Today marks my ninetieth consecutive day of sharing my thoughts in posts. (I previously described how this started.) I recently spoke with a peer about my experience. He’s considering doing it too and wanted to ask me a few questions. By the time we finished chatting, I had had an epiphany: I understand things better when I share my thoughts widely.

I tend to think deeply about things. I try to understand by identifying connections that aren’t obvious. I used to ruminate and perhaps talk with one or two people very close to me. That approach was flawed. It didn’t help me achieve my ultimate goal: understanding.

It was a mistake to not share my thoughts or to do so only with a few like-minded people. I avoided opening up to others with different perspectives who would test my thinking or point out my blind spots (we all have them). I wasn’t really trying to understand, because I wasn’t talking to people who would be likelier to disagree with me. Naturally, I saw things only through the lens of my life experiences. My reality. I would come to understand an issue, or think I did, but since I looked at it only from my own narrow angle, I ended up missing things.

Sharing my thoughts broadly invites feedback. It sparks great conversations—opportunities for me to listen. I get glimpses of other people’s realities. I see things from their angle! I’ve learned that truly understanding something means getting as close as possible to a 360-degree view of it. The more people I talk to who are different from me, the closer I get to that goal.

Sharing my thoughts daily has illuminated all of this. Sometimes my initial thinking is wrong. (Whose isn’t?) When I share my thoughts with the world, I’m inviting others to help me acquire true understanding. Each person bridges a gap in that 360-degree circle.

I didn’t envision understanding things better as a benefit of sharing when I began posting every day, but it is, and I’m thankful for it.

I encourage everyone to share their thoughts more widely. It doesn’t have to be through writing; do it in a way that works for you. When you get feedback, listen. You’ll understand things much better.

In an earlier post, I shared my views on the power of listening to understand. I’ve continued to think about how we can help each other through this turmoil.

As CCAW grew, our team grew. I was no longer involved in every decision or even aware of every initiative. An empowered team making decisions without me was my goal. Inevitably, some decisions didn’t result in the desired outcome. Translation: things blew up sometimes.

No one is perfect, and my team members had good intentions. We were all in it together, working to build a great company. Naturally, we sometimes had different ideas about how to do it. Our different perspectives were valuable and often lead to amazing outcomes. But sometimes they caused us to miss the mark.

By the time something reached my desk, it usually meant a decision had worked out poorly. Instead of beating a dead horse, I learned to focus on the reasons for the decision. Why did you do it that way? Why was that the chosen path? What led up to you making that decision? Asking these questions was far more valuable than casting blame. I listened with the intent to understand, and ultimately, I did—I understood their why. Then I was able to work with them to develop solutions that supported their why.

Understanding why begets perspective. More importantly, it gives insight into the other person’s perspective. Understanding why someone makes the choices they do is a building block in (or even the foundation of) the positive working relationship required to achieve a common goal.

We’re all in this together, but that doesn’t mean we all see things the same way. Consider listening to understand why. When you do, you can begin to see things from a different perspective.

You might be interested in this short video about Colin Kaepernick's and Army veteran Nate Boyer’s desire to understand one another. It led Nate to “understand that we’re not that different, and we probably want the same things at the end of the day” and to a compromise that incorporated both perspectives.

Be part of the solution. Understand why.

I’ve been thinking deeply about what’s needed to see us through these troubling times. I shared some things I’ve learned in yesterday’s post. Today, as I sorted through my thoughts, I read a quote that resonated with me:

Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.

                                                                ~ John Steinbeck

The best way to understand someone is to listen to them—to not just hear their words, but to pay attention to what they believe and what they feel. When we understand each other, we can relate to each other. When we relate to each other, we can appreciate our differences and love each other. If we don’t listen, or we let their words flow by while we formulate our rebuttal, or we mindlessly dismiss them, we will not understand them (and we will give them no chance to understand us).

So where do we start? No one knows what the solution looks like. That makes it hard to know what to do. As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned the power of taking a step in the right direction even when the path is nearly invisible. Often, I had no idea what I was doing, but I sorted it out as I went along. Always, I kept my eye on the outcome I hoped for. I see our current state of affairs as no different.

If you want to take that first step, here’s my suggestion:

Reach out to someone with a background different than yours—someone with a perspective on life that you might not understand. Ask them if they’re OK and if they want to talk. If they say yes, just listen.

This act is simple but powerful. Anyone can do it. You might be interested in this short video about one person who did it and how it affected the person he struck up a conversation with. If many of us do it, we will open lines of communication that will lead to what we sorely need: an understanding of each other.

Be part of the solution.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sharing my story—the story of CCAW—with a group of rising entrepreneurs. The dinner that was scheduled ended up being a Zoom meeting because of the pandemic. This group was the inaugural cohort of Cox Enterprises Social Impact Accelerator Powered by Techstars. Techstars runs accelerators in various cities worldwide, including Atlanta.

Accelerators are three-month programs that give entrepreneurs “funding, mentorship and access to the Techstars network for life.” Techstars accelerators give entrepreneurs access to a lot of really smart people—including past and present entrepreneurs in the Techstars network—who can help them fast-track their progress and otherwise support them.

Demo days are a great way for entrepreneurs to get introduced to customers and potential investors. The cohort’s demo day was held virtually today and is available for anyone to view here.

I was happy to share my story with this cohort, and I wish every member success on his or her journey!

I’ve had thought-provoking conversations over the last few weeks about what’s needed for Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to reach the next level. What’s the next level? A regular stream of companies transitioning from early stage (sub–$100 thousand in annual revenue) to $250 million-plus liquidation events (acquisitions, IPOs, etc.) within ten years. Atlanta has a robust entrepreneurial scene and a community that’s super supportive (local government, universities, corporations, accelerators, etc.). In my opinion, Atlanta is one of the, if not the, strongest areas in the southeast for building businesses. But there’s lots of room for improvement.

The folks that I’ve talked with and I came up with a bunch of things that we think would help. But here’s what I believe could be game changing: people who’ve helped build companies that have had liquidation events exceeding $250 million. Founders, executives, key early employees, no doubt others. People who’ve earned their credibility by experiencing the journey to liquidation. These folks have seen the movie and they know how it ends. By no means am I saying that Atlanta doesn’t have such people. But there aren’t enough of them. I think that once you increase their presence in the city (assuming they’re excited to give back), you can start changing the ecosystem.

Why is that true? Easy . . . proximity to success. Going back to my post about this, it’s game changing for early-stage entrepreneurs to have access to successful people. If more people who know how to create companies that can liquidate for $250 million-plus are available to connect early-stage entrepreneurs with the right people and otherwise mentor them, the newcomers have a huge advantage. They are much more likely to succeed. Larger liquidation events happen more frequently, which attracts more investors, which attracts more high caliper entrepreneurs to the city. It creates a flywheel.

Now that we know what’s missing, how do we get more of these credible people in Atlanta?

I recently explained that I completed a 60-day challenge to share my story via daily posts. Today I’m reflecting on what it’s meant to me.

My three big takeaways:

• Giving back – I still struggle with the notion that my experiences are valuable to others. I think of myself and my experiences as average. But telling the world about them has shown me otherwise. People have expressed how a post was helpful to them. It feels good to know that I’m adding value to others’ lives.
• Thinking – Writing forces me to synthesize scattered thoughts so other people can understand what I’m getting at. This was by far the biggest benefit. My brain is in a different state when I’m reflecting and looking for connections. It’s like I’m exercising my brain. I found myself bringing up my newly coherent thoughts in ordinary conversation.
• Top of mind – People I know but with whom I haven’t been in contact have reached out or commented. I’ve reconnected with some of them.

Lessons learned:

• Conditioning – Creating quality posts day after day is a big, difficult commitment. But it got much easier over time. I’m now conditioned to think of a topic and what I want to say about it and then write, every day.
• Consistency – Daily posts are perfect for me. Fridays and weekends are the hardest, but I still prefer doing them daily to taking days off.
• Timing – There’s no perfect time to start posting because it will be hard regardless.
• Perfection – Don’t aim for a Pulitzer every day. That’s not the point. It’s OK to miss the mark from time to time. Everyone has off days.
• Conciseness – Write simply. Leave the fluff out. I’ve noticed my emails and other writings are more concise now.
• Simplicity – I started with LinkedIn because an audience existed and the functionality was there. I focused on establishing my habit and thinking about my content. I was glad not to have to deal with marketing or technical challenges. LinkedIn isn’t perfect (for example, searching for articles isn’t great), but it’s good enough to start with.

What would I do differently?

• Start earlier – I’ve gotten so much from this that I wish I’d started years ago.
• Write succinctly – My first posts were more in depth but they took too long to write. A post should be short and communicate a single point. It needs to be created in a reasonable amount of time and be quick to read.
• Enhance visibility – There are ways to make posts more visible on and off LinkedIn. I wish I’d experimented more. After all, the goal was to help others. I can’t help them if they don’t see it.
• Add pics – At first, I was just focused on getting the content out. A reader suggested that I add photos to enhance visibility. Toward the end of the challenge I did, and it helped. I wish I’d done it earlier.

I’m appreciative of this challenge and look forward to maintaining this new habit. I hope others continue to see value in my posts.

On January 27, I had lunch with a friend and fellow entrepreneur. We met in 2011 as members of EO Accelerator and have kept in touch since then. On this particular day, our goal was simply to catch up, since we hadn’t seen each other in over a year. We talked about what was going on in our lives and about our plans. I reflected on my journey and what I learned while building CCAW over more than a decade.

My friend listened and encouraged me to share that story with more people. I was pretty resistant to that suggestion because I’m very private, and I brushed it off until he said this: “It may seem normal to you, but not many people have founded and built a company to over $10 million in revenue. Let alone accomplish this in their thirties. Sharing your story could encourage others.” He was right.

According to Verne Harnish, only 4% of companies make it to $1 million in revenue. I grew CCAW to many times that. He was right, I’ve achieved something unusual.

My friend told me his story and how he’s sharing it with the world. I discovered that even after all these years, I wasn’t aware of many things that shaped him.

After hearing him out, I decided to share more. The truth is, I’d always known that I wanted to share what I’ve learned, but I’d never got around to it. To give me the kick I needed, my friend proposed a 60-day accountability challenge: we would both commit to sharing more of our story and what we’ve learned along the way and to holding each other accountable. I loved the idea. Here are the rules we set for ourselves:

• Duration – 60 days (March 9 to May 8).
• Post type – Video or written.
• Accountability – By 11:59 p.m. EDT every business day (weekends optional), we will text each other links to our posts.
• Content – New, thoughtful, and meaningful. Posted publicly, attached to our name and face, and permanent (Facebook and Instagram stories don’t count).
• Fine – Missing a day will obligate us to send $50 by Venmo or Cash App to the other person. On May 12, the total amount collected will be donated to a charitable cause.‍
• Recap and reflection
• By May 13, each of us will send the other a text summarizing the lessons we’ve learned, what we now do differently, and our three biggest takeaways.
• Sometime the week of May 11, we’ll have lunch together to celebrate.

This past Friday (May 8) marked the end of our challenge, and I’m happy to report that I’ve posted every single day (even weekends) for 60-plus days. Thank you, Ethan, for sharing your story, suggesting this idea, and holding me accountable for following through!

And thank you to everyone who provided feedback and support. I received lots of encouraging words from people who found my posts helpful, which motivated me when I had writer’s block. I’d love lots more feedback, good or bad, about my posts in the last 60 days.

I learned a ton about myself, but more importantly I hope I helped others. I truly enjoyed this process and I plan to continue posting daily!

Today I caught up with an entrepreneur friend. At the end of the call, I asked if there was anything that I could help him with. He asked if I could help get a college student an internship in AI, machine learning, programming, or a related field. The pandemic, he explained, has made it very difficult for students to obtain internships.

In college, I participated in INROADS. This organization prepared students for and connected them with internships at great companies. My older brother interned every summer because of his participation in INROADS. Naturally, I followed in big bro’s footsteps. That decision was pivotal. Not only was I introduced to other highly motivated students across the country, I also learned how to operate in a fortune 500 company and got a front row seat to national politics. My internship was year-round with one of the top lobbying organizations in Louisiana. My bosses were highly connected in politics and state government. That experience led to interning with a US senator in Washington, D.C., after my sophomore year. My final summer was spent as an IBM intern traveling around the country.

Those three internships had a huge impact on me. The work experience and the relationships that I developed helped prepare me for not just corporate America but also entrepreneurship.

The pandemic has changed things for most businesses. If you can, though, please consider giving a student an opportunity to gain experience this summer, even if it’s only part-time and unpaid. It could be the catalyst for great things in the student’s life.

How did an internship help your journey?

This week I had the pleasure of attending Techstars Demo Days “in” Boston and Boulder. These events are held in cities all over the world and historically they’re hosted by each city’s local Techstars Accelerator. Accelerators are three-month programs in which entrepreneurs receive “funding, mentorship and access to the Techstars network for life.” Because of the pandemic, all spring 2020 demo days are virtual (I’m not sure if virtual attendance used to be an option). I jumped at the chance to learn about new companies and ideas in various places.

Techstars accelerators give entrepreneurs access to a lot of really smart people—including past and present entrepreneurs in the Techstars network—who can help them fast-track their progress and otherwise support them. Demo days are a great way for entrepreneurs to get introduced to customers and potential investors.

Techstars has seven additional demo days scheduled in May and June. You can register for upcoming events and review past ones (including viewing pitches) here. If you’re interested in hearing about new problems and solutions, consider taking a look.

Today I had an interesting conversation with a buddy. We talked about how certain environments accelerated our success. He believes that proximity to success increases one’s own likelihood of success and I agree with him.

When I started CCAW, I was working out of an apartment and had zero interaction with other entrepreneurs, which was pretty miserable. I felt isolated and had to do everything myself—after first teaching myself how to do it. Eventually, I joined EO Accelerator, headquartered the business in Atlanta Tech Village, and then joined EO’s Atlanta Chapter. Each was a stepping stone. While I was in EO Accelerator, CCAW was doing less than $1M in annual revenue, but I was mentored by EO members whose companies had crossed that threshold. The path to $1M suddenly became clearer. Before the move, we had almost zero technology. At Atlanta Tech Village, I was surrounded by tech companies, so I could bounce from floor to floor getting technical questions answered. Building tech became a lot easier and we surpassed $1M in annual revenue. Once I joined EO, I was surrounded by local peers who had built companies with annual revenue from $1M to $100M+ and who were willing to help in any way they could. The path to $10M spread out before me.

Without proximity to these groups, would we have exceeded $10M in revenue? Maybe. Did it help us get there faster? Without a doubt.

My experience tells me that being around people who are where you aim to be makes it more likely you’ll get there. Success seems more real when it has names and faces. You learn little secrets through osmosis. You can find out the details of their journeys, get game-changing intros, and ask for help strategizing. Proximity isn’t the deciding factor in your success, but it can be very influential.

How has proximity accelerated your success?