“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky”
-Buddha
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky”
-Buddha
“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
-Marilyn Monroe
Did I mention I’d like a dog?
I’m trying to figure out where/how to get invovled outside of work.
I’ve played with a few options, that include:
1) Assistant coaching my old high school swim team. The coach asked if I’d be willing. It would be AMAZING because a. I love coaching; b. high schoolers are amusing; and c. the coach was MY coach from age 6-18 and he is the BEST. Sadly, I can’t do it because practice is every day at 4pm. Welcome to the wonderful schedule that is full time work.
2) Coach for Girls On the Run— amazing program that incorporates running/self esteem into the lives of young girls. I filled out an application, got a reply, and then realized that the teams in my area already have coaches, and even if they didn’t, they meet at 3pm. Again, not optimal for a full-time working lad-AY.
3) Foster mom for a puppy. Did I mention this is considered service? SO, I am going to the Reindog parade this Saturday— if you don’t have a reindog parade in your city, SAD DAY for you, because it’s the most adorable event ever. Dogs dress up in santa costumes and walk through the streets with their happy owners. Anyway, the SPCA is always there, so I’m thinking I might be able to nab myself a Rottweiler puppy.
I just have to clear not potty trained animals with my boss who doesn’t love dogs. Well, maybe that’s a conversation for Monday?
4) I need to think of more because I want to give back. Not that I have tons of time, but life feels a little bereft just working, working out, partying and sleeping.
Looking for more.
Oops…
Let’s be honest. I have been utterly horrible at posting up to this point. Some say there’s a 3month learning curve in a job— maybe I was just trying to climb my curve before I returned to the fulcrum of my life, which is, obviously, the VFA blog…just kidding. not really. jk. what?…
Here we go. ANDDDDDD back into it!
First weekend!
A colleague shared this “values” video from chipotle with me today. I’ve cried every time I’ve seen it.
Talent
The Move-In
Mt.Auburn, Milton Street, the new home of 5 Venture for America Fellows. Hurray!!
Now you can hear the goods and the bads of it all.
PLUS #1: The house is amazingly pretty and has high ceilings, large windows and lots of space.
- Minus the fact that we are converting a 3 bedroom house into a 5 bedroom—Privacy? We don’t need that.
- Minus the super high utility bills and wall construction challenges.
- Minus the friendly neighbors who can peek their heads in to check out our stuff until we DO put up drapes. (We already have mace hanging in the front hallway…just incase Lynne comes to visit…)
PLUS #2: We have a HUGE backyard.
- Minus… it’s full of poison ivy (or poison something) and now I have swollen ankles and am putting steroid cream on my eye. Who wanted to look good for their first day of their first job anyway?
PLUS #3: Our kitchen has all new appliances.
- Minus, the sink AND the fridge leak. And we don’t have hot water.
PLUS #4: Our kitchen and living room are huge. Great for visitors, dinner parties and beer pong.
- Minus… they’re on the second floor? Think about that for a second, it’s weird.
Our Milton house is a mixed bag, but I think it will be worth it. We have 3 spots allocated for blown-up portraits of Andrew Yang, a potentially awesome backyard, a generally low cost of living, and I get to live with 4 #VFAmazing people.
Plus.. do you have a trap door? We do!!! (well, we will….)
Chosen by fellow fellows as the class speaker, Barry Conrad managed to bring the audience to both laughter and tears in a memorable speech at VFA Training Camp’s Closing Ceremony.
Some need-to-knows if you want to be a cyclist
Reflective Tid-Bits
From my chat with Darcy of LifeBlinx
***NOTE: None of these are direct quotes from Darcy. They are my “tid-bits” based off her comments
- Trust must be won.
- Don’t be scared of a frat house.
- If people aren’t too nice, don’t take it personally.
- Shake hands instead of informal greetings like, “what’s up?”
- Find balance. Work is a lifestyle, not a sprint.
- No need to eat ramen or live in a basement.
- If you won’t someone to devote all their time to something, don’t hire a mom with kids.
- Don’t change who you are to fit in, but try to fit in.
- Get to know the network.
- Funding is more important than friendship (good thing I went to Duke where cut-throat is common place)
- “Steal” awesome developers.
I feel privileged to get to speak to people like Darcy. She gave me perspective on the world I am about to enter, while telling stories and sharing advice. It only makes me more excited for what’s to come.
Life is so interesting.
Brent, a fellow Fellow, posed a question to our group this past week. He asked, “Are we a ‘team’? or are we a bunch of individuals united under a common cause and working for separate companies?”.
I really hope we are a team.
Here’s why:
To me, the next 2 years are going to be an endurance event. I’m going to relate my future work in startup land to the work I’ve put into racing triathlons competitively— one in the same, right?
In triathlons, I have 3 walls of strength/limitation (depending on how you want to see them… but, I generally take the “glass half full” mentality) .
Mental strength: your personal drive, determination and goals
Strength of the Team: interconnectedness, practice history, real-time support, and a knowledge that you’re not just racing for yourself
Physical limits: the wall your body PHYSICALLY cannot overcome (at a given time)
In any endurance event, my mental wall falls at some point. When my personal drive would fail, I would turn my thoughts to my team—out their working their asses off for me, so I’d better do the same. When that didn’t work, I remembered that I represented Duke University. I will throw down for my alma mater.
Endurance strength is so mental. It’s unbelievable.
Only once have I reached my physical wall, and that was a learning experience that I would not like to ever repeat, but it definitely can happen. I hope it isn’t something I struggle with working for the Brandery—but who knows? I think it’s important to firmly establish my team support system, so I can put off reaching that tipping point.
So, I want to be a team. I think we (the Fellows) are almost there, but some parts are not sliding quite right. We can do it though. I’m all in. #VFATeam
The little things
like watching the sunset with Barry Conrad, Todd Nelson, Sam Stites, and Charles Watkins
Tall ships moored in Boston Harbor for the Chowder Festival!!
A contradiction
Earlier this week, we heard David Tisch talk about the role of Techstars NYC in evaluating startups, his specific role with the accelerator and his thoughts on the startup ecosystem. I want/need to dissect my thoughts a bit about the things he said.
My first gut responses to his thoughts included:
1) I found him interesting – as in, I wanted to sit down and have lunch to hear more
2) I found him contradictory – many of the things he said didn’t jibe with his demeanor
3) He is someone I could look to for guidance as part of my “horizontal network” (since I will also be working for a startup accelerator). SO, I need to be able to fully understand how his thoughts should/should-not factor into my role at The Brandery
Tisch comments I can get on-board with :
A) Every start-up has it’s own culture – Perfect. Good to know there are options. I have strong opinions about my ideal people dynamic/environment and I’m excited to create fits for others someday in the future
B) Exposure to challenges, iterative learning, and high quality work are critical to success- That makes sense.
C) Bring energy and optimism to the office every day – Love hearing that. One of my life goals is to be a positive energy presence anywhere I am involved.
E) Find a peer group to talk about doubts, frustrations and share ideas – Not every day is a good day. Having people to vent with is important to me.
Things I found contradictory/disliked:
A) Every day with a startup should be focused on a daily mantra of: “What if we die today?” –I’m down with being “all in”, but it’s important to keep life in perspective (to me at least).This is a drama-queen-like statement.
B) Under-promise, Over-deliver – uhmm. OR, you could try honesty. why not just be real about what you can do and try your hardest?
C) All start ups that aren’t YCombinator or Techstars are **quote** “SHIT”- I have no response for this yet. I think it will take a longer post
#FF @ediefeinstein
