Today's business press carried the incredible news of Buddy Media's sale to Salesforce.com.

From The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/salesforcecom-buying-buddy-media-in-689-million-deal-to-boost-social-media-marketing/2012/06/04/gJQAX5P8DV_story.html)

to Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/forrester/2012/06/04/salesforce-buys-buddy-media/)

to The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/AP6c632b9c68d244a7aee9c801da2fc38b.html),

everyone was talking about today's deal because it spoke to some of the most powerful trends driving the future of digital media - the power of social, the importance of cloud computing, and the vision and entrepreneurial spirit required to grow companies and create meaningful value. And, despite personally living and breathing the world of digital media every day as the recently appointed Publisher of the Huffington Post, I was not struck by what the news was today - rather, I was struck by who made it happen and the kind of people they are. And, I hope they will forgive me for taking the liberty of sharing their story here.

Buddy Media was founded by Michael Lazerow and his wife and business partner Kass. Michael is a serial entrepreneur with an incredible track record punctuated clearly by today's achievement, but that is not how I know him. I know him as an incredibly close friend of Jen and Dave Linn. I know him as the leader of the team at Cycle for Survival that always leads the pack with the Buddy Media's herculean efforts to fundraise for cancer research. I know him as a highly respected person many people turn to for advice. I know him as someone who pours his heart and soul and ideas and love for his family into his blog (http://www.lazerow.com/) and Facebook posts.

And so today, when I saw Michael’s status update on Facebook, it was no surprise to me that he chose to share his big news with humility and heart, expressing the appreciation he has for the moment today represented, his gratitude for those that have graced his life, and his recognition that a fearless attitude will be required to take the next step. This was NOT a business story that he told in his video (which is why I am sharing it here on Youfearless.com) , but rather one of facing life without fear and being grateful for every precious second we all have on this earth. Jen would undoubtedly be cheering wildly for the Lazerow family at this special moment.

Michael’s video is absolutely worth watching, and I share it with you here: "A New Beginning - Is Fear Holding You Back?" 

As always, please do not hesitate to comment here or reach out to me with your fearless stories at jsbalis@aol.com. I would love to share them so we can inspire more people to live a life without fear.

All the best,

Janet Balis