This is one of those blogs I never thought I would have to write.
Sunday night, we lost an amazing man, Jody Sherman.
Jody was a dear friend and advisor to The Daily Love. I remember a time when I was still having a hard time financially – I met Jody through a friend. He met me for coffee in Venice at Intelligencia. We spoke, and he decided that he liked what I was doing at The Daily Love and wanted to help me.
Shortly thereafter he offered to give me some office space in his Santa Monica office for EcoMom. So I moved in and we became buddies. We started doing p90x after work each day and would talk about all kinds of things including fundraising strategy (I still haven’t taken any investment to this day), he helped me figure out my technology and helped to guide me in the right direction to create a sustainable business model so that not only would I write, but I could make a living and support a staff to help with The Daily Love.
Even though Jody used to (in his charming and disarming way) make fun of The Daily Love and self-help at times, I knew it was because deep down the guy was a softy. We would talk about all kinds of stuff, and whenever I would bring up my love for Tony Robbins, he would laugh at me.
But, I had Jody’s number. Why? Because the man LIVED his life in service. He was always there to help. If I had been in trouble, Jody would have showed up. The man would have bailed me out of a jail in Antarctica. He was the most dedicated and service driven man I knew.
He lived to make his wife happy. He would talk about how much he Loved her and how much he cared for her, how proud he was that she was studying to be a doctor. We would talk for days about coming up with a slogan for his company, ecomom.com. Finally, he came up with and actually trademarked, “It’s all good.”
Simple – and perfect.
Every time I would talk about a financial success, he would also compete with me in the most loving way, “Oh yeah, well I just closed a multimillion dollar round!”
He worked hard to make it happen. He was one of the smartest men I knew when it came to being an entrepreneur. The man could not only sell ice to Eskimos, he would figure out a way to sell them better ice and ice that changed the planet.
Jody Sherman was a rare bird; men like him do not come along often.
I learned through Jody that mentorship is key. Both receiving it and being a mentor. He was an advisor to my company and never steered me in the wrong direction. He wanted me to be the best CEO and founder that I could be. He wanted me to win and he would get passionate and defend me when he thought I was getting a bad deal.
I’ve never met someone as generous and open and available and service driven in the technology space as Jody. Not just the L.A. Tech scene, but really as a human being, Jody was driven to serve.
He is gone too soon. My heart is broken into 1,000,000 pieces as I forget and remember that he is gone.
I will leave you will a modified version of a letter Ram Dass once wrote on death, it brings me comfort in times like this.
Love,
Mastin
Ram Dass Letter
Jody finished his work on earth and left the stage in a manner that leaves those of us left behind with a cry of agony in our heart as the fragile thread of our faith is dealt with so unexpectedly. Is anyone strong enough to stay conscious through such teachings as you are receiving? Probably very few, and even they would only have a whisper of equanimity and peace amidst the screaming trumpets of their rage, grief, horror and desolation. I can’t assuage your pain with any words, nor should I. For your pain is Jody’s legacy to you, not that he or I would inflict such pain by choice, but there it is. And it must burn its purifying way to completion, for something in you dies when you bear the unbearable. It is only in that dark night of the soul that you are prepared to see as God sees, and to love as God loves.
Now is the time to let your grief find expression, no falses. Now is the time to sit quietly and speak to Jody and thank him for being with you for these years and encourage him to go on with whatever his work is. Knowing that you will grow in compassion and wisdom from this experience. In my heart I know that you and he will meet again and again and recognize the many ways in which you have known each other, and when you meet you will know in a flash what now it is not given to you to know: why this had to be the way it was.
Our rational minds can never understand what has happened, but our hearts if we keep them open to God will find their own intuitive way. Jody came to do his work on earth, which includes his manner of death. Now his soul is free and the love that you can share with him is invulnerable to the winds of changing time and space, in that deep love, include me.
In love,
Ram Dass
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Mastin Kipp is the founder and CEO of The Daily Love. Follow him on Twitter here.
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Join soulmates Mastin Kipp & Jenna Hall LIVE in Hollywood on Feb 9th for the first TDL LIVE event: The Love & Relationship Workshop! Livestream tickets are also available. Click here to grab your ticket before it sells out!
