Today marks the end of my one-hundred-thirty-fifth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred thirty-five:

• Sluggishness – I was under the weather this week, which wasn’t ideal. My productivity was noticeably affected. Feeling better now and looking forward to next week.
• Complex concepts – This week was a reminder of how important it is to communicate new or complex concepts using a simple visual image. A picture is worth a thousand words—but it can be hard to come up with the right one.

Week one hundred thirty-five was sluggish and only semi-productive. Looking forward to next week.

I shared some views on the importance of networks with someone recently, including how being part of different networks helped me navigate my early founder journey.

One thing I didn’t realize back then was that being part of diverse networks was valuable because it exposed me to new ideas. I learned about all sorts of things I would have never known about. Some of those ideas became transformational for me, altering my trajectory. Exposure to new ideas is something I now seek out, because it helps elevate my awareness about the world and my thinking in general.

If you want exposure to new ideas, consider joining different networks.  

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-thirty-fourth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred thirty-four:

• Venture Atlanta – This was a busy week in the Atlanta start-up ecosystem, with Venture Atlanta and a variety of other supporting events all week. I met some great people, many of whom were from out of town. Overall, it was a great week with great energy.
• You never know – I caught up with two out-of-town friends today. I shared an idea with them, and both offered to introduce me to people who could be helpful. I was surprised by these offers to make intros because I didn’t know these people were in their networks. Today was a reminder that you never know whom someone knows, so you should always keep people in the loop regarding what you’re working on and how they can help.

Week one hundred thirty-four was a long week of networking. Looking forward to next week.

Mentoring is important to founders. Good mentors can help you get to your destination faster. They have experience, and they can share with you what they’ve learned from it—that’s a lot of the value of a mentor. You can incorporate their learnings into your decision-making and make better decisions without giving up the time it takes to live those experiences. It’s common for a founder’s trajectory to be changed forever by sitting down with an accomplished entrepreneur for thirty minutes.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the right network to get mentoring from an accomplished entrepreneur. The network distance is just too far. Founders shouldn’t let that stop them—learning from others can be accomplished in other ways. I think autobiographies and biographies are a great alternative. Many founders who’ve had a massive impact on society are the subjects of biographies or autobiographies, and their learnings are usually incorporated into these books. That wisdom won’t tell you how to build your business, make a specific decision, or be related to your industry. But these books will share the path these entrepreneurs took, what they learned along the way, and what allowed them to succeed.

If you’re a founder hoping to fill your experience gap through mentorship, consider picking up some books!

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-thirty-third week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred thirty-three:

• Getting better – Last week, an idea I pitched got a warm reception during a few conversations. This week, people were interested in it. That’s better but still not great. I need to keep in mind that these are all friendlies. I’ll keep tightening it up and improving it.  
• Network distance – The number of relationships through which a piece of information must travel to connect two individuals is network distance. It’s a real thing and can be a big hurdle for people. This week was a reminder that if you keep hustling, keep shaking trees, you’re more likely to close the gap and connect with the people you’re targeting.
• Change of scenery – I focused on things that required some creativity. At the suggestion of a buddy, I tried changing up my location. It worked. I got in the groove and came up with some great stuff because of that change. For me, the more natural light, the better.  

Week one hundred thirty-three was a week of breakthroughs. Looking forward to next week.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-thirty-second week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred thirty-two:

• Still needs more work – Last week, an idea I pitched got a decent reception. This week, the reception was warm. I still need to refine the pitch and tighten it up to make it more succinct, but it’s moving in the right direction.
• Network – My conversations this week got me thinking more about networks and how to increase the value of a network to the people in it.
• Meetings – I traveled this week. It was great to get in-person time with people I haven’t seen in a while. In person, you can have conversations that are more productive than Zoom meetings, and you can strengthen relationships in ways you can’t over Zoom.

Week one hundred thirty-two was productive but tiring. Looking forward to next week.

The last few weeks, I’ve been focused on solving a complex problem. It’s been iterative and hasn’t always moved as quickly as I’d like. I normally work on it on weekends too. But this weekend, I didn’t. Instead, I attended an event with extended family and friends. I gave myself permission to not think about the problem for a few days, and I’m glad I did.

It was great to be fully present to celebrate with people I care about. It was also nice to reset mentally. Today, when I began to work on the problem a bit more, I had renewed energy and some fresh ideas.

This weekend was a reminder that sometimes it’s best to put something away for a few days and then come back to it with a fresh mind and renewed energy.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-thirty-first week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred thirty-one:

• Needs more work – Last week I got blank stares from those closest to me when I pitched an idea. This week, I refined it—specifically, how I framed the problem. I didn’t get blank stares, so that’s better. More engagement and understanding. But it still needs more work.
• Contrarian – When you’re doing something different than the norm, most people won’t agree with you. Be ready to hear the pushback and defend your position. Be confident, but also be open to listening, because you could still be wrong.
• Big words – Using big words people don’t know to communicate complex things seldom works in your favor.

Week one hundred thirty-one was humbling. Looking forward to next week.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-thirtieth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred thirty:

• Needs more work – You know your pitch still needs work when those closest to you respond with blank stares. I definitely got some blank stares this week. I’ll keep refining until the blank stares turn into excitement.  
• Complexity – Sorting through complexity isn’t easy. When there’s complexity that others can’t figure out, that’s a big opportunity to create value. I need blocks of uninterrupted time to do this. I carved out time this week, and I’m glad I did.
• Timing – You can’t control timing, but you need to be aware of it because it can have an outsize impact on outcomes. When the timing is right, you need to recognize it and take advantage of it. This week was a reminder of that.

Week one hundred thirty was calm (meeting-wise) but highly productive. Looking forward to next week.

Today marks the end of my one-hundred-twenty-ninth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week one hundred twenty-nine:

• Pitching rough ideas – Sometimes the best people to pitch on an early, rough idea are those closest to you. It’s likely to happen during casual conversation about what’s new, which is a more relaxed setting than a formal pitch meeting. If they care about you, they’re more likely to give you honest feedback. It’s also a safe environment in which to refine your pitch. I did this myself this week, and it was helpful.
• Trusting my gut – Sometimes my gut pushes me to take certain actions that just “feel” right. I can’t always explain why it’s the right move at that moment, but after I reflect later, I can. This happened a few times this week. One resulted in an entrepreneurial insight that could prove pivotal. Note to self: trust your gut.  
• Not sure what they want – If you ask customers what they want, they’ll tell you they want a specific solution. If you ask them what they’d like to achieve long term, they’ll tell you something else. This week was a reminder that sometimes people don’t realize that what they say they want doesn’t align with what they’re trying to achieve. If you can recognize these instances, they can be opportunities to present an alternative solution they haven’t thought of.  

Week one hundred twenty-nine was a great one. Looking forward to next week.