Funding from the masses for the masses?!

Funding from the masses for the masses?!

I recently read another article about the debate around Crowdfunding and it certainly is timely considering the SEC was given a deadline of January 1st 2013 to come up with the rules that would govern the ability of unaccredited investors to participate in this highly innovative approach to funding new startup business ideas. If you aren't aware of crowdfunding then your not alone and it seems that most insurers are not familiar with crowdfunding and many insurers have not even heard of it. That is what has been causing the hold up with any SEC decision. From my opinion I think the old guard might not have been the best choice. I think we will see the peril of bureaucracy once again stand in the way of progress and innovation here.

I recently checked out the SEC site to see where they were on their decision because I was introduced to the idea a few years back on a trip to silicon valley and have been very interested with the idea and its potential since then. What I found on the website was laughable, mostly because in my opinion it represents old style in the box thinking which is very counter-intuitive with such an outside of the box concept. I believe it was Einstein who said “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” The irony is that the main reason for the creation of the SEC was to regulate the stock market and prevent corporate abuses relating to the offering and sale of securities and corporate reporting. hmmmm! Wait a minute one of these things is not like the other! Of coarse I am referring to the intention and the outcome. Still not sure why the SEC was given the complete responsibility to come up with the rules in the first place. Seems to me they have some internal problems they need to work through first. It's all ridiculous if you ask me.

Personally as an entrepreneur and start up business owner with an outside of the box idea myself I was initially happy last year in April when I heard that the US president Barack Obama had signed the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) act because the legislation effectively lifts a previous ban against public solicitation for private companies raising funds. The president gave the SEC a deadline to come up with the rules and for that reason I can't say that I am surprised with the delay. One typically has to understand a concept in order to regulate it right? Actually the last financial meltdown and mortgage back securities proved otherwise so the only other conclusion I can make is that no one has come up with a way to ensure passing rules and regulations that only the most highly sophisticated wall street scam artist could then manipulate for their personal gain and come on people that takes time.

You can see a draft of the proposed rules here, and the Insurance Industry Summary here and link to all of the documents on the subject here. Happy reading!



 

Day 8: Balance Requires That We Let Light Into The Shadows

 

DAY 8

 

Today I had a moment of trepidation, it was a long moment in fact. The kind of moment that took my breathe away. I found myself in a place I didn`t want to be and in a moment that had me realize that sometimes we want so strongly to believe in something that we prevent our blinders from allowing light into the shadows. Afraid to catch glimpses of the truth I guess.

 



Choose to Thrive over Survive in 2013 and Beyond

 

DAY 6

 



We are almost a full week into the New Year and so far I can say I feel the shift in the air. That of coarse may have a lot to with the fact that the world didn't end on December 21st yet Democrats and Rebuplicans must have been banking on the end (I will leave that for a future posting).

I have to chuckle at the media references leading up to the date and beyond. I suppose it is one of those double edged swords because as traditional news media goes it is all about reporting the current events. I personally shutter at the thought of that however one has to admit to report or not to report was the ultimate question and yet seriously if you didn't report and the world had ended who would have been around to criticize you anyways? 

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The Dark Tower in Scorpius
Image Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman
Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star field toward the constellation Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an ominous dark tower. In fact, clumps of dust and molecular gas collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across this gorgeous telescopic portrait. Known as a cometary globule, the swept-back cloud, extending from the lower right to the head (top of the tower) left and above center, is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from the OB association of very hot stars in NGC 6231, off the upper edge of the scene. That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's bordering reddish glow of hydrogen gas. Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluish reflection nebulae. This dark tower, NGC 6231, and associated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away.

So here's to the dawn of a new year, a new era and who nows maybe the beginning of the end. Above is a today's Astronomy Picture of the Day I personally can't wait for the next big date and I am reading all the Nostrodamus I can get my hands on so I can get a jump on the next big end of the world wave. Me personally I have enjoyed all the galactic discoveries of the past few years and think not enough empasis was placed on those stellar discoveries but then again I am a nerd at heart.

So my advice to all whould be to choose to THRIVE not SURVIVE in 2013 and lets make this your "BEST YEAR YET!"

Day 5: Just Another Saturday Night

 

DAY 5

 

I heard this song today and although I wasn`t looking for some chick to talk to like Sam Cooke was I ended up spending the night talking to a few amazing chicks that I have known all my life and it was a really nice way to spend my Saturday night.

 

I have to admit that there`s alot to be said about just hanging out with your childhood friends. I don`t know how it is for most people but for me it`s super cool that we still see each other. These are the friends that I spent my childhood dreaming with. I remember when we wanted to grow up to become the next world famous all girl band.

 

We once wrote a song called `high opportunities`and we would perform it in my back yard. We`d dance on the picnic table and then one of us would climb the ladder that we would place in front of the apple tree and I remember one of the signiture moves was to pluck an apple...lol hilarious.

 

I can`t remember the lyrics but I recall a few went something like `High opportunities everywhere I go, I`ve got high opportunities wouldn`t you know` It`s probably a good thing that I can`t remember them. I personally had no opportunities to be a singer because I have never been able to claim that as talent. My girlfriends were better singers than me that`s for sure. We were all very creative though, still are actually. Paula is an amazing painter, she always has been and had never taken a class when we where young. I was always the wannabe actress in the group so public speaking isn`t much of a stretch I suppose.

Day 4: Guided by Curiosity

 

DAY 4

 

Curiosity is an interesting emotion. Apparently it killed a cat once! For me it`s been a thirst for knowledge most of my like and a drive to ask a lot of WHY questions.

 

I personally feel that curiosity is a great emotion to be led by because it leads to better questions, better solutions and better conversations. Wanting to get to the why can absolutely change the way we show up in the world. It can broaden our vision and enlighten our adversity. So as I resolved to be curious today and had a few intersting insights I recommend it to anyone wanting to broaden their vision and become enlightened to any adversity they may be experiencing. 

Day 3: Guiding Myself by Feel in 2013

DAY 3

 

This year I think I am going to let me emotions guide me. I know conventional wisdom would suggest that isn`t the right way to go but I am going to damn all rational thinking. I realize that people do what they want to do not what they need to do and since its our emotions that guide our wants and logic that drives our needs I`m opting for emotion this year.

So I will begin each day with a guiding emotion and see where it goes and record what happens.

Day 2: Deciding WHY

DAY 2

 

 

Start small and go day by day. It is interesting how this time of the year brings so many promises and so much hope for change. People are driving to take the bull by the horns and really implement permanent lasting change. We gear up and tell ourselves that this time it`ll be different. This time we will honour the promises we make to ourselves and with determination and hope we forge forward but often times without a real plan or a road map. I realize the reason I opted not to make resolutions again all those years ago. I didn`t want to fail, I wanted to succeed and I lacked the tools to ensure success.

 

Looking back I realize that I did in fact lack the tools to ensure that my resolve would be life-changing. I am happy that today that reality is different and that what I have learned in the last two decades has given me the tools and power to command lasting change and every day just gets better and better. It`s a process not an event. The first step is to truly decide the WHY.

 

I have come to realize that getting what we want is never the hard part it`s knowing what we want and more importantly knowing WHY you want it. My resolve this year my WHY, has come as a result of recognizing that life is in fact too short to settle for less than what we are capable of. Accepting conventional thoughts that feed our insecurities and our limitations have been such a driving force for so long that we are immune to them. Much of what we encounter in our day to day lives feed those insecurities and keep us in our limitations. They don`t have to and in truth they shouldn`t.

 

So choose today to focus on those outcomes you want and damn any rationalizations that tell you otherwise. Ignore the well meaning but truly inaccurate and wrong assumptions of others. Focus on what you want and WHY you want it and press on with determination. If I had not decided to ignore those WRONG assumptions over 16 years ago my life would've been very different today. In truth my life would've been less magical than it is. The plan for my life and YOURS is just so much greater than you or I could ever even imagine on our own. Live it out loud.

It's a New Year: Resolution # 1 Blog Everyday

It Is A New Year, It Is A New Me

It's a new year and I am resolving to blog everyday. Now for those that know me very well know that I have not made a resolution since the 90's. So why now? I need to make a public decree so that I am compelled to do what I have been putting off for years.

I write a lot! mostly in journals and not consistantly and only when the mood arises so in order to publish my book and my e-Learning System before the end of 2013 I need to do this and I need my peeps to keep me to task. So there you have I Shabana Ahmad am asking for HELP!!

So in short the resolution is to inlist the help of family, friends, clients and fans to hold me to task. I realize this is a pretty big request but I need to have A LOT of ACCOUNTABILITY partners this year and since my near miss car accident in May 2012 I have the time, not always the energy but the conviction to get it done this year so all I need is the encouragement and support from you all.

I can promise you that you will laugh, you will cry, and that you won#t always agree but I will engage, enrage and make sure we all have fun in the process. Godspeed!


Thanks and May this Be Your Best Year Yet!!! It Certainly Will Be For Me.

Happy New Years Day - A shot of the galaxy

A Double Star Cluster
Image Credit & Copyright: F. Antonucci, M. Angelini, & F. Tagliani, ADARA Astrobrallo
Explanation: Few star clusters are seen to be so close to each other. Some 7,000 light-years away, though, this pair of open or galactic star clusters is an easy binocular target, a lovely starfield in the northern constellation Perseus. Also visible to the unaided eye from dark sky areas, it was cataloged in 130 BC by Greek astronomer Hipparchus. Now known as h and chi Persei, or NGC 869 (above right) and NGC 884, the clusters themselves are separated by only a few hundred light-years and contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun. In addition to being physically close together, the clusters' ages based on their individual stars are similar - evidence that both clusters were likely a product of the same star-forming region.