Following a January trip to Asia, Miles Nadal has decided to renounce his worldly possessions and focus on a life of contemplation. At least that’s my interpretation of some exclusive reporting by my American sister publication, The Wall Street Journal. As a first step, he’s going to auction off his sneaker and car collection in June. Anticipated proceeds of US$2m and US$60m, respectively. The sneaker proceeds are “100% committed” to the Dare to Dream Foundation, which is an offshore foundation. The proceeds from the car collection will benefit, the Journal is led to believe, “those less fortunate, especially underprivileged kids.” The Journal also identifies Miles Nadal in passing as a “billionaire investor”, probably the first time a major publication calls him that.
The Journal quotes Miles saying “There’s never a week that goes by that I don’t have one to five things that need to be repaired - parts replaced, etc. And that’s not as much fun as it used to be.” That’s in reference to his car collection, not his proclivity for cosmetic surgery. And yet, the Journal referred to Miles as a “kooky middle aged investor”. I don’t know why Miles collaborates with these mean publications, but not OPM Wire. I would have called him an ageless, baby-faced investor. Journalism is all about give-and-take.
This latest piece reveals yet another aspect of Miles’s tale of woes being born on the wrong side of tracks in Forest Hill. Apparently, he was the first person in his family to own a NEW car. Miles Nadal is sensitive about his image at the best of times. But following the SEC shenanigans, I believe a lot of what he does is about burying that old stuff from the top of Google, ie “online reputation management.” Even getting into collecting sneakers was, I conjecture, calculated to garner puff pieces. Miles keeps a PR person on staff, former journalist Deidre McMurdy to McMuddy the waters. When I saw he was writing “thought leadership” pieces for Forbes, etc. I was puzzled why he’d write these banalities. But then I realized he probably has a ghostwriter and the goal is to bury the old SEC stuff from Google search results. But the WSJ piece once again refers to Miles’s SEC shenanigans.
Having an interest in expensive cars doesn’t discredit one as a thinker. The great Indian mystic Osho once bought a Rolls-Royce. When people started criticizing him, he bought a second one, and eventually built a collection of 93 Rolls-Royces of the same model. It’s not that he cared about cars, he just wanted to make the point that respectability is not an important value. I am not surprised that the flashy cars and expensive shoes do not represent the real Miles Nadal.
“Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.” -Game of Thrones
"I guess there is still a part of me that does want the acceptance and recognition - that I'm a good guy." - Miles Nadal (from 2010)
-"We are complicit in the taking of offence". -Epictetus
You may know that paid subscribers to OPM Wire are known formally as “Self Aware Barefoot Pilgrims”. That’s because I consider self awareness to be the supreme commandment in life. While I am indisputably the most insightful person there is about Miles Nadal, I have to admit that he comes a close second. He’s very self-aware. He has a humour about his own foibles. A man who truly knows himself and accepts himself has no open wounds others can rub salt in. A truly evolved person would operate on a plane of consciousness so elevated that they would seem alien. Has Miles Nadal reached such nirvana? He may have been closer than any human.
Thinking about Miles Nadal’s level of self-awareness, has made me wonder, what are my own foibles? You’re probably thinking: don’t be silly, you’re perfect in every way…but hear me out. I mean, what is the point of this blog if not to show everyone how smart I am? And do I attack others because I see traits in them that I am trying to suppress in myself? Hmmm? These are introspections too painful to be had. But that’s the power of Miles Nadal: more potent than any psychedelic, easier to connect on LinkedIn than most accounts receivable clerks. Merely thinking and googling about him has changed my life.
I leave you with this important story from the woo-woo philosopher Jawad Mian, who both Miles and I read. I have just replaced the character Rumi in the story with Miles Nadal to make things more relatable.
A young man once left his homeland to seek Miles Nadal. After weeks of toilsome travel, he reached the outskirts of Forest Hill and saw a gracious presence walking toward him.
The young man knew, in his heart, that this was the great teacher he longed for. He dropped to his knees. Then, as the young man arose, he found Miles Nadal prostrate in the dirt.
Astonished and embarrassed, the young man again prostrated himself. When he arose a second time, Miles Nadal was once more prostrated before him.
This happened over and over again until the exasperated young man finally said, “Why are you, my teacher, prostrating yourself in the dust before me, a mere seeker?”
To which Miles Nadal replied, “If I did not show you my nothingness, what would I be useful for?”
Wow, Miles Nadal is a modern-day Rumi! If you want an extensive tour of the Dare to Dream collection, watch this: