a place where I was willing to sacrifice anything including my life to stand up for what I believe in.
When I made this decision, life got simple. It was easy for me to determine what people were good for me, and what people I needed to cut of my life. In business, I found a company and built an organization in to the 1000’s to watch it fall apart by some unscrupulous people. Then I got in to another company, built it in to the 1000’s again to watch it fall apart one more time by some unscrupulous people. I have learned now more than ever that no matter what someone says to you, the only way you can really judge them is by their actions. I have been sold the world by people. People I’ve been in business with have promised me the world and were really nice to me up until the time I disagreed with them. Perry P. was right all along. I should have only judged by actions, trusted my gut an intuition, but that’s been hard to navigate when your young or new at something or trusting in the success of the edified people. Regardless of the inequalities that I have felt, and putting behind all of the times that I have been lied to, or stabbed in the back in my personal and professional life, no one can say I was dishonest. No one can say that I told lies or mislead people with malicious intent. Basically, through thick and thin and like Perry, and all my other mentors, I remained honorable.
I am at another one of those transitional times in my career. It’s exciting to me because I know things I didn’t know before and I am finally going to get a chance to prove myself. In order to see if you outgrew your Sensei or guru, you must challenge them, if you win, than your right, you became better, more enlightened, but if you lose, you’re a fool. So if your going to go at it alone, you must be ready to accept all of the consequences that come with it, and further more be ready to humble yourself if you did in fact bite off more than you can chew. In my case, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be in this moment and it’s time to start a new chapter. This is the only moment I have, my conscience is clear, my side of the street is clean and I’m ready to put a dent in the world!
Today, Im a free agent again. I am young, single, healthy, well-educated and street smart. I know more now than I ever have before in my life. To me, I have found true serenity in the way I live because I realize that despite all of the injustice in the world and all of the suffering, I choose to be a part of the solution. NO ONE GETS A WAY WITH ANYTHING, eventually the world has a way of correcting the imbalances.
I will be giving a really big update this week, so stay tuned to this blog, I’m going to change the world, and I’m taking as many people who want to go with me.
by Steve Wolf | Apr 25, 2013 | Giving Back
Little Leo. A Little guy in Cambodia who we found. I fixed his toe after its was smashed by a rock. He’s a tough little kid!!
I have always believed that a crucial part of my success was always having a willingness to give back. Not just in business or teaching life lessons, but charity. When I say charity, I don’t mean putting the left over change in the can at the crockery store with the starving kids on it, I mean “real” charitable acts above and beyond pocket change. For me, experiencing how it feels to help someone in need first hand, I couldn’t walk away from it and it has become a very important part of my life. On my last trip to South Eat Asia while visiting Siam Riep to go see the ancient city of Angkor Watt, My friend Natalie and I visited a school north of the city. We had to travel through the Jungle on a muddy dirt road for about an hour before we reached the shelter. I realized along the journey that after we had left the city limits, all of the villages that we were traveling through had no electricity, plumbing or any running water. We came to find out that the only clean water filtration system was at the orphanage and people from the village would come take the water from their when there was no fresh water so they were always running out. Earlier that day we had gone to the market to pick up all kinds of things like rice, school supplies, and sports stuff (these kids really like soccer). Our tour guide “Bob,” knew of the school and had gotten in contact with the person who ran the organization. After the market on the way out of town we stopped by the children’s hospital to tour the facility and give blood. We watched a very sad documentary about the children in Cambodia. They are a poverty stricken country that is largely uneducated due to the fact that the “Khmer Rouge” had wiped out more than 90% of the elder generation in Cambodia after the Viet Nam war in the late 70’s.
Natalie, Me, and Bob giving blood at the Siam Reap Children’s hospital in Cambodia
I was shocked to learn that the hospital struggled to get blood donations because the people in the community were so afraid of needles and believed folklore that it would make them sick. Most of the blood donations came from foreigners traveling through the country. Our tour guide “Bob” gave blood for the first time, he was a good sport about it, but we could tell that he was a little scared. I have to admit that I was nervous to because the hospitals in Cambodia are nothing like the hospitals in the U.S. and have to get by on older equipment the best they can. Natalie on the other hand was a trooper, she seemed to deal with it better than both of us. After the hospital we started our journey to the orphanage. When we arrived there, we were greeted by the director. He was a really nice guy and had a western education but had come back to start this School that was in his home village he grew up in. He explained that most of the children there were either abandoned at birth or parents just gave them up because they simply lacked the means to raise them. The school taught the kids hygiene, English and vocational skills. All of the children were extremely happy to see us. After all, not a lot of white people came through there. Especially not white people with tattoos or who were as young as Natalie and I were. When we finished touring the school and learning about the programs they were using, we gave the kids all of the gifts. Seeing how happy something as simple as a pack of colored pencils or a soccer ball made me very emotional. It made me think of how spoiled I was growing up as a kid, and how ungrateful I was to have all of the incredible things my parents gave me. Out of site, out of mind right? I think this is the reason most people don’t want to visit places like this. It’s not that people don’t want to help, it’s that when you surround yourself with people like this you realize that your perfect little world isn’t so perfect anymore. In fact, it goes deeper, it makes you start thinking back to all of the things in your life that you had taken for gradate. Personally it made me feel helpless to know that I as one person couldn’t even begin to ease the pain of these kids right in front of me let alone begin to tackle the same kind of poverty and hunger all over the world. I could give them some gifts and money, spend some time with them, but then I would have to leave. Just as fast as I came in to their lives, I was gone. Going back to the comfort of my reality, and leaving them to struggle in theirs. On the way back home I couldn’t help but think about this. I
wanted to do more. I vowed that I was going to start some kind of giving organization that would help kids out like this directly. No more giving money blindly to bullshit non-profit organizations. No more donating money to charities where I didn’t get to directly see where the money actually ended up. My friend Natalie has been working with NGO (Non-Government organizations). She has dedicated a good part of her life working with these types of non-profits all over the world. I wanted to get her opinion and some information about some of the places and organizations she has worked with. Here is what she wrote. To some extent, I have always been aware of human trafficking. When you travel to countries like Thailand and Amsterdam, it is hard to miss the red light districts filled with young girls. Even in my own country, I have been exposed to seeing strip clubs and women being prostituted on street corners. I was always bothered in the moment to see the objectification, but it never stuck with me. It was just another injustice in the world that I was powerless to change. It wasn’t until I read the book “Not for Sale” that I would fully realize the severity of the issue and be moved into action.
Water filtration system at the School in Cambodia
(You can find the book “Not For Sale” Here http://amzn.to/17loW7H) The book affected me so much that I decided to attend the Not For Sale Backyard Academy (notforsalecampaign.org), a three day seminar offering practical ways on how to get involved in the fight against human trafficking. It was there that I met Alezandra Russell, the founder of Urban Light (urban-light.org). Urban light is a for-purpose organization dedicated to supporting boys who are victims of sex-trafficking and child prostitution in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Alex and her staff serve to rebuild, restore and empower the lives of boys who work in the red light district by providing education, health services, housing and emergency care. The Urban Light center is an open shelter that boys can come to escape the harsh realities of the streets. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a little over a month working in Chiang Mai at the Urban Light Center. Like most people, when I thought of prostitution, I pictured young women and girls being exploited. It had never crossed my mind that boys made up a significant portion of the victims of sex trafficking. That is why Urban Light and the work they do are so important. Many people in the Thai community have labeled these boys as “dirty” or “unworthy” of acceptance. Many organizations choose to focus on female victims, leaving this overlooked population without assistance or love. From the moment I met the boys I knew they were going to change my life. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I am so fortunate to be apart of the Urban Light family. It is funny how some of the most poor and disadvantaged people you meet are also the happiest. It was no different with these boys. Every morning they would welcome me into their center, with the biggest smiles on their faces. They were so eager to learn, make friends, and find respectable and fulfilling jobs that they so deserved. I have volunteered with other organizations before but usually left feeling frustrated with where my money was going or with the effectiveness of the organization. It was such an enlightening experience to finally find an organization that I could trust and fully support. Alezandra and the entire Urban Light staff have dedicated their lives to providing an opportunity for these boys to live happy and successful lives. If you would like to help please visit urban-light.org and see how you can be apart of the solution for these amazing boys. There are opportunities to donate, volunteer, collect school supplies, purchase items (backpacks, clothing, jewelry) or simply just raise awareness and make noise for the boys. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for any questions about Urban Light. Urban Light Website: http://www.urban-light.org/ To support and
get involved in a lot of ways. The worst thing that you can do is nothing. So please stop living your life pretending that everything is ok. If everyone pitches in a little bit, we can begin to solve these problems. Contact Natalie or I if you want to know more about the organizations written about in this post.
To purchase customized bracelets made from the boys please “Like” Akhaya on Facebook www.facebook.com/akhayabracelets or contact me at [email protected] with any questions!Ok here is the link for Urban light http://www.urban-light.org/ And http://www.freedompaks.com/ supports the prevention of children in the village for Urban light before they get into sex work.
For more education and community prevention efforts
Please Visit: Http://www.Freedompaks.com (partner of Urban Light You ca
You can get involved in a lot of ways. The worst thing that you can do is nothing. So please stop living your life pretending that everything is ok. If everyone pitches in a little bit, we can begin to solve these problems. Contact Natalie or I if you want to know more about the organizations written about in this post.
To purchase customized bracelets made from the boys please “Like” Akhaya on Facebook www.facebook.com/akhayabracelets or contact me at [email protected] with any questions!
by Steve Wolf | Apr 18, 2013 | Giving Back, Lifestyle
What happened to our great country? This is the question that I am continuously asking myself these days. Every time I get a bit of hope that we are turning things around we are set back by a catastrophic public event or by the people who have been elected to make decisions in our best interest who continuously fail to do so.
It would sound politically correct for me to say something like “I don’t want to get controversial,” but that my friends would be a total lie. The truth is that I do want to get controversial. I’m sick and tired of how things are in our country and I would love to see some real change.
In this blog, I am going to talk about the 2013 year in review so far and all the crazy shit that America has gotten itself in to, what it means, and most importantly what you and I can do about it, that is if you actually want to do something about it. If you don’t care at all, just stop reading, because this is going to make you feel like shit.
For more than 8 years now (since about 20 years old) I have in some way shape or form been involved in the political process above and beyond just voting. I have worked on more than 3 campaigns, started political clubs in college, participated in activism, protests and spreading awareness about things I believed to be important. During the last election in 2012, I was a very strong Ron Paul supporter and worked on his campaign like I had done before in 2008. After that defeat, I checked out of politics for good. I did this because I realized something that changed the way I look at America. Ron Paul probably came to this same realization after suffering a massive defeat and lack of support from his own party, the media, his enemies and the Zombies (my nickname for the ignorant masses) who simply did not get behind him and what he was trying to do. We realized that people who don’t want to help themselves cannot be helped, and that in order to install a want, need or desire into people to change their belief system, things were and are going to have to get a lot worse before people get pissed off enough to want to do something about it.
Unfortunately my generation, and the 2 generations behind me are the most narcissistic, entitled group of unmotivated zombies that America or the world has ever seen and as long as they have enough money to pay their rent, get an iPhone, have some cable TV and a little extra money to get drunk a couple nights a week, they will not do a fucking thing to get involved in the political process or fight for any change. I am not proud to say that about my generation, but it’s true, statistically, empirically and emotionally. If you want to see a revolution happen within my generation, ban some apple products and cancel reality TV, people will fight to keep that shit, but in a country where more people watch the super bowl than vote for president, the outcome looks dismal at best for those generations to get involved in Policy making. If you don’t believe me, here is the test: Answer these questions to yourself….
- Who is married to Brad Pitt
- Name 2 current supreme court judge
When I asked this same question in a survey to college kids 4 years ago, 100% knew who Brad Pitt was married to and less than 9% could name 2 supreme court judges.
Seriously? Knowing who Brad Pit is married to will not help you, knowing who is the end all be all interpreters of the Constitution of the United States of America and more importantly those who will determine what “freedom” and “democracy” is may be some good information to know? Wouldn’t you agree?
So how did you answer the questions? Are my survey results still the same? If you fall in to that 9%, I admire you, if you’re a part of the 91%, don’t worry; educated poli-sci majors couldn’t even get it right most of the time. (by the way, there are 9 S.C. Justices). All that I want you to do is to ask yourself why common knowledge of the people who will determine the future of America is only known by 9% and shit that doesn’t matter, everyone knows. Sounds a little backwards right? Well keep reading.
Aside from what you and I believe politically, here is the most important reason I supported Ron Paul… He tells the truth like it is plain and simple. 
When I looked at the candidates running, it was very clear to me that the only one up they’re speaking the truth was Paul. It was comical, because the lies, and the flipping and back door deals that all the other candidates had been caught in the middle of still didn’t seem to matter when it came to public opinion. It was as if people wanted to be lied to. That they would rather have a president that is going to tell people what they want to hear knowing full well that he was not going to actually follow through on any of the things that he said he was going to do.
When did telling the truth become less important in a presidential election then making you feel good?? What the fuck is that about??
When debating people about who I thought should be president, my biggest defense for Ron Paul was this: My guy tells the truth and has a track record of doing so, and your guy has a track record of lying which makes anything that he says a moot point. People would say the craziest shit back to me like “Isn’t Ron Paul a Communist,” or “That guy will never win because he is to truthful.” WHAT???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Further more, if you really want to know the truth, follow the money. That’s always seems to give the most evidence to whom you are dealing with. Citi Bank and Goldman Sachs were among two of the biggest financial contributors to both the Obama and Romney campaign. The big banks are smart; they play both sides and control all outcomes. As for Paul, his biggest campaign contributors were active and non-active duty military, and the grass-roots campaign to elect Ron Paul, basically, the middle class and the military.
Ok enough with the political rant. Why is it like this? Plain and simple fear. Americans are scared little children these days. My generation as I mentioned before is so entitled that they are sitting around waiting for the government to fix shit and asking for free stuff as so eloquently displayed in the Occupy movements which by the way did absolutely nothing when it was all said and done. As soon as the police showed up and beat the shit out of a couple of activists, the movement died and they all retreated in fear.
But isn’t that America for you these days. Not looking at the actual problem, and trying to put Band-Aids on epic failures like the economy, war in the Middle East, lack of jobs available for graduating college students? Are we done trying to save face acting like it’s all going to be ok? Are we done living in a delusional world where we continue to believe that America is still the best and that we can never do wrong? Isn’t it about time we attempt to solve the root of the problems instead of pointing fingers and blaming everyone else but ourselves?
If you are a part of the masses that thinks that “everything is ok,” or “that things are not as bad as they seem,” and that somehow, by osmosis, everything is going to work itself out, then I feel sorry for you. You don’t even know how bad this is going to get, and by continuing to stay ignorant to the fact is distancing yourself farther and farther away from the truth. Weather you like it or not, you are directly responsible for sealing our fate however it plays out.
When you become an American citizen, meaning if you are born in America or become a citizen, you enter in to a contract. The contract is the Constitution and Bill or Rights. Weather you choose to participate in the political process or abstain from it completely you are no less responsible for the decisions that we make as a country regardless how you voted or didn’t vote for that matter. You see, that is how a democracy works, were all in this together, regardless of race, religion, political affiliation or beliefs. If America goes to war and kills people, and I was vehemently opposed to that happening, I don’t get out of the responsibility of having to accept the consequences of my oppositions actions. In fact, I am just as responsible as much as the soldier who was doing the actual killing, and the politicians that sent him or her to war. The blood is on all of our hands, that’s how a democracy works, if you don’t like, then change it, you have the right and the power to do so.
So how about the attacks happening at home? The shooting in the Colorado theatre and elementary school on the east coast, Boston Marathon
Bombings, Christopher Dorner going rouge and shooting LAPD cops, 2013 has been a pretty rough year so far. The best we could do so far was to come up with a stricter gun law bill that just got defeated this week, another Band-Aid. By the way California, my home state has some of the strictest gun laws in the entire US and had the most gun deaths in 2012. FAIL. The topic of conversation of why these things even happened has never even entered that national media and that makes me furious!
At least when Al Qaeda plans some attacks, they are doing it because they are willing to die for what they believe in and no matter how crazy we Americans think that is, can you really ask yourself if called upon in the same way you would be willing to die for what you believe? Unlike Al Qaeda, the shootings in Colorado and Connecticut carried out by middle-aged white men who were both on Psychotropic medications were deaths were truly senseless, and if were going to call terrorism what it is we should stop being afraid of Al Qaeda, and be extremely afraid of EVERYONE who has ever 
had a psychological disorder or is currently on psychotropic medications which is now more than 15 million Americans last year according to the FDA. That means there are more than 15 million people who at the drop of a hat can have a psychotic snap, dress up like a comic book character and murder innocent people then blame it on mental illness and childhood trauma. Meanwhile our veterans coming back from 3 tours in Iraq who actually do have severe PTSD and cannot get the help they need because the VA is so understaffed and under funded manage to not open fire on innocent Americans.
As for Christopher Dorner, the LAPD cop who went on a rampage killing cops. Talk about a descent dude who was trying to do the right thing and just snapped one day. I will never try justifying the killing of innocent Americans, but when you back a man in to a corner and take away everything that meant anything to him to cover up some police corruption, I can’t say that I myself wouldn’t have done the same thing.
Meanwhile, bombs are going off at Public events and people are sending letters to the President and Senators with Ricin Poison, but despite all that, the Big Bang Theory has the top TV ratings in the country followed by NCAA Basketball Tournament and the Academy awards with over 17 million viewers. People are dying, the country is falling apart, and most people are more likely to eat McDonalds and watch the fucking Big Bang Theory than do something of any significance to help America out what so ever.
So How Can We Fix It?
If we can step away from all the events and the situations that are actually occurring, we can begin to look at the bigger picture. Instead of asking “how these things happened” lets started asking “why” did they happen, and more importantly how did get to be that way.
For Example.
-Why would a decorated LAPD cop and US Military reserve man go rogue and start killing fellow officers?
-Why would a U.S. Citizen send letters with poison trying to inflict harm on politicians?
-Why would a highly educated white man dress up as a joker and open fire in a movie theatre?
-Why would a mother knowingly leave access to a handgun to her middle-aged son who has a known psychological disorder?
We can go even deeper in to this line of questioning if you dare. Here are some of my favorite questions I like to ponder.
-If we have a military strong hold 10 times the size of the biggest militaries in the world, with bases all over the planet, and the best intelligence money can by, why can’t we protect Americans from attack back home in America?
-When we bailed out the big banks that were “to big to fail” how is that any different then giving welfare check to a mother with 4 illegitimate children?
-Why would Islamic people hate us and want to kill Americans anyway? Is it possible that we may have provoked this some how?
I can guarantee you that if you start looking for answers to these questions that your whole perspective will change. Turn off the news; it’s bullshit, not just FOX, or CNN, all of it. Watching the news is no different then watching Will and Grace, it’s a sitcom for your entertainment, not hard-hitting journalism. There are plenty of places that you can find information and below I am going to provide a list of topics, websites and alternative media sites that will help you get a good understanding of the real state of America and assist you in becoming knowledgeable on what’s really going on and more importantly how it got that way because you cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that got you there. Lets stop acting like scared children that are easily influenced and take some ownership in our country and the decisions we make. Lets do this starting right at home in our own communities. We are NOT victims unless we choose to become them.
If you like what I have said in this post, please spread the information around. If you hate what I have said and think I am a communist or something, then please re-post it all over and let people know how crazy you think I am 😉
Alternative Media Sites, here are a couple of my favorite:
http://truth-out.org
http://vice.com
http://www.projectcensored.org
http://www.socialjusticejournal.org
http://www.aljazeera.com
http://www.amnesty.org
Great Google Search Terms that will leave you being like WTF??? Just enter these keywords in to Google:
Mark Dice, Gulf of Tonkin, 9/11 Truth, The Tri Lateral Commission, Amero, Sirius Disclosure Project, False Flag, Ron Paul, Bilderberg Group, bin laden + cia, The Bohemian Grove, Illuminati….. That should be plenty to start your journey
Incredible Political Philosophers that helped shape how I think. Just google them and read the Wikipedia for cliff notes J
Jürgen Habermas
Michael Foucault
Dr. Michael Huspek
Noam Chomsky
Hannah Arendt
Herbert Marcuse
Thanks for your support, please repost and follow my BLOG 🙂
Heres one more link to check out http://lawlessamericaflorida.posterous.com/guns-or-do-psychotropic-drugs-kill-10397
-Steve
