BenPadnos.com

John Wooden (1910 – 2010)

As an Internet entrepreneur, subject to all sorts of wild swings, I particularly appreciate this quote from legendary basketball coach John Wooden: “All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.”

I’m thinking good thoughts for Coach Wooden’s family, friends, and millions of admirers around the world.

He was a very special man.

Lawsuit!

TechCrunch’s Robin Wauters broke the story about the complaint filed by my company, DONE! Ventures, against NBC Universal and iVillage for breach of contract regarding the sale of the domain names Women.com and Women.net.

I made an offer to the domain name broker, Sedo, which NBCU had hired to represent them, on May 21, and the offer was accepted on May 24. Three days later, I was told that NBC Universal President & CEO Jeff Zucker had overruled the transaction and the domains were no longer for sale.

Too bad, Jeff. We have a deal, and I hope and expect you’ll do what’s right and complete the transaction, as we’ve agreed.

All details can be found in the complaint, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, June 3.

Complaint FINAL_v2 –

I Choose Optimism

Followers of my blog know the Republican Party drove me away years ago, and I’ve watched with disgust — and concern — the expansion of fear-mongering scare-tactics they use to push their agenda.

For me, the GOP no longer represents America as the “shining city upon a hill” as Ronald Reagan inspirationally declared. Where President Obama is a symbol of hope and aspiration, empathy and optimism, competence and confidence, the GOP leaders carry the torch for anger and dissention, fear and negativity, exclusion and intolerance. Obama is about what’s possible; the Republicans focus on what’s wrong.

Positive attitudes are contagious. Negative ones are malignant.

It’s not just a coincidence that the stock market is up 70% from the March 2009 lows, that consumer confidence is on the rise and the economy is finally creating jobs again.

Things are simply better for Americans since Barack Obama took office.

Consciously or subconsciously, a lot of people are responding to Obama’s leadership in very positive ways.

For the vocal minority of naysayers and stone-throwers the media is transfixed on: You can continue looking at the President’s message and record cynically and scornfully — there’s probably nothing Obama will ever do to change your mind. But if you’re right and Obama is unsuccessful, do you prosper? Is America’s decline really a win? What does “being right” get you?

When I think about the future for my 3-year old son and my unborn daughter — she’s due August 10 — I can’t help but hope my optimistic vision for the future comes true!

Historic Day!

Whether you support the health care reform passed in the US House of Representatives this evening, or you’re passionately against it, today is a memorable day in American history.

I have mixed feelings about the expanding role of government, and I doubt the health care bill in its current form is the best possible piece of legislation. But on both a human level, and thinking purely pragmatically, I believe the country needs to make some changes in how we approach and pay for health care. And the vote taken tonight is the first step.

The current health care system is not sustainable and it just doesn’t work for too many Americans. I recognize it’s very difficult for the 80-90% of Americans who have coverage to make sacrifices, but I’ve come to believe we have a moral imperative to look out for the 10-20% who aren’t so fortunate. In the United State of America, we need to take care of our own because it’s the right thing to do.

Those are my values, and I’m going to bed tonight with a smile on my face.

The Great Wall

What an amazing experience to walk a couple of miles up The Great Wall on Saturday…

As we joined thousands of others walking up the steps, Steve and I were stopped from time to time by locals who asked to get their picture taken with us….There were some Westerners, but a substantial majority of the tourists were Chinese folks of all ages — from babies to elderly individuals….

You’ll notice in the pics above the funny hats we were wearing — it couldn’t have been more than 20 degrees, so Steve and I each purchased a fur hat (~$7) so we could enjoy our visit despite the cold air and breezes.

To read more about the history of the Great Wall, click here.