Reflections at 50

I just turned 50 years old, and I am grateful to be alive at this turning point in humanity.

I see a great era of prosperity on the horizon, and the change needed to get there starts from within. So, I have made important personal transformations over the last year.

One of the most significant changes is that I moved my elderly mother to come to live with me as her dementia has accelerated. She was an abusive alcoholic in my childhood, abusing me, the family and my grandmother, who also had dementia.

I wanted to break the inter-generational trauma cycle by caring for my mother with unconditional love and support, even as she repeated abuse patterns from childhood. I had no expectations about the outcome, but she is now so sweet to me in the lucid moments that she has left.

I also became a vegan and shop almost exclusively at the farmer's market. We cook vegan meals every night as a family, and I rarely go out to dinner or order in. Most of our food waste is now compost.

The benefits of this single change are profound. On the personal side, I feel better. I have gained weight. My digestive system is more balanced. On the societal side, the impact is greater, since the appetite for meat is a leading source of?climate change .

My career changed as well, switching from entrepreneurship to venture capital. After running the?Founder Institute ?for nearly 13 years, I transitioned to become executive chairman, allowing me time to be CEO of?VC Lab .

This was an important transition for me to make, as I want the Founder Institute to run for decades, and I would like to help oversee two or three leadership switches. Building a vision-aligned company to thrive and survive is a much more beautiful goal for me than building a business to sell.

Turning venture capital into a force for good has been a passion of mine for 15 years, so I am excited to be focused on VC Lab. My vision is to help launch 1,000?ethical ?venture capital funds worldwide, and then allow retail investors to access the asset class through an IPO. Everyone should be able to invest in the positive transformation of the planet.

I believe that we are at the beginning of a parallel economy of regeneration, where we use resources to create more resources, more biodiversity, more prosperity and abundance. I foresee that the regenerative economy will eventually grow larger than the traditional economy of today, which is based on destruction.

I have started to change myself and heal inter-generational traumas in my own life. More and more people that I know are starting a journey of personal growth and healing, as well. This awaking will help all humanity manifest a brighter future.