8.26.24
I preach mindset to founders. So, so, so easy in theory.
In practice, theory aint’ so easy.
Five Years
Today I celebrate my five year anniversary at Wefunder. Over the course of those five years, I’ve experienced many cycles of highs and lows.
Jonny frequently cites that ones biggest strength pairs with ones biggest weakness. Historically, this has certainly resonated in my own self evaluation. Emotional, passionate, intense. Drives great results. Packaged with what I see as a colossal (and often crippling) emotional turmoil.
As I ride this high at the present moment, it feels different. It feels steady. A lack of volatility. A sense of presence and a sense of peace and a sense of depth.
There’s no inflection point. No revelations. No “ah-ha!” moment.
A melting pot of many different things. A deep, long, gut level, desire to find inner peace within my work and within my life. Quite possibly hundreds of blog posts preaching to myself. A broken record. Knowing (and articulating) how I should be thinking about it. But struggling to authentically see theory translate to action.
Growth mindset.
Turn challenge into learning.
Don’t worry about what you can’t control.
Under index on the negatives.
Over index on the positives.
These are great principles. That are so easy to say. And so hard to be authentically felt and realized.
And then, seemingly out of nowhere, you think to yourself:
“Things are different”
“I think it worked”
I suppose this is what manifestation looks like in practice. It doesn’t happen overnight. The timeline is more realistic in years, if not decades.
37 is looking good. Welcomed.
If I had to point to a few specifics
— A new North Star in my work
— Saying no. And loving it.
— Working out a lot more. And really wanting to work out because of how good it makes me feel.
— Cutting back on the green. Ironically, less “hyperdrive”. More “chill”.
What a weird crock pot.
The ingredients just kinda “showed up” “out of nowhere”.
And I’m sitting here with an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
It feels so good.
::
Big contributing factors to all of this is focus, clarity, comfort, and confidence in my job. Over the past two months I’ve reflected a lot on the purpose and meaning of my work.
In April 2023 I had an emotional tsunami of passion around Revenue Share. I had a vision for the future of Wefunder, and it became a part of my identity. Revenue Share or bust.
For over a year I gave it everything in me. I wanted to revolutionize small business finance. I wanted Revenue Share to be the highest quality, friendliest, most attractive source of financing for Main Street businesses across America. I wanted it to be BIG.
But things didn’t play out the way I had envisioned. It wasn’t sticky. I felt that I was spinning my wheels. I felt defeated. I was embarassed. I was sad. I deeply felt all of it.
Cutting that cord set me free.
Ego put to rest. Peace awakens.
I put so much stock into “industry” and “structure”.
Today, there are two non factors. Industry and structure.
I could not care less.
And to layer on top of this —
I honestly don’t care about finance. And I honestly don’t care about Wefunder (in the sense of “this is what Wefunder does”).
It just so happens that the medium of my work happens to be in finance, working at Wefunder.
A seismic shift to a newly defined North Star.
1. Good Human
2. Smart + Sophisticated
Give me a founder in any industry, using any investment structure.
As long as they are a good human, I’m down.
And huge bonus points if the deal is smart and sophisticated. I like using my brain.
I just want to work with good, kind, smart people. I want to be surrounded by good, kind, and smart energy.
Wefunder opens that up to me. And for that I am happy and stoked and grateful and optimistic and content and confident and all that good stuff.
Happy five years to me.
And here’s to the next five.
Let’s hope this “new me” is as sticky as I deeply hope it is.
(did I mention this starts the official countdown to sabbatical number two??? LFG)