say sorry more + roadshow
HOME, LITERALLY -
note: i’m going to keep this one short, because i am finally home in new jersey with my parents after 8 long months and i think it’s okay for me to take a break from being reflective and just be present with them for a bit. i have some recipes to steal from them! hush!
a theme of this newsletter, for better and for dramatics, has been how to deal with change in all of its relentless forms. today let’s poke on the idea of stability, after a rollercoaster of the opposite.
stability, to me, means we’re sitting in simplicity. we’re not flipping over tables and knocking down doors. the pace of life feels a productive type of mellow (think yerba mate over espresso shots).
it’s the shadow behind that stroll that is particularly noteworthy: the noisy parts of our mind have quieted down, we’re no longer fitting into thought loops or losing ourselves in rabbit holes. all that extra energy, usually spent on other things, has to go somewhere, right?
more later, including the scary hurdle that comes with stability, but first my words + reads:
my words: i wrote about how data shows boston’s historical progress in funding women. in 2018, 43 percent of venture capital dollars raised by greater boston startups went to companies with at least one female founder. globally, that number was 8 percent.
etc: On a Monday morning in her office on Newbury Street, Sarah Fay of Glasswing Ventures said that for venture capitalists to invest in more diverse founders, “we have to drop the idea that a CEO needs to be a braveheart on a white horse.” “The personality of a woman is going to be different than a man, so you have to […] understand that someone can be effective, even if they really aren’t aggressive,” the managing director of the firm continued. “It’s about opening the door wider.”
learning lesson: it was really great to come to boston and meet the startups and voices that make up my coverage in real life. i wrote a ton of learning lessons from the visit in this debrief.
unorganized tab time:
anyways,
all this extra energy has led me to a new hobby: apologizing.
stability, when recycled inward, can bring to a heck of a lot of self awareness. i’m at the stage now that i’m getting a little too aware of my Pretty Big Flaws, and i’ve been apologizing to the, well, less than fortunate stakeholders.
it has been hard, and i am no where near a place of grace when it comes to saying sorry. it has also been relieving to articulate my mistakes.
now, i don’t think i need to reason out to all of you why apologies are weird. anything that chips at whatever ego you have feels a bit like friction at first. let me just promise you that ripping the bandaid off on one apology means your next one will have just a tad more eye contact. soon enough, you’ll be graceful. and when you get there, tell me how you did it (please).
i’ll leave you with this: by many accounts, i’m a great person and a fantastic friend. a lot of you are. that doesn’t mean we all haven’t screwed up.
as much as i tout self reflection, it took the fire coming to a lull (read: getting bored with the lack of drama in my life) for me realize some of the mistakes i’ve made in the past. you might be different. everyone has a unique journey toward being a little more critical of themselves.
at times, apologies, the ones that scratch at your ego and vulnerabilities, suck. that’s because at times, self awareness sucks. any discomfort you feel with either just means they are important, telling, and probably overdue.
jbieber knew what was good all along,
n
thx boston!