As a VC, one of my jobs is to answer this question: which entrepreneurs will succeed and who will not? The answers are not obvious, IMO. I don’t find that success is linked to race, gender, education level or family background. I do think, however, that success is linked to grit and the ability to
Category: Brain hacking
The Red Sox, Venture Capital and ‘Pocahontas’
This week, I was filmed for a Harvard Business School video. The interviewer asked me, “What’s the most important piece of advice you would share with students?” My answer: “Take more risks in your life.” I’ve been thinking about that line all week, and it made me think about being open to “the unexpected.” For example,
Amazing Video Called ‘This Is Water’
A cool part about blogging is that it leads to the unexpected. A friend, who knows I’m an avid fly fisherman, talks about the importance of “unexpected turns in the river” in life. An email yesterday from Scott Denne brought that home. Now, knowing Scott was also a turn in the river. We first interacted
A Weekend of Heavy Breathing
Well, that was an interesting weekend. I was in a meeting room on Saturday and Sunday for a “self compassion meditation workshop.” The moderators were Harvard’s Chris Germer and Kristin Neff, a self-compassion expert. As I’ve blogged before, many of us have an interior voice that criticizes us. “That’s so stupid!” “You’re so lazy!” “You’re
‘Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up’
Here’s the punchline of this post: self-compassion should be part of every entrepreneur’s arsenal. You see, I today was emailing with a friend, who has a full life: family, work, a real estate project, a new business idea to boot. Unfortunately, this friend is spending very little time on “self-nurturing,” such as exercise and sleep. You
‘The Last Lecture’ and My Friend Mike Connell
A new friend and I used to meet once a month during his last seven months of life. I’m thinking of him because I just finished reading this evening “The Last Lecture,” by Randy Pausch. My exec. coach recommended it. A professor at Carnegie Mellon, married, and father of three children ages six and under,