My name is Stephen Belomy and I am the Unabashed Optimist. When asked how I'm feeling, my most frequent answer is "somewhere between super-fantastic and ultra-supreme". And it's the honest-to-god truth. I often add "but you should see me on a good day!" or "and on my bad days—about twice a year—I say there is a silver lining in every bowl of acid; learn from your experiences, even the tough ones!"

I know for some people this is hard to stomach. But it's actually how I feel about each and every aspect of my private and public life. I get excited; often. Describing me as enthusiastic and passionate are vast understatements. Adversity does not change my disposition. I believe all of us can do so much more, and we should enjoy and soak in each and every moment and detail.

I look for the good and the great in people. I love to pump people up. And it works two ways. I get great energy from young people. I try to motivate and inspire my children, their friends, and all the Gen X, Y and Z's I've had the privilege of working with during my career. I want them to find a passion in their jobs, so "they never work a day in their lives". I live by that mantra, and it is indeed epically awesome. 

I just retired from a 40-year career, the last 20 as an executive of startup technology companies in Silicon Valley. Some were public, some were well funded by Venture Capitalists, and some were the classic Top Raman-eating, 18-hour workday, worrying-about-every-paycheck, bootstrapped endeavors. It was crazy. It was hard. But wow, was it ever fun. I wouldn't change one day if I could. 

But working in such a capacity did affect my interactions, and nowhere more so than on social media.  Whether LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter, I kept my posts and comments work related. So I shared new product announcements, congratulated colleagues promotions, liked articles about company or product in the new, or posting about upcoming event I was planning on attending.  But never anything about sports (FC St. Pauli and Golden State Warriors!), nor politics (Libertarian!), and—sadly—nothing about inspirational actions of others (too many to list!).  It just didn't feel right to say something controversial—and what isn't these days?—and have it in any way reflect on my company at the time. 

Now that I have the freedom of being unencumbered with ties to a company, I am going to blog about what's on my mind. On the surface the topics might seem wide-ranging. But look deeper and there will be one consistent theme tying them all together, unabashed optimism!