8 things I wish I’d known before working at my first startup. — Six years ago I was ready for a different work experience. My resume was chock full of traditional administrative positions that paid the bills but held little interest or excitement. …

To practice self-inquiry is to experience and move through discomfort. — Sometimes the work to a whole life feels limitless and broad. An ever-expanding field of opportunity ripe for exploration. Sometimes the work feels raw and vulnerable. Petrifying, aggravating and overwhelming. I’ve been cultivating a practice of self-examination for over eight years. I am committed to a life-long process. But today…

Less hustle. More authenticity. Less strategy. More purpose. Less hours. More efficiency. Less outcomes. More experiments. Less secrets. More transparency. Less instructions. More understanding. Less happy. More whole. Less fear. More inquiry. Less politics. More productivity. Less culture fit. More conscious conflict. Less people performance metrics. More vulnerability. Less diversity. More inclusion.

Sensitivity is a virtue, not a disgrace. — I was seated across from my new boss, just 90 days into my new role overseeing operations and community for a professional network. I was trying my best to follow proper managing up techniques to express that I was feeling the crush of an Everest of work on my plate…

Finding the service in going first — A year and a half ago I dove back into the pool following a twelve year absence. My formative years had been filled with swim meets, practices and awkward poolside team photos. Once my hips arrived in my mid-teens, I simply was no longer fast enough to be a real…

It’s not just founders struggling with burnout, depression or mental health at startups. I should know. It happened to me. — My startup story starts in Loveland, Colorado. I had shimmed my degree in electronic media into a project management position at a fast-growing, then fast-failing company. Founded by a dot com success story, the company sold educational resources to aspiring entrepreneurs. It was my first taste of the entrepreneurial adventure…

Know That You Are Not Alone Depression lies. It tells us that we are the only person who has felt loss, who has felt failure, who has felt desperation, who has felt nothing. This simply is not true. Image credit: Brenda Clarke There are litanies of other people who have…