A Letter to My Second Born Child

Leia,

On October 27, 2017, you were born at 10:25AM EST. You weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces and were 18 inches long. The weather outside was a typical brisk fall day with a temperature of 9 degrees Celsius. You sure are an eager little princess! You were supposed to be born on November 16, 2017, however, you were not haven’t that. You wanted to enter this world and meet your family three weeks early, something that frightened Mommy and Daddy a lot! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was writing this letter to your brother and now I open my eyes and boom we are a family of four J. When I first saw you, I imagined dancing with you, playing with you, being bossed around by you, being forced to play dress up with you and being overprotective of you! You are literally the most beautiful thing I have ever set my eyes on! Just like your brother, you literally took my breath away and tears of joy ran down my face. The birth of your brother made me immediately re-evaluate life and gave me a deeper purpose for waking up every morning and working hard for what I believe in and what I can do to add value to the world we live in. When you were born, this thought was solidified; in addition you have inspired me to be a better man and a role model that a little girl can depend on for absolutely everything. Gender inequality is something real and something I believe we are resolving. However, it’s sad to say, especially in the workforce, there is imbalance. Don’t be discourage, the way you battle this is by being the best! When you are the best, when you care, when you are loving, when you work hard and make others around you better, this is something that is hard to ignore and therefore a real solution to crushing prejudice and imbalance! Remember, you can be whomever you want and do whatever you want, just put your mind to it and believe in yourself.

Moreover, your mother and I had a rough pregnancy as you gave us a few scares but now that you are here with us I am so happy, and like all parents, we want nothing but the best for you. The purpose of this letter is to give you a snapshot of today.

Before I get into that, I want to share with you what I shared with your brother when he was born and that is I want you to know what drives me:

“My passion, as you soon may find out, is creation! And you are a byproduct of that  (Ew! I know, right?…lol {equals laugh out loud, in case this lingo does not exist in the future}). Nevertheless, my passion for creation is diversified – from cooking to building to starting a business and so on and so on. I hope one day you see the power of what passion, purpose & creation can do and the value it can bring to this world…if you decide to follow and use it properly!”

With that said, let’s talk about the world today:

Current Prime Minister: Still Justin Trudeau – energetic, charismatic and a Liberal. He is the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada and assumed office on November 4, 2015 (your grandfathers 55th birthday). Oh! And if you are curious to know who the President of the United States is….just Google (if that exist) Donald Trump :s lol..have fun.

Current Top World Issues:
Now, I don’t want this section to be all negative. As you will find out in life, most media outlets focus on what’s wrong or the negative things in the world, however, as Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook – a massive social network where people can connect with family, friends and colleagues in order to share significant or insignificant milestones in life) wrote: “In many ways the world is getting better. Health is improving. Poverty is shrinking. Knowledge is growing. People are connecting. Technological progress in every field means your life should be dramatically better than ours today“.

1. Donald Trump and Unpredictable America
2. China overreacting
3. A Power Vacuum in Europe
4. A Pause in Economic Progress
5. Technology Disrupting the Middle East
6. Politics Interfering with Central Banks
7. North Korea
8. Climate change and extreme weather events
9. Cyber attacks
10. Gender inequality

Current Cost of Living:
 

• Average Home in Toronto: $775,546 according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) – 21.4% increase since your brother was born :s
• CAD/USD Currency Conversion: $100.00 Canadian gets you $78.13 US – our dollar strengthen a little since your brother was born J
• Carton of 2% Milk (1L): $2.47 – 8% increase since your brother was born :s
• 12 Jumbo Eggs: $3.79 (your mom loves eggs!) – 3% increase since your brother was born :s
• Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte at Starbucks: $4.65 (my favourite) – 12% increase since your brother was born :s
• Movie Ticket: $14.95 – 8.9% increase since your brother was born :s (PS I personally can’t see theatres being around much longer as they are getting some pressure from Streaming services like Netflix). 

Issue I am Currently Solving:

1) Boomers retiring and looking to sell their small business or franchise.

2) Millennials looking to transition from their 9-5 to being their own boss.

3) Immigrants looking to purchase Canadian and American businesses or franchises

4) Satisfying the general increase of people interested in franchise opportunities.

With that said, BizON was created to solve and service all those pain points. BizON is an online marketplace where people can easily buy, sell and grow businesses or franchises. Our goal is redefine how buyers and sellers connect in the digital world, ensuring that amazing small businesses don’t simply shut down and disappear. Instead, they can try and sell their business or franchise to someone who has the passion and resources to carry their legacy on instead of starting something from scratch. I am proud to mention that BizON secured a seed round investment since your brother was born! This will allow us to increase brand awareness, achieve critical mass and aim to achieve profitability sooner than later.

How I See The Future:
 

1. I see a world less dependent on fossil fuels.
2. I see a world solving the issues surrounding agriculture and the impact it has on our environment.
3. I see drastic decrease in travel time.
4. I see the normality of space travel.
5. I see the disappearance of physical movie theatres.
6. I see the increase and popularity of blockchain businesses and Cryptocurrency.
7. I see a more connected world via AI (artificial intelligence) & the Internet; especially in some areas of the world that currently do not have the Internet aka “dark zones”.
8. I see a world with no more 9-5 jobs, rather, a mobile workforce that can truly integrate life and work, making the workforce more productive, however, way more accountable for their performance.

What Your Grandfather & Grandmother Taught Me:
 

1. Core values: Family, Health, Happiness, Love & Success.
2. Failure: Learn from it & move forward without losing faith or enthusiasm.
3. Passion: Love what you do. BOTTOM LINE: if you don’t love what you do change until you find it!
4. Perseverance: Never give up & fight for what you want and what you believe in. With hard work and a supportive family you can accomplish whatever your heart desires.
5. Execute – if there is something you want to do, do it, don’t wait for tomorrow!
6. You’re Italian– Sunday is for Church and Pasta & Meatballs – eat up!

My Mission For You:

I said this exact thing to your brother when he was born and I will say this to you: solve the issues mentioned above. Love your family (and yourself). Smile. Make People Laugh. Add value to the world and change it for the better. Listen to your gut and never let anyone tell you you can’t do something and if they do kick them to the curb! You don’t need negativity in your life. Stay positive, work hard and believe anything is possible. I leave you with this quote from Steve Jobs (founder of Apple Inc. {current stock: $163.05 (up 54% since your brother was born)} who passed away October 5, 2011) – ps they just launched the pre-order for the iPhone X, Apple most expensive iPhone to date ($1319) 7.5 hours before you were born.

Love always and forever,

Dad aka your best friend