dave radparvar

Project M Application

Yesterday I realized that I hadn’t challenged or pushed myself outside of my work on Holstee in a good while. I saw a tweet from good friend Brian Jones – the timing could not have been better. Working late into the night last night, I finished my application video (above) for Project M.

About Project M:

Project M will encourage and provide techniques for thinking wrong as a way to generate new ideas and design directions. The human brain tends to think along predetermined linear thought pathways. Such linear thinking can inhibit true innovation and creative exploration.

While I have never had any formal design training, it has always been a passion of mine. The chance to challenge and explore new approaches to design surrounded by other curious folks over in Frankfurt, Germany sounds perfect. Would also be a great chance to put my German to use!

The costs of the two weeks are fully covered by a generous donor, with the exception of travel to and from Frankfurt. If accepted, I suppose the first creative challenge is to find a way to pay for my flights :-)

Lessons from the East River

I came home from work today and just felt the need to go for a run. I am not a runner. In the summer I go for the occasional jog, to and from the monkey bars where I work out. But after a mile or two, I usually walk it out.

Today was different, just didn’t get tired. I jogged from our place in the east village to south street seaport and back about double would do if I were going for a jog.

The way back was very tough for me, and I looked over at the East River which was black with the evening sky.

[Tangent: I am confident and comfortable swimmer but three times in my life, I have been in a situation where I felt I was beyond my capabilities swimming. Recently I swam out from shore with some cousins in california to go snorkeling beyond the wave break. Just as we had gotten beyond the break I looked back and saw how far the shore was, and slowly began to ask myself all the wrong questions. My breathing got heavy. I began to wonder how deep the water was. The movement of the ocean seemed to get stronger. My imagination was getting the worst of me. I felt like I just couldn’t get enough oxygen into my body. In a panic, I told my cousins I need to head to shore I borrowed one of their flippers and began to head to shore. A combination of fear, embarrassment, and exhaustion.]

Always fascinated with the constant pattern and shimmer of waves I spent most of my run looking over at the east river. I began to get tired on the way back, my head was telling my body to walk. I thought to myself, looking towards the middle of the river..if was there dropped into the middle of the river would I be tired or drowning?

I knew the answer, I wouldn’t be drowning. I might have been tired and scared as hell but I wouldn’t be drowning, no matter what it took I wouldn’t stop swimming till I got to shore.

Thinking about this gave me energy. Something else that helped me stay energized on my run were my eyes. Whenever I looked a few feet ahead of me there never seemed to be an end in sight. I didn’t feel the progress. I began to look towards skyscrapers and bridges miles away, these were my new targets. I didn’t see one foot in front of the other; I saw achievement, I felt inspired, relaxed and focused.

With a million thoughts running through my head, I saw a clear connection between the lessons learned during my run to lessons I am continuing to learn as an entrepreneur.

Putting all my energy, time and money into Holstee my personal budget and free time are getting tighter and tighter – but I’m not drowning. The more tired one gets the more important it is not to look at each step, you need to look to the skyscraper and the bridge. They are what will keep you focused, inspired, and energized. Next time you are running and tired, or are hesitant in business or life ask yourself: Am I drowning? If not your just tired. Keep your eyes to the skyscrapers, keep running and don’t look back.

Wearing Many Hats

My grandparents, Mamanjoon and Babajoon, wear many hats. Not just in these fun photos, but in the life skills they have acquired and apply on a daily basis.

Just love these photos – a reminder that age really is nothing but a number and life will always be what we choose to make of it!

Holstee Video by Keveen (KORAKOR)

A few years ago, I was travelling through France and decided to spend a few days CouchSurfing with Keveen. Little did I know he would be constant inspiration and source of positive energy for years to come. There are few people in the world with as much positive energy as this man, and his true goal in life is to tirelessly spread his love to the world.

In a recent visit to New York he captured some amazing footage of Mike and I, and the Holstee environment. After watching the video it was clear that he had a vision, but the recording experience seemed so effortless and came so natural that you could have never guessed the production quality and direction of the short clip.

I am so proud to be connected with Keveen and the Korakor adventure, and I look forward to working together with Korakor to help spread the love!

SSCP + Mention in NY Times

Yesterday marks a milestone in my life, I got a mention in the NY Times for participating in the Secret Society of Creative Philanthropy. Here is the full story of how I joined and where my $100 bucks went:

How it started:

A few months ago I met Marissa, a co-founder of If We Ran It. Together with other people involved in the If We Ran It project they hosted a dinner to kick off the project. There I met Chris, the President of a the Secret Society of Creative Philanthropy… and the story begins: He explained the SSCP, but to be honest, I didn’t really get what it was all about. I just thought, this guy chris is super cool – and this sounds very mysterious…I knew there was a social component but need to learn more!

One day I got an email from Chris saying something along the lines of “It’s time…” I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I was excited as anything to do it!

Chris stopped by the Holstee office with two envelopes, each containing a single $100 bill. The envelope also had a letter which outlined that the $100 needed to be used to create a positive impact, with a few inspiring past stories to get the juices flowing.

I still didn’t fully understand whose money it was, but part of me didn’t want to ask because I kind of dug the mysterious do good-ing element.

What I did:

The first day of getting the money was exciting and liberating. But as time passed it became a bit worrisome : “would I find the right person”, “how will i know they really need it”.. etc.

There is an elderly woman who walks down avenue B, as early as there is light and collects bottles, cans, and other recyclables that return a deposit. This woman was always an inspiration. No matter what the weather she was up early, trolleying around an enormous load and doing something amazing for the planet.

I’m not an expert on logistics or recycling, but based on my observation this woman has developed a system ahead of its time. Recycling is great, but the massive diesel trucks that wind through the city collect more than what can effectively be recycled and create a lot of pollution in the process. What this entrepreneurial senior citizen has developed is an amazingly effective recycling process. She sorts the bottles directly from consumers waste into her trolley and walks them about 10 blocks to a local drop off where she is rewarded for her work. From there the bottles are already crushed and sorted and ready to be sent out.

How it happened:

One morning I was up early walking and spotted this women collecting bottles, she was a good bit ahead of me so I ran ahead. Before reaching her, I took a moment to jot a quick note on my envelope. As cheesey as it sounds, I wrote: “THANKS FOR SAVING THE PLANET”, it was the first thing that came to mind, and exactly how I felt.

I ran up to give this woman my letter. As it turned out she didn’t speak any english. When I reached out handing her the envelope she instantly refused to accept it. Using hand gestures I pleaded for her to accept. Initially I didn’t want her to see the money in front of me, for fear that she would be uncomfortable. The message wasn’t getting through though, so I asked her to open it first. She opened it and to my surprise, refused it with even more excitement – not the reaction I was expecting.

I smiled, said thank you, bowed, thanked and about every other physical gesture I can make to show her it was a gift of gratitude. She eventually cracked a smile and began carting on. Halfway down the block she looked back and shouted “Thank you!”

What a way to start a monday morning…

resolutions twenty ten

About two weeks ago I took a moment to jot down a few of the things that I wanted to start doing more, and I am using the new year to break into these healthy and fun habits.

While writing down the resolutions, I got some great advice from Fabian. He said more important than writing each new goal is writing why its important to you. Writing why serves as a constant motivation to act on them.

While most of the things are pretty surface level, they are all things I would be proud to accomplish and accordingly I tried to make them as tangible and realistic as possible. I also wanted to make sure they were personal and not professional goals, we already do lots of milestone and goal setting at Holstee.

resolution
:: why
:::: how

50 push ups a day
:: to stay strong till i die
:::: get up and do them first thing when i wake up

one book every 2 months
:: to keep my brain fresh and awake
:::: read every night, figure out how many pages a week/night to finish book and stick to goals

one small sketch a day
:: to get comfortable drawing
:::: have a daily alarm set for the afternoon (4pm) when creativity starts to decrease to sketch something

run 4 miles a week
:: improve cardiovascular health
:::: run every other day, make up miles on runday (Sunday)

learn piano
:: to learn to play songs and make music (not sound)
:::: log playing time try for 3 hours a week

Learnings from Sir Sherlock Holmes

I made a conscious decision to read a fictional short story to break some of the heavier reading I typically lean towards. With the recommendation of my brother I picked up “A Study in Scarlet” a Sherlock Holmes classic.

I enjoyed the read through and through from start to finish. On the last page of the short story Sherlock summarizes how he so accurately was able to understand and solve the case.

“In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backward. That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy one, but people do not practise it much. In the everyday affairs of life it is much easier to reason forward, and so the other comes to be neglected.”

In operating Holstee we often think about the long term goals – growth, reach, new products, new experiences. Our partner and advisor, Fabian does an amazing job of helping keeping our eyes on the horizon – as Sherlock mentions, it’s just too easy to focus on the “everyday affairs of life” creating and reacting to items that appear on our daily radars.

This quote for Sherlock served as a great reminder to the importance of knowing where you want to take your dreams. People always say if you don’t know where you are going you will never get there – and I couldn’t sagree more. The next step is taking that goal and thinking analytically on how to get there.

I know this sort of Tony Robbins, self-fulfilling prophecy, style of thinking isn’t new news for you – and it wasn’t for me. All the same I think the idea of “solving the case” of our dreams and aspirations by thinking backwards is worth taking a moment to do more than think about. The real benefit comes from writing it.

If you are like me you have heard it, and felt inspired by it a million times – but have never actually taken the time to actually write it.

For me, this time is different. I am going to write it – and you should too :-)

Whether it develops into a strategic plan with measurable milestones for your business or the direction you want to see your personal life evolve into – write it down. I can’t see how you could regret it.

understanding new lifestyles

Not long after Mike and I moved to our nice little two bedroom apartment here in the East Village we came across AirBed & Breakfast, a website that allows us to share your apartment with travelers on a nightly basis. When we first started taking guests we hosted a only few days a month. We had some great experiences and increased the number of people we hosted. Since we have begun working full time on Holstee, we have begun hosting much more to generate some side cash to help fund our venture. In the past month or so we have been booked nearly every-night!

The experience has been nothing short of amazing. We have had the opportunity to host travelers from: Luxembourg, France, Australia, New Zealand, DC, San Fran., Austin, Norway, Germany, and Scotland just to name a few! What’s great about hosting is it is so much more than an acquaintance, when someone stays for a few nights you get to learn about their interests, their passions, what the they eat, how they cook, how they travel, what they read, and so much more. Every new visitor is a new insight into a the way others live their lives.

Many of our guests have inspired me and my understanding of life. Furthermore much of the direction and future of Holstee has been influenced by our guests, who offer new ideas, encouragement, and tips of how Holstee can enter their country.

Recently, Mike and I were featured in a Washington Post article regarding AirBnb, and our choice to host visitors in our home. This was actually our second bit of coverage. A few months ago we were interviewed by a local NYC television station.

Over the past year the guests we have hosted have become a major part of my life, and been a major catalyst for Holstee. It’s amazing how things adapt. Four months ago, I cut off my only real source of income. While my lifestyle has changed, all of the changes of been very rewarding in their own way. Mike and I realized that we cook more, we host more, which makes us clean more, another benefit I recently noticed is that we read more. Our flexible schedules also allow us to attend more events in the city and meet more people.

Looking back over the past four months, the change to be self-employed has been a great lifestyle decision. Despite the fact that we had not calculated our expenses or even formulating a proper business plan before quitting, things have fortunately worked out. I wanted to write this post to capture our experience of hosting, as well as note the importance of adaptation. Being open minded and flexible make all the difference.

This is a reminder for me and everyone else, to forget trying to hold on to your old lifestyle, whether that means the material items you purchase or the things that you value in life. Always be open to new things and people and you will be surprised how much you can learn about what is really important for you.

new site / redesign!

Its funny how whether I realize it or not it takes about one year for me to get bored of a website design. The case was the same with incubaker which has recently undergone a major redesign (check it out!) and with this blog.

For those of you who have been reading for the last few years you have seen quite a dramatic change, and looking back you can really see my design preferences change as I have grown.

I began with my blog ‘Factor Tracker’. It was created in Blogger and was my first introduction to CSS and photoshop. I began with a heavy use of color and large graphics, but the dark background made it hard to read for the length of posts I was writing at the time. I decided to switch over to wordpress when redesigning for more functionality. I went for a cleaner theme and one header image. Not long after I created a micro site to depict more of my character and about me. This proved to be a great tool in my post college job search :-) . For a while now I have thought about combining factor tracker with my micro site. I recently decided to pull the trigger and merged the two, leading to the birth of this new face lifted factor tracker, ported over to the url of my micro site: radparvar.com/dave

I took a while of searching to find the current theme, and a bit of tweaking to make it feel like home – but I am really digging the new look. Would love to hear your thoughts!

looking back, my favorite posts

24 Hrs Homeless

I spent 24 hrs. homeless in boston and kept a detailed journal of my experience. It is amazing how much you can learn in 24 Hrs. about yourself and others with just a pen and paper. This is one piece I love to re-read.

Viva La France

I spent over a month sleeping on random peoples couch’s while traveling through France. The graciousness i received while traveling on a tight budget is something I will never forget. I met some of the most inspirational people I have ever met in my life on this trip.  (August 28th makes for a great story ;-) )

Other good ones:

Italy Trip (The story from Ali on Jan 28th is wild.)

Turkey Trip (Another awe inspiring trip)