I’ll never forget the first day of my “temporary retirement,” August 4th, 2008.

Every Monday morning for the previous 5 years I had woken up in London and scurried off to work to start my week, along with millions of other Londoners. Although I did wake up like clockwork at the usual time, and I was still in London, this particular Monday was very different.

Most mornings I jumped in my car and drove to work, but this morning I had to go out to pump the parking meter full of change so I wouldn’t get a ticket. Wearing sweatpants and slippers I slowly strolled outside feeling like I was viewing the world as though I wasn’t quite part of it like I used to be. I waved to my neighbor who was wearing a suit, as usual, putting on his helmet and then mounting on his Vespa to whisk away into the fast-moving sea of commuters.

I don’t want to drag this on too long, so let’s get to the most important part of this day. I got back into my apartment, grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, and asked myself, “Okay, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?”

I ended up scribbling down scattered ideas from travel, to other business ventures, to spending more time with my family, and quickly stopped, realizing I needed a more structured approach to this exercise.

Then I drew somewhat of a matrix like thing-a-ma-jiggy, and asked myself, “Why do I get out of bed everyday?” Ok, so top box of the matrix is, “So I can have fun and be happy,” no surprise there. Alright then, “What makes me happy, and when do I have fun?”

Then as I started writing a list of answers, which was similar to my previous list, I slowed down realizing they all clearly had something in common…

I have the most fun and I am the most happy when I’m together with friends and family.

Since I’m someone who loves thinking big, my next question came naturally, “How do I create the ultimate environment for experiencing life’s greatest joys and challenges together with friends and family?”

After grinding the mind gears for a short-while, my first answer felt like a winning concept; build an incredible place for friends and family to come together, and build it together with the passion of your friends and family.

Now I know that sounds quite vague, but to give you a hint, I’m thinking of a project that plays to the strengths of ambitious and creative minds that I know.

With the help of others, we already have a snowballing list of ideas to incorporate into this project, however it’s still premature to broadcast where we’re going (since we still don’t know exactly!).

In fact, the ideas are nowhere near complete, especially not until I receive your feedback or your interest, and someday, maybe even your involvement too. If you are interested to learn more please let me know by entering your email address here

Eventually I intend to use this section of the site to document the lifespan of this project, which is sure to be a magnificent challenge.